blueshadesfandomstuff

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Talia al Ghul has struggled with inconsistent, sexist and racist writing for a *very* long time.

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Shutterbug and Seaglass Part 7 (for now): Mission to Save Batgirl's Ride

https://archiveofourown.org/works/54511972 - For anyone without an Ao3 account or who don't want to move website the fic is linked below the cut!

Jason wakes up to someone knocking on his bedroom door. It’s Sunday! He doesn’t have to be up early on Sunday, right? Holy fuck he’s tired too! Last night Batman and Robin finally finished their newest case and took out all of Penguins’ newest little money-spinning schemes he’d inflicted on the Narrows – a medium, lower-to-just-on-the-higher-side of middle-class, neighborhood pinched in between the working-class slum of The Cauldron the much more medium to quite upper-class New Town, giving the suburb it’s hour-glass shape for which it’s known and named for.

Penguin’s ploy this time had been at least a dozen pyramid type schemes that were just inscrutable enough to look like legitimate businesses until a hapless victim is in the trap and it can spring – demanding more than they can give in penalties for not meeting impossible quotas or not pulling in enough people so they too can be exploited until they’re all penniless and then it squeezes even harder insisting on loan options to pay down the debt that would make even a Diamond District loan shark flush at the audacity. Worse was the applicant pool so far – predominantly young people and teenagers with no knowledge of business contracts and no hope of freeing themselves once ensnared.

Then there was the laughably labeled ‘relief’ for the victims, available only after paying at least 50% of their accrued debt, (of course) where the victim is forcibly employed as a pig-packer in Gotham’s derelict and dangerous Warehouse District for almost no pay. It’s fully across town, and across two bridges to another of the islands that make up Gotham Proper, from the Narrows and difficult and dangerous to get to with little to no cell coverage and no parking options, limiting people to a very long series of bus trips, which might also be the point. Given the Penguin’s less then auspicious dealings with the other rogues of Gotham these victims would likely ‘end up in the wrong place and time’ - as the news segment would put it - with Scarecrow or worse, Hugo Strange or Professor Pyg, all rouges with a known love of human experimentation and abandoned warehouses.

These being exactly the rouges that who would pay happily pay Penguin for more victims, especially victims who would be difficult to track and take an age to even be reported as missing. Even without the horrible chance of being caught in a loathsome experiment these schemes had the potential to turn entire neighborhoods of mildly to extremely comfortably middle-class people into a desperate ravening hoard as they lost their ability to afford even their moderately comfortable lifestyle and defaulted on their home loans – turning a huge mass of people into desperate, first-time criminals - which are the most dangerous and unpredictable kind.

Unlike the usual run of the mill version of these Pyramid or Ponzi schemes that were ever popular in the Bowery, Robbinsville or the Cauldron - the areas usually called Old Gotham, these schemes had been lent the legitimacy of outstanding members of the Narrows more affluent community lauding them as excellent opportunities – either because they had been tricked or because they had been paid off. The legitimacy given to the schemes meant that schemes didn’t just have to just be stopped, like usual, they had to be annihilated and have the trust in them so heavily betrayed that they were poison and a new, smaller conman circling in the waters, couldn’t just take the schemes, dust them off, and implement them anyway. Batman had been against the schemes just because the schemes were illegal and wrong, rather than because of any better reason he cared to admit to – like their ability to implicate tens to hundreds of people who had no aspirations to crime and would pick up a criminal record.

The problem with Batman is he would want, as always, to bring in as many ‘offenders’ as possible to get them ‘off the street’. Jason, on the other hand, knows that most of the ‘offenders’ in a Pyramid scheme would have felt they had no other option but turn to recruiting to try and survive the ordeal and that ‘off the street’ for the vast majority of ‘offenders’ in this sort of situation actually means back on the street in a few days to weeks to months to years with even less legitimate job prospects and even more desperation then before because they now have a convicted felony on their record! Bruce seemed to think that his charity work of soup kitchens, shelters, food pantries, food drives and fair work schemes for minor felons totally offsets his Batman take-downs, but they don’t – they only help in minor ways and only with needs (though the provisos can be dangerously restrictive too).

There is no help for the loss of dignity and self-determination that comes with having a criminal record, and it would be far better to not take people’s ability to pay for comfortable living for themselves at all if possible. Thus, Robin and his faithful Robin proxy (Bug in a hooded Robin shirt or jacket and occasionally a domino) had to get involved and get involved early – working their usual beat of getting as many ‘middlemen’, go-fers and victims out as possible, while also discouraging people from getting caught AND discrediting the businesses so they couldn’t just pick a new area of the Narrows and start re-recruiting immediately.

The problem for Jason this time around was, unlike the denizens of Old Gotham, Robin wasn’t trusted by the adults of the Narrows and couldn’t discredit the business directly like he could in the poorer quarters of Gotham. Wearing his colours did nothing so Jason and Bug had had to make major changes to their pre-work and instead of the usual carpet-bombing information approach of warning everyone they could of the upcoming arrests (leaving only the guiltiest holding the bag) they made their warnings the teenage targets directly, as that was the only demographic Robin had any sway, before swapping Robin’s strident PSAs for quieter, civilian work in skate parks, arcades, community hubs, salons, churches, PTA meetings, community BBQs and malls.

Spreading the seeds of mistrust needed to totally kill the ventures carefully to the adults of the Narrows through the community as quietly but quickly as they could was a lot of work and effort, with them having to visit several venues a day for weeks. Unfortunately, Jason had the wrong accent for this sort of networking heavy, reputation-based cloak and dagger work and had to rely instead on Shutterbug to lead the charge. Timi had come through though, in spades, using a special version of her ‘Gotham’s Princess’ routine she pulled at galas – this one polished, specially weighted and worked to perfection to call to every social climber, faux-riche, pretentious Karen, society poser and anyone else stupid enough to believe that more money made you worth listening to like a siren does to sailors – except this was to save them all, not kill them, so Jason’s metaphor might need work there.

Anyway, shitty metaphors aside, Tiny Timi with her New Town accent (the next step up the social ladder for the social climbers of the Narrows), trust-able smile, sweet demeanor and obvious willingness to be a mouthpiece for the advice of her maverick, business prodigy parents and their ‘success story’ business had been much more effective at convincing the adults of the Narrows then Robin ever could be. She could gossip in salons that her parents were wary of the sound-looking investments coming up – wasn’t it worth a much closer look if Janet and Jack Drake of the extremely successful Drake Industries thought it suspect?

She could mention, off-hand, light and appropriate for small talk, at community barbecues that Janet always counseled her workers to check their employment contracts for worrying loopholes. She could flutter her lashes in pretty, picture perfect, confusion at the parents waiting to pick up their children at the skate parks and cinemas because ‘upper class families always insisted their kids should focus on school, only’ and her father ‘instituted a careful set of chores to teach her responsibility, rather than insisting she get a part time job’ – assuring them all that Jack thought it to be an integral part to giving her the key to her future success.

She could kvetch with kids that Robin couldn’t reach around a giant pile of Batburger fries in the food-courts of the many malls of the Narrows about unreasonable parental expectations and then imply their parents were fucking them over by encouraging them to work for these schemes. She could flash the expensive Cellini classic Rolex (the one she normally never wore but they don’t know that) Janet insisted on getting her for her 10th birthday, boredly checking the time while touring properties ‘looking for surprise investments for mommy and daddy’ all the while suggesting to small fish promised profit by Penguin that profit was all well and good but they’d lose their community standing as soon as Batman and Robin showed up – Could they survive the neighborhood turning on them? Finally, and almost as importantly, she could expound with careful, cultivated flattery to parent groups and HOAs that she was just so worried that the ‘tone of the neighborhood’ could be ‘lost’ if the businesses went ahead.

When Batman and Robin swooped in to make arrests in the emergency meeting Penguin held that night, Saturday night, the only people there to take into custody were the organizers, key players and the Penguin himself - too busy castigating his ‘lazy’ staff for their obvious failure take advantage of his perfect opportunity - to notice the Bat and Bird until it was too late and he’d implicated himself and the meeting surrounding him - again. Jason’s so proud of Bug he could burst, and he’ll be supplying her with her favorite coffee order before school every day this month if he can swing it! This process of getting out anyone he could of the criminal groups Batman and Robin were investigating was a lot of the work Jason’s version of Robin does before Batman wraps up a case – not that Bruce knows, or at least not that he comments he knows, and Bruce loves to point out that he’s aware of things his children try to keep hidden, especially if he’s sure his children didn’t want him to know.

He definitely doesn’t know Jason has Timi’s help or that Bug knows the identity of Batman, Nightwing and Robin at all. It was certainly a surprise to Jason that she knew, and he’d been bat-stalking with her before! Jason’s really not looking forward to that little revelation because it will be coming sooner rather than later. He’s been working his ass off at summer school so he can go to college at sixteen like Big Bird did, but while he’d much rather stay in Gotham then move, it’s still going to be harder to find time to spend with Bug unless she’s an official support for the vigilantes of Gotham or a vigilante herself as he’ll be at college while she’s still in high school (most colleges in the country won’t take earlier then 16 no matter how much money you have).

Jason has been lining up his arguments too, because he doesn’t want to go to Princeton or even Cornell, he doesn’t want to leave and anyway - bigger, fancier schools are less important to someone who wants to become an English teacher and teach in impoverished schools in the Old Gotham. Jason wants to go to Gotham U. Bruce might hate that or he might be fine with it, it’s impossible to tell but what he’ll certainly hate is Timi joining them on patrol and Jason looping her more into the nightlife. Too bad, old man, Jason is not living without Bug. She’s too important to Jason, end of discussion (and no he really doesn’t want to analyze why – it makes him feel weird, so he’d much rather focus on finding a way to keep her with him).

So, that was Jason’s Saturday night and most of the past month for him and Bug. Bug may have been in the pilot seat this time, but Jason was with her every step of the way. It was a lot of work and thus he feels thoroughly justified at sticking his head under his pillow and groaning when there is a knock at his door at… He checks his alarm clock. 8:00am on the dot on a Sunday morning?! He made sure he had no plans today! He even double checked with Alfie (who is probably the only one who knows about including Bug in his extracurricular Robin work, as he’s the one who drives or picks up Jason and Bug when the bus, train or taxi isn’t going to work.

Heck he might even know about Bug knowing the secret, Jason had never braved checking with him) and Alfie had assured him he could sleep in this morning. Who’s out there making Alfred wrong? Can he hit them and make them go away? Please? The answer to who is being a blue and black drama-ridden bird much like the Raven Nevermore and tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at Jason’s chamber door on the bleak September morrow is firmly answered when Dick gets tired of knocking and tumbles through the door to flop on top of Jason dramatically, whining. Jesus Christ that’s annoying!

“Fu-dging hel-ck Big Bird cut tha histrionics already! The heck do ya want at ass o’clock ona Sunday mornin’?”

“I need help Littlewing – I made a dumb promise and dug myself a hole I don’t know how to get out of!” Is whined as Dick roots around, still on top of Jason, to get comfortable. Being a little brother is mostly a good change but just occasionally Jason laments that he isn’t an only child anymore – especially times like this. With great restraint, considering the whinging lump on top of him is a vigilante and he doesn’t have to be this nice, Jason digs his elbow into the side of Dick’s ribs to get the giant drama-llama to stop shifting on him as it’s pulling down his sleep shorts and to get his fat-bird-ass off him enough to breath easily again – Jason hates being the smallest of the Bats!

“That’s par fer the fu-fracking course with ya Dickybird but what didja do this time?” Jason is the best little brother - Honestly! Why else, aside from brotherly love, would he put up with this bullshit?

“Uuhh… Well, you know how Babs’ car was trashed at her uni last weekend?” Oh, Jason has a very bad feeling about this. The idiots trying to steal her ride – a classic and gorgeous custom painted, banana yellow, AMC Gremlin - couldn’t bypass the security on the car and had actually started to disassemble the whole damned engine when Babs had caught up with them and proceeded to kick righteous amounts of ass. Then she’d had to have it towed to the apartment she’s renting near Princeton’s campus, and then Jim Gordon paid to have it brought back to Gotham. Neither she nor her father are mechanics though and can’t afford to fix her bespoke little classic car any time soon.

“Yeah, ‘course I remember. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Barbie fly inta town so ready fer a Batgirl Beat-down Bonus-round before n’ tha was straight up ‘cause she hadta take tha bus home b’fore she could beat ‘er anger outta Two Face’s new lil’ minions. What. Did. You. Do?”

“I maaaay have promised I could get her car fixed for her birthday.… Except I can’t. I'm not mechanically savvy enough to put the parts they took out back in alone and I don't have anyone to help me anymore and I don't have a safe space to put the car while I work on it. Plus I’m not using Bruce’s credit card right now, even if I could steal it from him. My first paycheck doesn’t come in for another week and a bit and mechanics are waaaaay more expensive than I thought they would be!” Oh, if that isn’t just fucking typical with Dick and Bruce! Barbie’s birthday is the weekend after next. Why does he have to deal with these two stubborn jackasses again?

Right, adoption, that’s why. As of a nine month-ish ago he became Jason Peter Todd-Wayne and Dick is now Richard Johnathan Grayson-Wayne. Everything was lovely for three whole months before and a whole month after the court date with Dick and Bruce finally getting along again but it sadly didn’t last. Dick, now he has graduated with a degrees of sport science/Health and physical education from Cornell along with earning his USAG certification and his First Aid certification AND a three-year mentorship from the men’s and woman’s gymnastic coaches at Cornell has moved on to his first job as a gymnastics coach for under-12s in New York with a well-known and well-regarded gym. So far, all good – Bruce was very proud that Dick finished college, unlike Bruce, while still managing to lead the Titans in New York. He was also proud that Dick and had chosen to honor his birth parents and life at Haly’s circus by teaching a whole new generation of gymnastic athletes.

What hurt Bruce’s feeling and started the mother of all stalemates and an ongoing war between the two - which has spooled out to now with Dick waking Jason up for help - is that Dick chose to keep his name unhyphenated on his degree certificates and at his work. At work Dick has chosen to be coach Grayson, not coach Grayson-Wayne or (as Bruce would prefer particularly) coach Wayne and Bruce reacted to that like a five-year-old denied treats rather than a twenty-nine-year-old father of two – he straight up demanded Dick have the certificates reissued with the hyphenated surname and to change his work badge to just Wayne for the slight of just choosing just Grayson and Dick, understandably, refused. Dick’s point: That he wants to be seen as his own man – and the man his parents raised - rather than be seen as riding on his adopted father’s very long coattails to an easy life with easy success is being tragically ignored.

What’s more, while Dick is proud of Bruce adopting him and Jason and is happy to accept having Bruce as a second father figure on paper, Dick is only ten years younger than Bruce and has always chafed at the father and son dynamic Bruce insists on as he sees Bruce as more of an older brother with Alfred as the patriarch of the family. Bruce on the other hand has decided this is all Dick being ungrateful and unreasonable so he can be unreasonable in return and if Dick wants any support he’ll have to apologize and do as Bruce demands. Thus, a stalemate and a series of very chilly patrols as Batman and Nightwing, on the occasion Nightwing is even willing to step foot in Gotham, as well as a chilly atmosphere in the manor itself as Alfred is livid at Bruce’s choices. Not ideal. Not been a fun time to live through. Not Dick’s fault though, not about Bruce at least.

“Well I don’t know anythin’ ‘bout cars, aside from which tires are worth bank! Any chance ya can take it ta Earl or maybe Marva n’ slip it inta the Bat workload without alerting tha emotionally constipated idiot who’s name rhymes with moose?” Jason snarks, and really Bruce deserves it. He’s been insufferable.

Earl and Marva Cooper are the mechanics who created and upkeep the Batmobile as a thank you for Batman saving Earl from his previous employer who wanted to silence the talented mechanic over his misgivings on their newest car – which flaunted safety regulations, but the company had paid off the regulators. While they’re loyal to Bruce for helping them and tell him a lot – they’ve made exceptions before both for Dick and Alfred previously, though that was for less nefarious reasons like for Bruce’s birthdays and Christmas presents. Dick’s already shaking his head though he does gift Jason a smile at his snark at Bruce.

“I already tried that, but Bruce has been on Earl’s case about everything just in case I try and slip something past him for my Mockingbird and I want to wait a bit before I call down the wrath of ‘God’. It’ll be the only way to win against the head of steam Bruce has built up.” Dick sighs, at the end of this life his soul is escaping. Jason sympathizes – it’s been rough.

Dick’s pride and joy is a little 1990 Mazda Mx-5 sports car named Mockingbird that’s painted a matte baby blue – an unusual choice that highlights it’s more vintage lines but also a bitch to keep in good condition. The car often draws attention without even trying, effortlessly, much like Dick himself. He and Bruce fixed it up together so of course Bruce is trying to use that avenue to get his way – like that doesn’t further poison the well with his eldest. Alfie’s gonna be (even more) pissed! Dick driving an unsafe car or having to resort to public transport in New York because of spite won’t be acceptable to their grandfather. Alfred is already upset that Dick lives alone and works in New York while still only being nineteen, let alone Bruce purposefully endangering him further to get his way in an argument that shouldn’t have happened. He doesn’t blame Dick for wanting to save up Alfie’s ire though – Bruce is too stubborn for it to work unless Alfred is angry to the point where he loses all composure.

What to do they do about Babs’ car though? …Wait. Welp! It looks like he’s going to get a head start on paying for those coffees for Bug today! She’ll need at least two to be useful anyway. Bug needs caffeine to wake up most of the time to the point where getting between Timi and any source of caffeine, when she feels she needs it, might result in you losing a finger or two but watch particularly if it’s coffee and especially if it’s coffee in the morning. Strong black coffee – preferably, though she does usually prefer fancier ‘fruity’ blends. While Jason has been living at Wayne manor, he has occasionally been the supplier of Timi’s substantial coffee order so she can help him catch up with any homework that the Robin mantle makes him neglect from time to time.

Bruce would have a fit and reduce Jason’s time in the mask if he’d knew but while Jason isn’t the cleverest person in the family or even the cleverest of the people he knows, even outside of people who are vigilantes, he is more than clever enough to cover for himself most of the time. BUT if he can’t, he goes to Shutterbug, usually on a Sunday morning and usually with a thermos of coffee pilfered from Bruce – who also mainlines caffeine like it could go out of style any second but it’s not half as cute when he does it. That’s not an option this time though, not with Bruce spitefully monitoring everything.

“Well I hope ya can afford a couple of tha largest coffees at that bougie place on Gloster and Weaver wit’ tha Japanese syphoned stuff cause we’re gonna haveta go begging ta the only freshman AP student doing Automotive Repair Extension in alla Gotham Academy.” Dick blinks nonplussed after this statement before cracking a grin.

“Baby Bird does Auto Repair Extension? Shouldn’t she just be in Auto Shop as a freshman? I thought Repair Extension was for seniors only?”

“Yup! Lucky for you Bug is just that good! But it will cost serious caffeine – she was up late last night on our study IRC helpin’ me deal with Mrs. Melville’s last minute ‘pop quiz’ on Monday.” Jason emphasizes his point with jazz hands. Dick groans, probably both because he’s going to have to spend money and because he remembers the extremely horrible Mrs. Melville – the ever crotchety and mean-spirited Economics teacher at the High school section Gotham Academy and the bane of Jason’s current experience and Dick’s previous experience at the snooty school. Melville’s specialty is giving fucking essay answer ‘pop quizzes’ every fortnight including the first two weeks of year nine. She’s a handy excuse but Jason wishes she didn’t suck quite so much.

“But where are we going to even put the car for her to work on?”

“Ah, that’s the best bit! Rather than havinta upkeep a ‘garden courtyard’ tha Drakes converted tha back courtyard of their town house inta’a workshop an’ fly their mechanic – whose fu-dging Dale Gunn, by tha way – inta fix their precious babies when needed. Timi’s bin learnin’ at Dale’s hip since she was a little kid – like almost as young as I met her, little.” Dickie whistles impressed and finally lets Jason up to have some space to get showered and changed.

Dale Gunn was once the Mechanical Engineer for the Detroit based members of the Justice Society, which was the foundation framework used to create the Justice League though many of its members chose to retire rather than join with and fight alongside the JL. A few have remained on through - just in less active combat roles or other assisting roles. Dale is mostly retired but is still the senior partner of a very well-regarded shop in Detroit called The Auto Armory that he founded with his eldest son Marcus. His youngest son Allistair has now taken over the job with the JL and is one of the few people that lives almost full time on the Watchtower – Batman’s gift to the Justice League – a large space station in Earth’s orbit.

When not in orbit – dude lives almost full time in fucking space that’s so fucking cool – at the Watchtower, Allistair works with several JL affiliated Titan members in New York too. Dale has promised Bug more than once that if she can get the automotive chops, he’ll consider letting her apprentice with him and Marcus and when Jason met the man – who was already well aware of who Jason is at night – he upgraded that promise to apprenticing with Allistair if Jason ever let Bug in on the secret. More fool them both because she’d already worked it out as an itty-bitty bat stalker anyway. Jason hasn’t mentioned the conversation yet but will eventually. It’s looking more and more like he’ll be joining the Titans in the next few years, and there he might be able to sneak Bug in and get her involved in the Titans and with Allistair directly – bypassing some of the hissy fit Bruce is going to inevitably have once he knows Timi worked out their secret identities. He’ll be lucky to get out of the storm himself, but he might be able to shield Bug. It’s not her fault she’s too smart.

Jason showers in his pretentious marble and chrome en-suite bathroom with it’s ridiculous pure white towels (changing bedrooms wouldn’t help, every bathroom in the manor is like this and Alfie prefers white sheets and white towels, heck at least this bathroom doesn’t have a Jacuzzi as standard.). He then fixes his tangled-by-sleep curls and flipping off his reflection as he goes, then dresses – judging by Dickie’s linen shirt and jeans, it’s just cool enough for long pants but not cool enough for long sleeves, so he goes with black cargo pants and a green short sleeve henley.

He deposits his keys and the now attached-via-carabina Drake house keys into his pocket then spends some time finding his wallet where it had fallen off his bedside table and half under the bed, then heads out of the family wing towards Alfie’s kitchen. The manor might belong to Bruce, but the Lord and Master of the kitchen is Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce has been banned from the kitchen in a cooking capacity for years. Dick doesn’t stay anywhere else in the manor for long, so he doesn’t have to clash with Bruce as much, so that’s where he’ll be and also breakfast sounds sooo good right now.

Stepping into the kitchen, Alfie in his usual almost clairvoyant timing, sets Jason’s favorite mug (it’s a Wondergirl mug he found at a flea market when he was visiting Dick in New York – who also sent the photo on to Donna much to Jason’s embarrassment but it turned out to be worth it because Donna signed it for him before he came home.) filled with a really nice Lady Jane Grey tea they’ve been enjoying, on the bench of the breakfast bar, pouring himself a cup as well but in a far more proper teacup and saucer. The dandelion pattern on Alfie’s cup suggests he is more pleased then he has been lately, the cups with the nettle pattern are when you really must watch out for Alfie’s temper and have been out frequently recently. Dick, also seated at the bar, is happily tucking into a plate of shakshuka with what smells like extra harissa, a more then half-finished cup of his favorite mocha, doctored as usual with whipped cream and marshmallows, beside him in his favorite superman mug.

“Good morning, Master Jason, breakfast will be ready shortly – bacon and eggs on toast is acceptable, yes? After your long month of work and now a surprise early morning, I think you might need the extra protein.” God bless you Alfie, you always have the best ideas!

“Good mornin’! Bacon and eggs sounds perfect, like always Alf” Alfred gifts him a full smile and Jason returns it and then enjoys his tea for a moment. Dick breaks the peace after he’s finished chewing his mouthful and swigged the last of his mocha.

“Mmm yeah sorry for the surprise – Babs was telling me about the bust you and the Bat pulled off last night, Littlewing. Funny thing – only the organizers and old Oswald were there, how lucky for Batman and Robin. Or how lucky for Batman alone I guess cause the littler-and-far-cuter Bat thinks he had some unsanctioned help for a certain ‘little birdy’ running his ass off for the whole month, while maintaining his summer school A+. That was some good work Littlewing!” Huh Babs got it too… Welp, that’s what happens when Batgirl is watching Gotham he guesses and whatever Batgirl knows Nightwing is privy to more often than not, even with Dick and Kory now being together. It took Babs a bit to get over it, but they seem to be friends again. It’s nice.

“Thanks, Big Bird, gotta do the legacy proud somehow. Queen B come up with a name fer when she’s keeping her watchful eye on Gotham all the way from her well-earned throne in Princeton yet?”

“You could work half as hard and still do that legacy proud Jaybird, and no, not yet, though your suggestion of Pythia, Dione or Fate’s string have been carefully considered – she says it’s almost right but not quite.”

“Hmm… Did ya suggest just using oracle yet? It’s simpler and hasa decent ring ta it.”

“Oooh thematic! She’ll be pleased about that aspect, and we could all match her with different divination titles when we use the network, which would be fun – but you should send it to her instead. She misses you and she gonna start withholding book suggestions soon if you don’t reply to her IRC messages soon!” Shit! Jason knew he’d forgotten something! He’s almost through reading The Business by Ian M Banks – which she suggested he read - so he’ll critique what he’s read so far, that should help smooth things over with Babs.

“I’ll message her from Bug’s – she has the better computer for it and you’ll both be busy.” Alfie pops Jason’s plate down in front of him and he sighs in pleasure at the four over-easy eggs and the heap of bacon with just a bit of toast and thanks his guardian angel grandfather – just what he needed! Alfie is magic! Dick too murmurs his thanks at the fresh mocha Alfie delivers him resplendent with whipped cream and mini marshmallows.

“You are most welcome Young Masters – as a final thing to help your busy day - here.” And with a flourish Alfred produces a smallish tin of ground coffee and a bag of gourmet marshmallows from… somewhere. Before continuing.

“Miss Timianna’s tastes generally run expensive with coffee and while you’ll probably be able to acquire something to suit, traversing Gotham Proper in a tow truck with Miss Barbara’s car on it will be difficult enough let alone racing against the clock to keep the coffee from over extracting. Also, this is the Elida Natural from Panama that I procured after she enjoyed the blueberry notes in the Ethiopian blend so much last time. The Elida has a much wider range of fruit notes. I wanted to treat her for all the help she’s been giving you, Master Jason, with your studies while you were fighting the good fight this month." Well if Alfie knows Bug is in on the secret - he's not sharing, so that's nice. Jason lets a soft relieved breath out while Alfred continues, unruffled as always.

"While any marshmallows would be welcome, I’m sure, these have a better, less artificial flavor and came in rosewater flavor – just do me the favor of making sure she eats some sort of proper breakfast first. I have had the coffee carefully roasted and just finished griding enough for six cups so it will be fresh. Before you ask: No Master Wayne doesn’t know I bought the bag and I have no intention of telling him I did so.” Oof! Alfie’s bringing out the big guns if Bruce has been reduced to Master Wayne! Yuuup Alfie’s pissed with Bruce! Luckily judging by the dandelion teacup it’s only Bruce he’s upset with and given he has every right to be, Jason’s gonna cheer Alfie on from the sidelines but first.

“Thanks Alfie! I’ll be sure ta let’er know – she’ll be touched ya thought’a her!” Alfred smiles again and sets about cleaning up. Bug loves Alfie too and often helps him out with cleaning tasks or cooking after school if she doesn’t have homework to complete but Jason does. She’d want Jason to thank him in addition to the message she’ll likely send later as well her thanking Alfred in person. Bug’s etiquette is top notch and heavily drilled in like that.

Jason suspect that Alfie already considers Timi family even without Bruce’s approval since Bruce still regards Timi very aloofly and with cold suspicion - “Just be careful she isn’t using you for the Wayne family status Jaylad!” Blah, blah blah. That’s fucking bullshit B and you’d know that if you listened to Jason at any fucking point! Alfred had been appalled and a little angry to find that Bug does most of the cooking herself now because Mrs. Mac been made to pull back more now Timi is ‘old enough to look after herself’. Twelve seems a little early for that frankly – especially as this summer the Drakes also began insisting that Timi do the grocery shopping too.

Mrs. Mac had to go back to being purely a house-keeper, stopping in three days a week only to clean and maybe make meals those evenings rather than the hybrid job she’s had for years where she was available to Timi most of the time and cooked her dinner – Bug’s been managing her own breakfasts and lunches for a couple of years already. Alfred immediately set about helping Timi with meal planning effectively and arranged for a delivery of groceries twice a week to the Drake townhouse using the Wayne paid shopper who visits the farmers markets, gourmet deli and butcher to get in the best produce for the manor. Bug says she hasn’t been this full all the time in years – which she doesn’t think is an alarming statement for some fucking reason!

Jason plows through breakfast with gusto – Alfie’s cooking is the best and he’s almost always hungry at the moment – hopefully this means a growth spurt is due! He does miss his mom’s cooking sometimes though. He’ll cook some of her recipes for lunch and dinner for Bug and Big Bird today – that’ll scratch that itch! Big Bird and Jason depart after loading the dishwasher with their tableware, hugging Alfie and telling him they’ll likely be gone all day and not to worry about them for lunch or dinner, getting out while the getting is good and before Bruce can be up and awake enough to restart his fight with Dick, or just saying anything else stupid. It doesn’t take much with both Alfie and Dickie on hair-trigger tempers and for such a smart man, Bruce says a lot of stupid things, all the time.

Jason and Dick set out the game plan while driving into Gotham Proper in Mockingbird. Dick is going to drop Jason off at the Drake townhouse so he can start operation Wake Bug while Dick heads to the Gordon’s flat and meets the tow truck driver who will transport Barbie’s Gremlin over, apparently it’s called Brum (named for the titular car of a kids show - a miniature Austin 7 and it’s wacky adventures in the English countryside), probably riding with the tow truck and leaving Mockingbird in the Brum’s place. If Timi can get the car finished today – neither of them knows how likely or unlikely that is – then they’ll swap the two cars back, before Big Bird drops him back at the manor and then heads back to New York.

If she can’t get it finished, they’ll bus it back to Mockingbird instead. Sound plans made just in time. Jason hops out of Mockingbird, with his precious cargo of coffee and marshmallows, while Dick slows down just enough that the maneuver is mostly safe, while still being a bit of a thrill. Dick takes a moment to snap a finger gun and a wink at Jason and Jason returns double barrel easily, even if one is partially obscured by the coffee container – it’s so easy to tell they’re both bi sometimes, the memes just come at will!

Jason manages to get up the stairs and inside without dropping his keys, which is a more common occurrence then it should be for a trained vigilante, puts his shoes into the hall cupboard and wanders into the almost sterile kitchen of the Drake townhouse. The Drake’s home is set up with the typical layout for a townhouse like this – you enter into a central hall that includes the stairwell. A low ceiling split level room is to the right of the hall – in this case a pair of offices for the lord and lady of the house, set above the garage and the kitchen is on the left with the living room in an extension at the back of the house through the door at the end of the hall. In the basement is the garage with access to the shop beyond, Timi’s dark room, Mrs. Mac’s old living space, a powder room (read toilet with a sink in the room, and a shower in an adjacent room) and a laundry room with access to the small bit of the backyard, not converted into the car workshop of dreams, for drying clothes the few days of the year there is enough sunshine but low enough humidity.

Then on the second floor is the family bathroom, in theory but it really just belongs to Timi. The rest if the floor is Timi’s room, a guest bedroom and a small sitting room that Timi has crammed a desk and a desktop computer into one of the corners and the top floor is Jack and Janet’s master suite, which is apparently huge and has a balcony with glimpses of Giordano botanical terraces – Gotham’s most popular choice for wedding pictures as the green-space is set at the very top of several staggered-in-height buildings, the shortest of which has New Town’s registry office, thus free from most of Gotham’s opportunistic, carnivorous wildlife.

Like the bathrooms of Wayne manor, white marble is everywhere in Drake family home and makes up most of the flooring and tiling of the first floor. The furniture is sharp, angular and clean-line modernist white and black, mixing with stark black cabinetry, white wainscotting, white drapery and – thank fuck because white would be a nightmare – black carpets in the few places that are carpeted at all. The upper floors swap the white marble tile for ebony timber, except in the wet areas where the marble returns. It’s a monochrome world, aside from the antiques and artifacts on display and pops of chrome and stainless steel here and there. Timi’s Robin mug, sitting by the sink, is fluorescently bright by contrast.

Jason doesn’t know how Timi deals with the lack of colour honestly! It’s so fucking boring and difficult to keep clean! Even the mug is an imposition and the only scrap of bright colour to be seen here before reaching Timi’s bedroom. The mug was bought by Catherine at a local bizarre, and Timi loves it enough to break her usual habits of making sure not to advertise she has a love of Gotham’s protectors as it might call attention to her stalking habits. All the other dishes and drinkware in the house are white, except for Janet’s personal mug – which is black with silver art-deco patterns but that’s tucked away into its home cupboard right now.

Jason gets coffee going in the – white enamel and chrome – single serve espresso machine after washing out Timi’s mug from, judging by the set stain, two or three days ago and then pulls out another white mug for the second round, pausing to finger-wave at Janet’s mug and chuck the used grounds in the opulent and shiny stainless-steel bin while he does. Taking both upstairs when they’re finished to Timi’s room, pushing open the ajar door with his foot. He places one coffee on her desk and turns to survey his soon to be wake-up victim.

The main part of Timi’s room contrasts with the rest of the house only a little because otherwise Jack would have a fit – and that’s not just hyperbole, he proved it the day he came back to see coloured paint cans in the garage after Timi and Jason painted originally, just after Timi’s 9th birthday, where he threw a fit of toddler proportions and Janet sent them inside because he couldn’t actually be reasoned with. That was not long before it was decided that Timi would be shipped off to Brentwood – but the main part of the room wasn’t the space they painted. This main part came later, after Timi came home from Brentwood, when they were together again.

The walls, above the black wainscotting, are wallpapered with a black and white wrap-around panorama of Gotham from atop Drake Industries that Timi took herself, but the Neon signage has been recolored, adding pops of neon rainbow colour to the space – a cheery little counterpoint to an otherwise very dramatic image. All of Timi’s furniture is low-line so not to interrupt the image more than the curtained windows and the door openings already do, even her wardrobe which is a half hanging style. All her furniture either came in black or has been painted black to match and keep it cohesive but all the pieces in here are far less sharp angled and modern with most being replicas or actual vintage items featuring more mid-century rounded shapes and tapered legs. The carpet is black, as is the wicker clothes hamper though splashes of colour can be seen through the weave.

This room originally came with a small (for an opulent house) walk-in closet with a twin pocket sliding doors, but Timi likes sleeping in enclosed spaces, preferably also away from the light her white curtains can’t keep out and likes the idea of being able to close away her bed from prying, judgmental eyes because – as she’s had to purchase the bed clothes and maintain them herself – her bed and pillows are a riot of colour, heck her whole sleep space is. The fitted sheet, flat sheet, each pillowcase, blankets, duvet and all her pajamas are all bright and have differing patterns and colours – by design.

She bought the sets and mixed them all together to purposely achieve this effect. This was the space they painted for Timi’s birthday and Jason’s still proud of how it looks even three years later. The walls and ceiling of the ex-closet are painted dark blue with dark clouds sponged on over gold and silver speckles – giving an impression of a cloudy night sky and fireflies or stars with the overhead light replaced with a celestial chandelier of sorts, though it’s the smallest one he’s ever seen, with hanging crystals moons and stars that refracts the light into thousands of little rainbows when it’s on.

The bed sits horizontal in the space and on the left side, where end of the bed is, one wall is dedicated to her long hanging space, obscured by a thick Turkish prayer rug hanging from a curtain rod to protect her dresses and other long things from the sleep mess, the back wall is a collage of photos including Bug, Dick and the Graysons and another of Bug, Jason and Catherine and a newer one of Bug, Dick, Babs and Dick out for burgers after school last year. The other wall is home to four floating shelves with her fiction book and DVD collection and other favorite ornaments.

The bed takes up almost all the floor space, to the point that she had to put the bed frame together in the space to get it to fit, except for the long hanging space on one side wall and her bedside table near the headboard (adorned with her bedside lamp and her laptop) in the small walking space in front of the bed that, at the moment, is being taken over by a bright orange beanbag she’s also stuffed in here. It looks like the nest of a fantasy race of bird-people. Timi is curled up loosely in the middle of the double bed in bright pink sleep pants and a clashing turquoise top, tangled with her lilac flat sheet – dead to the world.

Timi has a few modes when she wakes up and it took him a long while to puzzle through how to get each version – though it’s still not sure-fire, even after all this time, but there are some consistent results he can get. The answer was stunningly simple once it was all laid out, it’s all got to do with how you went about waking her up and how busy/tired/overworked she was when she went to bed – all versions transition faster with caffeine but he doesn’t have enough data to know what happens when she’s not been busy as Timi has been busy the whole time he’s known her. As a few examples: If you insist on her being up and doing rapidly, you get a stunningly grumpy little ball of a human who’s prone to lashing out and being huffy and annoyed. If you wake her very gently you get a confused but gentle shuffling zombie. If you wake her up with physical affection, you get a literal cat who just wants attention – which is his favorite and the one he’s goes with whenever he can.

His favorite version is one he’s going for today, Dick will be a while so he has time, and this should net him a cuddly Bug that’ll get more coherent as the caffeine kicks in. This should put her in the most amenable mood possible to deal with the manual labor being thrust on her, even though she’s just worked her ass off, all because Big Bird was a dumb-ass. He has no doubt they’d convince her eventually anyway as she loves Babs too – turns out her tutor during the years they weren’t being schooled together was Babs when Babs was doing community hours at the library in New Town south. Babs thinks she’s adorable if a little awkward, but that’s not a deterrent to Babs. After all - if she can deal with Bruce’s misanthropy, a little awkwardness is a cake-walk and nets her a very cute and loyal little friend who can code almost as well as she can.

He puts the coffee, in her Robin mug, on her bedside table and sits on the edge of her bed before turning to face her, hooking up his leg and tucking it so it goes into a lotus position while the other foot stays on the floor and calling to her cajolingly. Her response is to roll towards him, curling round him once she runs into him, before she works out scritches could be happening and repositions so she can lay her head on his thigh with a sleepy little yawn. He can’t help his snort but does, obligingly, bury his fingers in her silk-soft hair to rub gently at her scalp. After a little bit of scritches Bug heaves herself up uncoordinatedly so she can get more of an actual hug going but he uses her lack of coordination to turn her and then pull her into his lap, back against his chest – not what she’s looking for and she takes a surprised breath followed by a more confused and mournful noise - but settles when he actually holds her, hugging her around the middle. Her head lolls on his shoulder, blinking blankly. He valiantly ignores the weird feeling that he’s been experiencing around her lately.

“Sorry Bug but I actually need ya help. Dickie’s gonna be here soon. He was a dumb n’ said he could get Babs’ car fixed for’er Birthday but he can’t afford it n’ he and Bruce are still doin’ tha thing.” Not particularly descriptive but he finds Bug can get with the program more easily if he gives her something to go on and a goal – like being awake in time for Dickie to get here.

Bug makes an ‘I heard you’ noise then brings up a hand to rub at her right eye, which is usually a sign that she’s aware she needs to get with the program. Jason picks up her coffee and hands it to her, making sure she has a grip on the mug first before he lets it go and then wraps his arms back around her so she can process. She sips and then sighs in satisfaction.

“Alfie coffee?” Huh.. A whole-ass question! She’s doing well today!

“Yup, bought it just for ya n' sent me with a box a' pre-ground. I’ve made ya two cups.”

“mmm… Th’n’ks. Gonna need it. M’tired.”

“Yup, that’s okay though I planned fer it. I wish we’d both had time ta rest but c'est la vie”

“mmm... That’s kay. Glass... Best” is mostly muttered but she shows she mean him to hear her when she turns enough to gently bop into his cheek with her forehead before going back to her coffee. Best what? Who knows – Bringer of coffee most likely. He’s probably smiling like an idiot. Sleepy cuddle-Bug is inconvenient as hell but she’s also very sweet and affectionate so he forgives her instantly.“Dickie here soon?”

“Yup, said he’d text when they’re a couple a' minutes out wit' tha tow truck n' Babs’ yellow Gremlin”

“Uhoh. Wh’t happen t’ Brum?” Jason snorts – of course she knows what Babs named her car. Timi, who had started taking long pulls from her coffee in response to Dick being here ‘soon’ stops to turns confused purple blue eyes on him, humming a questioning note.

“Sorry, I didn’t know until today that she named 'er car that. A couple a' idiot car-jackers broke inta tha student lot at Princeton. God only knows why; I can’t imagine a lot filled wit' more car alarms. They picked tha Gremlin – probably ‘cause they were hoping fer easy pickin’s. Babs got tha alert n' came out ta find’em disassembling tha engine ta try n get tha security off. Queen B had a field day n’ then her Dad had ta tow it back ta Gotham n’ she hadta bus it back here ta get the rage out.”

“Car-j’ker aren’t as smart as you us’ally Glass, hck most folks aren’t ‘s smart as y’. Batgirl beat-em-up after huh?” Huh… Jason needed to hear that semi coherent sentence, judging by the way he can feel himself melting into a pile of goo. He hugs her a little tighter. It’s not that Dick, Babs and Bruce think he’s stupid exactly, they know as well as he does that he’s reasonably clever but he just doesn’t think as quickly as they do, can’t make the same snap deductions they can, and while they try not to judge, he is the butt of their jokes sometimes (Babs and Dick) and criticisms often (Bruce). Ah well onto Batgirl Bonus Beatdown.

“Oooh~! Boy did she ever! Both tha carjackers n' then back ta Gotham, when she came home. T’was like watching a tornado with martial arts trainin’! Two-Face’s new goons weren’t lookin’ so crash hot afta, that’s fer sure.” Bug snorts but continues drinking. Once she finishes she turns a little to rest her forehead against his cheek again, this time as an extended press for a little while, until she can finally will herself to speak.

“mmm… like th’ cuddles but haveta get changed” which she pairs with a hilariously dramatic, mournful whining tone. Jason does his best to swallow his snerk. She’s ridiculous.

“Tell ya what, ya get dressed an’ I’ll carry ya downstairs, make ya breakfast n' let Dickie in myself. Are ya parents cars in tha garage? Also where’s tha button for tha garage door again?”

“hmmm…. Bre'fast. Kay.” She turns to look at him a moment again and he can’t quite help kissing her on the forehead. She hums, pleased, before adding “Cathy day?”. Jason’s eyes tear up a little – he still misses his mom so much it aches like a punch from Bane some days. How Bug picked up on him wanting to cook the recipes his mom did, he has no idea but he’s grateful. He nods, unable to speak. Bug clumsily pats the arm he still has slung round her middle gently. “S’kay t’ miss ‘er. I do too. Maizena th’n plz? I ev’n have cream – it came the shoppin’ yes’day so it’s still good. Mom’s car parked outta tha way, Dad’s car at tha’ airport. Shou’be able ta go straight through. Button to tha left side a’ door wh’n lookin’ at tha door fer th’ shop. Wheel jack t’ get Brum in easy on tha shelved in that main garage by tha tool boxes.”

“Well – that’s my marchin’ orders. I’ll give ya five minutes?”

“mmm y’s pleas’, answer Babs if y’ bored. Think ya fr’got las’ week.”

“Will do. Ya have 'nother cup’a coffee on yer desk” With that Timi hauls herself upright and he pops up too, heading out the door and closing it behind him. Standing for a moment to breathe through the sting of missing Catherine, God he’d almost kill for even another moment to see his mom! Jason then heads for the computer shoved into the upstairs living space. It starts up quickly and he logs into Bug’s profile. He’s long memorized the password – flatteringly it’s the date he first flew as Robin – Bug proud of him for keeping the legacy of Robin alive. He pulls up the IRC chats and logs in as himself before sending a quick review of The Business and the suggestion of the name Oracle to Babs. She isn’t online right now as she’s probably sleeping in after a long week of classes – she’s going for her master’s in computer and library sciences.

Just as he’s logging back out of the computer and shutting it down Bug shuffles out of the bathroom, having obviously washed up to wake up more, clutching the two coffee cups and dressed in light weight wide leg jeans with an embroidered dragon on the hip in grey and a butter yellow scoop neck tee that’s also has a dragon emblazoned on it in black. She’d bought both along with a backpack, funky sneakers with elastic instead of laces and a green silk shirt for Jason (also with elaborate embroidery but this time a pair of dancing fire-foxes because she’s a dork but she’s a sweet dork) during the casework.

They all came from a struggling but funky independent clothes store in the back of a shopping arcade in the Narrows called Dream Glow, and she wanted to support the little business. She looks far more awake then he thought she’d be by this point – no wonder Alfie only gave him enough coffee for six cups, she probably shouldn’t have more than that in a day if it’s caffeinated enough to wake her up like this, though it could be because Dick needs her help – she’s still a little star stuck when it comes to Dickie, it’s kinda endearing but also a little annoying that he has to cajole her but she’ll fight her natural reaction to waking up for Big Bird.

Still, she did just spend a month working with him in the Narrows (bought him a cool shirt and more than a fair share of their lunches during that time too) and woke up, without complaint, for the cost of cuddles and caffeine so it’s not like he doesn’t have her full effort or affection either. He reminds himself of his current mantra – He will not be jealous of his brother’s influence on his best friend, it won’t end well ever, and he really doesn’t want a sibling relationship with Timi… He’s not sure what he wants from her and he’s going to keep his mouth shut until he works out what’s up.

Also, her waking up means he doesn’t have to carry her downstairs and she steals his phone, promising to let Dick in and get Brum into the shop if he’s still willing to cook her Maizena – which yes, he will, because it means she’s eating breakfast, and he did want to dip into his mom’s cooking today. Plus, he was honest with Dick earlier – cars are very pretty but he likes motorcycles better and doesn’t know much about cars aside from which tires would get him fed for a while. Maizena is easy too and he easily gathers the ingredients including the corn flour which the name of the dish comes from. Maizena is a French brand that makes particularly pure corn flour, and it quickly became a globally recognized name.

His mom made it slightly differently than other recipes he’s read since with egg yolks, equal parts cream and milk and dark brown sugar for sweetness – adding to the richness and a little protein and deepening the vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon flavors and he follows his heart and the old routine and makes it that way now. He ends up making enough for both him and Bug and a little left over – maybe Dickie might like to try it? He contemplates the egg-whites left behind for a moment before deciding to make pavlova right now so it’s ready for desert tonight, Arroz con Calamares for lunch and Asopao de Pollo for dinner, as it was always Bug’s favorite of his mom’s dishes and gives him excuse, along with the Arroz con Calamares, to make sofrito which he has always loved the smell of.

His perusal of the fridge earlier revealed that Timi not only has an abundance of cream – heavy, drinking and whipping as Jack likes cream in his coffee and his desserts – but also Calamari which is Janet’s favorite, a kilo of chicken thighs and more fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit then he suspects she knows what to do with considering her parents aren’t set to return till just before Christmas, a recent but sudden itinerary change that obviously fucked up her meal planning and food ordering. Jason hates Jack most of the time, he’s a horrible human being and a worse father but Janet also has her moments sometimes. Like when she makes plans to leave her twelve-year-old daughter home alone for an extra two and a half goddamned months! Right! Pavlova is a small challenge and a good use for much of fruit that’s in her fridge so that’s what he’s making – get the anger from the Drake dramaTM out on the egg whites before he switches to the ridiculous white KitchenAid mixer that’s here.

A little while later Timi and Dick enter the kitchen chatting about upgrades Dick might get for Mockingbird if Bug can install them – she’s a little hesitant to promise anything but looks please to have obvious fodder for birthday and Christmas gifts. Jason has just finished taking meringues out of the oven for the second time – after the rest - and is starting to clean up to get ready for the next round. Timi takes in the kitchen for a moment before she breaks off her conversation with Dick.

“Glass – You know I am never going to complain about you cooking in this pointlessly tricked out kitchen, especially when I’m going to get to eat it and doubly so when I have acres of food to use and no-one to use it on – and - I know you don’t think of it, BUT put the things you’re not going to use again in the dishwasher and save yourself some time!” He’s had this argument with Timi so many times! Yes, dishwashers are an amazing invention but he’s far to used to handwashing if he’s cooking – and too in the zone with memories of his mom - and far too impatient to re-learn a new routine now!

“Yes, oh mistress a' nitpick, I like bein’ ‘old fashioned’. Now sit’cha ass down ‘n eat ya Maizena.”

“I will! But it’s my kitchen, I should be helping. I’ll take over drying or do you want me to wash?” God-damned ingrained manners bullshit! Nope!

“Sit!” He insists, ignoring the huffy pout he gets for it and pointing with the spatula he just finished washing until Bug does as she’s told and sits at the breakfast bar. Jason ignores Dick as best he can, but he can feel the fucking Cheshire grin being pointed at him but fuck it! He has a stand-off to win and with Alfie safely too far away to hear him he returns to the natural swearing dialect he’s always had. “Try eatin’ before ya run a million miles per fuckin’ hour fer once, ya fucking ‘diet conscious’ protocol-droid-wired little shit!”

“Rude!” He rolls his eyes so hard he might have strained something only to have the look dished right back and Dick breaks into giggles that Timi also quickly catches. Jason snorts.

“Wanna try some Maizena Big Bird? It’s basically breakfast custard. Ma mom used ta make it fer cheap on lean days, but she made this version when she could – especially on cold mornin’s.”

“Uh, yes. Sign me the fuck up! That sounds excellent!” colour Jason unsurprised at Dickie being game for breakfast custard. Timi laughs at Dick’s enthusiasm and Jason allows himself a chuckle before he serves up for the three of them. Distributing bowels and joining Big Bird and Bug at a right angle, so he can see them both and talk. He will admit that it does feel good to sit down for a bit but he doesn’t need to rest for long honestly

They all sit in silence for a moment, and he preens internally that his food earns what Catherine called ‘the silence of enjoyment’ before getting curious about what’s been happening while he was flinging egg whites around.

“So whats tha 4-1-1 'n Brum?” Dick smirks a little at the anachronism – people probably don’t say that anymore, but his mom always used to and his mom was… kinda cool. Not hip and certainly not ‘with it’ but she was cool!

“Rough estimate's about 40 hours – all the important parts are there and none of them are in bad condition, but I’d like to clean everything up a little bit and change the oil, plus the right break-pad is a little worse for ware and some of the spark-plugs need a replace and since Babs has a long commute from Princeton to here regularly I want to make sure she’s safe as I can. Also, the A/C unit is leaking, kinda shit, and doesn't have a heat option so that that would be good to fix going into winter.” Timi rattles off like the tiny robot she can be sometimes. Well, good thing they have just under two weeks then!

“Looks like we’ll be bussing back to the Gordon’s huh Littlewing?” Jason shrugs, unbothered but Bug pulls an unimpressed face.

“Or I can get you a taxi and you don’t have to deal with fresh piss that always finds its way to the floor of the busses that run the 93206 route?” Ah fuck, Jason somehow always forgets that the New Town to Coventry Bus route passes by the piss-peddler taverns on 49th street heading into the docks. Bud-light is like their best beer, and their best seller is Natural Light. It takes a lot of Natty Light to get the level of shit-faced dock workers like to be after a long week – it’s always nasty as soon as the sun goes down.

“Ah, I can’t manage the taxi on top of paying you for the parts you still need Baby Bird.” Dick interjects.

“Because I’m so strapped for cash Dick? I can cover it – even if it’s just for now. You’ll be getting your full paycheck soon anyway if you’re really worried, you can pay me back then but no pressure. Congrats on the job by the way! Aviator Flare is one of the top gyms in Brooklyn right now!” Jason looks at Timi for a moment. She does get a massive allowance, it’s true, but auto-parts for a classic car run higher than her usual costs. At his raised eyebrow she grins unrepentantly before pulling her wallet and revealing Jack’s Platinum card with a joyful little flourish.

“He left it” Dick tuts and starts to make unimpressed brother noises, but Jason just waits. The timing is too good for there not to be a punchline. Or what Timi thinks is a punchline. Jason sometimes finds the punchline a far more literal then joke. As in he finds himself wanting to punch something or particularly someone. Where the fuck did Timi have to run to, to save Jacks ass this time? After a moment, he cuts across before Dick can start his ‘I’m worried about your choices tirade’ as Timi doesn’t know Dick well enough to know it’s coming.

“Where did he leave it this time?”

“Oh you know, just on the floor of the Rose Café men’s room.”

“In a men’s room again? Janet must be pissed.”

“Yuuup – Behold!” She flicks her phone out of her pocket, flicking it open in a very well-practiced move, opens a message and slides it over to Jason who scoops it up and angles it so both he and Dick can read, and they both let out amazed whistles.

Low and behold there sits a text message from Janet responding and thanking her daughter after Timi probably bussed over to the Rose Café just to pick up Jack’s card, again. She certainly doesn’t need to frequent the very ass-end of the Diamond District otherwise! The language is banal – after all Janet considers herself a lady and ladies don’t curse or use harsh language (according to Lady Drake anyway) - but the explicit instruction for Timi to use the card for anything, which is in bold and underlined, up to five thousand dollars to make her extra couple of months of unscheduled time alone ‘fun’ is still an effective sucker punch even in the blandest language imaginable.

The money is officially Timi’s too, and firmly in addition to her normal allowance and any gifts, anything she doesn’t spend right now goes into her personal savings account when Janney is home and can organize the transfer. It seems Jack brushed off losing the card, claiming they could afford any charges that they couldn’t block and then he’d just get a new card when they’re home and now Janet feels it would do Jack some serious good to have a ‘sharp lesson’ about not losing the credit card that doesn’t have a limit on it, all of the time! Which is sorta fair, this must be the thirteenth or fourteenth time in the just last six months alone that Timi has had to get out to somewhere esoteric in Gotham and even Blüdhaven or New York a couple of times to retrieve the card, but five thousand dollars is a ridiculous limit just to teach Jack a lesson.

Timi’s usual, generous, allowance is about $500 a month spending money (not including groceries, normal house sundries, house bills, her phone bill or school supplies - those things she has own access to the Drake’s main account that Janet watches it like a hawk- like so closely she can quote, at will, dollar amounts she’s unhappy with kind of closely) as long as she maintains her grades, doesn’t overspend on her phone bill or drive the other bills to high, does all the tasks, lessons and projects expected of her and maintains the house to Janet’s exacting standards.

So, Janney must be beyond pissed to push her to this extreme – she usually tries to keep the peace if she can with Jack, but she’s obviously decided he can go fuck himself. What did the fucker do this time? Jason pulls the phone back out of Dick’s view and clicks up a little to see what’s got Janney so pissed and is unsurprised (but deeply enraged, deep down where he can hide it) to find it was Jack who changed their itinerary at the last minute to for a high profile dig at Vesuvius, which according to Janet’s messages is almost impossible to get into, so Janet doesn’t want to miss it, without consulting or even mentioning it beforehand to Janet.

Janet hadn’t even known they were on the waiting list for the dig and had resigned herself to the next wait-list this time next year because they needed to come home as they’d already been away since the just after Timi’s birthday in July and had another four month trip before that, by the time the new year rolls around they’ll have been in Gotham about a month and a half to two months total this year. Jack originally didn’t want to be home until the new year, but Janney put her foot down insisting they be home with their child for the holidays and the re-start of business in January.

BUT the itinerary change was after Timi had shared the major effort she’d gone to planning a dinner for her parents’ arrival home and had arranged, with Janet’s help, a private tour of the world renowned Musée National de l’Automobile, the world's largest classic car museum for Jack’s birthday last weekend – out of her own money. Fuck’s sake. At least Janet agrees that all Timi’s hard work shouldn’t be disregarded like it has been and has made some in-roads to apologize and treat her daughter for her thoughtfulness and the utter inconvenience she’s had to put up with.

Timi likely will reorder this same or a similar grocery load for when her parents come home in late December as she’ll be looking forward to seeing them – and no matter how much Jason doesn’t think they deserve her loyalty, she shouldn’t have to work so hard for them. He could be helping her. Maybe he’ll try learning Alfred’s squid-ink Calamari dish, it has a fancy name he can’t remember right now, and sneak over to give Timi a hand. Bruce insists on them all being home for Christmas but with how rocky everything is Jason suspects he’ll manage it. The squid-ink pasta dish Alfred makes should have enough richness to keep Jack as happy as he’ll ever be willing to be (while not globe-trotting) and it would suit Janet tastes too, especially if he asks Alfred to pair a good wine with it. Plus, it would be nice to spend some time together cooking. Timi is a huge help to Robin and to Jason at school but it feels like that’s all he sees her for anymore – when he needs her help with something - and that’s not the proper recipe for a good friendship. She deserves better from everyone, but he can only control himself, so that’s where he’ll start.

Plan in place Jason snaps back into the conversation to find Timi has convinced Dick all will be fine. Of course, should he really be surprised? Timi’s a master at manipulation and even if she only limits herself to being nice when dealing with friends, the experience still makes itself known. He’s just watched her weave stories from whole cloth with whole parts of the Narrows, convincing Dick that she wants to do work that she absolutely would like to do for Babs wouldn’t be hard. She also happy as a clam to talk about Mockingbird and what Dick does and doesn’t like about the car. Dick doesn’t have a chance to talk cars often – it’s always been just him, Bruce and Alfred who know about cars, even the rest of the Titans aren’t big car people with maybe the exception of Roy Harper, but Dickie and Roy can be a bit on again, off again and keep their rivalry up to the point they regularly piss each other off. That’s one of the many reasons they been frenemies with benefits several times, usually when they both find themselves single again.

Maizena finished, Jason pops up to make another round of coffee, and sets up Timi’s special brew in a normal mug – so Dickie doesn’t tease her for the Robin mug – beside the machine before running a more normal brew for couple of cups for him and Dickie and then goes hunting for the cocoa and other bits and pieces for Dick’s preferred mocha. He delivers these to twin thank-you-s and happy smiles and then explains lunch and dinner plans, making smiles even wider and Dick actually rubbing his hands together gleefully – he must miss Alfie’s cooking something fierce if he’s that excited for Jason’s stuff - before realizing Timi got up and put all the tableware in the dishwasher why he was doctoring Dick’s mocha.

He rolls his eyes at her and flicks her nose, but keeps his smile - stubborn but sweet little shit. She just puffs her cheeks at him in return before Dick and Timi head out to do what work they can on Brum today. He’s just contemplating where to start next when Timi darts back into the kitchen to press a kiss to his cheek, missing slightly and catching the corner of his mouth, before she darts back out with a slightly pink face. He stares after a little dumbly for a few seconds, as the weird feeling he’s been getting round her kicks back in again but stronger then it’s ever been. Shit. He really needs to actually work out what that’s about!

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

Shutterbug and Seaglass Part 6 (for now): The Gauntlet Chapter 6 - Final chapter for part 6

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62723878/chapters/160575775 - For anyone without an Ao3 account or who don't want to move website chapter six (the finale for this fic) is linked below the cut!

Jason watches Bug lull into sleep, tucked safe and warm into his side, where they’re hanging out in the den. He could wake her up, or have kept her awake in the first place, but it’s the first Sunday after Halloween and while it may have been one of the quietest Halloweens in the last decade thanks to Crane, The Joker and Dent being removed from the board, it was still a busy night. Gotham doesn’t fuck with tradition and tradition states someone will have a big Halloween scheme – but this time it was Penguin and thus far more about petty theft of shiny objects and, luckily, objects can be recovered and returned. Timi truly out did herself with helping Robin for Halloween night, even dropping water to him in strategic places earlier in the day and early evening, which was fantastic as he ran from one side of Gotham to the other chasing after the mayhem. And anyway, there are eleven hours of The Question Game marathon still to go and Bug could use the ‘day of rest’ for sure.

Ives and Callie will be here soon too, so she can nap till at least then but likely longer. Today isn’t about ‘entertaining guests’, today is about sharing old family habits with the new family they’ve gathered in the more recent years. Dick and Babs are also invited. He may not know Callie and Ives well yet, but he likes what he sees from both of them so far and they took care of his Bug while she was gone and she missed them dearly in the year after that at Gotham Academy, so they definitely count. Dick and Babs are also included in his new family. And Alfred but Alfred would never agree to something so casual all day – though he seemed touched by the offer and may join them this evening once all the housework has been overseen. Dick is his most official sibling (they have matching ward paperwork if nothing else), and Babs isn’t but that doesn’t matter. He trusts them both. Robin trusts Nightwing and Batgirl and Jason trusts Dick and Babs. They’re forged together now, no matter what Bruce chooses to say and do in the future.

The “I don’t need sons” comment still stings… And even if it turns out that Alfie is on the money and wrung a correct statement from Bruce - that Bruce was trying to ham-fist-ed-ly say that he wanted Jason and Dickie here with him, as his children, rather than ‘needing’ them for any kind of cover story or because they’re all now vigilantes - Bruce never corrected the record himself past the initial agreement in the Cave and never said anything at all about it afterwards. Even though it’s been weeks. He just made a mess for others to clean up, like usual. Dick and Bruce have been sub-zero frosty again ever since, and Dick hightailed it back to Titan’s Island after their burgers and arcade day and was only meant to stop in for the Gauntlet until he heard about Bruce being stupid again from Alfred… But Dick didn’t object to coming, despite knowing they were holding this shindig at the manor, so Jason will just take the win on that one. Babs, too, has made her disapproval known and Batman has been finding all sorts of interesting glitches on the Bat-computer and likely will for the foreseeable future. In his car radios too… Treating him to all the infectious ear-worms of the last 30-40 years or so. It mysteriously gets better when Jason or Alfred is in the car though… Somehow… Though Babs warned Jason and Alfred not to sync their tech to The Bat-computer in the coming days until she sounds the all clear, so there must just be less control she can exercise over the more advanced tech. Alfred has been playing along beautifully and suggesting Bruce has work-fatigue-related hallucinations – Bruce’s progressing look of upset irritation has been one of Jason’s favorite things.

Also interesting is that, despite ‘completely failing’ The Gauntlet, Robin has still been cleared for regular solo patrols and is looking forward to taking Timi along with him soon, rather then her just meeting him out and about or leaving things for him during the day, once she’s in a little less constant pain. Even just on comms she’s been handy to have, reminding him of how to hack things to best effect (no more snow on security feeds, now their crystal clear and as HD as the camera itself will allow), looking into leads digitally, setting off alarms remotely when he needs distractions and generally helping to keep his spirits up during the patrols themselves. She plays him theme music when he’s showing off and soundtracks and audio-books when he’s on break or just sits with him talking about everything and nothing. Having more time to talk has helped him with his studies too, as Jason has always retained information better if he can discuss it with someone afterwards. They work so well together that he’s beginning to wonder if he could have handled Crane just him and Timi if push came to shove. But he also doesn’t want to put her in that kind of danger. Even though the days after the mess with Crane were rough – Babs and Dick weren’t talking to Bruce, Bruce wasn’t talking to anyone, and Alfred was in a state Jason can only describe apoplectic despair – it’s still not worth Bug’s life or safety… Or his own either.

Jason shakes himself out of his thoughts when Alfred announces the arrival of Ives and Callie – both of whom look very weary and stressed. Poor things, they’ve both dresses as Jason asked them too and are now probably self-conscious, but that was always going to be a problem, so it’s better to acclimatize them to Alfred’s mild disapproval now rather then them be uncomfortable all day. Alfred doesn’t receive guests to the manor in anything less than a full suit. The sweatpants attired pair were probably worried they were about to be told off. They relax a bit once Jason is in sight. Given he’s wearing the same thing they are – attired in sweatpants and a soft long-sleeved tee-shirt (minus the hoodies both Bug and the others are sporting, because it still isn’t winter yet and thus Jason isn’t cold yet either) – both are assured they wore the right thing. Sure, Alfred may have preferred them to wear jeans, but that’s not really comfortable enough for sitting around, watching game shows and gossiping. And that’s what’s on the agenda, so that’s what they should be wearing.

“Welcome ta stately Wayne manor! As ya can see, only Alfred stands on ceremony here, and that’s just because he’s not willing ta entertain anythin’ less fer guests. Now getcha selves comfie! We got a The Question Game marathon ta tide ya over and then we’ll run with a late lunch. The weather’s gettin’ towards actually cold so I was thinkin’ tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches? All good?” Both Callie and Ives nod and murmur approval, mindful of Bug obviously being asleep. The den itself is made up of several large three seater sofas, loveseats and armchairs and Ives and Callie help themselves to the nearest three seater to Jason and Bug.

“How loud can we be and not wake’er up?” Comes from Ives. Jason raises an eyebrow but does take a moment to think about it.

“Fairly. She’s got ‘er ear over my heart n’ if she starts ta stir, I can keep ‘er asleep.” All it will take is Jason’s heart-rate staying relaxed and then he just has to apply liberal use of hair scritches… It doesn’t always work, but he’s pretty confident about it.

“You can keep her asleep?” Comes somewhat incredulously from Callie. With Both Ives and Jason staring at her she expands. “It’s just… Timi an’ I were roommates in the dorm rooms at Brentwood. If somethin’ woke Timi up in the night, then she’d be up fer hours tryin’ to go back to sleep. Nothin’ I could do seemed t’ help!” Huh that’s interesting… Jason knows Bug can be more hyper-alert if she doesn’t feel safe but for ‘nothing’ to work, it must have been very bad at Brentwood. Jason blinks but Ives snorts himself into laughter.

“You two really are a matched set – ain’t cha? I always knew Drake was just generally weird but the stuff I didn’t have answers fer just turned out ta be cause a’ you! Ye two do everythin’ together n’ when yer apart yer both left with all these random quirks n shit! It’s like two halves of a puzzle, one don’t make sense without tha other. She don’t sleep well without cha helpin’, and yer a mess without ‘er as a soundin’ board fer yer weird rants.” At Jason’s somewhat overwhelmed splutter Ives smiles, but it isn’t a nice smile – he looks like a shark. A shark that’s scented blood in the water. “Don’t worry, it’s mostly cute.” Jason flips Ives off. Cheeky little shits the lot of them! Ives just laughs, and then harder when his first initial burst wakes Timi up enough that Jason has to prove his abilities to keep her asleep. She settles down with an adorable grumble that just makes Jason laugh along with Ives and Callie now too.

They settle in for more of the show and popcorn. Ives and Callie aren’t bad at the questions, though Ives forgets to phrase his answers as a question for the first half an hour and Callie takes delight in correcting him every time before smiling at him with obnoxious levels of smugness when she turns out to be right.

“Cut that shit out! Yer just copyin’ me!” Callie just laughs but then there is a sleepy remark from Bug.

“Didja phrase it like a question? No? Then she ain’t copyin’ y’ is she. Also, we both know she’s more n’ smart enough ta know most a’ these answers ‘erself. That’s why she keeps correctin’ y’ on content as well as tha way y’ say it.” The unfiltered New Town accent can be rare from Bug these days and usually only turns up when she’s upset or Jason is. Jason’s glad Ives and Callie seem to bring it out of her more often, now, as Gotham Academy has only sped up the process of her always staying in Bristol’s lofty tones and fully pronounced words. Callie’s the biggest one for bringing it out because the Coventry accent is the most similar of two between her and Ives’ more Chinatown style bent.

“Bullshit! No one cares if y’ a few years off a’ answer!” Ives fires back.

“It’s a game show for cash prizes – they’re utterly incentivized to be pedantic in the extreme!” As well it was fun while it lasted – that was all Bristol accent. Ives seems to know it too and is incensed.

“Don’t y’ go all prim n’ proper wi’ me little miss perfect! I know those lofty tones ain’t natural! I ain’t doin’ another round a… What Jay call it? Gotham’s mini perfect princess? Whatever it is it's fuckin' creepy.” Well close enough. She isn’t in perfect princess mode though and her accent isn’t totally up to Bug… Though she beats him to the punch on explaining that.

“Something like that, though I hate that nickname just fyi – and I warned you not to be a dick. You didn’t like your comeuppance? Tough biscuits! And no, while the accent isn’t natural it is expected expected. I have expectations on me, at all times, to use those so-called ‘lofty tones’. No excuses accepted. When in Bristol, speak as Bristol Brats do, Ives. And we are very much in Bristol, even if the present company can’t be described that way. I’m already on thin ice and you’ve seen how I have to be if I have to turn on the charm. I am already sticking my neck out for you all.” Ives shudders – perhaps at the idea of Timi staying in her Perfect Princess routine full time.

“Y’r surrounded by friends, Little Dragon. Y’r safe with us.” Timi smiles at the nickname. Jason does too. It’s cute and it suits her. He wouldn’t use it himself but then he’s too used to how Bug is with him, by which he means he knows exactly how soft that marshmallow center is that lives inside of Bug, because that’s what she shows him most. He’s aware that she also has a sarcastic and caustic sense of humor and a sassy demeanor when pressed, but he’s rarely ever been the target of either, except in obvious over-acted jest. Unlike Ives, who makes sport of goading her into being on absolute top form with her comebacks. The two of them can volley back and forth at each other for days on end just about. They can get pretty mean too. Bug responding snaps him back into the conversation.

“Yes, I am both, and I’m grateful not only for the time off having to be perfect but also for the friendships I get to have by being myself. But if I form bad habits, now, I might fall into them when I am not surrounded by friends, and that’s dangerous. My father and mother would be appalled, and I’ll pay the price for that. Besides Dick and Babs will be here soon and I don’t think they know I code-switch, and I’d rather not get into it with them. They might say something because they think they should, and you know how that would go down with my folks.”

Ives grumbles but doesn’t say anything of substance after that. Good. He’s glad both Callie and Ives also seem aware that Jack and Janet aren’t easy on Timi ever and that they support her in keeping all of this from Gotham’s own Winter Queen and Iron Dragon. Jason, on the other hand, pulls a face and keeps it up. This close to her face Timi can’t miss it, though she does valiantly try to ignore him for a moment or two.

“Cut it out, Glass.” Jason subsides but only mildly. “Please? I really don’t want to argue today. I’m tired and you know the rest of my arguments by now.” Jason sighs and lets it go. She isn’t wrong. He does know all her arguments about this, and he knows there are some sort of harsh consequences for Bug if she angers her parents. He doesn’t want her to be in trouble, and he certainly doesn’t want her removed from him, Ives or Callie because Jack decided they’re ‘bad influences’. For the most part Jack tolerates him, and has only got more tolerant now Jason has a high-society name attached but he also hates Bruce, and the feeling is mutual so… It’s a mixed bag and Jason doesn’t want to give Jack any reason to punish his maligned daughter anymore then he’s already likely to just because he’s an asshole. Timi seeing his acquiescence kisses his cheek before sitting up a little more appropriately. Which bothers him for some reason he can’t really fathom. Sure – they look a little close for friends but that isn’t anything new. Maybe Jason isn’t the only one Ives has been shooting that shark-grin at. She isn’t… She isn’t embarrassed of his right?

Before that thought can even begin to gnaw at him, she turns a look at him, warm and soft and still mostly sleepy. Trust almost as old them both. It’s a balm on his worries, and so are her words. “You know Alfie won’t think it’s proper. We’ll get the lecture on using people as furniture again.” Ugh… Yeah, that is a thing with Alfie.

“At least it’d be actually partly my fault this time.” He goads very mildly, laughing openly at the semi-offended pout that gets sent his way.

It wasn’t really either of their fault’s last time. Bug woke up alone while staying here, sick again, at the manor and had come in search of him. When she’d found him, he’d been engrossed in a novel and been utterly unwilling to put it down, despite her half asleep, confused-zombie-urging. So, she just climbed into his lap, tucked her face into the crook of his neck and made herself comfortable. Jason, utterly used to this bullshit by now, didn’t even twitch. But Alfred hadn’t been even a little impressed when he’d found them later and all the arguments that they were just too used to each other weren’t entertained even a little. Apparently Timi is only allowed to use Jason as furniture if she’s sick and asleep and only if they’re in ‘private’ locations with the door open. Like Jason’s room in the family wing or Timi’s favorite room in the guest wing. Jason doesn’t feel it’s a private space if the door has to be open but… Well he doesn’t want to be seen as fighting to keep him and his female friend in private spaces. That invites the idea that they’re being inappropriate together and that’s gross. Jason is a teenager (if only just at thirteen), he refuses the thought that he has anything but platonic affection for his eleven-year-old best friend.

Back in the present day, everyone just turns to watch more The Question Game until Jason has to get up and make lunch and Jason is grateful because he was sure the ‘people as furniture lecture’ was going to get another round of shit-eating-grins from Ives. Cocky, opportunistic little bastard. As fond as that label is Jason also means it. Bug, as usual, follows him like a second shadow and then Callie and Ives both rush to catch up. Okay looks like lunch-quest is being done as a group. That’s fine.

They all tumble into the kitchen and Jason directs the two guests to sit at the slightly scuffed up table that lives in here now. It didn’t used to, in fact there was nowhere to sit down but the formal dining room, but Jason was so used to sitting around and helping when someone was cooking and Alfred was so unused to people who know how to cook hovering, that this became their compromise. When Alfred is in the kitchen, Jason does his prep sitting at the table and then they cook together, often with Babs or Dick openly spectating or Bruce hovering awkwardly in the doorway like the creeper he is (much to Alfred’s mustache-twitching amusement – he finds it endearing apparently, Jason is less enamored). It’s to the point where it’s become tradition now and Alfred is even considering setting up a ‘breakfast nook’ with banquette-style seating if he ever actually finalizes his renovation plans. Alfred isn’t here right now though so Jason and Bug actually have free reign for once. Right now, in fact just after delivering Ives and Callie to the Den, Alfred has dragged B off so Brucie Wayne can make an ass of himself at a luncheon for some charity or another. Actually, Brucie’s attendance at the luncheon today is likely why Dickie was willing to come to the manor at all.

Jason and Bug quietly divide up task between them, laughing occasionally at the running commentary Ives and Callie are engaged in. Seems like Ives decided to act like he knows about the history of animation, and just when Jason is wondering why (because he’s so blatantly wrong even Jason has noticed), Callie finally loses her temper and treats them all to the mother-of-all deep dives on the subject. Turns out Callie is another soul with particular ‘special interests’ because the dissertation she launches into is thorough and fascinating. Or it is for Jason, who is so used to this with Bug and occasionally Bruce, that he actually finds he enjoys the mini lectures now. If not for the content, then for the passion to which it’s spoken with. When he looks though, both Ives and Timi are happily into it too. Bug shows it by asking obviously engaged questions and happily listening to the in-depth answers. Ives shows it by being a little shit, even more then before, and interrogating certain dates and asking off the wall non-sequiturs to further rile Callie up. Jason chooses to show his interest by listening and nodding along, occasionally adding in a point that further backs Callie’s argument, while continuing to work on making soup.

Jason prefers his blended soups to be strong in flavor though so first he focuses on getting a tray of tomatoes and garlic cloves into the oven, before then attending to a quick cleanup while Bug works on finely chopping approximately all the basil they could find, and the onions Jason will work on caramelizing afterwards. The tomatoes will take half an hour to roast properly in the oven, so he has plenty of time to get them properly colourful and soft. Once Alfie’s kitchen has been as put to rights as it can, Jason starts on the onions – a little sad that he looses some of Callie’s continued dissertation which has moved from history to trends in animation and technical information. It does give him the cover to mutter a conversation with Bug though.

“Does she, perhaps, want ta be a cartoonist?” Bug giggles at his mildly sarcastic tone quietly before answering.

“You’d think so, and maybe she’ll swing back that way eventually, but she’s been way more interested in learning graphic design programs lately. There is a huge space for graphic designers in the near future and a chance of good pay. Callie kinda wants to see if she can get her design chops up enough that she can intern somewhere prestigious enough in high school that she won’t need the college degree or can be sponsored for it instead. Her mom and dad aren’t too badly off financially, but Callie’s worried about her maternal grandparents causing issue further down the line. They’re bad with money and never really planned for the retirement that’s just begun for them. They’ve already needed financial planning help from Callie’s dad and… No one’s sure if any of his lessons are going to stick once they think they’re out of the ‘danger zone’. Mrs. Evans says it’s like they’ve always assumed they’d die before they need to worry about any of this and Callie’s worried that if she makes her parents pay for her in full for her schooling and college that they won’t ever be able to recover financially.” Jeez that’s bad.

“Well… At least we know it’s a passion for her at least. She isn’t just choosing it because it will make her the most money and you and I can help if they’re ever in dire enough straights to need help.” They just have to listen to hear how passionate Callie is about cartoon history and even art history, as the subject has been slowly changing while he and Bug were talking.

“You’re more set to help than me now, Glass. Brucie Wayne might act like a dunce, but he’s well known for his deep pockets and love of sharing and they’re genuine parts of the man, even if I’ve never managed to see them in person… My parents are known for almost the polar opposite and they don’t have idiot-socialite masks to hide behind.” Ain’t that the truth. Bruce himself is far less generous then Brucie would have you believe, but Bug’s still right, and he’s still the winner for his social class when it comes to generosity. Jack and Janet both don’t come close on that front even despite Janney’s best efforts with the Martha Wayne Foundation. In Jason’s darker moment he wonders if Janney’s work with the MWF is just lip service – after all he’s never heard of the Drakes contributing to the money pool that drives the Foundation, he only witnessed Janet fight with the board for better uses of their money.

Both Jason and Bug look up once silence fills the kitchen again. Ives has an eyebrow raised but Callie just looks embarrassed. Likely over the fact she just talked for a solid fifteen to twenty minutes – Luckily, they’re all saved from any awkward apologies by Babs and Dick coming through the kitchen door. Good, that means Dickie still has working keys. Bruce has been blustering about changing the locks 'to keep out miscreants' but as long as it remains bluster that means Jason doesn’t have to pick a side. He’s going to pick Dick, obviously, and so will Alfie, but it’ll make living at the manor hell and he really doesn’t want to deal with that.

“Nice a’ ya ta join us, slackers! Soup’s gonna be ready in about ten. Tell me yer cheese preferences.” Jason snarks, watching both Dick and Babs roll their eyes at him, both perfect pictures of unimpressed older siblings, but they both also quickly divulge their cheese preferences right along with Ives and Callie.

Ah family time. Jason has missed it, even if it’s not quite the family he had once upon a time. In the quiet back of his mind, he thinks him mom would want this for him, especially if she can’t be with him anymore. She’d want him happy, right? A look at Bug’s happy smile tells him she would, and that will have to be enough for him.

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

Shutterbug and Seaglass Part 6 (for now): The Gauntlet Chapter 5

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62723878/chapters/160575775 - For anyone without an Ao3 account or who don't want to move website chapter five is linked below the cut!

He ends up dropping Timi home, giving her a piggyback the entire way. She’s still in a lot of pain and really didn’t want to come out tonight at all, but knew he’d want to apologise, so she came anyway. Too good to him by half. He promises her he’ll be safe and in future he’ll have a comm for her when they next meet as vigilante and civilian – that way they can keep each other company during his solo patrols, and he’ll know the second she isn’t safe and come find her. Timi thwaps him gently on the head with the jacket he bugged, saying she’ll leave that one in place too but if he ever does it again without her saying to, she’s going to ruin all his socks. Not a threat he takes very seriously, but it’s a real one for all that it’s her trying to make light of him trampling on her boundaries, so he nods as seriously as he can before getting on his way. He’ll text her once he’s Jason again at the end of the night. Or she’ll stay up all night worrying.

Getting a couple of blocks back to the building top that neatly showcases the side of the Pier 11 warehouse - where Scarecrow is hiding – Robin first carefully gathers all the evidence he can, carefully shifting through the footage he can hack from that cameras and then calls for backup.

“Agent A – I’ve hit somethin’ much bigger then I should deal with alone. I know I’ve forfeited Tha Gauntlet by callin’ but… I need N n’ BG here n’ then possibly tha Big Bat. This is a huge deal. Scarecr-”

“If you feel it’s a big enough deal to forfeit The Gauntlet, Master Robin, then it must be very serious indeed. I’ll have Nightwing and Batgirl rerouted to your location immediately. Do you need to be pulled from a dangerous situation?”

“Negative. I ain’t moved ta engage yet. It… It’s really bad, A. Fer everyone’s safety, including Crane’s, we’re going ta need ta do this together.”

“Then it sounds like you were right to call. Well done, Master Robin.” Well at least he has Alfred on his side.

Ten minutes later he sees both Nightwing and Batgirl alight to his location. Robin has his gauntlet up and the footage already running in split screen. He then projects the image up so they others can see it. A handy trick he didn’t know the minicomputer had – another reason to thank God for Bug, really.

“What’s going on Rob? It’s got to be serious if you’re forfeiting this easy.” N starts but BGs already moving past him to look at the security footage, whistling while she takes it all in.

“That’s a lotta Fear Gas! But that alone wouldn’t have convinced you. What else Little Bird?” Robin brings up the logged footage of Crane. The man’s wild eyes don’t quite make it to the vid feed – he’s not quite a good hacker as Bug and she only showed him what to do twice, so there is some snow on his footage – but his erratic movements, pacing and the fact he’s obviously talking to himself all show. Oh, and the scythe and gun duo he’s wielding, that shows up clearly too. The bombs roped around every barrel, just about, also so quite clearly too.

“Crane seems ta be very compromised, even compared ta ‘is usual. He’s already shot n’ reloaded that pistol he’s carryin’ twice, just while I was watching ‘im.” Robin winds the footage of Crane to show exactly that – Crane jumping at a shadow and then unloading it, all six shots, on a wall. Before muttering angrily to himself and reloading with shaking hands. “I can’t be certain, but I suspect tha barrels ar’ already leakin’ n’ with all tha explosives I don’t wanna take any chances. If I went in ahead myself, n’ those explosives went off – we’d hav-”

“You firmly out of commission, if not dead, and the biggest Fear Gas contamination ever seen before in Gotham. A catastrophic failure that I’m glad we’re not dealing with. One that could eclipse even the time Scarecrow tried to add a special version call Liquid Fear directly into Gotham’s drinking water. Which he’s going to try again by the look of those barrels in the middle. Hang on.” BG gets a hold of his gauntlet and fiddles – hacking into the cameras properly unlike him who only had Bug’s lessons to go on and she’s used to laptops not his gauntlet (not that Bug had that much trouble bringing up a non-snowy picture when she’d done it either but that’s his excuse and he’s sticking to it) – muttering to herself a little. The picture quickly clears. “There we go! Yes, those look like the same ‘liquid’ Fear barrels, don’t you think so N?”

Nightwing saunters closer. Anyone who didn’t know him might think it casual, but Robin and Batgirl both know better. That’s Nightwing watching the screens too closely to change his natural walk. A silent Nightwing is one to watch for as Dick’s natural chatterbox nature is turned to eleven when he’s Nightwing. He can talk anyone’s ear off, and has more than enough confidence to do so, while silence means he’s thinking the deep thinks and planning the big plans. Once near he reaches out too, easily cycling through all the security footage despite Robin’s gauntlet having changed significantly from when he was in the cape and reminding Robin II that Robin I also was a fair hand at tech, even if he can’t match Barbara (fucking) Gordon or Timianna Drake – both of whom specialize in analytical thinking and tech work in a way Big Bird and now Robin II don’t. God he still has so much to learn, will he ever catch up?

“BG is correct, as usual, those are liquid Fear barrels. And so were you Littlewing. This is… Stunningly dangerous. Crane planned to go out this Halloween with a big bang! I am so proud of you for calling this in, bud. You had to fight your pride and Batman’s direct orders without going too far and that’s always a hard wrap, but I’m so glad you did. Not only would it be hella dangerous for you, if just had infiltrated alone first, but you’re also right that the knock-ons are bad across the board. We would be scrambling for weeks and people, a LOT of people, could die in the meantime, just from over exposure. Heck Crane is likely going to be unwell for a while as is, and that’s if taking him down goes smoothly. We not only need B and A for this but also the GCPD because that’s the only way was going to get Crane and the explosives at the same time and then have enough hands to neutralize all of the barrels. We’re in for a long night. I’m calling this in, right now.”

And so, it is. Nightwing is correct as usual. It’s a looong night. First there’s the call to Batman which B sounds ready to pop during the debrief. And then there’s the actual plan, which Robin doesn’t get to be an active part of, which is annoying but at least he has Batgirl who’s also been ordered away to commiserate with him. They spend half the time pulling faces at one another and then the rest is spent on Babs recommending good books. Batman appears shortly after the plan is finalized on comms and a quick detour to the Cave, carrying with him a modified cape for Robin that’s black and hooded. Robin quickly swaps it over. The addition brings a lot of stealth to his current ensemble and that’s about to be essential. - Perhaps he could mix them both when he next changes up the uniform? Black on the outside and yellow on the inside? The bare thighs (actually skin-toned under-armor) was already driving him up the wall and were done away with a few months ago but the giant yellow cape look has bugging him for a bit (he’s a walking neon yellow target) and he’d kinda like to make it a little safer before he gets any bigger. He’ll have to talk to Dickie about it all though. Robin takes the thought and pushes it back for now. Fear Gas first, costume changes later.

He and BG are quickly given their marching orders. Robin and Batgirl will be removing all the explosives from the building (thus the stealthy cape), starting from the back – as far away from Crane as possible – and then working their way forward. While R and BG are entering the building, Agent A chimes in that he will be available through comms but will be organizing with the GCPD to come with the Fear neutralization kits to get started, before running over to the fabrication unit and making sure more are made to be supplied later. Thus, he may be slow to respond and thus connects them all together, rather than keeping the usual closed lines for the sake of expediency and safety. For their part, Nightwing and Batman won’t just be sitting around either and will be taking Crane down before splitting up. Nightwing will take Crane back to Arkham before coming back to help with whatever is needed, eventually taking over for Robin so Robin can race back to the cave in the self-piloted Batmobile to get the kits Agent A will have synthesized, while Batman liaises with the GCPD and begins the process of neutralizing the barrels. After that it’s a matter of all working together on the barrels until they’ve all be neutralized.

Batgirl and Robin’s first point of business is to work out how the explosives, the entire place is wired with, work. Turns out they’re all wired in groups of five to a central countdown timer that are all wired to a switch on Scarecrow’s belt. The plan seemingly to be that Scarecrow himself would guard the barrels for the last couple of nights before Halloween before likely moving them somewhere else. Robin’s glad a plan of this magnitude will never have the chance to get off the ground. Neither Robin nor Batgirl is surprised to find all the explosive's rigging is all simply made but in a very rushed manner and thus janky as hell. It both makes things easier and harder at the same time. Locating the wire to cut is easy up until it isn’t and then it takes a little more thought. It’s slow work at first but by the time Batman and Nightwing take Crane down, kicking and screaming, they’re both at a good rhythm. There is a hair-raising moment where it seems like Crane almost gets to the switch first, but Nightwing manages to get a good jab in with the escrima turned to a low enough voltage that it shocks Crane enough to let go but not enough to trigger the switch anyway - or that's sounds near enough to the case since Jason is working this out through sound while trying to concentrate. - Then it’s back to working like a well-oiled machine and Robin focuses down on his task until Nightwing has to actually tap him on the shoulder to signal that he’s back again.

“Good work Littlewing – you two have managed to get through a huge chunk. It won’t take long for BG and I to get the rest. Now off to the Batmobile with you.” Jason doesn’t argue or say anything aside from a tight smile to N and a nod to BG and runs full tilt to where the Batmobile is waiting. The sooner he get it back and full, the sooner he’ll be back here again to help.

Once inside the ride is as smooth as can be, as usual, so Jason takes a moment to check if – Yes! His civilian phone is still in the glove box from where Jason stuffed it while he got ready for the night after transferring Bug’s tracker to his gauntlet. He spends the rest of the trip letting Bug know that he’s safe, that Scarecrow is foiled and back on his way to Arkham and advising her to keep her windows sealed tonight just in case (last thing anyone needs is Bug tweaking on Fear while alone). Bug replies thanking him and then sends him a link to an article showing Batman took down Harvey Dent tonight. So that’s why B sounded so pissed over comms – he was already tired. Oh well, this is worth all their exhaustion. Once he’s wished Bug goodnight he focuses on clearing all evidence that those messages were sent at all. Barbie’s hacking lessons are finally paying off, if not in the way she was probably hoping. Still, telling Bug that he’s safe is worth the trouble. It means she won’t come out again tonight to check he’s okay and he really needs that tonight to stay effective as Robin. Knowing about Dent is a bonus too.

Once in the Cave, Robin immediately moves to assist Agent A with moving the finished kits into the trunk and backseat of the Batmobile, even shooing A gently away to synthesize a few more while Robin packs. It’ll be very worth the extra time later, Robin is sure. Once again Robin lets himself focus on only the task in his hands right now. He’s safe where he is, and he needs to get the everything done as fast has he can. He doesn’t hyper focus as easily as Bug can and can’t maintain it half as long as she or Wing or BG can but he ain’t bad and he’s also got the highest score of all of them at Tetris. He should be able to do this. Carefully but with haste Robin packs the neutralizing kits as tightly as he dares into the storage crates, seals each one, and then packs the crates (also as carefully as he can) into the Batmobile’s ridiculous trunk space. It’s unfortunately not a vehicle with massive storage in mind but it has more room than any of their bikes do, so it’s going to have to do. Once he fills the trunk he turns filling the foot-well and then the long bench of the back seats. He’s contemplating perhaps packing the things into the foot well of the front and driver’s seat too but that’s when Alfred appears, last few kits in a large satchel.

“A valiant effort Master Robin. We’ll do more trips if needed but you should have enough here, with what you have already packed, to neutralize most of the barrels, and with the GCPD’s supply there should be more than enough kits. I will begin the restocking process for both us and the GCPD now but there will be more then enough time for us to get the law enforcement of Gotham their kits in the coming days. Especially with Scarecrow now firmly ensconced back in his room at Arkham Asylum. Part of this seems to have been a bet between Dr Crane, the Joker and Mr Dent for who could cause the most mayhem on Halloween.”

“N’ Crane couldn’t trust, or was too far gone ta trust, tha reportin’ that Joker and Dent were already captured I guess?”

“Got it in one, young sir. Now, here this satchel contains the kits for the liquid fear barrels. Deliver this to Batman directly, and only to Batman, if the GCPD attempts to stop you, enlist Nightwing or Batgirl. Be aware though that Batgirl is monitoring the scene as Commissioner Gordon is in attendance. We must keep her from going anywhere near her father as the building is as lit as it can be at the moment.”

“Heard loud n’ clear Agent A.” Robin says with a small cheeky salute. The corner of Alfred’s mouth hitches up and he reaches out to ruffle through Robin’s temporarily dyed curls.

“Well then off you go, sir. Best of luck, go with you! Please don’t hesitate to reach out again if you need me.” With that, Robin gets back into the Batmobile and it pilots itself back towards the docks.

It’s a long night of neutralizing barrels but with Crane’s removal from the Halloween roster, it’s worth it. By the time they’re finished dawn has come and the sun is firmly risen in the sky. They’re all exhausted. No one says anything to Robin about the Gauntlet that night, but Nightwing, Agent A and Batgirl all congratulate him openly and even Batman spares a shoulder squeeze before they all pile into the showers and then Jason falls exhausted into bed after lugging himself through the manor with only one eye open.

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

Shutterbug and Seaglass Part 6 (for now): The Gauntlet Chapter 4

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62723878/chapters/160575775 - For anyone without an Ao3 account or who don't want to move website chapter four is linked below the cut!

The next night finds Robin II back to patrol but he’s out with Nightwing this time. B tried to protest but Dick’s tone brokered no arguments, ‘non-negotiable bonding time’ was what Dick went with which is an interesting choice, and Robin II will still have some time to patrol and hunt for Scarecrow alone tonight. Or more accurately, as Robin is so bored with the Warehouse District that he could cry, Robin is going to track down a lead. And by lead he means he’s going to find and corner Bug and apologise as Robin. Both trackers have been on the move tonight, which means she’s out here somewhere and available for him to find without having to creep on her bedroom window – which he really, really would prefer not to do. That’s gross as hell. It’s creepy enough that he has her location logged on his civilian phone and then connected that up to his gauntlet so he could continue to track her frankly. They’re heading across the maritime center’s roof wide and flat roof when Nightwing slows down and just walks to sit down on the edge of the building. Robin, slightly caught off guard but not enough to stop him reacting in time, copies his more distant mentor.

The minute he’s seated next to Wing, the man speaks. “So… This is where you think Scarecrow might be? Here or in the sewers?” Robin blows out a breath, not showing the surprise rocking through him.

“I thought B deleted tha Cave footage?”

“He did but BG keeps separate audio-logs he can’t get to without Agent A’s passwords. A fail-safe for him being a jackass again, that I naively hoped wouldn’t be needed. On the plus side A’s managed to talk B into BG and I being your arbiters for the Gauntlet at least. So we’ll be the ones who report our findings and recommendations to Batman.”

“Interesting… I’m glad I’ll have ya both ta go ta bat for me. I’ll haveta keep tha audio-logs in mind fer tha future. I’d a’ liked a ‘head’s up’ but it sounds like ya forgot about it before now.”

“Yeah… Sorry Littlewing. I’ll ask BG if I’ve forgotten anything else. Nothing gets past her, unlike me.”

“Thanks, that’d be good. Anway. Yeah – I mean Crane could still be in tha Warehouse District but… I’ve looked thoroughly at this point. If he’s here tho, then I ain’t got a chance in hell. ‘Cause he’d only be here if he’s workin’ with Dent… Or ol’ Oswald I guess but tha Bat ain’t gonna let me deal with it just in case either way. I may as well just accept that I’m never going ta pass tha Gauntlet this go around... God getting B to let me out again s'gonna be nearly impossible.” Jason had time to think about it and that’s the best he can come up with. The docs aren’t strictly owned by any one Rouge but if there were one to take ‘dibs’ it would be Harvey Dent or Oswald Cobblepot. Of the two Two-Face was the most dangerous but Penguin wasn’t one to be taken lightly either. Cobblepot was greedy, and could be blinded by that greed easily, but he was still a shrewd, cunning and cutthroat businessman.

“Keep your head up, Robin. You never know, but… yeah it might have to be a thing. If B gets something stuck in his craw about letting you try again, he’s going to have to fight me and BG on it. On the money with your thoughts though, good job. Both Two-Face and Penguin would be the two he’d have to be working with if he’s here.” Robin feels himself warm to the praise. Nightwing isn’t scant with it like that Bat is but he also only awards point if he thinks it’s ‘clever’. And with Nightwing himself being pretty fucking smart, sometimes it’s a high bar to clear for Robin II. A little high on praise, Robin makes sure to listen to what his mentor says next. “I wish that you knowing all of that and knowing your limits was enough Littlewing, and it really should be, but B is stupidly stubborn and unfortunately, I’ve made a bed that you now must lay in. I thought I could take Dent without backup, but I was wrong… and it nearly cost me my life and that whole mess was the catalyst for the Bat trying to strip me of Robin in the first place. Unluckily for him, Agent A interceded and dropped me with the Titans and a spare suit and told me to keep fighting the good fight and he’d signal when I could visit again. Then Superman told me the story of Nightwing and Flamebird and the rest is history. By the time he summoned me home I was already my own vigilante and my own boss.” What that is, is heartbreaking. Did Dick even see Bruce in the meantime? Actually, if he phrases this right, he can just ask.

“Didja visit before I came on tha scene at all?” Wing turns his head enough to tell Robin that looking at him with a major side-eye. Robin makes his expression contrite and concerned as a domino will let him express. Trying to make it obvious that he’s worried that he roped Wing home earlier then he was ready.

“I visited Agent A several times and he came to see me a bunch but my first argument with the Big Bat was the day I met you.” Fuck... So even if Jason is careful he might be signing his own death warrant for being Robin.

“Geez, no wonder ya were so steamed. I’m sorry he never said sorry Wing, but I’m glad you let me in enough ta be family.” Nightwing reaches out to grip Robin’s shoulder.

“You and me and BG, Rob. As long as we’re together we’ll take on tha world and win!” Robin smiles at the old phrase. It was originally coined as a thing just between Batgirl and her Robin, it’s nice to be included now too.

Nightwing takes his leave after that, promising to catch up and for them to patrol the docks if Robin can’t find anything on reconnaissance in the meantime. That tacit approval for Robin to check out the docks is appreciated, even if it obviously comes with the insistence that it stay as ‘reconnaissance’. Just as he’s thinking that he’ll probably take Nightwing up on that shortly, maybe even tomorrow, a light voice pipes up behind him. He doesn’t even need to turn to know who it belongs to. So much for ‘staying in’ and being ‘a homebody’. God his best friend is a little shit.

“So, I guess whatever the Gauntlet is, is why you were so cranky with me, huh. You didn’t want to spare the resources to check on me if you also had to run a man-hunt for Scarecrow.” Robin turns to look at Tiny Timi with the dryest face he can muster. Too perceptive by half. She’s also almost entirely on the roof now and walks until she’s only a small distance away.

“Miss Drake. I was really hopin’ y’d stay home but I can see that was wishful thinkin’.” Timi shoots him with an unimpressed look.

“Timi please, now what’s The Gauntlet?”

“Nunya, oh tiny stalker.” Wow… That’s quite the eyeroll. He’s almost impressed. Well Jason is impressed, Robin can’t be, that isn’t safe… It does remind him of his purpose for seeing her though, even if she’s popped up where he didn’t expect her. “I am sorry fer snapping at ya though. It don’t matter if I was stressed, ya didn’t deserve me ta say most a’ that. I just worry yer goin' ta get caught by someone who ain’t me one a’ these days and be assaulted by a creep.” Timi blinks, surprised for a moment.

“Well… Okay, that’s a pretty good apology, so you’re forgiven. And I’ve kept the panic button on me, so you can relax a little more. I promise I’ll push the button if I meet any creeps I can’t get away from. Plus, you’re next to my neighborhood night now, so I’m keeping more on ‘my side of town’ like you wanted.” By the letter of the law, if not the spirit. How very Bug. “But you sure you can’t tell me about this Gauntlet? I may have info relevant is all.” If that grin isn’t almost shit eating either. Fuck what’s she got into now?

“How much did ya even hear?” Robin growls out, on guard again.

“Of your conversations with Nightwing? Umm… All of it? You sat and talked on a public roof in the mid-evening? Plus, you two are my favorites and Nightwing isn’t in Gotham very often.” Okay… That’s fair enough, he supposes. If Robin wants to have a private conversation, then he should save it for his private life. That’s a big one of B’s rules for a reason. Now he knows the reason for the rule, even if he trusts this source more then he should… Though her saying Nightwing and Robin are her favorites is interesting…

“Cheeky little shit ain’tcha. Ya know that’s a breach a privacy, right?”

“Said the illegal-child-vigilante to the stalker.” Bug returns. Cheeky little shit! Jesus Christ.

“Yeah, yeah, alright ya tiny wiseass! What d’ya know that’s so important?” Comes from Robin, exasperated.

He also pointedly ignores Bug’s mumble of “I’m not that small.” Because that’s a total fucking lie. She might be eleven and actually be beginning to mature to the point where she has started to change shape, - which is the only creepy way he can think of putting that she has the beginnings of a bust-line now - but she’s still short enough to be mistaken as a year or two younger then she is at first glance. Unfortunately, she’s also likely to have her age overestimated on a second look because of said bust-line. Creepers are going to creep either way, but he wishes that her size and growth vs her age wasn’t like a fucking siren song to the very worst of them.

Timi uncharacteristic silence is also unnerving him. Luckily, she does speak up before he can fully freak out.

“Scarecrow is here. The Pier 11 warehouse. I dunno if he’s partnered with Two-face or Penguin. That warehouse is usually Penguin’s territory, but you know Two-Face won’t care about that if it suits him.” Fuck. Fuck!

“Scarecrow is here?! Right now?” Robin screeches. Timi blinks startled and might be about to bolt, but Robin is too quick this time and manages to move forward and snag an arm before she can get away. To her credit, Timi doesn’t waver in his grip, if anything she relaxes a little. Robin loosens his grip but doesn’t let go just yet.

“Yes-”

“Shit! I haveta… The Gauntlet… I have to take down Scarecrow alone.” Shit. He’s going to have to fly in the face of Batman now to have any hope of passing at all.

“What? No!” At Bug’s alarm Robin tries to back away a little but this time she latches on to him. “You can’t! He’s organized and armed and guarding everything!” Shit… That further complicated things. Too bad.

“Well I have to! If I want to keep being Robin, I’m going to have to pass the Gauntlet! Lets get you home first-”

“No! You can’t face Crane alone! Look!” With that Bug lets go of Robin’s cape, only to grab her camera and turn it around and previewing shots on the lcd screen on the back. Robin stills as he recognizes the pictures. Barrels of Fear Gas… many of them, maybe even hundreds of them. They’re all rigged with something too… He can see wires… And then there’s Crane himself. The picture shows him mid pace, his scythe in one hand and a shiny revolver pistol in the other.

“You went in and took photos?” Rips from him in a true growl.

“No. I hacked the security system outside the building. I thought about going in and using the panic button but then I saw Crane unload that pistol on a patch of shadows and I knew it was too dangerous! You can’t go in there.”

“I have to, if I fail tha Gauntlet then Robin won’t fly at all. I’ll be kicked from my mask ta be retrained. At minimum. At tha extreme I’ll never fly again.”

“If you go in there, Robin won’t be alive to fly again!” The hard, slightly condescending tone Timi’s fallen into makes Robin see red. How fucking dare she say that. How dare she assume she knows what he’s capable of. How dare she put his mask on the line. Unfortunately, for Jason who’ll likely have to clean the mess again, an angry Robin isn’t a nice Robin and so Robin finds himself lashing out again.

“Really? Cause it sounds ta me like ya don’t care if Robin gets ta exist at all! Bet ye’ll be happy ta know yer precious Nightwing won’t have ta worry bout further sullying to his original name if I’m gone, hmm?”

“What? No! You’re a great Robin. And of course I care if Robin exists at all! Robin is everything to me. He’s the light in the dark of Gotham.” Cute but he’s heard that one before and that means she’s talking about oh so perfect Dickiebird, not Jason. Not the useless replacement bird.

“Yeah, maybe tha old one. That kinda shows if ya gonna make me fail tha Gauntlet!”

“I don’t want you to fa-” Bullshit!

“Well ya obviously don’t want me ta win!”

“OF COURSE I DO! BUT MOST OF ALL I WANT YOU TO BE ALIVE! Robin will fly again if you fail, Nightwing promised you would, it’ll just take more time, but Robin can’t go anywhere if you have your wings clipped or worse!” Robin blinks at the vehemence. “Please…. What do I have to say to get you to believe me?” Bug’s grip has only gotten tighter on his arm and cape.

“Tell me why ya care! What’s in this fer you? It can’t just be hero worship or ya wanderin’ if tha newby’s gonna tarnish tha name!” He rips his arm out of Timi’s grip. Now she just has his cape.

“I care about you.” For the mask maybe. No… She cares for him too, but not in this context.

“Ya have no idea who I am, yer just infatuated with a mask!” Oof! Wow the mix of anger and sadness happening here is beginning to fuck him up more and more. He has to get out of-

“NO, Y’ IDIOT! I MIGHT LOVE N’ IDOLIZE ROBIN BUT I LOVE MY BEST FRIEND MORE THEN ENOUGH NOT T’ SEND HIM T’ HIS DEATH BY AN ENRAGED SCARECROW, HIGH ON HIS OWN FUCKING SUPPLY! SURE, Y’VE BEEN ROBIN FOR A YEAR N’ Y’ HAD SIX MONTHS A’ TRAINING BEFORE THAT, BUT THERE IS SO MUCH DANGER IN WHAT Y’ DO EVERY NIGHT!” Jesus how much does Bug even know. It sounds like she knows everything… She’s beginning to hiccup too – so he knows this is genuine but -

Then she opens her mouth again and stops every thought process he has.

“Please… Please. I know bein’ Robin is important but don’t make me lose my Seaglass t’ Robin. You can’t go where I can’t get y’ either! Don’t take th’ one thing I have left of a sanctuary that saved me so many times. Tha place that kept me safe even when all I had was more and more obligations t’ fulfil. M-Miss Cathy’s gone. The apartment y’ ha-had is gone. Gameshow night on tha couch is go-gone. Willis n’ h-his faux-grudgin’ self-defense lessons r’ gone. Mrs. Mac’s only p-part-time now n’ losing more time every month. Robin takes y’ away m-most nights, even when I’m sick y’ d-don’t have time t’ come ‘round now t-till after, an’ you’re exhausted all tha time. We don’t have half the time we use t’ have, just t’ talk and I’m changing too, now. I’m not tha same kid Cathy usedta know. And it hurts because so many nights a-at Brentwood I would wake from n-nightmares achin’, wonderin’ what could p-possibly be left f’r me t’ c-come home to. Please d-don’t make those nightmare nights c-come true. Please, Glass, please. Please!”

For once, ever since Jason managed to lock them down in the first place, Jason’s automatic reactions override Robin and, after the end of that desperate outpouring of grief breaks into sobs, he takes action. The second sob is muffled from where he’s instantly tucked Bug into his neck. Total breakdown for Timi can be rare, this is actually unusual, and he hates that this is his fault. He pushed her too far and now she can’t calm down until it all comes out. He shushes and rocks her the same way his mom used to when she was too sick for singing lessons. They way she used to before she settled Bug down next to Jason and they’d watch game shows on the TV while his mom cooked dinner. He can feel his own tears building because he misses everything she listed too. He kinda thought he was the only one, but of course she loved and mourns those times too. Sure, she has Janet and Jack and even Mrs. Mac but they’re distant people in her life then and now. His family was her family. She’s family. Even Willis is missed by Bug and that makes Jason ache because he can’t ever think of his dad without getting angry still. Jason knows Willis did everything he could to keep their family afloat, but that everything cost him his first Dad being in his life at all and then it cost him his dad wholesale. Now he’s buried in a plot on Blackgate island because Catherine and Jason couldn’t afford to even bring his body home.

He can feel his own tears start to build – but he can’t lose himself right now. Scarecrow still needs to be dealt with. A Fear Gas supply of that magnitude could hurt millions. And with Crane so lost but defending the place like a rabid guard-dog, this is officially so far past Robin’s pay grade it’s ridiculous. Bruce was right in this one regard – If he goes against Crane here, alone, he will die. Failing The Gauntlet is inevitable now, but he has to ask for help. Anything else would be irresponsible. He also has to hide Bug’s involvement completely. He has to keep her safe. Getting her found out now would be terrible – Bruce still hates her, and she hasn’t even done anything even close to bad yet. She is the model of a well-behaved high society child whenever they meet, and he still doesn’t like her at all! Not even a little, and that’s a rarity because of how charming Bug actually is! But Bruce is still all narrow eyes and suspicion and claims of her of her wanting his friendship just to get to the Wayne name. If Bruce thinks she’s a security risk, in addition to his ridiculous animosity, he’ll have her memory wiped by Martian Manhunter before the rest of them can blink. Bug doesn’t want to lose her last link to his old home and family and he’s exactly the same! And that link is here. It’s her and what they are to each other. Without her it’s all lost. He’s not losing her; he’s not losing his last tangible link to his mom. He refuses.

“How long have ya known Bug? How did I give myself away?” Timi has cried herself out, but she tenses at his question. Worried purple-blue eyes peer up at him from where she had tucked her face. He smiles as disarmingly as he can, all the love he has for his best friend on his face.

“Y-You didn’t. It wasn’t you.” Jason sighs relieved. “Do you remember the last Christmas before I came back from Brentwood? The night before I was due back.”

“When we went Batwatching?” He asks like he doesn’t already know that that’s exactly what she’s talking about.

“Mmhmm. Well… Robin had that massive argument with Batman and then he… He was showing off a little breaking up the next mugging. Blowing off a little steam we guessed… As he leapt off that apartment complex, he flipped through the air and that’s what gave him the power to completely dent the roof of the car the perps came out of – even though it was an older 60s car and they used steel in its construction?”

“Tha super fancy flip, yeah I remember.” Timi chuckles at his somewhat sour tone. It’s another reason he’ll never match Robin I.

“Well, that fancy flip is called the quadruple somersault, from a standing start. And it’s something only one family of gymnasts has ever perfected it.” The realization hits Jason almost immediately.

“The Flying Graysons…” Oh that means…

“Yes. And there is only one a’ those left.”

“That’s why ya were so worried ‘bout tha photograph!” Timi blinks before nodding, a little haltingly. Timi had been super anxious to give Dick a copy of her photo with his parents. He thought it had just been general nerves to give Dick a photo from the last night his parents were alive but the fact she was worried they’d know that she knows the Bat’s identities makes much more sense!

“Yes… And I know Bruce doesn’t like me very much, so that’s also part of why I was worried.” Ah, she’s ahead of him there too. Of course. Suddenly Timi’s reluctance to appear any time the Bat might hear or see her on patrol makes a lot more sense.

“Yeah B’s a little ridiculous about you still, some fuckin’ how, so Imma have ta hide ya n’ yer involvement fer now.” Timi snorts and nods. “Those photos yer were wanin’ me with – ya said they came fram security footage, right?” Timi nods again. “Show me howta access ‘em through my gauntlet. Then I gotta story ta tell Nightwing and Batgirl. They’re supposed ta be my adjudicators fer tonight, but they’re meant to stay away fer the most part. I’ll tell ‘em what’s up and we’ll get a plan together afta that.” Timi lights up at the opportunity to see how Robin’s computer gauntlets work, before she makes herself sober and contrite. He raises an eyebrow at her, much to her amusement.

“That looks funny with the domino mask, sorry… And I wanna say. I’m sorry about The Gauntlet, Glass. I know it was important and I’m so proud of you for choosing to be safe.” What can he do but lean forward and kiss her on the forehead.

“That’s okay, n’ hey - now I know ya know n can keep an eye on ya easier, maybe you can be my good luck charm fer next time. I’ll ace it easy with ya help m’ sure.” He laughs easily when Timi goes pink at the compliment. That’s cute. Sometimes he forgets how cute she actually is. He has no idea what Bruce sees sometimes. Timi isn’t harmless, sure, but she’s very sweet and loves them all so much! He just can’t understand what gets Bruce’s back up sometimes.

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

Shutterbug and Seaglass Part 6 (for now): The Gauntlet Chapter 3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62723878/chapters/160575775 - For anyone without an Ao3 account or who don't want to move website chapter three is linked below the cut!

The next few days are rough for both Jason and Robin, with the only highlights being the burgers and arcade trip. Scarecrow hasn’t been sighted at all yet, which is nerve wracking, highly unusual and also just a pain to deal with. Robin spends night, after night, after night of searching the abandoned warehouse district looking for the phd wielding rouge. Each night becoming more of a disappointment and leaving him very much on edge. Scarecrow has never been this hard to find – either that or Robin II is the worst ever at looking for him. He has mixed information on that. BG and N maintain that he’s doing a good job and has a thorough enough search pattern that if he isn’t finding Crane then he’s just found a new bolt hole. Batman, on the other hand, maintains that Crane is too much of a creature of habit and that Robin just isn’t looking hard enough for evidence in the abandoned warehouses. All his sources do say that he’ll be sure once he does find Scarecrow though. Halloween is too important to the rogue for him to miss the occasion and they’re too close to Halloween now for him not to have something in the works. And hiding that something-in-the-works will be far harder than hiding just himself.

Problem is that Robin has been denied permission to look through the sewers and even most parts of the docks – even though Crane has used said before to try and get a liquid version of Fear into Gotham’s water sources before! While Robin knows the docks will be dangerous – what with both the Falcone and Maroni families prepping for the roaring drug-trade that is Halloween – Batman’s reason for banning him from the sewers remains opaque until N lets it slip that both Killer Croc and Two-Face are out. A fact that was hidden from Robin and causes Jason to start the mother of all rows when he returns for the night. He needs to know this shit! Crane and Croc AND Crane and Two-Face both have collaborated before! But when he brings that up, he’s shouted down by the Bat. And then comes the ringer… And unfortunately, Bruce chooses to wait until they’re alone in the Cave before he actually reveals what’s going on.

It starts as usual. Him and Bruce arguing in the Cave after patrol. He’s just brought up that he doesn’t appreciate that he had to learn through Big Bird that Croc and Two-Face are also out and that Big Bird tried to then hush him about it. He should have this information!

Infuriatingly though Bruce just replies with “That is need to know and you didn’t need to know!”

“Bullshit I didn’t! If there is a chance those any of them are collaborating, then I needed to know!” He’s aware that stamping his foot like a little kid isn’t conducive to adult discussion but boy does he need to get this frustration out somehow. Bruce fires back though, and fast.

“First of all: Language! I already hate that you use that kind of talk on the lowlifes we deal with, I will not have it aimed at me! Second: If they are Two-Face is found to be collaborating with Crane or Croc then Robin won’t be going near that case!”

“But how am I supposed to pass the Gauntlet if that’s a condition? You’ve set Crane as the only person I am allowed to bring in but how can I if I’m banned from going near him? Two-Face keeps his involvement in this secret until the very last second, even from you!” Then it clicks fully. “That’s why I can only access the Warehouse District… If Crane’s in the sewers or at the docs, then he’s probably working with Two-Face. You’ve set me a possibly impossible to complete mission, dangling independence in front of my face despite knowing it could all be for nothing and told me off and called me incompetent when it’s not certain at all that Crane is in the warehouses at all! And for what? Shits and giggles?!”

“If you’re not responsible enough to understand why I would keep you away from Harvey Dent then you don’t deserve Robin at all! He nearly killed Robin I before! And despite Dick’s want to coddle you, you and I both know you’re nowhere near Robin I’s level when he was almost killed by Two-Face. I’m still not sure it was wise to bring the mantle back at all after that, but I let idealism get in my way. That was my mistake, but I won’t let it kill you. If Two-Face is involved then you won’t be given the chance to win the Gauntlet, end of discussion!”

“But-”

“End of discussion!”

It takes everything Jason has to walk away quietly. Even more to wait to calm down and work through his calming exercises until he’s sure Bruce is the one being unreasonable here. He wants to stop this kind of behavior. Heck he might even say he needs to stop this behavior. He’s right to think that this isn’t okay. It’s not just pride – though he’s also allowed to have pride in his work. But he’s sure now that it isn’t just his pride smarting that makes this feel so unfair. Dangling rights over an impossible win isn’t fair, and Bruce is in the wrong to do it. Even more wrong to wait until he could attack Jason alone. He needs to send the Cave footage to Dick, Babs and Alfred. Except by the time he’s finally calmed down, enough to have worked that all over and hack into the Cave with his laptop, he can’t. Bruce has already deleted the footage of the conversation. The only thing he hasn’t done is filled in the time – it remains blank. Jason screams into his pillow. No one will believe him now. Bruce will make sure of it. He still writes down what he can remember of their conversation and attached it to the flagged missing footage, but it’ll come down to mentor vs mentee and Jason is always going to lose that battle. That Bruce planned it this way might be the thing that stings the most. How can he trust that Bruce loves him as a son when he does things like this? He hasn’t even apologized for the last time. Alfred may have dragged out of him that he does want Jason and Dick as his sons but there has been no follow through at all.

At least, in this shit-sundae-of-epic-proportions-of-a-week, he does manage to get a tracker into the lining of the jacket Bug wears most for Bat-watching but the she rejects the panic button from Robin soundly right up until he loses his temper with her. Then it was a showdown and he’s not proud of himself for it. As it’s just the night after his showdown with Batman-the-ginormous-asshole, Robin is much harsher then he should have been and he’s well aware that he’s definitely hurt her feelings. And called her competency into question… And her sanity… And called her creepy... And insinuated she does this for shady purposes… Oh boy, is he not proud of himself. She was hiding tears near the end of that exchange, and he hadn’t seen her since as Robin. He’s not even sure she’s been coming out and just hiding. The tracker in the beacon hasn’t budged but neither has the tracker in her winter coat and while he might expect her to leave Robin’s gift behind, she would still need the coat… Right? When he calls past as Robin the next night after noticing the lack of movement, unable to bear the grief and wondering if he can make amends, he finds the beacon outside her locked window with the blinds drawn, attached to a Dick-and-Jason-amalgam-as-Robin plush that he got her along with Batgirl at the arcade, firmly left out in the cold and wet. Shit. His stomach has been making itself at home in his shoes ever since.

Further worryingly, she’s also turned away from them all at school, turning down his, Ives and Callie’s attempts to keep her warm and out of pain and keeping her distance from everyone. Not unfriendly distance either. Not something that Ives and Callie know how fight against easily, either, though Ives is on the money that it’s like when she first arrived at Brentwood since she would absolutely have been doing this routine then too. Not something he knows how to fight either, though he can see what’s going on better then the other two can because he’s known her longer and watched her build these defenses in the first place. It’s not like she’s not mean or she’s not rude or she’s unpleasant, and she isn’t obviously outwardly cold. No, she’s none of the things you could ping her for at all, aside from her not turning up to things or automatically sitting with them at first and even that disappears after Ives gets frustrated at her. On a surface level she’s fine. She’s just as willing to give advice and she’s just as likely to commiserate, but it all feels wrong. It’s like she’s acting and that’s because that’s exactly what she’s doing. Acting while her emotions take a dirt-nap because underneath the charming exterior, she’s all but disappeared and that’s entirely deliberate because she’s protecting herself.

Gotham’s Littlest Perfect Princess has no right to attend Gotham Academy, but here she is in all her faux-glory. Full armor engaged with perfect slightly vacant smile firmly in place - mouth open just enough to show straight teeth but not enough to show the imperfection of her buck-teeth - not a hair out of place in her school-regulation-perfect ponytail, perfect full girls uniform (including the shined shoes, daily fresh knotted tie, and itchy jumper under a blazer), quintessential ‘tweenage girl’ perfume that has more to do with straight sugar than anything else (yet still somehow costs a fucking fortune) and as fully made-up makeup-wise as she can get away with on campus - which near enough ‘full glam’ because the teachers here don’t notice shit-all unless the makeup is ‘unnatural’ colours. Or what they think are unnatural colours, since unnatural here seemingly stands in for fucking rainbow options only with anything neutral flying under the radar. There is no such thing as a taupe and bronze cut crease in nature as far as he was aware, nor do lips come in neutral-toned browns, generally, but Jason digresses... There is almost nothing left of his Bug in her at all, just a bland, polite, protocol-droid-perfect-mini-socialite who’s only good side is that she never judges anyone ever. Not because it’s against her morals (she doesn’t have any noticeable ones in this form), but because it’s not polite.

He did this. He knew how important Robin was to his friend and he hurt her using it anyway and now she’s shut down to protect herself. Which she only does when she can’t take it anymore and has to disassociate to survive. And that… Along with all the bad feelings about his home situation is a bridge too far for Jason. He runs away. Right in the middle of lunch and probably spooking the heck out of Ives and Callie, when they’re already sorta wigged out by Timi, but he can’t deal with this. It hurts too much. He needs to hide so he can explode in private. He needs the world to pause for a bit.

He moves with single-minded purpose, dodging the douche canoes that he’d normally at least threaten because they’re trying to shoulder check everyone in the corridor to ‘establish their dominance’ or whatever the fuck, trying to find somewhere secluded enough that he can insure he’ll be alone for long enough to actually cry himself out. He’s going to have to choose carefully, or he’ll just end up with people around him and then he’ll want to lash out. Ives and Callie don’t know him well enough yet and as much as they’re worthy of his trust – they don’t have it yet. They’re both too new to understand what he needs and the amount he needs it. No, better he’s alone. Where can he go that Ives and Callie can’t reach? Somewhere that needs parkour, that’s for sure. Robin tactics get him places only people like Robin can get to. He runs through his options and ends up choosing the bell tower. It’s off limits to student’s technically, but when has that ever stopped him? It also has service ladders you’d need to wall climb to get to unless you had the specific key to get them down – which makes it perfect for him at the moment. No one can follow him there. Even the teachers would be leery of coming and getting him, if they could even hope to work out that he’s up here, as only the principal and the maintenance staff have the keys for the ladders, he’s fairly sure.

The bell tower of Gotham Academy is old and unused enough that picking the locked door is child’s play as is latching it behind him and no one sees him, he’s sure of it. Even with the tower being in the center of campus, attached on one side to the drama department, it’s right across from the library on one side and the teacher’s lounge on the other and thus is safely stuck in the ‘nerd quarter’ of the school. He takes the side facing the lounge. It’s too audacious to be his suspected point of ingress and the lounge will be full at this time and thus totally distracted as it’ll be fucking ‘gossip hour matinee’ amongst the staff. The whole school is revival gothic in style – all sharp arched windows, with mullions and remarkably climbable stone veneers over red brick. If he could get away with it, climbing the outside would actually be an easier way to do it. But it is what it is. It takes him a go or two – fucking useless school shoes – but he manages to get a hold of the brickwork of the bell-tower internal structure and climb up just enough to get a hold of the bottom rung of the ladder. After that it’s easy, though he’s struggling with how loud his breath is in the still air. It’s almost too loud and too disruptive to the dust motes that float through the air. He wanders around the catwalk that the ladder leads up to. It spans all four walls too but sadly it’s too shallow for him to actually hide here, but there is a door on the opposite side to him.

That probably leads into the attic space of the drama department. It’ll do. He has to pick the door lock again, but once again it’s not a hard affair, and then he’s into the drama department’s long-term storage. This is where they store the costumes and props that only get brought out when a new copy needs to be made. The actual antiques the school has amassed over time. Amongst the more delicate examples Jason finds a still sturdy lost cushion - from a chesterfield lounge if he had to guess - under a dustsheet and camps in a dusty corner behind everything else and then curls himself into a ball, forehead on his knees, almost too tired to let the tears he came her to hide fall. Everything greys out in the dusty silence and the tears finally come in earnest. Tears for him never being more than a working-class-mangy fox amongst glittering wolves ready to tear him apart at a moment’s notice, tears for Robin and his inability to be worth anything unlike the shining beacon he stole the name of, tears for Bug and her pain that he dealt her because he was struggling too, tears for Alfie and Dick and Babs who try not to fight him or each other over the scraps let by an uncaring Batman, tears for having to run from the only other two friendly people he has in this hell-hole-of-a-school, tears because he wants him mom most of all.

God Catherine couldn’t fix everything, and by the end she could barely fix anything at all, but she always knew what to do when he was upset. She was always on his side when push came to shove. Always ready to support him whether that was dinner made together or distracting him with helping her in her singing lessons or sharing game shows on the couch. All rituals that have been lost forever, along with his mom, and he just has to keep existing, somehow.

Jason’s not sure how long he sits once the tears peter-out into docile and disconnected oblivion. He’s not conscious at all, really. Not really a person in this state at all. Like this, he’s just a jumble of scuffed up doll parts in the dark. Overlooked, dusty, useless and unimportant. If it was damp then he might as well be that Robin doll with the beacon outside Bug’s window. Nothing matters here, he doesn’t matter here, so perhaps it should be less surprising that he doesn’t come back to himself until well after a little visitor makes herself at home next to him, where she’s squeezed in between him and the chair he’s behind. Or perhaps he doesn’t notice because, after almost a full school week of not smelling, sounding or looking anything like herself at all, it’s Bug he comes back to. Not Perfect Princess Timianna Drake but Bug. Hair loose and windblown, makeup free, scent a mix of shampoo and bodywash and Janney’s favorite perfume, out of school uniform and into her usual winter options of jeans, a long sleeve janky-funny bootleg tee from China Town and sporting a stolen one of his flannelette shirts under the leather jacket he outgrew last year, his Shutterbug.

Unfortunately for both of them, seeing Bug again snaps Jason right back into his body and his body feels… Awful, in a word. He can think of more though and quickly does. He’s aching, tired, dehydrated… and sad. Tears well almost as quickly as he comes back to himself. Bug murmurs to him softly, though he can’t hear what she’s saying just yet. He’s still a little unconnected it seems. But he can tell she’s trying to comfort him and that almost feels just as bad. He hurt her and he can’t even apologise right now because she doesn’t know it was him. He apologizes anyway, turning into her and tucking around him as much as he can. She makes it easy, shushing and rocking him softly.

“Y’re going to be okay, Seaglass. I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but y’ are. We’ll get y’ right again. Alfie, Dick and Babs are in tha back parkin’ lot when y’re ready. Alfie told tha staff y’ had ta come home quickly ‘cause of an emergency so y’ aren’t in trouble n’ I picked up tha work y’ missed. We thought maybe y’d like some dinner out just us, Alf, Babs and Dickie?” It’s so good to hear Timi’s New Town accent out and about – even if it’s just for his benefit right now.

“Alfie doesn’t want me ta come back ta tha manor?” Oh god. Is he finally being tossed away for good? Bug blinks, probably unsure of what that means.

“Well… at tha end of tha night he probably does, but he’s kinda angry with Bruce f’r whatever he said to y’ that maybe caused some a’ this… He said someth’n about ‘setting utterly preposterous standards and doing us all the extreme disservice of keeping them secret’?” Jason snorts a little. He can hear the obvious quotes around Alfred’s statement there, but he sobers quickly. Bruce is nothing but pain for him right now. What can he even say?

Oh wait. “I’m just not good enough for him, Bug.” The same refrain that’s been dancing through his head every day since this mess began. That’ll do.

“Bruce said y’re not good enough?” At his miserable nod Bug bristles, though she thankfully keeps her voice down for him. His head feels delicate – like his brain is bruised. “How th’ fuck? Y’re a straight A student! Fuck, better then straight A, y’re ona fast-track course t’ early entry University! Plus… Well, y’re you! Y’ always give y’r best!”

“Seems like my best just ain’t enough, love.”  Though her faith in him helps a bit. Okay, a lot. It feels like he’s finally found dry land again after days of swimming against the current.

“Like hell! I’mma fight him then!” Jason snorts and then laughs. Her incredulous irritation on his behalf has always been one of his favorite things about Bug but the image her statement paints is also hilarious. He doesn’t strictly doubt her either. Timi is dangerous when she’s angry and it won’t be about winning for her – just doing enough damage to make her point. At his laughter Bug mock pouts at him. “Oh, I see how it is! Y’ don’t think I could take ‘em, huh?”

“No, no. It ain’t like that, Bug. Come on, anyone knows just how dangerous ya are it’s me…It’s just the image. Yer gonna look like a kitten taking outta fully grown, but suddenly terrified, Doberman!”

“Can’t be a kitten, Sveta put alla this effort into trimmin’ my claws n’ everythin’!” Bug says before flashing said claws – Actually a set of acrylics made to look like what nails would be if they were perfect. Oh… He hasn’t seen Sveta’s salon in ages. She used to do his mom’s nails for free for teaching her eldest daughter. He forgets sometimes that Timi is more aware of his old neighborhood then he is these days. It’s part of what pissed her off so much at Robin too. Theres no respect for what she does and the skills she brings, and he left her no room for her to tell him.

“Yeah, cause that’s how it works, Bug. They do look nice though. How is Sveta anyways? I ain’t bin out that way in ages.”

“She’s doin’ okay. Makar got int’ Lower Gotham Prep on scholarship so she’s proud of him in spades! She had a run in with a Maroni runner looking for cash, but I got to ‘im first. Her first three months are paid but… I dunno what she’s gonna do after that.” Oh, Jason knows what he’s gonna do. Robin’s going to fix it well before the runner even dares to come back. Old Gotham is a no man’s land of mixed gang allegiance because that’s where all the gang’s members and runners come from. Runner in Crime-alley can and will be run off just by Robin sticking his pointed boot in the mess. That’s a later Jason and Robin thought though.

“Maybe I can talk ta Alfie – he’s scary when he wants to be and if the Maroni’s know the Wayne Butler is in personal contact-”

“They’ll ransom him for fun n’ profit instead?”

“Never underestimate Alfie Bug, he’ll always surprise ya if ya do.”

“Well… fair enough I s’ppose. Alfie does seem t’ be made of magic.”

“Damn right!” Bug pulls away a little with a smile.

“Well, hows about we get going? I have a change of clothes for you in my bag.” He nods and lets Bug pull him up. Once up she leads him the opposite way to the way he came in – which reminds him how he got up here in the first place.

“How’d ya find me anyways?”

“I’d love t’ say somethin’ clever like: ‘Cause I know you’. Cause if anyone knows y’, it’s me. But it ended up bein’ a process a’ elimination… N’ stealing tha master keys from Miss Parson’s desk once I’d checked alla tha easy places.” Miss Parson is secretary to the principal. That means she had to break into the front office. Shit!

“There’s cameras in tha front office Bug!” Bug turns and cocks an unimpressed eyebrow. It’s not a look he’s subjected to as himself often, but it is one Robin’s copped several times now. Not as effective as Janet’s or Alfred’s eyebrows but more than chastising enough for sure.

“N’ I have lessons with Barbara n free access t’ th’ internet t learn all tha little dirty tricks she refuses t’ teach me. So, ona effective level, no, there ain’t. Oh, n lockpicking lessons, but if y’ don’t remember who gave me those I’mma check y’ f’r head injuries.”

“Pretty sure that ain’t what yer lessons with Barbara are meant ta be fer!” Yes Bug, he remembers teaching you to lockpick, cheeky little shit! But surely Babs didn’t… No. She would have just taught Timi the coding and Timi’s the one who’s worked out how to abuse the knowledge. Free access to the internet, indeed. His best friend is dangerous.

“Well luckily for me, mother and father have never asked without Babs having a perfectly acceptable answer for me to pass on – with evidence. So, I’m in the clear. Also, let me live a little Glass. It’s not like she’ll ever knows I use it for anything other than the above board things! I’m a homebody for the most part, not a troublemaker.” Since Jason is Robin, and has seen precisely what Bug gets up to in her free time, he sorely begs to fucking differ! But she doesn’t know that bit, so technically neither does he. Sigh. Sneaky and cheeky little shit. Also, it’s amazing how fast she changes accent automatically the minute Jack and Janet even figuratively enter the conversation.

“Speakin’ a teachin’ lessons. Ye seems much better but what happened? Or am I gonna have ta deal with Gotham’s Princess again tomorrow too.”

“No… I’m done now. Four and a bit days is all the patience I have to play her. I’m sorry Glass. I’m sorry if I contributed to you losing it today. It’s just… I’ve been made fun of for being weird for ages… Here and at Brentwood too… and then Ives and Callie an – no you didn’t but you weren’t paying attention, so you didn’t say anything at all – but they agreed that I was weird… And maybe creepy too… Creepy seemed to be implied… And I just… I just needed to prove that my being weird is what makes me good, actually. Sure, I’m weird an-and obsessive and maybe even a little creepy, but I still care about good things, important things – things that actually matter! People that actually matter! And I only want the best for the people I love and idolize! I… just… It hurt because it felt like they were rejecting me, even though part of why I’m weird is because I love them an-and you so much. Kids of my social class aren’t supposed to care about other people, not like I do still even with all of mom’s lessons, so I’m kinda flying blind when it comes to boundaries, I guess, but it all comes from a place of love, I swear.” There it is – that’s Robin’s doing… and maybe Ives and Callie too but he’ll bet his cape that it’s Robin that kick-started this horrible little journey and Ives and Callie just blundered in on fresh pain. Oh, poor Bug. He pulls Bug into hugging range and tucks her under his chin for a moment. Pouring all the love he has into it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice, Bug. Yeah, ye’re a little weird but it’s ain’t ever bin a bad weird. I love tha weird ya are. I just worry sometimes about how much trouble ya can get yerself into and worry that I won’t be good enough ta get ya back out of that trouble. Loopin’ cameras, and kicking the idiots here on campus and stalkin’ Bats… We’ve been on are own adventures and I worry now I ain’t a part a’ Old Gotham n’ not on even on Gotham Proper anymore, that yeh doing it alone now. Please don’t go where I can’t get ta ya! Please don’t leave me behind! Yer all I have left of life before alla this glitz and glam bullshit.”

“… If I promise to wait for you first, can we get Galiani's for dinner?” Comes paired with a grin so Cheshire strong that it’s almost shit eating.

“Cheeky little shit! Just cause I know how much trouble ya are, I ain’t gonna hold ya ta that. And I want Galiani’s anyways so yer off the hook.” Bug whoops and they set off together with him getting changed in the first gents bathroom they can find – which is easily achieved when Bug has the freaking Master Keys. God help him she’s a handful and a half! But she’s also the best, and not just because she’ll spend ages looking for him, but because she’s packed all his favorite clothes for him in the bag she handed him, with the jeans that actually still fit okay, a bootleg Nightwing henley (based on the shape of Big bird's projectiles - which he's hysterically named 'Wingdings', mostly because it make's a vein bulge in Batman's forehead but also because his sense of humor runs to the ridiculous), a favorite green and gold flannel and his current fitting leather jacket. Both his and her jackets are hand-me-downs from Dickie, and he was kinda charmed that Jason chose to hand-me-down further to Bug. By the time he comes out, Timi’s returned the Master Keys, as this bathroom will get re-locked by the janitors in about an hour, so they’ll both be in the clear. It’s not like the janitors are going to argue with the teaching staff over who locked what – that’s a losing fight that no one would blame them for missing out on.

With Bug in attendance no one is able to mention what Alfred found out that made him aware that Jason would need a night out with family. Which is a shame, but it also keeps all conversation away from their nightlife full stop, and for once, Jason was more than happy to not focus on capes for an evening. Batman can go hang… Also patrol alone for a night because Robin is taking a break for at least tonight. He’s also stunned when his and Bug’s suggestion of Galiani’s is just accepted and Alfred just heads off like he knows the way. He raises an eyebrow at Babs, who’s stuck in the back seat with him and Bug, Bug in the middle, since Big Bird called shotgun, and Alfred would never not be driving.

“What?”

“Nothin’ really. Just surprised ya all went fer an Old Gotham choice. Bug n’ I have the nostalgia, what’s yer reason?”

“You mean aside from this all being a pick-me-up for you and Timi?” Jason lets his other eyebrow join the first, Babs just smirks at him.

“Just because Galiani’s is in Old Gotham doesn’t mean the rest of us do not have knowledge of it!” comes instead from Alfred. Oops, he doesn’t mean to offend.

“I don’t mean it as an insult, Alf, sorry. Just wonderin’ ‘cause I thought it was gonna be a long shot. Galiani’s is fantastic but it don’t see many people from outside’a Old Gotham. Or at least it didn’t ta my knowledge.”

“Ah, yeah. That’s my fault Littlewing. As you know, I also hated Gotham Academy but at least when I was going there were more scholarship kids then there are now, at least in the middle school – high school weeded most of them out, sadly. So, I had kids that weren’t that absolute worst, but they didn’t really talk at school but would talk to each other on the bus home and when I found that out, I’d take the bus that was going to Gotham Proper with the rest of the ‘poors’ and then explore.” Comes from Dickie – though in deference to Alfred he doesn’t turn in his seat like he does if anyone else is driving, gumby limbed freak that he is. “I didn’t ever have a lot of money on me for those trips and one of the only places that could feed me was Galiani’s. I remember it was the best pizza I’d ever tasted and that was when it was cold and about to be thrown out for the end of the lunch rush. Ever since then if Alf and I were coming home early from a gala without Bruce with us, we’d call in for a slice or two or get a whole to split if we were really hungry. Tonight, I think we’re going to have to get one each though.”

“Hmm… There will be leftovers then, I cannot eat a whole pizza anymore, Master Dick. Perhaps you can take it with you if you plan to stay with Miss Barbara again?” Jason nudges Bug at Alfred’s statement. First softly and then a little more firmly when the first set of nudging only get her biting her lip.

“Umm, I could share it with you Alfred. I can’t eat a whole pizza from Galiani’s either.” Theres a soft pause before Alfred does exactly as Jason expected him too.

“That would be capital, Miss Timi. You don’t mind Margarita pizza, do you?” Bug smiles and voices that she like Margarita just fine. Truth be told, Bug loves weird options when it comes to food and always has – one favorite combination for pizza being artichoke hearts and Canadian bacon (maybe, if he didn’t know her better, he might assume it’s a refined pallet but Jason’s got used to a fair amount weird rich people food and knows Bug more than well enough to know it’s just her being a weird little rich dumpster raccoon) but that’s not a style of pizza a place like Galiani’s offers, plus there have been many times he and Bug had to make do with the almost cold leftovers much like Dick did in his story, and thus she’s also gotten used to any pizza as long as it isn’t too spicy (thus upgrading her and him both to weird non-rich dumpster raccoons, he supposes). Margarita is a safe option that she’s well used to.

Galiani’s is a little hole-in-the-wall kinda place. While it does have both interior and alfresco seating, most of it’s trade comes from takeaway orders because they not only do pizza but also hot chips – which is a favorite share-food of the working people of the area. When they get there, it’s got it’s usual of a line out the door to order but at least four free tables inside and most of the exterior once free too. Inside is a little spartan, but you can tell they’ve done the best with the building they could afford. The building was originally meant to be a cheap office building for some sort of desk-work boom in the last thirty years or so. Sure, it’s got a drop ceiling like an office, and damaged brown slate tiling that hasn’t been redone since half way through the 70s but it’s clean as a whistle and there are charming little red and white gingham tablecloths under the clear plastic protective sheeting, actually comfortable booth seating and chairs and the walls have a white stucco paint effect to mimic some part of Italy’s architecture and then there’s the wall with the painted fresco of the Colosseum in Rome which is only a little wonky in its paint job.

The staff are as friendly as you’ll find in an establishment this close to Crime Alley and the cooks in the kitchen learn their regular’s favorite order very quickly if you visit often. While the rest of them are finding good seats, the corner table with the double booth seating – go figure, vigilantes are sticklers for the spot with the best sight lines - Dick gets up to wait in the massive line, looking utterly unworried and unhurried. They must twig something though as well before it would be his turn to order the gal at the till calls if there are any dine-in people in the line, that they come forward first so they can get their food in a timely manner. This sparks the usual disgruntlement from the crowd but all it takes to silence the hubbub is Tony Galiani sticking his head out from the kitchen with a threatening scowl and a unimpressed eyebrows. Now Jason looks properly he knows why too. The gal taking the orders out front is Belle Galiani and Tony, like many proud family men, doesn’t take kindly to assholes heckling the baby of his family. Or any of his daughters really, as the man is blessed with four of them as well as two sons.

Belle takes Dickie’s order with the same smile that she treats all her customers to, but Jason notices Dickie comes away with a serviette stack that, unlike the other two dine-in customers, is topped with a serviette that definitely has something written in blue pen. A sullied serviette that finds it’s way into his pocket well before Dickie returns to the table. Smart man. The last thing they need is Babs getting her Coventry honed Irish-American protective rage out on an Italian-American waitress from the Bowery. That’ll be a no-holes-barred-end-of-all-civility cat fight. And both Belle and Babs play to win from what he can remember. Belle is sweet on the surface but like many Bowery girls, she’s been taught to fight by every protective man in her life and maybe even had professional lessons. That won’t have a chance in hell against Babs, but Jason would still rather not have to deal with it. Babs is bad enough with the Titans when it comes to Dickie and that’s not even starting on her personal feelings around giving out a number with social pressure to accept it. Jealousy is a cruel, cruel thing. Especially because Dickie occasionally is a bone-headed-moron and tries to play Kori and Babs off each other. Which is decidedly unfun for all involved.

It makes Babs into a real piece of work, and it turns out Kori isn’t entirely a slouch in that department either, despite her more mellow nature. Then again Kori is a recovery escapee from being sold into slave labor to save her home world, so maybe her being able to return Babs’, frankly mean, barbs with equal fire (sometimes actual fire – Starfire really doesn’t take shit talk well sometimes) is maybe a little more unsurprising then Jason gives Kori credit for. To be honest Jason kinda glad that the Titans demand at least two full years of mentor training before they’re willing to consider new members now. It not only pays respect to the age and combat experience of the current Titans, but it also means Jason doesn’t have to deal with the complicated math all those love-polyhedrons and intense social dynamics require for at least another year. Also, he has more time to convince Dickie that he doesn’t need to lead the younger members of the team and split the Titans. Maybe with time, or if he becomes more confident after The Gauntlet, he’ll change but right now Jason doesn’t need, want or deserve to be the leader of a team. Just being a member will be more than enough at first. Jason doesn’t, and possibly never will, have Dick’s drive to be The BestTM.

For tonight though there is no more talk of anything superhero related and Jason is relieved. He tired of all the secrecy and prefers to focus on family. He misses his old one, true, but this is his new one and they love him more then enough that if he can just focus on them only, he’ll be okay.

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

Shutterbug and Seaglass Part 6 (for now): The Gauntlet Chapter 2

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62723878/chapters/160575775 - For anyone without an Ao3 account or who don't want to move website chapter two is linked below the cut!

Jason was really hoping that pain and inability to take the quickly cooling weather would keep Bug indoors as it has so far but, while he suspects it’s helping, Robin still finds Timi out and about while he’s on solo patrol, once she’s through the initial hellscape and has had time to acclimatize enough that her stubbornness can win out again. In concession to the pain she in, she’s rugged up to the ridiculous and she’s moved to camping out on rooftops that their patrol route will pass, instead of following them directly but still out late at night in Gotham. While the rooftops are better it’s still a stunningly dangerous hobby. Though, just as a side thought, her knowledge of and ability to predict their patrol route has become even more impressive now he’s seen behind the scenes. The Bat patrol route is organized by an extremely complicated algorithm that once Bruce finished it, he was relieved not to have to look at it again! There is something like sixty variables involved with everything from the weather and the time of year to recent rouge activity, to holidays, to intergalactic issues and the turnings of the moon all included. And Timi managed to work out the whole thing backwards, just from observation and her own astounding math skills. Jason is aware that math and music (which is just sound math really) lay in the very center of his Bug’s heart, but it’s still impressive!

Less enjoyable, but still stunningly impressive, is the way she can fucking vanish on Robin still too. Once Robin makes his point clear, once again, that he’d prefer not to have Timi out and stalking after them – yes even though she must stick to roofs right now – Timi starts getting more and more sneaky. It’s getting to the point where he’ll only see a small flash of her and by the time he gets to the roof he could have sworn she was on, it’s empty. He suspects that this is what Commissioner Gordon feels like when he must deal with Batman. It’s infuriating as it is impressive. He’s beginning to wonder if he’s going to have to sneak up and just steal the camera then leave it on her ‘French balcony’ railing at the Drake townhouse for her to grab once she’s home – but that’s just going to tell her that he knows where she sleeps and he isn’t her best friend in that moment, he’s a mask wearing unknown person with opaque reasons for wanting her to do things. It’s more than a little draconian for his tastes and could push her to disappear completely while still doing all of this. Then she’ll be unable to reach out to him even when she’s in danger, which he categorically does not want. Also, it’s a little worrying that she has these skills at all. Why does Bug need to disappear in their everyday life? What prompted the learning of these skills to this degree of precision? Jason has no answers for it and it’s beginning to shit him something chronic.

He's going to have more and more responsibilities soon! He can’t stop like half a dozen times a night just to make sure Timi stays home so he doesn’t have to extract her from a hostage situation! While the Drakes aren’t the most well-known well-off family in Gotham, they’re not obscure either. They have one of the most prolific Health equipment and research businesses on the Eastern Seaboard, if not in the world. Janney does her best to stay under the radar, but Jack doesn’t. He’ll crow for any amount of minor attention, and he expects to be known and respected when he walks into a room and that – along with a personal mantra that neither of them is willing to negotiate with terrorists or extorters - puts Timi at risk just in her day to day, let alone because she follows Robin like the world’s sneakiest puppy! God! At least if she knew who he was he could give her an emergency beacon without it looking suspect… Actually, that might be an idea anyway. Maybe he can convince her that he won’t look up where she lives if she promises to stay home? Maybe.

After his patrol is finished, Jason heads back – not taking time to check for Timi at all. He still thinks he’s right to encourage her to go and stay inside but… if that’s not going to work, and it certainly seems like the mother of all lost fu-freaking causes, then he’s going to have to get smarter about it. The last thing he wants is for her to never ask Robin for help because she feels she can’t. Jason pilots his Batbike back on auto pilot, stopping only to greet Alfred, Bruce and Dick properly (so that he isn’t suspected of anything) before heading into the shower to wash off and plan more. He’s the one that has access to Bat-tech, maybe it’s time he used that to his advantage? He not only has access to the equipment she lugs out with her as Robin but also as Jason. Perhaps, he thinks as he gets the last of the patrol sweat and temporary hair dye out of his hair, it’s time he started playing unfair himself a little. Perhaps if he gets a tracker onto her as Jason, she won’t see it there and he can just follow it as Robin and make sure she stays out of the line of fire? Hmm maybe something with an automatic panic switch, somehow?

He’ll have to check the available equipment and see if there is something he can steal. If not the beacon and tracker combo, he’d really like Robin to give her a panic switch too. So maybe get a tracker into the lining of something as Jason and give her a way to reach him in an emergency as Robin? – this sounds like a plan and also: He knows where the trackers and panic buttons are already. If he goes this route, he doesn’t have to ask for anything from anyone or face any questions he doesn’t know how to answer without this whole shebang being discovered. Bruce is already weird about Timi already, though how the fuck he doesn’t like her is beyond Jason – she’s the most perfect princess at high society functions, polite in a way Jason hasn’t and won’t be with ‘polite’ company ever, polite with Bruce when away from those setting too (even when he’s on his worst behavior – grunting at company? Really B come on!) and obviously cares for Jason and now Dick, Babs and Alfred too. Not to mention she’s tiny and therefore adorable by default. What’s not to love? He just doesn’t get it. Finding out she follows them as a civilian might precipitate Bruce trying to make Jason not be around her anymore, and that is not an option Jason is ever willing to entertain.

One year was more than enough, thank(fuck) you very much! Bug is family for Jason. Not sister family, but family all the same. He won’t lose her because Bruce is a weird idiot! No, best that he deals with this himself. So yes, tracker on her as Jason and panic button given to her as Robin. Good plan. Mind made up and therefore calm, Jason gets out of the warm water and into his post-patrol tee and lighter sweatpants, leaving the jacket still in his locker. Despite it being early October, he still isn’t feeling the cold. He used to around this time of year in previous years so maybe it’s because he’s bigger now? He hopes so. He’s not only taller but also way more muscle dense – though he’s still the smallest of the Bats. He hasn’t even eclipsed Barbie yet. Though he’s getting there! Just a couple more inches and they’ll be of a height. He knows Dr Thompkins said his growth might stunt a little, but he’s been on a restorative diet for a year and a half – which is the time she told him to worry about. But then again, his dad said he didn’t have a growth spurt until he was about fourteen or fifteen, so he might be waiting a little longer. His dad ended up being about six-foot-one and lived in worse conditions then Jason did and does now! There is still hope left!

As he winds his way into the Cave, he’s preoccupied but still notices several things. He’d love to attribute the ability to split his focus to all the work he’s done as Robin, but he had hyper vigilance down after six hours of living rough. Anyway. One: it’s dead silent except for ambient noises, which is usual with both Dick and Babs in attendance. Two: Everyone is clustered about the Bat-computer and as soon as Barbie sees him, she gestures to come over. Three: Bruce is sitting ramrod straight in the chair in front of the massive edifice he decided he needed as a PC here, which usually means he has something important to say, or he’d be slouching in a way question-marks have to work for (yet another way Bruce is similar to Bug actually – it’s still cuter when she does it though.). Four: Dick has his eyes on the screen and only the screen and that’s very unusual, especially with Nightwing gone as both him and Babs are in civvies.

“Okay… What gives? Did Joker get out again anyways? I thought tha extra measures were gonna keep ‘im in till at least New Year this time!” Barbara smirks a little but does move to reassure him.

“They still should, good catch on the Joker Venom barrels by the way. No, Little Bird, this is something different.”

“Okaaaay? Anyone gonna tell me what’s up or do I gotta guess? Cause with Dickie lookin’ so serious I ain’t sure I wanna.”

“Dick’s overreaction aside, you should be working on your accent like I asked you to.” Comes from Bruce because he’s a killjoy of the highest order. Jason’s offended though – he does watch his accent! Especially at school – and that in addition to the no swearing rule!

“Ya said I could keep tha accent as Robin though! Don’t use now as a’ example – I ain’t at school right now!” Comes from Jason at the same time as Dick’s offended. “It’s not overreacting to check a plan thoroughly! Especially when you drop it directly in my lap!”

Bruce just rolls his eyes and doesn’t say anything – which is more than enough to get both of his wards pissed off. Dick goes off – apparently Bruce is making him do extra work he doesn’t feel he deserves but Jason just glares. Barbara reaches out a commiserating hand to grasp Dick’s shoulder and once Dick subsides also reaches out a hand to pull Jason gently closer so she can then swing that arm over his shoulder.

“Quit being an ass to your birds, Big Bat, or you’re going to lose them both and I ‘ain’t’ losing one or both because of you! Not again!” Bruce tilts his head in acknowledgement, which just makes Jason angrier, but he quickly stamps on it, so he doesn’t snap at Barbara. Barbara seems to notice anyway and takes the initiative. “Bruce thinks it’s time for you to have a little more independence Little Bird! My sincerest congratulations to you! Since all know how much of a controlling ass the Bat is, that’s quite the achievement!” This is said pointedly enough that Bruce sighs. Okay it’s a little funnier now with Barbara being snide – Jason’s irritation dims a little and he tries to be less of an instant killjoy. Plus, this sounds important enough that he needs to pay attention. “But there is an obstacle in your way first. Robin I and I had to separately complete something Bruce called The Gauntlet. It’s a solo case with medium stakes that you must completely solve by yourself. Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to try and foil Scarecrow before he gets too into his plans for Halloween! If you get in over your head, we will still be just a call away for support but having support means you’ll likely fail and your chance at full solo patrols will have to wait for a little while longer.”

Oh. Fuck. That does sound serious. “No support at all? Or can I ask questions once we’re back home again? What about if I need help for the takedown due to hired muscle or dangerous conditions?”

“Oooh good questions!” Jason sighs a little as he’s pulled into a light headlock by Babs. He doesn’t try to escape, it’ll be over faster if he doesn’t resist. “Dickie had to go it alone because someone didn’t mention he was being tested and just banned me from the cave for a week-” Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose. Good. Be exasperated old man, you deserve it! “-But when I did mine, I did chat with Dick about it in our off time. No help on mission though – buuut I think if you’re worried for yours, someone else’s or Gotham’s safety you will have to swallow your pride and concede. It’ll be hard but that’s a good lesson too. What’s the verdict N?”

“I say we’ll both be available for questions when not on patrol. Talk or text and frankly I’d rather you ask and organize backup if you, a hostage or Gotham itself, are in danger. Asking for help appropriately shouldn’t be penalized – but that’s something I’m more willing to debate over.” Barbara subsides on the obvious argument she was brewing but Bruce looks mutinous, which spurs Dick into continuing. “And before you can put your foot in your mouth again tonight, old man, the first of those rules is the condition for me doing this at all. Otherwise, we go back to me arguing that you should just trust your partner more and they don’t need ridiculous tests to prove their worth! Jason’s already a better Robin then me at the same age and he’s had less time in the mask!” Jason feels a shot of warmth go through him at Dick’s easy praise. That isn’t true, of course. Or not as true as Jason would like. While Jason is possibly better at social dynamics, comforting kids, plans and maybe (very maybe) detective work, Dick still outshines him in stealth, general acrobatics, grace and tech fluency. He still has a lot to learn.

“Dick-” But Dick’s apparently done with all things Bruce for tonight because he cuts B off in short order.

“These are my condition B, do you accept it or not?” is sharp in it’s bark. But the bites gonna be worse if Batman doesn’t get his head out of his ass soon.

“I don’t have to negoti-” This time the cut off comes with a eye-roll of pure vitriol.

“This are my condition Batman, my single hill I am willing to die on, and if you don’t want me and Batgirl actively working against you, you will listen to us.”

B opens his mouth but is cut off by Barbara’s sharp “Seconded!”

And then again by an unexpected ally, with Alfred’s “I concur as well, Master Bruce. The Gauntlet may be non-negotiable as you’ve made yourself more than clear, but you asked Nightwing and Batgirl to take part in this and so you must listen to their opinions. You cannot make unilateral decisions when you agree to collaborate! Further, if I may be so bold sir, you asked for their opinions for a reason and that reason was the mistakes made previously with their Gauntlet challenges. If you won’t listen to them at all, how are you going to avoid those same mistakes again? Wasn’t that the conversation we had about this previously?” Alfred speaks from further away, having obviously just finished some sort of work on the Batmobile as he’s rubbing the grease from his hands and is sands his usual coat jacket, with his sleeves rolled to his elbow and his mechanical-work apron on. Jason wonders if, in Bruce’s head, Bruce thought he’d distracted Alfred enough that he could easily cowed his children’s right for autonomy before Alfred came back. Stupid thinking if so, but that’s only Jason’s conjecture.

“Alf-” at Alfred’s Eyebrow of Doom Bruce deflates a little. “Okay, Jason may contact both Dick and Barbara outside of patrol hours for advice. Though, surely, we can all agree it should only be generic advice?” Alfred comes back into the conversation before anyone else can comment.

“And me as well, Master Jason. And no, Master Bruce. Generic advice would mean we have no idea how Jason is doing and are, once again, lost in the dark. After some of the foibles with past Gauntlets I do not want that to be the case this time. Non-generic advice is the best way forward. Jason can ask for as much help as he needs but will have to act on that advice alone… And I suppose we should set a rule that he cannot ask for a gameplan, since it’s currently only implied rather than stated. I think stating everything plainly should be the way forward.” Alfred ends his stated terms maintaining his unimpressed demeanor. Dick is smirking now, and Barbara is trying to cover her own amusement.

Bruce, of course, stands only mildly cowed and now a little pissed off. Certainly bitchy at least, judging by his facial expression.

“Well with support like this how can I say no.” Comes out full of sarcastic smarm. Alfred’s eye contact with his pain-in-the-ass-son turns electric.

“You have chosen to have children, my boy, even if you won’t go right through with full adoption. Why are you surprised that I’d give them just as much of my protection as I did you when you were the same age? Frankly you should be amazed that I give into you as much as I do – after all a grandfather’s role is to coddle, rather than strictly teach like a father’s should be. I should be fighting you for them far, far more. You and I are meant to find solutions together because you are meant to listen to me and let me lighten the rules to allow for your children to grow properly, rather than having to run.”

“I never agreed to having children. That’s not a deal I made with anyone here. In fact, when I offered in more naive days, then again when I should have known better – I was rejected out of hand. I will not make that mistake again. I do not need sons. I do not need and did not want Robin, Batgirl or Nightwing – but I do need effective vigilantes if they’re going to insist themselves on my city.” With that huffy-tantrum-esc statement delivered, Bruce walks away. Dick growls, Babs sighs and Jason tries not to let the sting of those words show on his face. Alfred’s face has turned thunderous, and he calls across the Cave to Bruce’s retreating back.

“Fatherhood isn’t a deal you make, Master Wayne or a need to be fulfilled. It is a state of being you enter when you choose to look after children full-time. If you do not believe that is what you are doing and have done for years, then there is no hope for you. Madam Martha and Mister Thomas would be so disappointed to hear of you constantly retaliating for hurt you received from a freshly grieving nine-year-old boy or a still quite young man who refused to leave his little brother behind – and further retaliating against that young man still but also me and the children you chose to let in after Master Dick’s arrival. As your father I have never been quite so disappointed.” Bruce whirls. Well at least they’re all hurt now.

“I off-”

“It is not a deal, Master Wayne. You cannot offer it and have it rejected like a spurned business deal, and it has not been rejected – the only thing that has been rejected are the trappings of it being official for one son but not the other. You are being petulant over paperwork to the point where you will be lucky to walk this back. And you and I both know it was far more complicated then you put it, which means all this has far more to do with your pride then anything you need or want either. Pride for fathers are their children, that’s the ‘hard lesson’. Do you want Jason and Dick to accept you on paper as their father? To make official a job you have tried to do?”

“I don’t ne-”

“That isn’t what I asked, my boy. You know the drill, or you bloody well should by now! You have to earn their vulnerability and the very first step is a costly one indeed: Give up pride and be vulnerable to them, even when they hurt you. And they will hurt you, even in the best circumstances. Nothing grows perfectly. No one grows perfectly. There is not a soul who has walked this earth that hasn’t managed to hurt a guardian at some point or another during the trial that is childhood. Do you want them to accept you that way?”

“Yes.”

“Good! Honesty at last. Well, if that’s what you want, then get on track and earn it! But not tonight. Tonight, you’ve done more than enough damage already. Go and shower, I will take this from here.”

“Bu-”

“Goodnight, my boy. Please. I need space too.” With that Bruce turns slowly and leaves the main space. Jason clusters close with his family – minus one – and they all try and find a little comfort together.

Babs pulls him away after a little while so Alfred can talk privately to Dick, and fair enough, this was mostly aimed at Dick... and Alfred – Jason and Babs are collateral again… But Babs has James Gordon, Jason doesn’t have another adult aside from Alfred and Bruce now. Jason tries to breathe through the pain but quickly gets squished into a hug with Babs.

“How about you, me, Dick and your little Buggy go and get burgers and milkshakes after school tomorrow, hmm? I heard she’s also having a hell of a time lately. Something, something, the human reproductive system is horrible garbage?” Jason nods against Babs’ shoulder and tries not to get tears on her sweater before he pulls away when he can’t stem the flow. Babs just grimaces in commiseration and keeps a hold of him but lets him lean away and stem with a tissue.

Once he gets himself a little more together, he asks “Can we go ta Super Shake Shack? They make burgers with decent beef – if Bug ain’t anemic after this I’ll eat a retired pixie boot.”

“Oof? That’s certainty right there… I take it The Lady of Ice and Snow only saw fit to cow the idiots bringing shame to her family and only child, before sweeping off again?”

“That’s all she ever seems ta do anymore… She usedta look afta ‘er more but, now it’s like she doesn’t care. Or thinks Bug should be able ta do it all ‘erself, even though she’s only eleven. Would ya… Talk ta Bug too? I know yer experience is a little different, but it’s still bin a difficult journey fer ya and maybe if’n sh had someone older ta tell ‘er it’s okay ta ask fer help, she might actually ask n’ act preemptively instead a’ only asking fer help n’ taking meds once she’s unable ta do anythin’ anymore in a misguided attempt ta be ‘strong enough’.”

“I’m the only older girl you could ask, I suppose, but I really don’t have her experiences Little Bird. She would be well within her rights to tell me I don’t get it and she wouldn’t be entirely wrong.”

Well… Yes, that’s a bit true but that’s not really how Bug works or how she sees Babs. “It ain’t just that! Sure, we only have one big sister figure between us but even if you don’t have the same experience, Bug looks up ta ya a lot! She respects yer opinion above all, and she thinks ye’re a badass! N’ if even tha indomitable Barbara Gordon still needed medical help and compassionate doctors, maybe she might realize she needs ta treat ‘erself a little betta while she waits fer things ta settle down a bit.” Babs smiles for him, warm and bright.

“You’re a good egg, Charlie Brown. Done deal both on place and I’ll take a moment or two to chat with Timi while we hit up the arcade after mmkay? I can’t promise anything but you’re right – if she’s avoiding help because she should be ‘tougher’ then I do have a few things I can say.” Oooh, the arcade sounds good. They should have the new plushies out. It’s probably too on the nose to get Bug a Robin plush… Plus no one but Bug has noticed that there is a new Robin to begin with. But she loves Batgirl too, and if they’re a newer range they’ll likely have corrected Babs’ hair to the wild curly look she sports now she’s stopped beating her hair into submission.

“Easiest done deal BG” Jason feels a weight on his shoulder and is thoroughly unsurprised to find that it’s Dick in search of cuddle time. Jason reaches up to squeeze one of the arms now wrapped around his shoulders. Dick squeezes him back just as gently.

“What’s a done deal?” Big Bird enquires from his new perch on Jason’s shoulder.

“Me, my birds and a Bug for burgers, shakes and an arcade run tomorrow. I take it you’re gonna ride with me and crash on the couch?”

“Ooh sounds like fun! Yes, to both. I wanna be in Gotham for a few more days but I can’t be here with… Him.”

“Little Bird, do you want to come too? I have an army cot stashed away… It’s not too, too bad.” Jason flicks his gaze to Alfred to find it returned easily. Not even a hint of melancholy. Alf acting like he doesn’t mind is usually a sure-fire way to tell he might need someone too.

“Nah. Maybe soon but fer now I’ll stick it out with Alfie.”

Both Dickybird and Babs nod to his plan and say their goodbyes to leave Jason with Alfred. Jason immediately takes the initiative to hug his grandfather and is warmly embraced back.

“Ye know I think a’ ya as my grandfather right Alfie?” Alfred tightens his hold on Jason for a moment and Jason can feel a light tremor through the man – tonight must have really shaken him, Alfred usually doesn’t ever show that he needs comfort.

“Oh yes, lad, never doubt that I see your love every day. And never doubt I don’t return it in spades. Never doubt Bruce doesn’t love you either… even with his unique ability to stick his foot in his mouth and then out stubborn anyone trying to help him dislodge it. You are wanted. This place will be your home as long as you wish it to be. Now, how about a cup of something restorative and then off to bed? I will have to insist on no late-night jaunts tonight, your Shutterbug will be fine for this evening I trust.”

“Yeah, she’ll be okay. Babs is gonna talk ta ‘er tomorrow afta school. We’ll be late home.”

“So I heard, and on the subject of miss Timi not asking for help: If anyone is the poster child for the strength to ask for what she needed, it is most certainly Miss Barbara!” Jason smiles and agrees and he and Alfie head upstairs to split a pot of spice tea before going to bed and trying to find some sort of peace.

The tea goes down easy, the peace and therefore sleep is a little harder to come by.

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

Shutterbug and Seaglass Part 6 (for now): The Gauntlet Chapter 1

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62723878/chapters/160575775 - For anyone without an Ao3 account or who don't want to move website chapter one is linked below the cut!

Jason is very tired! Not only is Bruce riding his ass during Robin training, with the difficulty curve firmly climbing as Batman strives for Robin to be semi-independent and to take his own cases, but he’s also been dealing with hell from Gotham Academy both socially and scholastically because the idiots in his class have made him the ‘top dog’ that they have to beat up and he doesn’t want them hurting the new friends he has and because all his teachers seem hell bent on getting his grades down. Mrs Harthway has been riding his ass in biology. She always asks him to explain what they are learning, in his own words, no matter how he looks or acts in class. He could put his gaze on her face and/or his workbook the entire lesson or look out the window the whole time it doesn’t seem to matter. Then Mr Ranic has been making calculus even harder than it needs to be, asking him to the front to demonstrate work that he only gets 80% of the time. Even Mr Lavier in English Lit has been nitpicking his writing style! He likes English Lit – and he’s good at it! He knows he is! He’s won academic excellence in the class almost every year since they introduced it as a subject! For the first time in his life now though, Jason is very worried about his report card – and this is the start of the year! One part of it is vanity and pride but the other is if Bruce thinks his schooling is suffering, he won’t let Jason out as Robin and that’s terrible for many reasons.

Chief, amongst the reasons right now, comes in the form of a tiny stalker with a camera. Shutterbug continues to live up to her nickname and follows Batman and Robin often still. Hell even with his best efforts, Timi won’t fu-freaking stay home! He finds her following their patrol route more nights then he doesn’t and now he knows just how dangerous that is! He cannot seem to convince her it’s dangerous – she either deflects saying she’s done it for years and been fine or she straight up disappears. Which she still shouldn’t be able to do! He’s Robin! He’s her best friend! He should be able to find her! Why is his best friend so freaking sneaky? Also, he knows when she did late night stalking before he was with her – but Robin doesn’t and can’t know that! When they were kids together it was better too, Jason knew the streets and the people and could look after the tiny high-society pipsqueak – but now Jason is Robin! He can’t afford to get distracted by her following them into every dangerous situation and she does follow them to many dangerous situations – he’s almost certain of it.

It isn’t that he’s not glad she remained a fan of Robin, even with the loss of Dick Grayson from the role. He’d been terrified that she wouldn’t like him as Robin at all, and he’d have to deal with her disappointment as well as Batman’s training. Thankfully not, she seems to like him fine – heck sometimes he wonders if she likes him a little better as Robin then Dickie and that’s a heck of an ego boost! Not that he can gloat to Dick about that but it’s nice to think about when it still feels that Dick has set a standard Jason hasn’t and maybe will never manage to match. Even with that constant source of disappointment – at least he still has the adoration of his best friend and he’s still her hero – even if she doesn’t know it’s him. No, it has more to do with how much danger Timi will get herself in just to see him in action. He caught her snooping around Joker’s barrels of Joker Venom last night! Sure, that led him to the barrels and he and B were able to get rid of them and firmly spoil Joker’s Halloween plans (not to mention B was able to track Joker down and deliver him to Arkham early this morning while Robin II had solo patrol. Joker isn’t going to be able to get out for this Halloween at all – and that’s a HUGE RELIEF because Halloween in Gotham is bonkers enough) but many of those barrels were in terrible condition! They could have leaked and then he would have had to find Bug while she was lost to Joker Venom! Just the thought of her face caught in that horrible rictus of a grin and all that horrible laughter…

That would be terrible! God… Just thinking about it makes him fu-freaking nauseated.

Speaking of nauseated, Bug… Does not look well. While she isn’t almost green, like she would be if she was going to be sick, she is white as a sheet (even with her skin tone being that light, he can still tell – it’s like her skin is made of parchment), tucked into as small a ball as she can go, in her full winter uniform in earlyish fall and he can see fine tremors running through her frame. Like she’s freezing. But the eighth-grade lunch area is warmly lit by the sun and everyone else doesn’t have even a hint of jumper and there are only a few cases of long pants. Jason himself actually feels overly warm and he’s in full summer uniform, and he will continue this way as long as he can, because the summer uniform doesn’t have a tie, and Jason doesn’t feel the cold until it’s actually winter. Usually, Jason would announce himself and start some sort of debate with Ives or a discussion with Callie – two friends Timi met in Brentwood, who also hated boarding school life and thus followed her to Gotham Academy the year after she left. Both of them are a year older then Timi but a year younger then Jason, and both are smart cookies. Ives (he refuses to be known by his first name at all and was very clear about that boundary) seems more like the traditional nerd, while Callie seems a bit more of a punk. – but today Jason backtracks quickly so he can grab his sport jacket (it’s warmer than the school jumper and Timi shouldn’t get in trouble as it’s still part of the uniform) from his backpack and circles back silently.

Sebastian Ives and Callie Evans were a godsend for both Jason and Bug over summer because it lets Timi have other friends, and he could use them to distract Bug while Jason’s Robin training ramped up... and they’re now Jason’s friends too. Well, hopefully. Jason can be a little standoffish with new people, but they seem too tough to be scared away easily and it’s so nice to have a (small) group of non-assholes to fall back on. Now that the school year has started, they’ve also inadvertently helped Jason again. The trick of it has been that Jason is trying to get into university early, just like Dick did before him, but to do that he has had to cut down more of the classes he’s less useful in and pick all the AP classes he’s going to pass with flying colours and while Bug matches him in a stunning number of those classes, there are a few he just doesn’t have the chops for and one of those things is music class. This would have left Bug alone in music – and she was thinking of dropping the class too, which would have been terrible! Bug’s way to talented in music for her to let it go! - if not now for Callie and Ives, both of whom love music, are in the AP music class and are excited to try and piece a band together. This then further encouraged Timi to keep up the bass guitar, too, which is a new passion from Brentwood (and it suits her – she always looks like she’s having fun when she plays bass) and something Jason wants for her even if Jack Drake doesn’t think it ‘proper’.

Returning to the lunch courtyard, jacket in hand, Jason finally approaches his group of friends. They’re all in companionable silence mode – though he can sense both Ives and Callie being worried for Bug. Ives radiating confused/worry, like Jason himself, but Callie isn’t, and Jason takes note of that. Callie is best described as being worried/commiserating – so Jason guesses she thinks this is normal. Or part of it is. Weird. Maybe if Jason was a better detective he’d wait longer and figure it all out first, but Timi looks miserable, and Jason’s never dealt with that well. So, time to bull ahead and he’ll fix it as he goes. He’s all for incorporating B’s lessons into everyday life but Jason is safe with Bug, and, in time, he suspects he’ll be the same with Callie and Ives, too. They seem to be good kids, so far, if a bit prone to making bets (Ives) and making stupid jokes (Callie). Jason plonks himself down next to Bug and throws an arm around her shoulders. Oh sh-jeez – her entire back is locked up, no wonder she looks so uncomfortable! The minute he rubs a hand down her back she makes a cat-start-up noise and slumps forward into him. What the fuck?

“Hmm, looks like your job is human hot water bottle, Jay” Callie says easily. She sounds relieved.

“Okaaaaay?” He replies in question.

“If you really want to help, best thing is getting your hand under her jumper with your hand flat across her lower back.” Jason blinks before doing exactly that and Timi slumps further into him, eyes closing and humming in contentment.

“What the fuck? You sure she ain’t just part cat?” Thank God for Ives, asking questions Jason would very much also like the answers to. If not, always the way Jason would ask, though. Have some tact man!

“No! Well… Maybe actually. It’s kinda adorable she does that, but it’s ‘cause of the heat. She’s cramping really badly and Jay’s a furnace.” Timi didn’t have PE or anything that would lead to muscle cramps though…

“Wow, did you sleep like a pretzel Drake?” Huh… Ives seems to prefer last names in general. Though Jason’s never heard him called Callie ‘Evans’ so maybe it’s a an opt-out thing? Timi doesn’t respond, though. She seems to be falling asleep, actually. Callie does though.

“No, you idiot! Not muscle cramps! Period cramps!”

“Gross!” Ives retort brings out an eye-roll of hilariously alarming proportions from Callie. Jason keeps his face neutral and says nothing.

It isn’t that he isn’t a little grossed out, but the worry eclipses it easily. He thought and hoped Bug would be older then eleven before she had to deal with this shit. Sounds like Callie deals with it too, so maybe he should adjust his timeline on when this shit happens. Certainly, he doesn’t know much about it, and had been a little grossed out when the research came with pictures, so had been avoiding thinking on it and assumed that it would be a problem later enough for him to get over himself – plus guys or people who look masculine enough to be assumed as guys asking questions about such things is still kinda frowned upon, even though it happens to half the freaking population. You’d think people would want to forewarn and forearm everyone, no matter how they look or present but no. Apparently, it’s not ‘proper’ to do so either. The obsession with propriety in Gotham’s upper-class society is so stupid! He quickly decides he’ll glean what he can from this conversation – and it’s a good choice because Callie gives them both a deluge of info. Things he can work on knowing more about with time.

“They’re always worse when they’re new and she only started during the last couple of weeks of summer. That’s why I was over at her place so much at the end of the holidays. I got mine at the same age, so I know what she was going through and the answers to some of her questions. Plus, Mrs. Drake is still in Belize and Mrs. Mac had that weekend off, so I stayed with her while she got used to all the new stuff she had to do and get her to try all the products she’ll have to deal with. Judging by her falling asleep, I think this one must have kept her up most of the night. The pain is weird to get used to and Timi’s seems to be worse than mine was.” No… She was up most of the night because she was following Robin out on patrol.

How much sleep she got out of the four-to-six or so hours she had otherwise, though, might have been affected by the period and associated cramps. By the looks of things Jason would be surprised if she got any sleep at all. He’d also guess that Mrs. Mac has found and subsequently gotten rid of the caffeine supply at the Drake townhouse again, as normally Timi would make up for the shortfall of sleep with coffee…. It’s actually unusual to see her this sleepy or unwell at school at all, and while she doesn’t have the blue bruise-like marks under her eyes yet, one more bad night and she will do. Though he may still be the only person who notices as she also tends to load up on heavy-duty concealer when that’s happening, unlike when she was small(er) and didn’t yet know how carve an almost entirely new face from the one she actually has. Stupid rich people standards. An eleven-year-old should not be able to teach a masterclass on using colour-corrector colour theory and contouring to hide any imperfection visible to the naked eye! Now it’s just another sign of how tired she is that today her face is free of makeup and thus subject to showing her full health (or lack thereof) on her face.

Hopefully if he lets her sleep for a while she might be able to make it through without looking like dog-crap first. Jason swings Timi fully into his lap, a little alarmed at her not really responding to the movement at all – he knows she trusts him, but Jesus Christ how does one sleep through that? He sighs when all she does is tucking her face into his neck so she can fall fully asleep… and that’s when Jason remembers his jacket.

“Come-on Bug, look alive fer a tick.” Bug whines at him but that’s all, she makes no attempt to move.

Jason can’t quite help the eye roll – it’s a Pavlovian response to his, once only, friend being a pain in the ass. He holds his jacket at her eye level with the arm not holding her up. Kane Blue eyes slit open, before they come open more fully at the sight of salvation-via-warm-jacket. Timi scrambles out of her jumper, revealing pink patches at her elbows and wrists that tell him that the wool has been inching her for hours (not an allergy according to Janet Drake, but Jason has his doubts), and then scrambles into his jacket. It’s a violent enough process that Jason’s stunned that she doesn’t elbow him in the gut at any point, but she manages to get it on and zip it up all without moving herself an inch from his lap. The minute she’s finished she slumps right back into tucking her face and Jason gets his hand back to her lower back.

Ives and Callie don’t say anything about it, which Jason is grateful for and is further grateful when Ives launches into a discussion on Star Wars vs Star Trek that sucks Callie in immediately and Jason joins in shortly after, leaving Bug to sleep in peace, breath even and completely relaxed into the crook of his neck. Though she’ll likely be sad she missed this chat later, but her sleep is more important. The fierce debate lasts most of lunch, with Callie and Jason both advocating for Star Trek over Star Wars and then more for Voyager over the Original Series, DS9 and Next Generation because of the female captain. Ives makes good points about good female representation in the other series but having a woman as a captain, and further that her crew all respect her authority, still trumps the great strides characters like Uhura, Dr Crusher, Diana Troy and Kira Nerys made – though that last example was more concurrent then leading the charge. Also, Jason does concede that Janeway stands on their collective shoulders. Callie is a little more unforgiving, and quick to call Ives an idiot - which is hilarious, but not surprising, given she’s got more insight then him and Ives combined. After that the conversation transitions several times, none of them seem to want to debate over anything else – though Jason does get a recommendation for a couple of cartoon series that sound fun.

When the lunch bell goes, Jason just scoops Timi up onto his hip without waking her. A feat Ives is impressed by, going by the whistle – but this isn’t new ground for Jason at all. He’s been carrying Timi around with him since he was about eight or nine. He doesn’t wake her either, she’s too used to him for her to wake and he wants her to stay asleep at the moment. They both have study-hall after lunch until the end of the day, with nothing is due yet because it’s just the start of the school year, so he’ll wake her up properly just before they head back to the manor. Timi’s been spending time at the manor after school every day and most days of the holidays, consistently, not just when Dick is over to distract Bruce, ever since Alfie turned up at the Drake townhouse and revealed he knew that Jason had been regularly sneaking out, so today won’t be an outlier. Jason even texts Alfred so he’s aware of what’s going on. Alfred returns that he will bring a car with black upholstery and go and grab a comfortable and warm set of clothes for Timi from the Drake townhouse while Mrs. Mac is there for cleaning. Mrs Mac now only comes in the evening to help Timi make dinner a few nights a week, but Jason is sure the woman will be glad to help.

***************

It turns out Jason has a lot to learn, and proceeds to learn a lot, about how periods work in the coming days and weeks. He resolves to think of it as ‘monthly hell’ for Bug, the more he learns. Or it will be monthly eventually. Apparently, it takes a while to fall into a good pattern and Bug, as usual, has the short end of the stick and ends up bleeding every two weeks with very little stopping time in between. Adding possible anemia to her list of things she can be sick with. September is rough and the start of October isn’t much better. Jason gets used to carrying Bug around again like he did when they were true kids because sometimes if a cramp hits her while walking between classes, she’ll collapse and be unable to move until it passes, and their teachers are wholly unprepared for what to do about it. Which is stupid! Jason won’t have Timi punished because their teachers are slow on the uptake! Him being slow on the uptake is understandable, that they’re being slow is ridiculous. Especially ridiculous are the teachers who want her to move class because they ‘don’t have the expertise to deal with this issue’ – like most people with the necessary parts won’t experience this ‘issue’ somewhere between the ages of almost twelve to nearly seventeen! A lot of that bracket is middle school!

At least most of the staff adapt very quickly once the dust settles a little – sure, Timi’s a little young but time waits for no-one and so they’re sympathetic and quickly learn to supply Timi with hall passes when she says she needs one. The rest of the staff, on the other hand, have to learn the hard way for everyone. Leaving both them and Timi utterly mortified because they argue with her until it’s too late and she’s bleeding through her uniform again and again and again, even with the suggestions of doubling up. Which is also super uncomfortable (according to Bug: you know the person this is happening to and thus the authority on the subject), as tampons are apparently tricky to get used to and she already has to deal with pads, which just never seem to be enough unless she changes them like ten times a day. Mrs. Mac had to come to the school with fresh uniforms more during those two weeks then she’s ever had to through all the rest of Timi’s schooling combined! Poor Bug is so mortified she even begs a day or two off – which is so rare it’s almost unheard of unless she’s legitimately sick, and even then, she can be very stubborn.

Along the way Jason learns several things that apply more broadly, and he keeps notes for Robin – as Robin understanding what could halt or make someone slow is very important information in a crisis. Menstrual cycles are, apparently, very variable in how they work for different people. Some people (the lucky few) don’t feel much at all, some people have a little pain in the first few days (his remembers his mom was that way), some people need a mild painkiller regime and to take their day a little more slowly for the first couple of days of their period and they’ll be okay, some people have a fair amount of pain and can either nope out of it completely via going on some kind of birth control or having their period chemically blocked or they need to take days off work or school, some people have more trouble with the influx of hormones then they do with bleeding, some people have debilitating pain with either the rush of hormones itself or bleeding, but a weirdly large number of the people who do have periods seem unwilling to admit their experience isn’t universal and an alarmingly large group of people who will never have to worry about periods have a surprising amount of stupid opinions about them, further entrenching the first group. It’s a mess.

He also learns that the heaviness of the flow can have something to do with the pain, but it doesn’t always – which feel counterintuitive but if he can think the human body is fucking stupid just for his own experience, he shouldn’t and isn’t surprised that it is that way for others too. Timi has what Jason would call debilitating pain and by the sounds of it she also tends toward heavy flow. It gets to the point where Jason can tell when she’s at her worst because if she stands too suddenly the colour disappears from her face and she’ll almost be woozy. Plus, that’s not even touching on her pain state. Bug has always had a fair to reasonable pain tolerance but this – this makes her curl up in a small whimpering ball and Jason has seen Bug tank strep throat with an ear infection for two days because there was an important school assignment due! It would be ridiculous if it wasn’t so sad. And that’s not even coming close to how it fucks with her emotions. He’s seen her cry more since the school year began then he has ever. Soft ‘for kids’ animated films are too much right now. Not to mention it’s fucking ridiculous that she can’t handle this without showing she’s in pain and Jason views anyone who suggests just she’s ‘playing it up’ or ‘just can’t handle the PMS’ with open suspicion and (depending on who it is) hidden to extremely obvious derision.

If it comes from amongst his school cohort then Jason is ruthless, as usual, and it’ll precipitate violence very quickly as most things Jason ever says anything about or arcs up in reaction to does (He still can’t believe that people in this social class say ‘know your place’ and refer to him still as ‘gutter trash’ without the expectation of violence being returned for that insult. It’s so very stupid) – even with Ives trying to mediate (then again Ives has also been doing more punching too and even Callie laid out one of the more stubborn bitches in their class but alas these are the perils of being lower class or debilitated in this farce masquerading as education.). Amongst their teachers he’ll argue to the absolute extent he can get away with and even a little past it. Especially with the physical education staff. Luckily for Jason, Alfred is the one who answers the call from Gotham Academy about his recent behavior and thus Jason finds himself being congratulated by the school leadership for looking after his friend, rather than reprimanded for his shitty attitude. He keeps the smirk off his face at the grimaces of the staff while this is happening – but only just. Thank God for Alfie.

The ridiculous drama merry-go-round they’ve all found themselves on goes on for long enough that Jason’s starting to despair that it’ll never be easy for Bug, despite this being a natural process that happens to half the fucking population – but that’s when the cavalry arrives. That’s when Janet Drake (fricking finally) reads her emails and comes back into Gotham (without Jack thank fu-heavens) like vengeance on a war-horse. Janney, of Timi’s two bad parent options, has always been better about helping her child and this time she comes through in spades. Jason knows the show’s going to be good from the first time he sees Janney. She has her game face on – the one she wears when she needs to terrify the board of directors at Drake Industries, the one she slaps on for running the idiots trying to defraud the Martha Wayne Foundation out on a rail. The one even Jack is weary of. It makes her look like she’s been sculpted from ice, unforgiving and inhospitable ice, and the one that netted her the reputation of The Ice/Winter Queen amongst the Glittering 1% of Gotham.

The day after Janet lands she already had a boatload of specialist doctor appointments booked and then she arranges for parent/teacher interviews (Jason only wishes she was this diligent with doctors’ appointments for Timi’s general health!). It’s a whirl-wind week of pure chaos, before Lady Drake disappears as suddenly as she arrived. A lot of the contents of those doctor appointments is, of course, private and likely a little embarrassing – so Jason doesn’t pry very much. But the time spent talking to medical professionals does seem to help Timi’s confidence that this is mostly normal, that it might pass with time and what she should do in the meantime. Publicly the doctors help in so far as Bug suddenly has a naproxen prescription on tap and available, even at school, a mix of uniform options that see her able to wear long pants and the sport jacket for the foreseeable future (though she also has to wear the girl’s winter uniform tie to offset the staff’s collective horror at a girl in pants – fucking weirdos), a heat pad that is allowed into every one of her classes, an iron-clad doctors note excusing her from PE (especially the swimming lessons), an all-season-pass hall pass and a prep bag with all the supplies she could ever need. But it’s the parent/teacher interviews that see the real difference in staff behavior – and thus the real difference in Bug’s day to day life. Jason heard whispers it was akin to an open bloodbath.

Janet ripped every complaint to shreds, blatantly putting a lot of jobs on the line and all those ‘helpful’ suggestions were finally completely silenced. By ‘helpful’ here Jason means suggestions like automatically, with no parental over site because it was taking time for Janet to come home, putting an eleven-year-old on heavy hormonal birth control or have a hormonal IUD put in so she would ‘trouble’ her teachers at all (the letters sent home that Mrs. Mac more than happily and readily handed over are numerous for the short window of time they were sent in and range in tone from nice and faux-understanding to straight up demands of an extremely dubious nature). Given hormonal IUDs are completely new to the market, IUDs themselves have a complicated history that involve eugenics, insertion of one is considered excruciatingly painful for people who haven’t had a baby (even if an alarming number of doctors still say it isn’t), and the entire ‘Dalkon Shield’ debacle still hanging over the product (in which 21 women died and 13000 were dealt grave health and fertility issues), this seemed more a little unreasonable and that was to Jason. He can’t imagine a world where Janet Drake would take that well. And he was right. She most certainly didn’t.

Drake Industries is one of the leading Health Technology companies in the world and Janet didn’t hesitate to bring that wealth of data with her, forcing all of Gotham Academy’s staff to come in for ‘re-education regarding menstrual patterns and reproductive health issues to watch for in younger kids and teens’. In the aftermath there was new knowledge for all, a better nurse who has a wider range of medical knowledge (though the original also kept her job as two nurses for a middle school of this size is not unreasonable), more supplies, access to further information for all students and their parents, a new unit added to the health classes and a new clear directive from Janet for Timi: Bug is going to be left alone - aside from pain management, compassion from staff, class exceptions for physical movement and abundant bathroom breaks - while her body gets used to these brand-new processes and only then (also when the Drakes are back in the country and receptive to criticism – so approximately never) will Janet be even willing to consider other intervention options. No more discussion on the matter will be welcomed or entertained until that time.

School life is remarkably more peaceful after that, even for Jason because with all of the staff firmly cowed, they stop pressing any of their classes for answers or demonstrations and just stick to teaching lesson plans (plus Bug will probably keep up the trend of staying indoors at night… Right?). It’s a massive relief on several fronts.

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

Shutterbug and Seaglass Part 5 (for now) - Big Bird, Littlewing and now Babybird

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53743228

Put below the cut for anyone without an Ao3 account or who doesn't want to change websites

Jason is happily reading, Bug tucked up next to him playing Pocketmons, in the library at Wayne manor when Big Bird bounds in. Dick has been better lately, less argumentative with Bruce and happier than before. Bruce and Dick sat down to talk about two-ish months ago and it was a private chat, so Jason wasn’t there but he’s more than happy to reap the benefits. The part of him that’s terrified that he’ll be thrown out is still there but it’s quiet enough he can usually logic himself through it. Dick and Alfred love him, and he can see times Bruce is fond of him too. Plus, he’s a little older now and has almost three months of being actively (In the field) Robin under his belt. If he has to go it alone now, he’d be much better at it. Dick and Alfred wouldn’t leave him to be alone anyways – he’s almost certain of it and he’s seen before that neither would Bug or even Mrs. Mac.

Bug makes a triumphant noise as she finally catches an Eon to level up for her team of Eonvolutions, now that there are five of them they can take almost all the spots in a team with enough room she can still have her starter too, and Jason pops a bookmark in his book, puts it down on the side table and prepares to cut down the stupid before it can begin. Dick isn’t stupid, not as himself and certainly not as Nightwing but his sense of humor certainly makes him look it sometimes. No, Jason is being unfair, Dick looks the smart he is most of the time, but Jason is tired of Dick’s teasing him about Bug – that’s where the dumb is. He gets that he and Bug look close for friends. That’s because they are close! (aside from when he’s out as Robin) Bug and Jason act more like extensions of the same person than friends, but at twelve and ten respectively getting together is not going to happen! Not now, possibly not ever.

Jason has only just got over the idea that not all girls are gross early sometime last year and this the beginning of this year he’s had to deal with the realization that guys are cute too. His life is hard enough right now, he really doesn’t need Dick’s ‘match making’ skills when he’s still figuring out crushes and not getting flustered and tongue-tied – or worse, having his body react by itself - around pretty girls and guys (it’s always at the worst, most inappropriate times! Like when he can’t hide at all! Bodies are bullshit! He wants a refund!). Bug can just stay in her own category where he doesn’t have to think about her as anything other than Shutterbug. Thinking about her as a girl can only fuck him up further then he is already. Why are people so attractive? Why are the attractive people at his school almost universally horrible? He still has to fight assholes in his grade for ganging up on Bug a couple of times a week, so if he could stop realizing mid-fight that his opponents are kinda hot that would be great! It’s got him two gut shots this month that could have been avoided if he wasn’t off his game!

Bug will always be cute to Jason, but she mostly reminds him of Fizzgig from the The Land of Gorch at the moment, feisty and vicious as heck but oh so small, fluffy and easily kick-able. Half the reason Jason gets into fights at school is because Bug always starts shit! He knows why she does, and he mostly supports her, but Bug took having a reputation for caring for people ‘less fortunate’ and interpreted it (correctly) as the insult to poor people it is rather than a win for her and then decided to make that everyone else’s problem. All that he could forgive and applaud but more often than not it actually ends up being Jason’s problem. She will start a fight every time she gets called a ‘bleeding heart’ or ‘lover of gutter-trash’ and Jason knows it’s unfair bullshit but he’s also very tired of fighting because she decided to talk shit and now, he has to get in the way of the ‘get hit’ part of the equation. He knows she says she can defend herself and to a certain extent she can. Several years of martial arts training, learning trick roller-skating at the skate park and the parkour needed to keep up with bat-watching she did before he came to the Waynes have made her very strong for her size but six on one is still a little much for someone who has to go up on her toes to smack Jason upside the head. He’s not even the kid tallest in their grade!

Bug - at the entrance of her idol - has also stopped actively playing her GameKid but is still moving her character around on screen, away from patches of long grass, and letting her eyes flick down regularly so she isn’t staring. Dickie doesn’t really know what to make of Bug. He says she’s a little creepy, and Jason finds it hysterical that fucking Nightwing is leery of a Jason’s four-foot-nothing tiny, fluffy, weirdo best friend. It’s like watching a fully grown Golden Retriever get bullied by an entranced kitten. Though unlike a kitten in that situation Bug knows Big Bird is uncomfortable and has been trying to tame the stare thing she does. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, it’s still kinda central to who she is as a person. For as long as Jason has known her, Timianna Drake has had ‘The Stare’. A calculating gaze that can make you feel like a bug under a microscope.

Jason, too, had found it creepy at first but then he noticed that she did it to everything and everyone around her, a tiny staring sentinel but she’d also been five or six at the time, so he can recognize it was probably cuter then. So, he’d asked one day what she was doing. She’d explained that if she didn’t know how something worked, she had to look at it until she understood it. That made a certain amount of sense to Jason, observing something does give you way more data but that doesn't work for people. When he told her that all he’d gotten was stunned and confused doe-eyes which, even then, was Bug’s rarest kind of stare. “Then how do I work out how to act around people then? This is the only way I know how to work stuff out!” Jason couldn’t help laughing at her. If he laughed at her now, she’d hit him with a pillow or maybe flick him and huff, but back then it inspired a sad little frown and petulant puppy-eyes.

He’d apologized – the look had demanded it! - and explained that, while he was sure she did get a lot of information that way, most people find staring creepy, and their behavior would change because she was staring so intently at them. So, she couldn’t just stare where people could see her if she wanted to know how to act around someone. It would be far better for her to break up her staring, or not stare at all, and interact with someone instead to find out how to act. He’d had to fight laughing at her again when he realized she had never thought of that before. He’d assumed she had just weighted the pros and cons and assumed that the cost of being weird was worth the information, he hadn’t expected her to be utterly flummoxed by the idea that starting was creepy and antisocial.

It had been a humanizing moment, and deeply endearing – not that he had the language to know that back then. Until that point Jason had kinda thought Timi was a know-it-all and while they were friendly, he had thought she was also a little snobbish, so he had been keeping his distance. Turns out that no, she wasn’t snobbish, she was just utterly unsocialized and used silence to try and cover for her lack of social skills. The hesitation that he took for her being unimpressed and thinking herself above him was actually her pausing, fretful and slightly bewildered, because she had no idea what the appropriate response was. When he met her for the first time she had never even heard or used slang before – let alone the Old Gotham version that she was surrounded by once a week for music lessons - for Timi it was bewildering often, like when you only conversationally speak a language and watch a conversation of two people fluent in the language and by that he means the slang English, as Catherine had also taught Jason Spanish very early. Learning he could actually have things to teach her about life made him more willing to get to know her and the rest is history.

Ever since then Bug has, slowly, changed her behavior and tried to hide her calculating gaze but that’s tricky in a house of trained detectives. Especially when you don’t know about everyone’s alter egos and thus don’t suspect you can be caught quite so easily. Even if Dickie can’t see Bug staring, he’ll likely get his arm hair raising with the feeling he’s being watched. Because, while she has gotten so much better from when they were little, she still follows and stares at anyone she doesn’t know well and feels she needs to impress. She undertakes an amount of reconnaissance that would make the Bat proud, but it’s done with utter dedication, devotion and love and thus – to Jason – is still endearing. He might know a way to help her a little more in this case!

In a frame on Timi’s beside table is a photo of Dick and Timi in the foreground and Mary and John at the back from the last night the Flying Graysons were alive, and Jason thinks this may be the way to change Dick’s stand-off-ish manner with Jason’s weird little Muppet of a best friend. (God he’d love to say that to her face but he’s never going to be able to – she’d kick his ass – but it would be funny as hell until the ass kicking ensued.) At first, he thought it might be a little mean to present Dick with a copy of the photo, after all it was from the night his parents died, but then Jason noticed Big Bird didn’t have many photos of Mary and John Grayson. He then found out the majority of them had been taken from Dick by Gotham social services and then lost when he was put in Juvie because they had nowhere else to put him. The photos Dick had were the only copies of the photos as Haley’s performers traveled light and didn’t think to keep negatives for making copies. Dickie had ended up losing most of his things and by the time Bruce arranged for him to come to Wayne Manor all that was left was a few knickknacks and a pair of pajamas in an old, dirty, yellow backpack. Jason knew how much that stung! The social workers who took him from the hospital wouldn’t even accompany him home for his things either.

It had been quite a process convincing Bug to give Dick the photo though. She was very worried he’d be angry, and she’d lose access to Jason as a punishment. Jason hates that they both have been left with fears about being shut out or abandoned or banned from seeing each other. For Jason it makes sense, his mom turned to drugs because she couldn’t afford Chemotherapy for cancer, and he’d been turned out onto the street after escaping a group home he’d been threatened in five minutes after being dropped off. Bug though shouldn’t fear like he does, she should have an easy and stable life! Be a pampered little princess who’s utterly sure of herself, just like the rest of their classmates. It’s not just what he went through that makes her fear either. She won’t talk about it but Jason suspects that the reason Bug is so compliant with her parents’ wishes is because there is a heavy price tag attached to disobedience. They already leave her alone too much as is. Frankly Jason doesn’t trust Jack Drake not to be the worst kind of parent when faced with anything that could be twisted into ‘rebellion’, ‘acting out’ or ‘acting inappropriately’. The man can’t even be trusted to look after Timi when she’s legitimately sick.

Right! Action before Dick can get to whatever stupid he’s planning today. “Bug go get tha thing fer Big Bird”, he rolls his eyes at the purple-blue pleading puppy-eyes he’s instantly subjected to. Bug would very much like Jason to give Dick the photo, so she doesn’t have to, but he’s not going to be swayed. She makes it really, really hard though; those puppy eyes are nearly lethal. He gently pushes her off the couch and she makes time to flash him one last betrayed look before scurrying away to get to her backpack where they both left them after finishing their homework under Alfred’s watchful eye. He takes a big breath to get through the sting of her being anxious and him not protecting her from it. Jason has a plan! He’s thought about it a lot - It will work, he’s sure of it! If Bug gives this picture to Dickie it will start to change how he sees her and eventually net her Dick’s big brother protection and love too.

If Dick can get over his hate of near constant surveillance that stands in for affection from Bruce as well as Barbara’s, frankly, terrifying calculating eyes to maintain the-mother-of-all-crushes on Babs then he will fold like a wet house of cards to be a big brother for Bug – Timi’s sweeter by far, tiny, and way more harmless than Barbara will ever even pretend to be! Plus, Bug wants Dickie as her big brother. Just. So. Badly! It took Jason a while to realize it wasn’t a crush Bug has on Dick, it’s a fondness that has grown very large despite the absence of any interactions. It’s this fondness that trips her so badly when she tries to talk to him, making her stilted, awkward and painfully shy – even hiding behind Jason occasionally when she’s too done with emotions for a day and Dick bounces in to hang out. She already loves him, but Dick doesn’t know Bug at all and so she just about freezes in place, unsure of how to act ‘appropriately’.

Jason will concede to Timi that it’s a difficult situation to navigate alone. Any rejection, even mild rejection, from Dickie is going to hurt Bug like a knife to the side but the fondness that’s tripping her is adorable too – it was born from Big Bird hugging her and telling her she was special as an almost-baby. Once Dickie is aware of it, he’s going to lose his entire mind over it, not to mention his joy at the prospect of another little sibling. Timi’s love for Big Bird is purely platonic and cute as hell and if Jason can get Big Bird to see that rather than the ‘The Stare’ they’ll be set. Heck even if he can’t, it’ll at least convince Dick of what Jason keeps telling him: Bug stares because she wants to impress him, befriend him, if possible, but she doesn’t know how. Her staring is not because she wants to take you apart and see how you tick, unlike a certain Batgirl Jason happens to know.

Dick looks at Jason in surprise as Bug slips past him. “Sit down Big Bird, it’ll take Bug a while ta get back. Hopefully she doesn’t psych herself out nd’I haveta’ drag her back in here”. Dick’s surprise levels up to intrigued and he sits in the armchair opposite the loveseat Jason and Bug were sharing. They bantered back and forth a little for a few minutes, Jason making fun of Dick for nearly braining himself and eating roof gravel last night when Batgirl had flipped, admittedly very impressively, to go through a skylight and start a fight with the goons boxing up Scarecrow’s latest fear-gas experiment and Dick trying to land barbs about Jason and Bug ‘cozying’ up in the library together. Jason’s reasonable point that it’s a stormy November evening and cold - thus significantly warmer when huddled together is not making even the slightest dent in Big Bird’s teasing. Sigh.

Both of them quit when they hear Bug on the way back. He’s kinda glad she was taught to make a little noise when she’s coming back into a space to warn people off sensitive topics, because naturally the little shit is almost more silent then he is, and he has Robin training now! On the other hand, that’s a really weird thing to teach a child! Jason used to think it was because of her social class but now he’s had a chance to look, no other kid he knows does it and Jason is now as well acquainted with the glittering 1% as he’s willing to be. Jason feels fairly safe then at blaming that one directly on Jack Drake. Janet wouldn’t care as much and is far less likely to be a horrible human being who needs a warning that his impressionable daughter is coming into a room, so he can’t be an asshole anymore.

Bug peeks around the door and Jason watches Dick go on high alert. Why? For fu-goodness’ sake Dickie, she’s about as threatening as a chihuahua in a handbag! Sure, she stares like a mini supervillain but it’s not malicious. Maybe it’s because Bug looks guilty? Okay no. Jason has officially had enough of this noise. “Get over ‘ere ya tiny menace!” he snarks. Well at least that gets her pouting at him rather then looking like she accidentally turned everyone’s white laundry pink with an errant red sock.

“I still don’t like this plan.”

“I explained what happened ta all’a Dickie’s photos of his parents didn’t I?”

“Well…. Yes, but I still think this might be mean.”

At the mention of photos of his parents Dickie’s cocked his head. The move is very avian and far more common and at home on Nightwing. He raises his eyebrows in question at Bug and she bites her lip – buck teeth showing. Dickie flashes Jason a horridly smug smirk. Great. Why? He’s only trying to help! He doesn’t deserve teasing!

“Oh, so that’s where you got that expression from? It a lot cuter on her Littlewing. God you two are almost married and your both babies! If it wasn’t so cute, it would be gross as hell! I can only imagine how much worse this is going to be when your both in your teens, let alone when you’re adults!” God what a troll! Why is Jason trying to do something nice for this jerk again? Bug’s gone bright pink, stone still, and he’s almost never seen her so doe eyed. It’s like she’s been transformed into purple-eyed version of goddamned Bambi! Thanks Bug, you’re so much help! Jason chews on his cheek. He wants to rip into Dickie but anything he says here will just be more ammunition for Dick and Jason is just a little worried at Bug’s reaction. She’s rarely speechless and the only time he’s ever seen her that colour was when she was sick with a high fever. Shit!

He catches himself far to late to help his reaction. He reaches out and drags Timi closer so he can check her temperature on complete auto pilot. She blinks at him for a moment before catching his hand, pulling it away from her forehead and puffing up her cheeks at him before her expression slides into a huffy pout that Jason has always added capitals and italics to and emboldened in his head: The Pout. He’s seen her turn that look on Bowery kids about to feed Jason his teeth and it had actually worked! They instantly backed down and made sure she was alright! He’s lucky he’s used to it and thus it doesn’t work on him anymore. Hmm, then again, she didn’t actually let him check her temperature so maybe The Pout still has some effect on him. He’ll deal with that in a minute. Just because Catherine is gone doesn’t mean he wants Timi to backside into hiding when she’s sick again but mission first!

Dick, the ass, laughs long and hard until she turns the same expression on him and then he seems to instantly sober up and blinks shocked for a moment. Huh, that’s interesting. Not even Dick is immune to The Pout. It’s criminally good at influencing people around her and Jason kinda fears what it’s going to look like when Bug is done growing up. While he’s aware he keeps her in her own category of people, mostly for his own sanity, she’s still going to grow up super pretty. Heck, she already is by several metrics. The eye colour alone counts as pretty, mixed with flawless skin and doll like features goes a long way to explaining why he’s had to actually haul one or two assholes in their year off her while no fight has been happening. They certainly weren’t trying to hit her, that’s for sure – hit on her seems far more likely. Heck if they were all a little older, he might have let them shoot their shot if not for the fact that there version of shooting their shot was to try and full body glomp her which is just kinda gross.

“Turn that off b’fore ya break the idiot. Jesus Christ!” Timi turns back to him indignant now rather than pouting and he instinctively dodges her swatting at him for grumping at her.

“Jackass”

“Better’n fraidy-cat Bug”

“I’m not scared! I’m worried, it’s different and you know it!” Oop! There goes the wounded tone to go with the sad face. Bug’s curled in on herself, clutching the frame – photo towards her - close to her chest with both arms. God have mercy, he knows she afraid of rejection, but this is ridiculous. He doesn’t understand what got her this fearful? Jason looks over Bug’s head at Big Bird quietly preying for support. Dick blinks at his expression, head cocking again and wheels obviously turning, his own expression morphing from laughter at Bug swatting at Jason to concern at his expression and at Timi’s apprehensive and wounded tone.

“How about I promise I won’t be mad? Would that help?” Dick starts and Bug whirls around to face him. His expression in the face of her fear softens further and he sits forward on the edge of the seat and reaches out to take her elbow to draw her closer to him. Bug resists for about a second before she moves forward and then keeps going and, somewhat uncharacteristically in her usual interactions with Dick, tucks her head under his chin. Dick hugs her automatically while making shocked eye-contact with Jason. Jason huffs a silent laugh but keeps his expression open, part amused at Dick’s shock at Timi being actually as cuddly as she naturally is but with him this time, partly worried that Timi is effectively hiding or maybe she thinks this will be her last ever hug from Dick. Just as Jason is about to throw in the towel and explain everything and take full responsibility so Bug can actually relax Timi pipes up, muffled from where she still has her face tucked.

“I have a photo of you with your parents and I want you to have it because you lost almost all of your ones, but the context makes me worry it’ll hurt you.” comes tentative but still clear from round-abouts Dick’s collarbone where Timi has mushed her face. Some enlightenment hits Dick’s expression.

“Timi did Jack and Janet get their photo taken with my parents the night my parents fell? Is that why you’re so worried?” Dick pushes Timi back a step so he can make eye contact, further enlightenment flashing as he takes in her, likely given her hunched shoulders, guilty expression. “Were you there too?” is spoken much more gently and would probably just be between Dick and Timi if Jason couldn’t lip read. Timi nods, turning and then lifting the framed photo in the cramped space until the top of the frame obscures her nose. Dick shudders through a shocked breath before taking the photo in one hand and using the other to guide Timi sideways so he can tuck her against his side. “Okay! Okay… Okay, I can see why you were stressed a little bit. I remember this photo and I remember you, now I’ve seen it. Gifting someone a photo from the night their family died would be hard – even harder when you're in the photo too… You were so little! You must have only just been two or three at maximum! A truly Baby Bird! I remember nagging my parents that I wanted a little sister before the show because of how cute you were! Do you even remember this?” At Timi’s nod Dick tightens his hold, pressing her further into his side before letting go to slide his hand back to rub her shoulder and back. Timi melts into the hold, forehead resting against the side of Dick’s head as he continues to rub her back.

Jason lets himself relax, Dickie knows now and he’s not angry. There is no emotional fallout to worry about aside from Bug maybe losing it later because she can paradoxically freak out after big things are over – like she’s been compressed too long and the only option for relief is a blow-out rather than the slow release. It can be a bumpy ride sometimes but at least she doesn’t chase him away anymore and hasn’t for years now. Originally Timi got very protective of any time she might even be close to vulnerable – which is another worrying precedent that Jason is still not sure where it came from. Though once again his suspicions land on someone whose name rhymes with sack fake.

Timi, now seeing she isn’t in trouble begins to ask Dick questions about Mary and John and Dick lights up at the chance to reminisce about his mom and dad - or daj and dat as he called them. Jason smiles letting the conversation wash over him, though he cringes internally at the thought that Dick will have to explain about his mother’s nickname for him while keeping it separate from Robin the vigilante – so to explain the reason he calls Jason Littlewing and now seems to be set on Timi being Baby Bird… and that Jason calls him Big Bird. That should be interesting! Though he is grateful that he ended up Littlewing rather than Baby Bird as it suits Timi way more than it does Jason.

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

Shutterbug and Seaglass Part 4(for now) Stories Told and Secrets Kept

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50871490

Read under the cut if you don't have an Ao3 account or don't want to move website

The night before Shutterbug is due to come home from her ridiculously fancy boarding school Jason can’t sleep at all. Luckily, for him and maybe Alfred, Dick showed up to patrol with Batman for the night (they still fight but Dick has been careful to always come and find Jason first so they can say hello and make plans before Dick warns him that Dick’s about to go toe to toe with Batman again for being an emotionless brick wall in the vague form of a man) and keeps him and Alfred company on comms. He’s enjoyed having a brother and a grandfather so far (maybe a dad soon too if Bruce gets his act together) but the missing piece of him will be home soon and he rockets between residual guilt and being giddy.

Like Dick predicted, Alfred has helped him a lot when it came to explaining to Bug what’s been going on in his life – organizing first a letter, Alfred gently guiding him through how to mix the official story of how he’d been fostered by Bruce Wayne and what she personally knew of his life when he’d seen her last at Christmas break. Then Alfred charmed his way into convincing Mrs. Mac to trust them. Then charmed the school’s head administrator to plan a call where Jason could talk to Timi. The man is magic – Jason swears!

Bug had been upset but it was so good to hear her voice again, she missed him and told him that explicitly which helped him summon the courage to tell her how scared he’d been, that his mom wouldn’t get better again – and when he’d been right it had sent him spiraling because if he was right about that was he right about never seeing her, his Shutterbug, his best friend, ever again? Hearing her swear she would always try to get back to him or find him was nice. It was hard to hear she had been worried about him – that she heard the news and his fostering and then found out about Catherine on her own and that she couldn’t talk to anyone about it because she didn’t know what, if anything, was known about the in-between times that hadn’t been talked about in the news. It felt good to know she thought about him every day. Having him be in her thoughts just as much as she’d been in his calms the horrid maelstrom of guilt and pain he’d had for months.

Then she hits him with ‘good news’(it is good he just hates it kind of hurts her too). Her mom had also kept up with the news in Gotham and had offered to transfer Timi to Gotham Academy with Jason for next year. He blinks in surprise, Timi is almost exactly one year and eleven months younger than him (minus three days) – she should be in elementary school another year yet – Gotham Academy is a middle school and high school – apparently, she’s tested out when she was enrolled at Brentwood and then again for the Gotham Academy entrance test, putting her two full years ahead. That worries Jason just as much as it calms him, she’ll be with him but she’s going to be a ten-year-old in a class of twelve-year-olds. He hopes they are in the same classes or have similar schedules, he’s probably going to have to protect her a bit. Gotham Academy so far for Jason has been rough – the kids are mean!

Bug suspects her mom’s offer has more to do with him being attached to the Wayne name now, and the merger they were trying to secure by sending Timi to Brentwood in the first place has finished successfully but Janet had sounded sympathetic about Catherine when Timi spoke to her – so that’s something. Jason dislikes Janet and Jack Drake – they are always working for more power for themselves rather than anything good for anyone else, especially their daughter – but Janet at least listens to Timi, praises her when she does something amazing (which is all the time but Janet’s only there occasionally) and dabbles in philanthropy by being on the board of directors at the Martha Wayne Foundation. It was Janet who sent Timi to Catherine for singing lessons after they met at a company mixer at Catherine’s old job – Catherine hated the job but needed the money – and Janet had been there as an prospective business partner. They got to talking, Janet interested in the culture at the company and Catherine damning of it, so, they instead moved to personal matters and when Janet found out Catherine had attended Mannes College on scholarship, Janet had encouraged her to think on giving private music lessons. Janet can be lethal in the boardroom apparently (Alfred’s recollections of her clashing with Bruce about what the MWF would be funding have been enlightening) but lets that side go when just talking to people – she calls him Jay like he asked her to without any fuss and bought him roller-skates for his 10th birthday so Timi and him could go skating together.

Jack, on the other hand, has always given Jason the feeling that he’s a prey animal being sighted by something very deadly but biding its time – like a crocodile in the water. He’s calculating and sharply intelligent, with none of the warmth of his wife or daughter. Timi and her father share eye colour – a rare tone called Kane blue, evidence of Jack’s touted blue-blooded links to one of the founding families of Gotham (Jack and Bruce are 2nd cousins once removed or at least Jason thinks that’s what Alfred said) – on Timi the purple-blue eyes are warm and soft like silk; on Jack they look like frozen portals to hell. Jack’s always looking for weakness so he can destroy anyone in his way, always dismissive of anyone he doesn’t think measures up, always unkind to his daughter because he had expected a son by now and was disappointed Timi hadn’t been one because his firstborn should have been a boy – like that’s a thing Timi could fix? To Jason he’s Mr. Drake even though Janet had invited him to call her Janney a long time ago. The upper-crust of Gotham call Jack Drake the Iron Dragon of Gotham and it’s a well-deserved title. Apparently, he’s nicer when out at digs looking for archaeological wonders – Jason and Timi don’t really know as they only have Janet’s word on that.

The official story Alfred concocted is kind of genius. It started because Alfred refused to let the media know that Jason was homeless and resorting to theft when he met Bruce, though Jason didn’t know about that conversation until just recently. He doesn’t know if Bruce was hoping to change Alfred’s mind or if he’s just so used to Alfred fixing problems that he forgot that Jason didn’t know that’s how it worked yet. He wants to believe it was the latter rather than former given the former suggested either active malice, blatant negligence or some horrid combination of the two. Bruce’s story would have been a security risk for their 'night lives' and thrown a ‘street rat thief’ into high society, or to put it another way thrown a scrawny fox to a pack of wolves, all in the services of padding Brucie Wayne’s image as an eccentric, though kind, fool.

Bruce, when he first talked about it with Jason, he suggested a fantastical rags to riches story – where Jason had the insane ‘inspiring’ chutzpah to try and steal the tires off Brucie Wayne’s sports car to try and buy a better life for himself while Brucie was visiting the part of Crime Alley his parents were killed in. When Brucie caught him, the wayward child (thanks Bruce, Jason doesn’t need his ego anyway), he charmed Brucie with his courage. Suffering from a severe case of Empty Nest Syndrome, Brucie Wayne had brough the young street-rat home, saving him from a life of crime. A fabulously generous good dead done by a very stupid, rich, white man. Jason had been so very, very uncomfortable with this story but, at the time, he didn’t know if he could go against Bruce without being hit or thrown back into Gotham’s foster system when the only win for him there would be to escape and be homeless on the street - again! Jason had two main problems with the story Bruce spun.

Firstly: It was way too close to what actually did happen for it not to be obvious that the Jason Todd who stole Batman’s tires – a kid well known in the Bowery for winning national academic excellence awards, reading to kids on Tuesday and Thursdays in the library and being the son of a popular singing teacher– was the same Jason Todd as Brucie Wayne’s newest ward, the street rat thief. The cover story almost being the same as the truth but not including Batman would be a dead give-away to something being fishy! It’s not like the street was empty when Jason tried to steal Batman’s tires! He had just been given a stick of gum by Sugar while she, Melody and Gloria worked on their street corner, less than a quarter block away, they knew him and his story, had offered what little they could spare but it wasn’t enough so they turned a ‘blind eye’ so Jason could try and make enough money to continue eating by stealing tires. Just because people are poor does not mean they’re blind or stupid – it does mean that they are all sick of the constant grind of existence that happens when you live tiny paycheck to paycheck and a story like ‘I can prove Gotham’s most eligible himbo is Batman’ will sell, even if it’s just to the tabloids.

Secondly: It made Jason sound like all he is, his whole self, was nothing more than a thieving, poor street kid who was clumsy and dumb enough to be made by an idiot and then manipulated said idiot into looking after him. Like Jason’s being homeless was a character trait! Or – or a flaw, or a choice! Rather than it being an unfortunate but tiny blip in his existence brought about by tragedy and Gotham’s foster system being fuc-freaking awful! Jason is an award-winning academic and into literature and theater and involved in social work programs and kindhearted! He was Catherine’s son and Timi’s Seaglass and now Dick’s Littlewing and Alfred Pennyworth’s grandson – he was more than a stupid street-rat! He was going to be Robin!

So, Alfred, who had already worked all this out, (maybe Alfred is a secret meta? He always knows!) told the press a different story – one that protected Batman and wasn’t an indictment to Jason’s dignity! There was no mention of the Batmobile. Instead, there was a coincidence: Brucie, kind but gullible billionaire, was taking a tour of to what looked like and had been reported to be a good school set up in the Bowery to help “disenfranchised and homeless youths where they can turn without getting logged by Gotham's corrupt Social Services” (a direct quote from Viki Vale of Vue Magazine): Ma Gunn's School for Boys.

While touring Bruce was asked to meet with the children who had been awarded last year’s academic excellence awards in The President’s Education Award Program (Alfred had noticed Jason had won the award last year) to see the academic excellence Ma Gunn’s school was achieving. Jason Todd was one of the boys he met and when Brucie spoke with Jason and found him to be a lovely, bright, but sad young man who had just been through an awful hardship – he’d lost his mother, a well-regarded singing teacher, to cancer (Alfred has asked Barbara Gordon – who was fricking Batgirl by the way - to change the hospital records for Catherine’s death from overdose to “succumbing to the effects of untreated mesothelioma and brain cancer” and Jason breathed a sigh of relief because just like he wasn’t just a street rat his mom hadn’t just been a junkie), not long after his father had been killed by the rogue Two Face. Brucie was saddened by the young man’s story, as it reminded him of his own tragedy just in time for the anniversary of the death of Martha and Thomas Wayne. Brucie left the school with a healthy donation but couldn’t stop thinking of Jason.

A little while after that Brucie met with his longtime friend Commissioner Gordon for lunch and while catching up heard about Ma Gunn’s school being shut down after its owner, Faye Gunn, had forced her students to commit a robbery for the Joker, only to be foiled by a conscientious student contacting and then working with Batman, he was shocked! He asked what the name of the student was, and Commissioner Gordon informed him it had been Jason Todd – the young man Brucie hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since their meeting. Worried about Jason’s safety, Brucie sought out a meeting with Gotham’s Social Services, refreshed his credentials as a foster parent and brought Jason home. Jason, meanwhile, had been suffering in a very run-down group home and while he was happy to accept becoming Brucie’s ward, he also wanted the lives of the children he was leaving behind to be bettered too! This marked the start of Brucie championing children’s rights and his recent campaign to reform Gotham’s Social Services.

It was a good story, filled with emotions that looked honest and while, yes, Jason still looked like he’d had a brush with Batman and theft and was still from a poor background, Brucie was still a separate entity in the story, which kept Batman safe. Jason’s mom wasn’t going to be remembered as a whore who pimped herself out for heroin – she was going to be remembered as Ms. Cathy the well-regarded singing teacher and kind mother who met a tragic end that wasn’t in anyway her fault! Mrs. Mac and Timi hadn’t be mentioned at all, it sounded like Jason had gone straight from living with his slowly ailing mother, to the hospital where his mom died, to Ma Gunn’s without any time lapsed – Ma Gunn’s records and Gotham Social Service records reflected that now too once Batgirl was on the case - and Jason’s grades at Gotham Academy didn’t show a hint that he had missed five months of school. Alfred and Dick had helped him catch up on what he missed and while he probably wasn’t going to win any academic awards this year, he had kept his grade average at a solid B+/A-, which was good enough to be explained away as a small dip due to the culture shock of suddenly finding himself amongst glittering the 1%.

Alfred and Jason had then gone to Mrs. Mac and asked her to corroborate their story of Jason going straight to Ma Gunn’s if she was asked – she had agreed and gave Jason the biggest hug after cuffing upside the head for worrying her so badly! She then had offered to help them get in contact with Bug. Timi had been calling home once a week and Mrs. Mac had told her some details but hadn’t known how to break it to Timi that Jason was missing. Alfred had reassured Mrs. Mac that they would make sure ‘Miss Timi’ (Jason smiled at how cute that sounded – he couldn’t wait to see Timi’s face the first time Alfred called her that, it was going to be precious and he was going to have teasing material for weeks) knew that Jason was safe and well and Alfred would personally organize for Jason and Timi to meet often so Jason could keep his friendship with her. Relieved, Mrs. Mac had given Jason a final squeezing hug, the bag of clothes and valuables he’d left with her and one of her carrot cakes to take back to Wayne Manor.

The only complication now was that Jason couldn’t see Timi immediately once she was home, even with Dick offering to drive him over and throw stones at her window (“This ain’t a romcom Big Bird, Jesus Christ!” “The blush says otherwise Littlewing!” – Jason is beginning to associate that particular cackle from Dick with the need to run and hide) – Jack and Janet were in town for the annual summer Martha Wayne Foundation Gala and Timi would be expected to put her focus into preparing herself to make the best impression on who-ever Jack and Janet had set their beady little eyes on impressing. Hopefully him being attached to the Wayne name would mean he can talk to her there at the Gala but he kinda hates Bug’s high society mask – she looks like a mini recolored version of Janet but even more chillingly polite! Tiny protocol droid acting weirdo – hopefully they can disappear from the main party if Dick comes with them ("for propriety's sake Littlewing!" - holy crap they are kids, what the heck is wrong with the Glitterati or Dick or both?) for a bit and he can actually hug his friend not just shake Timianna Drake’s hand!

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50826058

Shutterbug and Seaglass part 3 (for now): Seaglass becomes Littlewing and the Little Robin becomes a Big Bird

The fic is under the cut for anyone without an Ao3 account or who don't want to change website:

Jason has only been at Wayne Manor three weeks before Alfred announces that Dick Grayson, the original Robin, is coming back tonight especially to see him. Jason panics and chokes on his tea and Alfred laughs at him! It’s just not fair, you can’t just announce that your best friend’s idol and the legacy you are, right this second, trying to train up to deserve is coming to town to talk to you, personally, like it’s nothing Alfred! He finishes tea with Alfred and then excuses himself saying he wants to make sure his room is clean, and he hasn’t made a mess in the library, so everything is perfect for when Dick arrives. He hurries to his already clean room – he can’t stand the mess after living rough, it makes him uncomfortable, and sits on his bed trying desperately to work out how to put his best foot forward with Bruce’s other ward – or was Dick properly adopted? Shi-oot! He hopes that doesn’t trip him up, if only Bug were here and could tell him what to do, she knows all about this etiquette shi -uh- stuff!

Shit! – Jason still needs to work out what the hell he’s going to tell Shutterbug when she gets back in June. Or find out how to contact her at the stuffy school she’s been sent to – what was it called again? Brightbart? Brightwood? No, Brentwood! That’s it’s stupid pretentious name! He has no idea how to handle that – what story should he tell? Should he make up a story from whole cloth? Or mix some truth in? Also how much does Timi even know? Did Mrs. Mac even tell her about his mom dying? What about him being sent to a group home? Does she know he was homeless? Was she desperate and worried about him and unable to get home or was she totally unaware? Did news of him becoming Bruce Wayne’s ward even make it to anywhere outside of Gotham? Do rich boarding schools let kids read the newspaper? Is she just completely confused and angry at him for not finding a way to contact her? He just doesn’t know and it’s beginning to keep him up at night. Well, all that and the beds here are too soft, and the night is too quiet – so far, his only option for that has been to come home from school, which currently is another can of awful worms – how does Bug put up with these pretentious ass-uh- nah they’re assholes (Alfred forgive him but they are horrible)? - and throw himself into Robin training so he’ll hopefully be tired enough to fall asleep. So far that option hasn’t done much other than make him even more tired the next morning.

He wanted to ask Bruce about what to do about Timi but at the same time he doesn’t want to get her in trouble – if he was ‘subjected to fundamentally unacceptable conditions all his life, that no child should have had to deal with.’ according to Bruce then how is he going to react when he finds out about Timi being there at the beginning of mom’s addiction? About her parents never being there? Or that he lived for a time with her and Mrs Mac, an adult who had no real authority over him or her? And then there’s the blatant stalking of Batman and Robin he and Timi were doing during the summer – Bruce was freaked out enough by the idea that Jason could find him at all let alone a rich kid, two years younger than Jason and tiny, working out Batman’s patrol routes and following with a camera!

Either way he’s knows he’s been too stingy with the details because whenever he asks Bruce what to do Bruce just keeps cutting him off and going on about he doesn’t have to worry about his old life and friends anymore (‘he’s safe now’ – what a load of carp-in-a-bucket, he’s training to be Robin! Nothing about that is safe!), that he should forget about them and how he should focus on his new opportunities – Yes Bruce, Jason understands that he’s in deep debt with Batman for having to be saved during the Ma Gunn incident, and in even more debt with Bruce for his fancy school that will get him better opportunities then Gotham Lower Prep ever could, stop rubbing it in and help or he’s going to fu-mess it all up and blurt the family secret the first time he sees his Shutterbug again!

Maybe he should just ask Alfred? Alfred wouldn’t do anything too rash right? He seems to like kids and he doesn’t get all condescending about Jason’s ‘traumatic and difficult existence thus far’ like Bruce does. Except Alfred always seems to include Bruce whenever Jason mentions he needs something. Just a week ago Jason mentioned he was allergic to shellfish (crustaceans only, not molluscs - which means it's not that big a deal!) and then Alfred told Bruce and Bruce totally overreacted! There is an epi-pen in every room of the manor now and Jason has been drilled in safety precautions about two dozen times. Along with all this fuss came a frankly insulting lecture about how Bruce is disappointed Jason didn’t tell Bruce about the allergy when he asked about any factors that could affect Robin! Never mind Bruce asked that question just after revealing he was Bruce – freaking – Wayne and that Jason would now be living in Wayne Manor! What if he tells Alfred and then Alfred tells Bruce and Bruce overreacts again? What if they do something to silence Timi somehow? Or make sure her parents send her away for good? Would Bruce scare her into not being Jason’s best friend anymore? Jason can’t let that happen! They’re supposed to protect each other! He promised his mom they would! Oh god he misses his mom!

Jason sits for a long time. First calming himself using the breathing technique Alfred taught him after Bruce gave up on the lesson and then trying to engrave Catherine into his mind. He wants to keep her as she was for as long as he can. Not like she was at the end, when she couldn’t think of anything but how much she hurt, but before that; all the singing lessons, cooking dinner together, making silly guesses while watching game shows, baking treats on birthdays, her playing happy birthday for him on the piano, his mom running her hands through his hair when he was sick but couldn't sleep. That was his real mom and that’s who he’s going to remember. He just has to keep trying, but it’s so hard right now because he’ll never see her again. Okay he has to go back to breathing exercises again now.

By the time Dick arrives, Jason’s stomach is in so many knots that he can’t even appreciate the baby blue sports car Dick arrives in. He tries to wave at Dick through the upstairs foyer window but finds himself frozen at the look on Dick’s face. He looks just so angry! Oh, maybe this is a very bad idea. He knows it’s rude, Bug has explained that for this class of people not greeting guests at the door is a major faux pas, but he doesn’t know how he would handle having that expression aimed at him – aside from fight and then flight, neither of which is going to ingratiate Dick to him and he kinda needs to stay here or go back to the streets if he can even manage to escape the next group home. Then once Dick is inside the shouting begins Jason runs, writes an apology to Alfred and Dick on the kitchen whiteboard saying he feels ill and to have dinner without him, goes back to his room and just hides under his bed. It’s the only place he can think of where he will be out of the way and safe.

Dick comes and finds him anyway but to Jason’s surprise after calling out to him through the door and getting no answer he tells Jason he’s coming in, pauses for a moment and then crawls under the bed next to Jason. Jason watches him like the cornered animal he very much feels like, but Dick’s face isn’t angry anymore, his expression is calm with an upturn in the corner of his mouth.

“Hi! Sorry I probably didn’t make a very good first impression on you huh kiddo?” Dick’s voice seems calm too so maybe Jason can still salvage this if he plays his cards right.

“Uh, sorry I didn’t greet ya at the door, I know it’s rude, but ya seemed very … uh busy… and I didn’t want ta interrupt. Umm.. Hi, m'name’s Jason” he thrusts his arm out at Dick and Dick blinks for a moment and then rolls his lips like he’s trying not to laugh, and Jason doesn’t know how to take that yet but Dick also takes his hand and shakes it so Jason guesses it’s a win?

“I know it doesn’t feel that way after my entrance tonight, but it is nice to meet you Jason, I’m Dick and honestly, I’m glad you weren’t there at the door or I would have been yelling right at where you were standing. I just saw Bruce and then saw red, but I promise I’m not angry at you, so I’m going to try and not scare you anymore then I must have when I arrived.”

“I wasn’t scared!” bursts indignantly from Jason before he can think about it – shit him and his big mouth, he bites his lip and really, he blames Bug so hard for that quirk! Dick rolls his lip again, and a small smile appears on his face.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend – Alfred’s told me all about how you met Bruce, so I already know you’re brave. You couldn’t steal tires for cash and hit Batman with a tire-iron unless you were brave as hel-heck!” Oh good he’s not the only one struggling with the no swearing rule in this house. “Honestly, I wish I could have caught the moment you hit him on camera! I think I might be your biggest fan for that move honestly!” Dick is laughing but Jason can’t detect any sarcasm, so he lets himself laugh along a little.

“I just thought I had given you a fright because I used to hide under my bed when angry people were arguing when I lived at the circus with my mom and dad. My mom would always come and find me afterword and take me to get icecream.” There's a wistful sadness to Dicks tone and Jason would so like to talk to someone who misses their mom as much as he does his. He knows Bruce also misses his parents too but the couple of times Jason’s tried to ask about them Bruce clams up and changes the subject and one time he just got up and walked away without saying anything.

“What was she like? Ya mom I mean?” Dick looks so stunned that Jason races to explain himself “It’s just…. It’s just I lost my mom only a little bit ago an' I’m already fightin' ta remember her voice even though I miss her so much an' I’m desperate ta talk about her an' I thought… I thought ya might be the same as me.”

Dick rolls onto his back – shit Jason’s so bad at this meeting new people thing. “You know what Jason? I am the same as you, yesterday I realized that I couldn’t remember my mom’s face until I really thought really hard about it, and I can’t remember either of their voices. So I would love to tell you about my mom. But only, if you promise to tell me about yours after, okay?” Jason is impressed that Dick is still so understandable while also choked up, maybe in a few years he’ll be able to do that too but right now it’s all he can do not to sob. He barely manages a tremulous “uhuh” without bawling.

Dick flings his arm out to offer a hug and Jason pulls himself closer popping his head up on Dick’s shoulder and puts a tentative arm around Dick’s middle. Dick’s head is turned towards him, and his soft smile tells Jason this was what he wanted. Jason can have this hug right now, it’s okay, so Jason doesn’t panic when Dick brings his flung arm down to hug Jason back gently. It’s the first contact he’s had in weeks that was gentle and he can feel his body liquefy and then start to shake but Dick doesn’t bring it up and Jason is grateful.

“My mom’s name was Mary Lloyd and then Mary Grayson, and she was an acrobat at Halley’s Circus with my dad, John. They were the best acrobats in the country. They met when my mom and her mom – my grandmother – had just returned to my grandmother’s family in Trenton, that’s a large town in New Jersey, after escaping from her dad, my grandfather – who was apparently a horrible old cuss.” Jason lets himself laugh a little huff. “My grandmother’s family – I called her Nona but she died with I was five - had fallen on hard times while she had been away and the whole family was as poor as church mice, so mom didn’t have the money to go to Halley’s Circus when it came to Trenton, traveling the Lincoln Highway from San Francisco, on the way to New York. So, my mom and the friends she’d made sneaked in and got lost and separated from each other. My mom met my dad when she scared him into falling on her by accidentally running into a drum kit, tripping and then hitting the pole of the platform my dad was on while rushing into the practice tent to hide. Dad said it was like he was caught by an angel and that was it for him, he’d follow her anywhere” Jason smiles at the thought of a smitten John following Mary around like an imprinted duckling. Dick’s voice is soft and very sad but he’s clear and Jason can hear the joy of remembering his parents and how proud of them he is of them.

“My dad wheedled with Mr. Halley – the man who owns the circus, even now, and got my mom and Nona jobs cleaning the caravans and cooking. It was a good opportunity, far better than some of the work available in Trenton and so mom and Nona went with the circus. My mom worked with Nona for a bit but then asked my dad to teach her tricks on the trapeze and that was it – she was a natural, learned fast and joined my dad as one of The Flying Graysons and I think like a year, maybe two, later she was a Grayson officially herself and I was born not that long after.” Dick shifts a bit to get comfortable – they probably should move out from under the bed, but Jason doesn’t want to risk breaking the spell of comfort he and Dick have right now.

“Mom was a bright and happy person. She loved to laugh and loved making me laugh with anything, silly jokes or tickling or funny voices. I have her eyes and hair colour, but the texture is like my Dad’s – especially now I’m older. She loved stained glass windows and learned lead lighting so we could have stained glass windows in Flying Grayson colours – now Robin colours in our trailer” Jason’s breath catches at the mention of Robin, but Dick doesn’t seem to notice and continues “She loved spring and summer and warm weather, and since I was born on the first day of spring she called me her Little Robin-”

Oh god! Jason curls up in pain and it’s all he can do not to throw his hands over his head. Bruce gave him Dick’s mother’s nickname for him! No wonder he’s so mad at Bruce – how can he even be here with Jason after finding out his mother’s precious nickname has been given away to a street brat with a bad attitude! How hasn’t he hit Jason already?

“I’m so, so sorry Dick! I – I didn’t know! I think my stayin' here is reliant on being Robin fer Bruce bu-but if we both go talk ta him an' I can be someone else - maybe he won’t throw me out? An-an' we can still be friends?”.

Dick reacts to Jason’s alarm with a muffled noise of complaint so maybe Jason cuffed him accidentally while he was panicking? Shit! Jason can’t control his breathing and Dick is suddenly very loud and he has the impression this isn’t the first time Dick has called to him. Dick’s hand is wrapped around his wrist, but it isn’t tight grip.

“Jason! What? No that’s not!... Okay, first of all, you didn’t know any of this! Why would I be angry at you? None of this is your fault!” Jason whines sadly – if his father gave away his mother’s nickname for him, he would punch until his knuckles broke! Dick rolls back on to his side, facing Jason and lets go of his wrist, wrapping his arm around Jason’s back. Dick uses that grip to pull him more firmly into Dick’s arms and when he next speaks Jason can feel his lips move from where they are tucked into his hair.

“Second of all, no, your place here is not reliant on you becoming Robin! You are here because you need a home and Bruce took one look at a spitfire, smart kid he’d already accidentally put in so much danger and felt the same urge I feel right now – we want to be the ones that help you! I don’t care what Bruce says or has said he’s an emotional idiot and I will fight him and if I can’t win, I’ll tell Alfred and then we’ll win because no one stands against Alfred! You are staying here if you want to stay here!” Oh, Dick’s not mad. Jason uncurls a little, but he’s been so scared of not being good enough and being tossed out that he hides his face in Dick’s shirt and sobs. Dick shushes him a little and rocks softly. “Thirdly, we can not only be friends, but I want to be your older brother! I technically am right now anyways but if you want to stay here, we can be brothers. And while your place here is not incumbent on it, if you also want to be Robin, I will share my mom’s name for me with my little brother because that’s how family works, we share the important things with one-another. Okay?” Jason nods against Dick’s shirt “It’s okay bud, I’m not mad at you and your safe” Jason takes a breath and tries to calm down. It works a little too well because he feels rung out and docile, like nothing can touch him. Adrift and sleepwalking almost.

“How about we get out from under here and go sit on the couches in den and watch movies? You can tell me about your mom then or another time, whatever you want. Jason nods against Dick’s chest and the Dick pushes himself back out from under the bed somehow and pulls Jason out with him. They sit up, then stand and detour into the attached en-suite all bedrooms at the manor seem to have so Jason can wipe his face with the flannel Dick picks up and wets down for him.

They head to the den and Jason is both surprised by the size of the television and wonders why he’s surprised. Rich people shi-uh oh fuck it he can’t be bothered. Dick disappears for a bit but he’s back before Jason can even begin to worry juggling popcorn and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Jason tries to apologize for making them miss dinner but Dick waves him off “Jason – getting you comfortable was more then worth missing dinner to me. I have given Alfred the gist of the happenings tonight and he also says not to worry. Let yourself relax and watch movies or you can tell me about your mom, or we can just sit together talking or in silence. What do you feel like doing Littlewing?”

Jason blinks in surprise “Littlewing?”. Dick smiles.

“Yeah! – since you’re my little brother and maybe my successor for Robin – that makes you a bird by proxy and I think you’d prefer Littlewing to being called baby bird or chickadee. Plus this way we can have our own nickname traditions”

“If I have ta be Littlewing, does that make ya Big Bird?” Jason frets for a bit that that might be over the line, but Dick just throws his head back and laughs.

“You’re a brat Littlewing – I love it! Sure I’ll be your Big Bird” Jason’s not sure if that means that Dick likes him being a brat or the nickname but oh well, he already knows about the tire-iron so he probably already sussed-out that Jason can be a little shit.

So Jason, comfortable at last, tells his Big Bird brother about his mom and by extension a little about the nickname Seaglass and how it came about and then, leaving the bit about bat-stalking, about his Shutterbug and Mrs. Mac and how he doesn’t know what to do or how to tell her about Catherine but does want her to know he’s okay. Dick assures him that tomorrow he’ll go with him to Alfred, and they’ll see what they can do about getting Bug a message – even just to tell her that he’s safe and then they watch ‘The Princess's Saga’ and Jason falls asleep on Dick’s shoulder just like Timi did on his shoulder that night that feels so long ago. They’ll deal with it in the morning, for now he can rest.

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

Sorry to everyone who uses a guest account on Ao3

I'm really sorry to say but I had to lock my fics with the hope that they might be spared next time a AI bot scrapes Ao3 for AI general purposes.

I will still slowly put them up here too but for now I really do not wish to have my work used for ANY AI purpose. I object stridently and oppose AI learning being used to steal from human creators!

to learn more: https://www.reddit.com/r/AO3/comments/1k6ie6v/ao3s_data_was_scraped_for_ai_what_to_know/ - I'll link the Ao3 reddit post

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

looks like i have the gift of prophecy because....

AO3 got fucking scraped again for gen AI purposes!

AO3 got scraped for gen AI purposes again, a ton of works were included.

There's been DMCA requests and it looks like some/most? of it has been taken down, thankfully. Still. I highly highly recommend that everyone lock all their works to the archive right now. I can't force you to, but I strongly suggest that you do. Don't let them scrape your work in the future. It sucks losing guest interaction but. Would you rather feed the AI slop?

For people who guest comment: Make an AO3 account! You have to wait a bit for an invite but it's worth it i promise!!

For artists specifically: I recommend that you look into Glaze and/or Nightshade. There's also these disruption filters, it's not clear how well these actually work, but you're welcome to try them. Glaze is supposed to work best, though.

It looks like you can see the status of the datasets here

And how to submit DMCA or copyright violation

I'll say it again: FUCK AI THAT STEALS PEOPLE'S ART AND WRITING!!!!

[blueshadesfandomstuff]

TikToker @bdylanhollis exuding Chaotic Pre-Serum Steve Rogers energy.