Fic: Damian's New Skill Chapter 7
Title: Damian's New Skill
Author: Brokaw22
Disclaimer: The norms
Rating: T
Story Synopsis: Thanks to another crazy night in Gotham, Damian has a new skill.
Thanks to Kathy for the beta work.
Previous Chapter: Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six
Tim sits on Jason’s couch, clutching a warm cup of tea, studiously avoiding Jason’s eyes which haven’t left him for more than a few moments since Dick left. “So,” Jason draws out the word in an obvious attempt to garner Tim’s attention, “you gonna tell me why I found you on a rooftop practically shaking and looking like your entire world fell apart?”
Tim shakes his head. He’s not ready for another emotionally draining conversation so soon after what happened at the manor. “Actually I’d rather not.”
“Okay.” Jason plops down on the couch beside him, and Tim has to practically cover his mug to keep the liquid from sloshing over the rim. “Are you gonna tell me why Dick-ie bird looked so damn dejected?”
Tim sighs heavily. He knows he can’t avoid filling Jason in, and, quite frankly, he should just be relieved that Jason didn’t dump him in front of the manor’s gate when he passed out. Apparently, the sleepless nights and emotional turmoil have finally caught up with him. In fact, Tim feels like he could just fall back to sleep right now. “I guess I do owe you some kind of explanation. I mean, you did let me crash on your couch, you didn’t force me to leave with Dick, and you haven’t kicked me out yet, so…”
Jason stops him with a hand on his shoulder. He squeezes Tim’s shoulder tightly for a moment, while giving him the most reassuring expression Tim has ever seen on the man’s face. “Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything, just because I didn’t kick you out. I know we have our issues, but you kind of look like you could use some time away, ya know?”
Tim ducks his head in embarrassment and nervously rubs the back of his neck. He’s not used to seeing this side of Jason, and he doesn’t know how to respond to it. “Thanks, and I’m sorry I’m such a burden.”
Jason shakes his head as he nudges Tim’s arm. “You’re tiny, barely take up any space, have spent most of your time here either unconscious or nearly silent, and I’m honestly wondering if you eat like a real bird. You’re so damn thin.” He pokes Tim a few times in the stomach -- who tries to squirm out of his reach -- to demonstrate his point. “Exactly when do you start acting like a burden? Because I think that might be interesting to see.”
“Dick did show up here because of me.” Tim takes a large gulp of his tea to cover up just how much that little fact bothers him. He coughs slightly at the mild burn that travels down his throat. He really wasn’t expecting Dick’s presence, especially since he didn’t even intend to run into Jason.
“Nope, sorry, you don’t get to claim that as your fault. He didn’t even know you were here.”
Tim raises an eyebrow at that. He didn’t actually believe Jason when he told him that earlier. “Really? Why was he here, then?”
Jason laughs at his expression, and seems to puff up with pride. “You’re never going to believe this, but he wanted my advice.”
Tim smirks behind his mug and tries not to laugh out right. “So, when did pigs start flying?”
Jason punches him in the arm lightly, making sure not to jostle Tim too much, and thus refraining from spilling the rest of his tea. “Shut up! This is Gotham. Don’t give anyone any ideas.”
Tim releases a breathy laugh at the thought. “You’re right. It really is the last thing we need. That said, how much do you want to bet that Bruce has a protocol for that?”
“That’s a fool’s bet, especially since I already know that he does.”
Tim shakes his head, but can’t stop the small chuckle that escapes. “No way, I don’t believe you.”
“He does, I swear it.” Jason holds up his hand, mimicking the Boy Scout salute. “I can even tell you the protocol name. It’s Pork Rides.”
Tim can’t stop laughing. The entire notion is just too insane, even for Bruce. “You’re making that up.”
“I’m really not. Here, I’ll show you.” Jason gets up and goes to grab his laptop from across the room. He tosses it to Tim, who catches it easily in one hand while still holding his cup of tea in the other. “We both know you can hack into the bat cave’s system from here. It’s in the protocol sub folder P.”
Tim places his mug down, opens the laptop, and immediately gets to work. “Fine, I’ll humor you and play your little game.” Jason remains silent as Tim does his thing. It isn’t too long before Tim has access to the cave’s system, and, from there, it only takes Tim a couple of seconds to find the right folder. “You…you weren’t joking. He really does have a protocol for if pigs start flying.”
Jason smirks smugly as he folds his arms over his chest. “Told ya. So, feeling better?”
Tim nods slightly. “A bit.”
“Good, so do you feel like eating something, ‘cause I’m starving?”
Tim doesn’t know what to say to that. He was expecting Jason to start prying into everything that’s been going on, not offer him food. “Um, yeah, I guess I could eat.”
“Great, I’ll go make something. You sit here and finish your tea.” He’s about to turn away, but pauses as he evidently remembers something. “Oh, and if you see a mouse with part of its ear missing, that’s Leroy. He belongs to one of the neighbors’ kids, but he really likes to chill out in front of my window and taunt the stray orange tabby cat that sleeps on the fire escape.”
Tim snickers to himself as he nods at Jason. “Okay, Cinderella, I’ll be sure to let you know if I see your mouse.”
Jason grumbles, but doesn’t really say anything as he makes his way into the kitchen. Tim can’t help but ease back onto the sofa a little and just breathe. It’s been a long time since he’s been this relaxed or this comfortable; he didn’t realize how much he missed this feeling until right now. He isn’t looking forward to having to face Dick, and Tim knows that it’s something that he’ll have to do sooner rather than later, but for right now he figures he can take some time to himself and just enjoy Jason’s rare hospitality. He doesn’t know how long Jason’s good mood will last or when Jason will start grilling him for answers, but Tim doesn’t see any reason to worry about it right now. After all, it’s not as though Jason is keeping him captive here. Tim could walk out at any time, though he has a feeling Jason would track him down -- and he doubts that Jason would be as easily placated as Dick.
Tim’s thoughts on the matter come to a screeching halt, however, when a plate piled high with grilled cheese sandwiches is practically dropped into his lap. “Um, thanks, but how many of these things do you actually expect me to eat?”
Jason grabs one of the sandwiches off of the top of the pile and takes a large bite out of it. “All of them, with the exception of this one, of course. I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re tiny.”
Tim rolls his eyes at him. He’s about to reply with something truly snarky, but he catches movement out of the corner of his eye, which draws his attention to the window. There he sees a fairly large mouse with part of its ear missing, running back and forth in front of the window, and what appears to be a well fed orange tabby cat batting at the glass from the outside. “Wow, you really weren’t joking about Leroy.”
Jason laughs. “Did you really think I was?” He walks over toward the mouse in question with a small piece of his sandwich in hand. “You’re a bit early today, huh, buddy?” He lays the bit of sandwich on the floor a decent distance from the window, and then opens the window just enough to toss a larger piece of his grilled cheese to the cat outside. “And you,” he points at the cat in a very parental way that makes Tim nearly laugh out loud, “try not to fall off the damn fire escape today.”
Tim hides his chuckle by taking a bite of his own sandwich. “You really are like a Disney princess. Are there any other wayward animals that come to visit you that I should know about?”
Jason glares at the comparison before shaking his head. “Nah, the old crow that used to hang out on the roof hasn’t been around lately, and the pigeons prefer Mrs. Nelly, but that’s just because her kid feeds them the crust from her bread, which Mrs. Nelly knows nothing about, mind you.”
Tim smirks as he finishes his grilled cheese and then sets the plate down on the makeshift coffee table in front of him. “I’m surprised Damian hasn’t started spending all of his time here just so he could play with your menagerie of strays.”
“Tell him about this and you’ll regret it.” Jason folds his arms over his chest menacingly and practically looms over Tim. “And I hope you don’t honestly think you’re done,” he gives a pointed look down at the plate of sandwiches, “because I meant what I said and you only ate one of them.”
Tim glares at him mockingly. “Hey, if either of us should be eating another sandwich it’s you. After all, you gave most of yours to your animal friends.”
Jason rolls his eyes before snatching another sandwich. “Fine, but you better eat another one or so help me I will stuff it down your throat.”
Tim gingerly picks up another grilled cheese as he smirks at Jason. “Man, you’re worse than Alfred.”
“No one is worse than Alfred. Hell, I’m surprised he hasn’t threatened to put your food in a blender and force-feed it to you through a straw yet.”
Tim laughs as he slowly begins eating the second sandwich just to ward off Jason, who he’s sure would actually shove the food down his throat given the chance. “He’s only threatened to do that once, and I’m pretty sure B talked him down.”
“Lucky you, then.” Jason voice gets a little rougher and his facial expression hardens. Tim immediately hates himself for bringing up Bruce, especially when they were both having such a relaxing time, but Tim knows Jason well enough to know that addressing the problem will only lead to a fight, so he keeps quiet as he watches Jason walk over and pick up Leroy. “Well, I’d better return this little guy to his owner. I’ll be right back.” Tim nods. He’s about to make an excuse to leave and get out of Jason’s hair, but, before he can, Jason gives him a hard look. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Tim doesn’t know what to do. He feels pinned to the spot, and he’s made enough mistakes lately. The last thing that he wants to do is give Jason another reason to hate him, but Tim can’t help the fact that he seems to just continually ruin people’s day. He wants to leave before he can waste any more of Jason’s time, but Tim has the impression that if he does leave, Jason will just chase after him. That would waste more of Jason’s time than just staying, but he also knows Jason’s good will towards him will run out sooner rather than later, and they’ll probably end up in a fight anyway.
Tim startles as he feels a heavy hand land on his shoulder. “Hey, you okay? You looked like you were kind of freaking out there.” Jason stares at him for a long moment, and Tim doesn’t know what to say. He stares back at Jason blankly with his mouth hanging open slightly, desperately trying to find his words, and yet coming up with nothing. He snaps his mouth closed and tries to think of something to say…anything that will get Jason to stop looking at him like that, because that’s how Dick looked at him when Damian finally told him everything. “Whoa, okay, calm down. Just breathe. It’s fine. Whatever’s got you freaking out, it’s fine.”
Tim doesn’t know why Jason is talking to him like he’s having a panic attack until he realizes that he’s shaking and hasn’t actually been breathing. He takes a deep breath and tries to assure Jason that he’s fine, but he still can’t force the words out. Tim shakes his head. “I…I should go.”
He’s about to bolt when Jason grabs a hold of both of his shoulders and forces him to stay seated. “Okay, I really don’t know what’s going on, but you’re clearly freaking out, so just chill. It’s fine. You’re safe here.”
Tim wants to laugh so badly, because none of this has ever been about safety, but hearing Jason of all people say such things is really starting to make Tim question his life in general. He forces down the laughter, however, and focuses on breathing normally. “I’m fine. It’s fine. You don’t have to…”
Jason shakes him a little to get him to stop talking. “It’s pretty damn obvious that you’re not fine, so let’s just shelve that word for now. If you’re freaking out because you think I’m going to force you to talk about whatever the hell is going on between you and Dickie-bird, then don’t. That’s between you and Golden Boy, and I don’t really care. If you wanna tell me, then fine. If you don’t, then that’s cool, too. I’m not gonna kick you out or anything, so just relax.”
Tim lets out a hollow laugh that sounds exhausted and agonized to his own ears. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Jason just shrugs. “Like I said earlier, it looks like you could use it, and we former Robins gotta stick together and all that shit.”
Tim nods languidly, still trying to keep himself calm. “In that case, I think I’ll stay for a while, if that’s okay.”
Jason huffs out an exasperated sigh as he ruffles Tim’s hair. “Yeah, it’s fine, baby bird.”
The End (for now)
Author: Brokaw22
Disclaimer: The norms
Rating: T
Story Synopsis: Thanks to another crazy night in Gotham, Damian has a new skill.
Thanks to Kathy for the beta work.
Previous Chapter: Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six
Tim sits on Jason’s couch, clutching a warm cup of tea, studiously avoiding Jason’s eyes which haven’t left him for more than a few moments since Dick left. “So,” Jason draws out the word in an obvious attempt to garner Tim’s attention, “you gonna tell me why I found you on a rooftop practically shaking and looking like your entire world fell apart?”
Tim shakes his head. He’s not ready for another emotionally draining conversation so soon after what happened at the manor. “Actually I’d rather not.”
“Okay.” Jason plops down on the couch beside him, and Tim has to practically cover his mug to keep the liquid from sloshing over the rim. “Are you gonna tell me why Dick-ie bird looked so damn dejected?”
Tim sighs heavily. He knows he can’t avoid filling Jason in, and, quite frankly, he should just be relieved that Jason didn’t dump him in front of the manor’s gate when he passed out. Apparently, the sleepless nights and emotional turmoil have finally caught up with him. In fact, Tim feels like he could just fall back to sleep right now. “I guess I do owe you some kind of explanation. I mean, you did let me crash on your couch, you didn’t force me to leave with Dick, and you haven’t kicked me out yet, so…”
Jason stops him with a hand on his shoulder. He squeezes Tim’s shoulder tightly for a moment, while giving him the most reassuring expression Tim has ever seen on the man’s face. “Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything, just because I didn’t kick you out. I know we have our issues, but you kind of look like you could use some time away, ya know?”
Tim ducks his head in embarrassment and nervously rubs the back of his neck. He’s not used to seeing this side of Jason, and he doesn’t know how to respond to it. “Thanks, and I’m sorry I’m such a burden.”
Jason shakes his head as he nudges Tim’s arm. “You’re tiny, barely take up any space, have spent most of your time here either unconscious or nearly silent, and I’m honestly wondering if you eat like a real bird. You’re so damn thin.” He pokes Tim a few times in the stomach -- who tries to squirm out of his reach -- to demonstrate his point. “Exactly when do you start acting like a burden? Because I think that might be interesting to see.”
“Dick did show up here because of me.” Tim takes a large gulp of his tea to cover up just how much that little fact bothers him. He coughs slightly at the mild burn that travels down his throat. He really wasn’t expecting Dick’s presence, especially since he didn’t even intend to run into Jason.
“Nope, sorry, you don’t get to claim that as your fault. He didn’t even know you were here.”
Tim raises an eyebrow at that. He didn’t actually believe Jason when he told him that earlier. “Really? Why was he here, then?”
Jason laughs at his expression, and seems to puff up with pride. “You’re never going to believe this, but he wanted my advice.”
Tim smirks behind his mug and tries not to laugh out right. “So, when did pigs start flying?”
Jason punches him in the arm lightly, making sure not to jostle Tim too much, and thus refraining from spilling the rest of his tea. “Shut up! This is Gotham. Don’t give anyone any ideas.”
Tim releases a breathy laugh at the thought. “You’re right. It really is the last thing we need. That said, how much do you want to bet that Bruce has a protocol for that?”
“That’s a fool’s bet, especially since I already know that he does.”
Tim shakes his head, but can’t stop the small chuckle that escapes. “No way, I don’t believe you.”
“He does, I swear it.” Jason holds up his hand, mimicking the Boy Scout salute. “I can even tell you the protocol name. It’s Pork Rides.”
Tim can’t stop laughing. The entire notion is just too insane, even for Bruce. “You’re making that up.”
“I’m really not. Here, I’ll show you.” Jason gets up and goes to grab his laptop from across the room. He tosses it to Tim, who catches it easily in one hand while still holding his cup of tea in the other. “We both know you can hack into the bat cave’s system from here. It’s in the protocol sub folder P.”
Tim places his mug down, opens the laptop, and immediately gets to work. “Fine, I’ll humor you and play your little game.” Jason remains silent as Tim does his thing. It isn’t too long before Tim has access to the cave’s system, and, from there, it only takes Tim a couple of seconds to find the right folder. “You…you weren’t joking. He really does have a protocol for if pigs start flying.”
Jason smirks smugly as he folds his arms over his chest. “Told ya. So, feeling better?”
Tim nods slightly. “A bit.”
“Good, so do you feel like eating something, ‘cause I’m starving?”
Tim doesn’t know what to say to that. He was expecting Jason to start prying into everything that’s been going on, not offer him food. “Um, yeah, I guess I could eat.”
“Great, I’ll go make something. You sit here and finish your tea.” He’s about to turn away, but pauses as he evidently remembers something. “Oh, and if you see a mouse with part of its ear missing, that’s Leroy. He belongs to one of the neighbors’ kids, but he really likes to chill out in front of my window and taunt the stray orange tabby cat that sleeps on the fire escape.”
Tim snickers to himself as he nods at Jason. “Okay, Cinderella, I’ll be sure to let you know if I see your mouse.”
Jason grumbles, but doesn’t really say anything as he makes his way into the kitchen. Tim can’t help but ease back onto the sofa a little and just breathe. It’s been a long time since he’s been this relaxed or this comfortable; he didn’t realize how much he missed this feeling until right now. He isn’t looking forward to having to face Dick, and Tim knows that it’s something that he’ll have to do sooner rather than later, but for right now he figures he can take some time to himself and just enjoy Jason’s rare hospitality. He doesn’t know how long Jason’s good mood will last or when Jason will start grilling him for answers, but Tim doesn’t see any reason to worry about it right now. After all, it’s not as though Jason is keeping him captive here. Tim could walk out at any time, though he has a feeling Jason would track him down -- and he doubts that Jason would be as easily placated as Dick.
Tim’s thoughts on the matter come to a screeching halt, however, when a plate piled high with grilled cheese sandwiches is practically dropped into his lap. “Um, thanks, but how many of these things do you actually expect me to eat?”
Jason grabs one of the sandwiches off of the top of the pile and takes a large bite out of it. “All of them, with the exception of this one, of course. I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re tiny.”
Tim rolls his eyes at him. He’s about to reply with something truly snarky, but he catches movement out of the corner of his eye, which draws his attention to the window. There he sees a fairly large mouse with part of its ear missing, running back and forth in front of the window, and what appears to be a well fed orange tabby cat batting at the glass from the outside. “Wow, you really weren’t joking about Leroy.”
Jason laughs. “Did you really think I was?” He walks over toward the mouse in question with a small piece of his sandwich in hand. “You’re a bit early today, huh, buddy?” He lays the bit of sandwich on the floor a decent distance from the window, and then opens the window just enough to toss a larger piece of his grilled cheese to the cat outside. “And you,” he points at the cat in a very parental way that makes Tim nearly laugh out loud, “try not to fall off the damn fire escape today.”
Tim hides his chuckle by taking a bite of his own sandwich. “You really are like a Disney princess. Are there any other wayward animals that come to visit you that I should know about?”
Jason glares at the comparison before shaking his head. “Nah, the old crow that used to hang out on the roof hasn’t been around lately, and the pigeons prefer Mrs. Nelly, but that’s just because her kid feeds them the crust from her bread, which Mrs. Nelly knows nothing about, mind you.”
Tim smirks as he finishes his grilled cheese and then sets the plate down on the makeshift coffee table in front of him. “I’m surprised Damian hasn’t started spending all of his time here just so he could play with your menagerie of strays.”
“Tell him about this and you’ll regret it.” Jason folds his arms over his chest menacingly and practically looms over Tim. “And I hope you don’t honestly think you’re done,” he gives a pointed look down at the plate of sandwiches, “because I meant what I said and you only ate one of them.”
Tim glares at him mockingly. “Hey, if either of us should be eating another sandwich it’s you. After all, you gave most of yours to your animal friends.”
Jason rolls his eyes before snatching another sandwich. “Fine, but you better eat another one or so help me I will stuff it down your throat.”
Tim gingerly picks up another grilled cheese as he smirks at Jason. “Man, you’re worse than Alfred.”
“No one is worse than Alfred. Hell, I’m surprised he hasn’t threatened to put your food in a blender and force-feed it to you through a straw yet.”
Tim laughs as he slowly begins eating the second sandwich just to ward off Jason, who he’s sure would actually shove the food down his throat given the chance. “He’s only threatened to do that once, and I’m pretty sure B talked him down.”
“Lucky you, then.” Jason voice gets a little rougher and his facial expression hardens. Tim immediately hates himself for bringing up Bruce, especially when they were both having such a relaxing time, but Tim knows Jason well enough to know that addressing the problem will only lead to a fight, so he keeps quiet as he watches Jason walk over and pick up Leroy. “Well, I’d better return this little guy to his owner. I’ll be right back.” Tim nods. He’s about to make an excuse to leave and get out of Jason’s hair, but, before he can, Jason gives him a hard look. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Tim doesn’t know what to do. He feels pinned to the spot, and he’s made enough mistakes lately. The last thing that he wants to do is give Jason another reason to hate him, but Tim can’t help the fact that he seems to just continually ruin people’s day. He wants to leave before he can waste any more of Jason’s time, but Tim has the impression that if he does leave, Jason will just chase after him. That would waste more of Jason’s time than just staying, but he also knows Jason’s good will towards him will run out sooner rather than later, and they’ll probably end up in a fight anyway.
Tim startles as he feels a heavy hand land on his shoulder. “Hey, you okay? You looked like you were kind of freaking out there.” Jason stares at him for a long moment, and Tim doesn’t know what to say. He stares back at Jason blankly with his mouth hanging open slightly, desperately trying to find his words, and yet coming up with nothing. He snaps his mouth closed and tries to think of something to say…anything that will get Jason to stop looking at him like that, because that’s how Dick looked at him when Damian finally told him everything. “Whoa, okay, calm down. Just breathe. It’s fine. Whatever’s got you freaking out, it’s fine.”
Tim doesn’t know why Jason is talking to him like he’s having a panic attack until he realizes that he’s shaking and hasn’t actually been breathing. He takes a deep breath and tries to assure Jason that he’s fine, but he still can’t force the words out. Tim shakes his head. “I…I should go.”
He’s about to bolt when Jason grabs a hold of both of his shoulders and forces him to stay seated. “Okay, I really don’t know what’s going on, but you’re clearly freaking out, so just chill. It’s fine. You’re safe here.”
Tim wants to laugh so badly, because none of this has ever been about safety, but hearing Jason of all people say such things is really starting to make Tim question his life in general. He forces down the laughter, however, and focuses on breathing normally. “I’m fine. It’s fine. You don’t have to…”
Jason shakes him a little to get him to stop talking. “It’s pretty damn obvious that you’re not fine, so let’s just shelve that word for now. If you’re freaking out because you think I’m going to force you to talk about whatever the hell is going on between you and Dickie-bird, then don’t. That’s between you and Golden Boy, and I don’t really care. If you wanna tell me, then fine. If you don’t, then that’s cool, too. I’m not gonna kick you out or anything, so just relax.”
Tim lets out a hollow laugh that sounds exhausted and agonized to his own ears. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Jason just shrugs. “Like I said earlier, it looks like you could use it, and we former Robins gotta stick together and all that shit.”
Tim nods languidly, still trying to keep himself calm. “In that case, I think I’ll stay for a while, if that’s okay.”
Jason huffs out an exasperated sigh as he ruffles Tim’s hair. “Yeah, it’s fine, baby bird.”
The End (for now)