Chapter Text
The Eliot House had never actually suited Jason's personality, the lux and prep that filled the housing air tensed Jason up in every single move he made, although it was different from the light and comfortable mood of the buildings where he had classes, he came to live and deal with it, his roommate did, his housemates did, all the other houses did, so he did too. He paced around the room again, all his belongings packed, the mirror searched for him, Bruce and Alfred had insisted on the Italian velvet suit, Jason took it but kept on wearing his jeans and Converse combined with the fine jacket, he stared up and down trying to acknowledge his own image, oh shit! he laughed silently at himself nervous Imma graduate college! the realization made him cackle soundly. He sat on his bed, rubbed the wood of his desk still laughing and giggling anxiously to his thoughts, in an hour he'd be leaving to the ceremony, the one where he Jason Todd gets a Harvard degree , he played that a thousand times in his mind and it was still surreal.
“Getting overwhelmed with the graduation JP?” Tyler said as he and Matt entered the room in suits, the hallways seemed agitated as they closed the door.
Jason chuckled turning his attention towards them, “is just that I never thought I could make it.”
“Me neither” Matt sat down lazyly on his bed, “I mean how many classes did you miss?” He joked and they laughed “just kidding,” he glanced to the other two “I'm kinda nervous too, y’know?”
“Yeah, it feels like yesterday we were walking down these yards for the first time” Tyler added nostalgy to the conversation.
“I'll miss you two idiots,” Jason said smiling.
“Yeah me too, guess we take our own roads from now on, right?” Tyler took a seat at the empty armchair.
“Right, I had the time of my life with you jerks.” Matt chuckled and shook his head vividly, “well the ceremony is going to start soon and we have to take our places the Tercentenary Theatre, the girls are waiting for us,” he stood up and Tyler followed his move, “time to trade the hood for a mortarboard.” Matt smiled at Jason and offered his hand.
“What?” Jason asked confused as he took Matt's hand and got up himself.
“We uh… we know about you night business.” Tyler explained.
“What? How? Since when? Why didn't you say it sooner?” Jason questioned worried and grimacing.
“Because it doesn't matter,” Matt said “because that doesn't change anything, you're still our friend and the JP we know is a great friend.” He stated vehemently.
“Plus we can blackmail you to back us up whenever we need.” Tyler stuck out his tongue playfully giving him a light punch to the arm, “let's go we're gonna get late.” They exited the room laughing and joking at each other.
The yard looked like an opened anthill from afar, Doctors, Masters, undergrads, staff members, the various boards’ members, walking and rushing around in their black and red robes and grad caps. Jason stared down at his own cap the tassel hanging to the right swinging slowly, the sounds around him faded to non-recognizable noises, all rhithmitazing him back into the times he first learned to read, making up the words from street signs, food cans and basically anything that contained letters, way before Willis started getting more and more drunk, involved in worse crimes by the days passed, then came the yelling, fighting, slamming doors, throwing glasses, beating he and Catherine with whatever Todd could find, so when Jason wasn’t putting himself between Willis and his mother he would get safety inside the closet, with a small flashlight reading faded tags from old clothes, meanwhile Catherine would comfort herself with pills, he'd try to read the small packages trying to understand those big difficult words, then came the syringes so he'd hide in the closet again to block the unnerving giggles from bathroom, this time and the next and the next he'd fly away with his flashlight and whatever book he got from the school library, it was like that most of the times just he and those two friends that took him in trips better than any drug he supposed, but in a good day his mom wouldn't be using and she'd read with him, she'd kneel down at the end, kiss his crown and say how far he would go and how proud she was of him. I'm here now mom, I'm far. He dropped a single tear over the cap and put it on the top of his head.
A staff member pulled him out of his thoughts, handing him a white triangular totem with the the bold black letters forming the word 'English’ on the three sides of it, the guy explained to him and the other grads how they should line up and take their seats before the stage. They all started walking synced, there was percussion playing, he looked around to the families' yard, there was so many people not even he would be able to find his. He took his seat and the ceremony started, people talked, speeches and congratulations were delivered with pride and joy, the energy of his companions made it feel like they were all sitting above the clouds. It was when they started calling every student by name that the anxiety and nervousness grew in him, it is it, I have a college degree his hands were sweaty and his lips trembled slightly, they started the 'T’ and he walked down the middle aisle, a line of people behind and in front of him, soon he was stepping up the small staircase to stage they called his name, Mr. Simons handed him his diploma in a red tube that was the moment he saw them.
“THAT'S MY LIL’ BROTHER! NAILED IT JAY JAY!” The shouting voice of Dick Grayson was heard all over the yard, everyone stared.
In a brief second he watched five refined black suited guys standing, applauding and smiling at him, he squeezed his eyes shut, cheeks as red as the tube in embarrassment, when he opened his eyes they were still there standing and smiling, Dick bouncing with his fists together over his chest, Tim giving him a thumbs up and filming with a camera on the other hand, Damian trying to bite away smiles and failing miserably hiding his hands in his pockets, Alfred nodded in elegance as if not expecting anything less from him and Bruce held his gaze simply wiping away a tear with the back of a finger, mouthing 'I’m so proud of you’, he felt loved.
Jason threw one arm up and waved the red tube.