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“Let me get this straight, you want me to help you…blow up some buildings?” Tim asked, his question full of doubt and confusion, furthered only when Jason nodded.
“Yeah. I wanna blow shit up, you in or do I have to ask Dickie?” Jason questioned in return. Tim seemed to visibly weigh up his pros and cons before he slowly nodded.
“As long as.. The buildings are empty and not of importance?” Tim added quickly, “like… property damage is bad, Jay.” Tim pointedly looked and Jason scoffed.
“Hey, if they’re already in states of disrepair, I’m doing them a favour. Lighten up Timbo, don’t make me regret asking… I could have asked Roy.” Jason joked, because Roy totally would have joined in, as soon as Jason mentioned blowing things up, but Jason wanted to spend time with Tim, not that he’d admit it. He and the slightly younger boy had started off on a terrible foot and Jason really wanted to fix that.
“But.. why?” Tim asked, slowly, apprehensive.
“Why what?” Jason frowned, missing the part Tim was questioning.
“Why are we blowing things up?” He quickly responded, Jason making an ‘ah’ noise of understanding and nodding.
“You know the date, don’t you…?” Jason trailed, uncertain, watching when realisation flashed on Tim’s features before his face softened and he reached forward to pull Jason into a silent hug. Jason relaxed in the hold, glad to feel the warmth and love within it.
“Sorry Jay, I’ve been so busy with casework and W.E work- I- I’m so sorry.” Tim murmured into his chest. Jason scoffed again.
“S’kay Baby Bird, I don’t expect you to remember the day I died, you didn’t even know me back then.” Jason spoke, soft and low. Because he’d died today, and in previous years he’d just gotten black out drunk by himself, and then with Roy and Kori as their friendship grew and then last year he’d taken to blowing up some buildings, Bruce had either not connected it to Jason or he’d turned a blind eye.
Nobody had gotten hurt anyway… But that had felt like the biggest wave of relief, compared to getting smashed out of his face on alcohol. It was almost cathartic to watch the buildings blow, from a distance, knowing he wasn’t trapped inside? Was that weird? Surely he should have a trauma response instead of glee at watching the place crumble and collapse in smoke and fire and- well. Maybe he did still have a bit of PTSD... okay a lot, but he still felt overwhelming joy at watching a few warehouses go up in smoke, and the knowledge it was one less warehouse he could ever potentially get trapped in…
“So, we’re gonna blow up some warehouses?” Tim asked, excitement leaking into his tone, especially now he’d realised the importance of the date and how much it would mean to Jason.
“Now you’re talking, Baby Bird.” Jason grinned, ruffling Tim’s hair which made the younger boy whine and try to correct the muffled mess of his shoulder length hair.
“Jason!” He complained, “you know it takes ages to untangle my hair-” He complained. It didn’t take that long but it certainly took him longer than any of the other brothers, his hair longer than any of his male siblings.
“Aw. Sorry, Timmy.” Jason cooed, absolutely not sorry if the tone was anything to go by.
“Hey! Don’t make me change my mind, I bet Dick would go control, safety freak on you if you asked him to blow things up with you.” Tim countered and Jason froze and then glared.
“You wouldn’t dare-”
“I would. Imagine. I bet he’d make you stand so far away you couldn’t see a thing, he’d have to do risk assessments and you’d have to wear full bomb attire and everything. He’d go full mother hen mode on you, Jay.” Tim teased except he spoke the truth too. Dick would go complete panic if Jason mentioned the words Warehouse and explosion in the same sentence especially on his Death Day,
“Okay, fine, you win. Let’s agree that telling Dick was a terrible idea and remind me never to ask him.” Jason spoke and Tim nodded.
“Agreed.” He answered and Jason broke back into a grin.
“Okay, so, explosion time, I mapped out a few last night with Kori that are derelict, due for demolition or just plain in need of destruction…” Jason trailed and Tim raised an eyebrow.
“How so?”
Jason pulled a crumpled map from his pocket, holding it up to Tim, five stark red crosses on the map and one little circle.
“Oh, well one is a drug stash, it's uh, well it's empty human wise but there's a fair amount of stock and well… I’d rather blow it up than try and confiscate it all.” Jason shrugged and pointed to one of the Xs.
Gotham didn’t need all that getting out onto the streets on top of the existing amount he struggled to contain and to keep away from kids. Tim hummed, seemingly satisfied.
“Another used to be a holding cell for traffickers, me and Roy took them down last week and the place has been abandoned since. We did all the investigation and whatnot, of the place, and there’s no reason for it to stay standing. It’s… it’s just going to be a symbol of trauma… those people we saved- I'd rather destroy it for them." Jason pointed to another X as he spoke. Tim nodded. The idea was probably extreme but also ridiculously sweet. Part of the reason he liked Jason.
“These two are just due for demolition, they’re making new apartment blocks there next spring apparently.” Jason continued, giving Tim the full plan which was sweet.
“And the other one?” Tim asked curiously and Jason sucked a breath through his teeth, and remained silent.
“Jason…?”
“Uh. Well one belongs to Mask, he uh, he was an asshole last month and he totally deserves it, it's empty, he just stores shit there and well… I’m going to blow it up with or without you sorry, Timmy.”
Tim hummed, he didn’t approve but he didn’t disapprove… Jason was walking in a very thin grey area. Tim had no complaints on any of them though, if Jason said they were empty and had clearly done reconnaissance, well, who was he to argue? He trusted Jason.
“What about the circle?” Tim asked when Jason folded the map back into his pocket, hands resting in them afterwards too. He puffed out a breath of cold air, visible in the freezing temperature.
“That one… is special. I’m saving it till last.” Jason cryptically responded.
“Okay…” Tim didn’t push. Jason’s face had turned away and Tim didn’t think it was his place to force answers.
BOOM.
“Holy shit-” Jason gasped as the first warehouse of the night imploded into an inferno of melting metal, burning wood, splinters flying and pieces of debris rained down. The fire burned high and bright and Jason could only stare, transfixed at the flames lighting up the dark, laughing in glee as Tim stood beside him, holding one of his hands and watching on.
"Did you see that, Timbo?" He asked, pure elation in his tone. Tim had never seen Jason look younger than he did now, practically vibrating with energy. Tim couldn’t tear his eyes from Jason, could only feel the blast of heat and the light from the fringes of his eyes.
“So good.” Jason whistled as it continued to burn.
The next two went similarly, explosions from a distance, destroying both the demolition sites and the drug stash before it even hit 10pm.
“I feel like I should ask where you got all the explosives?” Tim asked as Jason set up the next warehouse, the traffickers one before they exited the premise and moved a distance away.
This explosion was bigger than the previous, more dramatic, Tim could feel the floor rumble beneath him as Jason pulled the trigger in his fingers, set to work on a distant wavelength. The building caved inwards, thundering, roaring flames and rumble clunking and creaking and Jason laughed. Laughed as the warehouse continued to disintegrate.
Clearly Jason got the most satisfaction from blowing up Black Masks storage though, shouting curses and jeers once that one too exploded, a trail of fire across Gotham.
“Well, it’s been fun, Tim, thanks for the company.” Jason beamed, his grin so wide. Tim was glad Jason had enjoyed the experience, despite his likely buried trauma, but the nagging in the back of his mind didn’t give up.
“Jay.”
“Tim?”
“What about the circle..?” Because there was one more site that Jason didn’t want Tim around for?
“That’s… for me. Just me, Baby Bird.”
“But what is it?” Tim asked, hands worming to Jason's pocket, grabbing the map and darting a small distance between them before Jason could stop him.
The site was… Tim knew what was there, had seen it in Oracles reports.
“Jay no. Please.” Tim whispered across the distance between them, the site clearly at what O had sent them two days previous as the most likely location that the Joker had set up shop after his latest escape.
“I have to.”
“Not today. Please Jason.” Tim pleaded, because Jason was intending to go fight the Joker, alone, in a warehouse, on his death day? Surely Jason could see how that would end..? Maybe he wanted that- Tim shuddered and Jason frowned, moving forward to wrap him in a hug.
“I can hear your brain thinking a mile away… I.. I just wanted to blow it up, I promise, or like… I’m not looking for a fight, not with him, not today-” Jason exhaled steadily and Tim relaxed into the hold, grateful he’d presumed wrong.
“Please, never go near him without backup, Jay, not for anything.” Tim croaked out, where his head buried into Jason's shoulder and Jason hummed, a random soothing tune that Tim appreciated. They just stood, hugging, pressed close, while the remnants of the last explosion burned nearby.
“Thanks for blowing shit up with me, Tim.”
“Anytime, Jason.”
“You two have so much explaining to do to B.” Nightwings voice interrupted and the two broke apart to see an impressed Dick, fully suited, looking at them, foot tapping, arms crossed.
“Shit.” They spoke, in unison.
Shit indeed.