Work Text:
The music in Jason's room is loud enough to cover his phone's ring. It's probably around the fourth missed call that Jason finally notices it's been ringing for a while. He grabs it from the nightstand and sighs deeply when he reads the name on the screen.
"4 missed calls from R. Harper"
"13 new texts from R. Harper"
"3 new voice mails from R. Harper"
It's been awhile since he and Roy weren't partners anymore. Actually, Jason never took it serious enough to call him "partner" - the same way he always thought of himself as nothing more than a sidekick to Bruce, never truly a partner. Ironic, from his point of view, now that he's the one playing the jerk role in this game - not the victim anymore.
He thinks about turning the phone off for, at least, two days or three, when it starts buzzing on his hands. Another call from Roy. Another call he ignores, chewing his bottom lip anxiously until the phone stops vibrating. A new song starts playing on the radio, loud enough to wake up his neighbors - if he had any. He leaves the phone on the nightstand again and turns off the radio, tired of listening to old rock songs about broken hearts, drugs and alcohol. Ironically, they are the same reasons why his phone rings again and again and again - another missed call from Roy.
He unlocks the screen when the call ends, deciding to read the messages left. They all go to "Jaybird, we gotta talk..." to "where are u man", and then things like "Jaybird I really really miss you" or "talk to me jason". Until they get more like "dont be like this to me you fucking asshole... answer my calls!" and finally "youre just like him, like all of them" or "yourre truly a jerk".
Jason sighs again, shaking his head softly to push away the guilt he feels every time Roy does something like that. They've been apart since Jason decided to find his own way of dealing with things and feelings. Alone.
He already had his inner demons to deal with and couldn't take the burden of carrying Roy's ones too, every time the ginger fucked things up or was about to fall apart. Jason needed some space, some time alone to solve his own problems, without having to worry about how much Roy's been drinking at night, or how many pills he swallows with every sip of alcohol he takes. Selfish act, Jason knows, but he's never been a role model anyone since his Robin days ended. Since he died.
And when the phone rings one more time, Jason grabs his bottle of Jack's and decides to fucking answer, spilling out:
"Roy, stop it! Just stop. You know it's not going to work like this. You know we're not going to get back together becau--..."
"Jason... It's me." He hears the familiar voice on the other side of the line says. "Bruce."
For a second, Jason feels like an idiot for everything he's just said without even checking who was calling.
"What do you want, Bruce?" He just asks, instead of ending the call like he wants to.
"I need you..." The older man says softly, like he's being too careful choosing his word, even though there’s no vulnerability in his voice. "I need your help."
Jason takes another sip from the bottle and there’s a bitter laugh before he shouts a "fuck you very much, you selfish asshole" to Bruce. He doesn’t think twice and just ends the call.
Twenty minutes and almost half of a bottle of Jack's later, Jason dials Roy's number and leaves a voice message, when he realizes Roy’s not answering the call.
"I miss you too, Harper."