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Bruce and Jason had been settling in after a training session, ready to eat Jason’s favourite meal of pot roast, when the bat signal lit up the night sky. They raced off to the scene to find Commissioner Gordan, and Catwoman. Selina had been working with them for a short while, trying to prove she had really turned over a new leaf while trying to convince Bruce to become her romantic partner. Bruce brushed every advance aside so far. Much as he would like to find a romantic love, like his parents had had, it always seemed to work out the same. Like he had told Jason the night before: it seemed like every time he got involved with someone romantically, something would come between them and ruin it. He wasn’t sure why it happened, maybe it was him sabotaging the relationship before his potential love could hurt him, but that was a puzzle for another night. Bruce pushed aside his thoughts and turned to face Gordon.
“Why have you called us, Sir?” He asked, walking beside Gordon to his desk.
“It’s the Joker, Batman. He’s back.” Gordon pulled out a card sealed in a plastic envelope. On the front was the Joker, clad in red and black, with red J’s on the top left and bottom right corners, the latter of which was upside down. “This card was dropped off at one of the precincts a few minutes ago; the messenger was gone before they knew what it was. It bears no fingerprints, no mark of any kind except, of course, for the writing on the back.” When he turned the card over, Batman, Catwoman, and Robin all leaned in to read the message.
‘Milling around for a clue, old foe? You’ll never get the score. - The Joker’
And so the ideas began to flow as they tried to decipher the message together.
“‘Get the score?’ He’s underscored the word milling! He’s gonna rob the Gotham Flour Company Mill!” Robin called out, the first to try to make any connections.
“Milling also refers to the corrugating on the edge of a coin…” Gordon countered.
“A miller’s thumb is a small fish,” Catwoman chimed in, “They’re delicious!”
Bruce stared down at the card in his hand when an idea came to mind. “He also underscored the first two letters of his name - ‘J-O’ or J-O-E…” In his mind there appeared an image of an article he had seen in the newspaper recently, that featured the name Joe, “And the Gotham Public Library is exhibiting a rare first edition of ‘Joe Miller’s Joke Book’ all this week!”
“Holy Gutenberg! Let’s go!” Robin called out, turning and walking towards the door.
Bruce froze in place, countless memories of another Robin, another son, flooded his mind. He quickly forced down the pain, boxing it away to be dealt with later, and put a hand on Robin’s shoulder. “Not so fast, Robin.” He nearly flinched at Jason’s startled expression. “...Never do that again.” Jason frowned and looked back at him, his confused face overlapping with the remnants of the memories of his predecessor in Bruce’s mind. “...okay Batman.” He responded softly.
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The mission went fairly well, despite the serious hiccups that always occur when the Joker is involved. Selina had been saved, and then escaped, and the Joker had been defeated, but as he settled into his chair at the computer in the Batcave, Bruce couldn’t help but think back to days now long lost. The early days, when he first had a Robin, when Dick Grayson had stepped up to join his quest to protect Gotham.
“Ummm Bruce?” A small voice asked near him.
“What is it, Jay?” Bruce watched with concern as the boy fidgeted.
“What did I do wrong?”
Bruce blinked in surprise and worry as Jason stared up at him.
“What do you mean, Jay?” He racked his memory to find some flaw that Jason could be referring to. They had already discussed the mistakes of the night, and how to avoid repeating them, so there was nothing there.
“Well, remember when we were with Commissioner Gordon and Catwoman? And we were figuring out what the message on the card meant?”
At Bruce’s nod, Jason continued.
“Well, you told me to never do that again… what was it that I did?”
Bruce’s eyes widened in realisation then softened in apology.
“Oh, Jason…” How could he have lashed out like that? It wasn’t Jason’s fault at all. “I’m so sorry.” He rose, stepped closer to Jason, before kneeling down to the boy’s level. “I shouldn’t have lashed out like that. I wasn’t angry, and certainly not upset with you. I just–” How could he explain this? His throat felt rough and tight, choking down the words he desperately wanted to say. “I–” He felt the frustration build, but he refused to walk away. This conversation was a long time coming, if he was being honest with himself, and Jason deserved an explanation. “I just really missed Dick. When you said ‘Holy Gutenberg’, it was just like when Dick was Robin. I kept seeing flashes of him, back when we were in the prime of our team up, and it hurt.” He sighed. “I’m not trying to make excuses. I just want to make sure you understand why I acted the way I did. I was hurt, and missed my older son, and I didn’t react to those feelings in a healthy way.” He placed one hand on Jason’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry I made you feel like you had done something wrong. You did nothing to feel ashamed of, and I shouldn’t have acted the way I did.”
Bruce smiled, sighing in relief as Jason’s face lit up.
“That’s okay, B! I forgive you!”
Bruce pulled Jason into a hug, then sent him on his way to study, smiling fondly after the young boy. He couldn’t believe he had gotten so lucky as to have two amazing sons in his life. Even if one of them still needed his space to grow into his new role, Bruce could not be more proud to have been able to have a role in their lives.
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Epilogue:
A figure in the shadows snuck stealthily along the corridor of the apartment building, moving with the ease and confidence of one who could belong anywhere. Glancing at the numbers on the doors, he stopped at apartment 3A. After gently placing a small object on the doormat, the figure knocked deftly on the door, then turned and walked away.
The corridor was empty when Dick Grayson answered the knock at his apartment door. Frowning, he nearly closed the door when he noticed something small on his doormat. Picking it up, he noticed it was a floppy disk. On the little label was written three words: 'We Miss You.' Curious, he pulled out his old computer and plugged the floppy disk into the reader, and waited. After what felt like an eternity, a video file appeared. It showed the Batcave, with Bruce, still in most of his Batman gear but with his cowl off, working away. Then Jason approached him. Dick watched, amazed, as they held a conversation. When the video ended, Dick stared at the nearby phone, before finally making up his mind. He picked up the phone and dialed an all too familiar number. As the ringing continued, Dick wondered if maybe he should just hang up, until finally the phone clicked and he heard a familiar voice he hadn’t realised he had missed so terribly.
“Hello?” That was definitely Bruce’s voice. He had answered fairly quickly, which was a surprise given how busy their lives had been when they worked together. Dick couldn’t help but smile.
“Hey Dad. It’s been a long time. I just wanted to say… I miss you too.”