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You would think that after so many years of living together, Jason might have gotten used to coming home to Dick’s strange behaviors. And yet, he wasn’t prepared for the sight of Dick scrambling onto the kitchen counter the moment Jason enters the room.
“Dick?” Jason asks. It’s less of a question, and more of an accusation. An exasperated, this again.
“Hm?” Dick doesn’t give much away in his reaction. Truly a master at feigning innocence.
“Why are you standing on the counter?” Jason doesn’t know why he’s bothering. He should just leave, it’s more than obvious what Dick’s intentions are, but something tells him walking away now would only delay the inevitable.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dick isn’t making eye contact, his gaze instead focused on a point at the top of Jason’s head.
“Dick.”
“Just hold still for a minute!”
“Dick.”
It didn’t take much more effort after that for the older man to pounce and climb his way to a comfortable perch atop Jason’s shoulders. Jason soon decides he’s better off just making peace with his fate. Dick is nothing if not wildly persistent, after all.
He’s always been like that, to be honest. Ever since Jason was that puppy getting caught trying to jack the Bat-mobile's tires, Dick has been there to dote on him. It was weird, being taken in by a rabbit only a few years his senior, but it’s worked for them. Even if it was a bit of an adjustment at first. Dick was already way more clingy than Jason had been used to, but combining that with rabbit-maternal instincts had been baffling to Jason’s younger wolf self. Who knew rabbits made nests?
Jason still feels himself gag when he thinks about the tufts of fur that were lining the thing. It didn’t seem to hurt Dick, but it still creeped Jason out.
“Dumb wolf genes. I miss when I could fit you in my arms, y’know?” Dick says. Jason had noticed that, the bittersweet mood that came as a result of his growth spurt. If he were a more honest man he might admit to feeling a similar way himself.
But wolves aren’t exactly renown for their honesty, are they?
“Maybe you should have grown more.” Jason rolls his shoulders, but Dick’s perched stance remains firm.
“Jerk. You’ll always be my kitten, cuddle sized or not.” Dick tells him, while rubbing his face in the space between Jason’s ears.
Kitten. It’s another item on the list of culture shocks that Jason could never quite get used to. You’d think rabbits would have come up with a different name by now, one with a less feline association. Is that culturally insensitive? He really doesn’t have a clue. Regardless, Dick is far from the easily offended type.
And god, had Jason given his best effort to offending him throughout the years. He still doesn’t really know why he was such a terror to Dick as a kid. Maybe it was just a manifestation of his own insecurity, a bunch of desperate attempts to prove that Dick wasn’t as perfect as he seems. And of course Dick isn’t perfect, but he’s imperfect in a very different way than Jason’s younger self could’ve understood. The younger him had been convinced that Dick just… couldn’t love him. He still…
“Hey. Shut your brain up for a second.” Dick scolds. Sometimes he hates how quick Dick is to pick up on his mood.
“Stop pretendin’ you can read my mind, creep.” He jabs back.
“Stop thinkin’ so loud that I can hear it, dumbass.” Dick ruffles his hair a bit. Jason decidedly does not lean into it.
“Wanna catch a movie tomorrow night? There’s this historical fiction one I’ve been meaning to see.” Historical fiction, Dick must really have missed him if he’s willing to watch one of those with Jason.
“Historical fiction? You sure?” Jason prods, as he moves to start getting dinner ready.
“Just save your corrections for after the credits.”
“No promises.”