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I toss myself messily through his window, managing to not fall flat on my face. Jason has his back turned to me and he must be relaxed because he doesn’t notice I’m there until he turns around a moment later, silently cursing in shock.
He begins, “Okay, Tim, why-”, but pauses mid sentence and pinches the bridge of his nose. “What’s up?”
I quickly explain, “I was on patrol and Ivy came and I got pollen all over my face and-”
“Hey, calm down. Talk slower.”
“It’s miserable outside!”
I feel like the last thing I said is more of a complaint, but it’s true. It’s cold and tiresome.
Jason, thankfully, throws together a sandwich and walks over to me, then hands it to me. “Pamela doesn’t use the pollen she uses for Batman on kids because…well, because they’re kids,” Jason informs me. “She’s more of an antihero than a straight-out villain.” I nod in understanding.
It takes me a second to realize that Jason is slightly crouching down to my level. Before I can get an word out, he’s asking with a careful tone, “Hey, do you want to watch something with me?” I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, yet he continues, “I like cartoons! We should watch ‘Bluey’-”
“Okay, what the Hell?” The sentence came out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying. I shake my head, clarifying, “Sorry, I just…I’m confused?”
Jason appears to understand and stands up, straightening his posture. “You feel little, right?” he inquires. I’m a bit surprised he knows that I feel smaller than usual. I decide to nod “yes”.
“I had to care for Roy, too, when he got hit with Ivy’s pollen, so it ain’t just you, Bud.”
I stand there and stare at him, feeling caught in a way. He sighs, then picks me up. “What are you doing??” I quickly ask him, a little freaked out.
“What’s it look like? I’m carrying you to the couch where we’ll be watching something while you eat that sandwich. I can even get you more snacks,” he offers. I know he’s put more excitement into his tone so I feel more excited. Somehow, it still works on me. When he sits us down on the couch, I stretch my legs out over his lap, then hug his torso. If he asks, I’m telling him I’m just leaning on him for support.
He lets out a genuine chuckle, which I’ve never heard from him before now, as he scrolls through movies and shows. “Goonies?” he asks, looking down on me. God, I feel so small…
“No…” Too overstimulating.
“Willy Wanka?-”
“No! That movie sucks!!”
He chuckles at my outburst. “Alright, no Wanka, then. How ‘bout ‘Rio’?”
I think about it, then nod. “Okay!”
“Good kid.”
He ruffles my hair and, for once, I don’t complain. I don’t necessarily want to admit this, but it’s…warming. Ew, I sound like I’m in a Hallmark movie!
.….2 Hours Later.….
I feel his hand petting my hair, my eyes mostly closed and my body leaning against him. “I’ll tell Bruce that you’re here. You okay with sleeping next to me?” I give a small smile and nod “yes”, wondering why I wouldn’t be okay with it. Jason’s like a free pillow!
Jason hoists me up in his arms, taking me to his room. “I’ll step out while you get changed.” I whine in complaint, but gives me a stern look, but ultimately ignores it. “I have Dick’s sweatpants that you can pull the strings on to tighten and shirts for you to choose from. They’ll be big, though.”
“Jaaaason! I wanna sleep!”
“Sleep after.”
With that, he closes the door. It takes me 24 minutes exactly to get ready. When Jason comes back in, he comments, “Jeez, never seen someone take this long to throw. on a pair of pants and a shirt.” I ignore him and flop into bed. The moment he gets in next to me I push myself up against him and wrap my limbs around him. “You’re bubba,” I inform him. He laughs, a questioning look on his face. He asks, “‘Bubba’ as in ‘brother’?”
“Duh! Ol’er bubba!”
“Older bubba,” he says to himself, testing the name out. “You know what? I love it.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
I yawn, burying my face into his side. “Nigh’ nigh’,” I try to say, but it sounds more similar to babbling.
“Night, Buddy.”
.….Late Next Morning.….
I sit up, squinting my eyes due to still being slightly tired. I frown when my eyes lay on Jason, ears abruptly hot. “Oh, hey, Bud,” he mumbles as he wakes up.
“Don’t…call me that.”
“‘Kay, Tim.”
I awkwardly look away, drawing a chuckle from him. I think he realizes I feel older again because he doesn’t ruffle my hair or anything of the sort. Rather, he gets out of bed and stretches. “I asked idiot-face to drop off clothes for you.”
“You mean Dick.”
“Same thing.”
I put emphasis on rolling my eyes, finding myself smirking. “I could use those-“ I look down. “Woah. Why do you buy your clothes so big..?”
“It’s called working out and getting correct amounts of sleep.”
“I think it actually starts with ‘Lazarus’ and ends with ‘Pit’.”
He laughs, roughing up my hair. “Shut your mouth and come eat pancakes with me.”
I jump up, still excited despite being much older. Maybe the name “Big Brother” doesn’t need to be a one-time thing.