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Jason creeps into the graveyard on stealthy feet. It’s the middle of the night, and no one except the crazies and the Bats would be caught dead out here after dark.
It may seem morbid, but one of the first things he had wanted to do after returning to Gotham was visit his grave, right after cutting off a bunch of heads. When he had told Talia she had given him a strange look, but hadn’t protested. Jason has always thought graveyards were beautiful, dedicated to love, rest, memory and humanity. Humans are one of the only species to bury their dead, and Jason thinks it’s a fascinating habit.
As long as you make sure the person you're burying isn’t gonna come back, but that’s neither here nor there.
He passes by the graves like the ghost he is. He knows the names on some. He stops a moment when he sees them. The old lady that had lived across from them when his mother was still alive. One of the few decent police officers in the city caught in a shootout. A social worker who died of hypothermia because of Freeze. A book seller that had killed himself under the influence of fear toxin. A mobster executed by a rival gang. A few of Jason’s fellow homeless kids, lucky enough to have people that still care.
His fingers brushed against the rugged stone of their graves. Other names he didn’t know. The names of people who had happy families and happy lives. Or as happy as you could be in Gotham. Everyone of them with a tragic end. Suffocating on Joker gas. Eaten by Poison Ivy’s plants. Having their head bashed in by Harely Quinn’s hammer. Being unlucky enough to be caught between a Black Mask / Two Face gang war. Not figuring out Riddler’s clues fast enough.
Either way, no matter how good your life was, your ending was always gruesome. Even the rich were doomed if they stayed. See Martha and Thomas if you doubt him.
He is broken from his musings by a light up ahead. He is only a few feet from his grave. He recognizes the angel. And someone is sitting at his grave with a candle lit.
Immediately his brain rushes through all the possibilities, until he hears the voice. The annoying, prepubescent voice of Tim Drake. The Replacement.
He is dressed in civvies, with his long hair hanging over his face. He’s got a candle burning, set next to him, along with two chili dogs from Jason’s favorite vendor. This little asshole, sitting at my grave! Taunting me! Fuck my plan, I’m gonna kill him. Green fills his vision at the thought of his replacement disrespecting his place of rest. Fuck it that he’s not there, Replacment doesn’t know that!
He begins to stand, ready to bash that little shits head against the hard stone when he hears what he’s saying.
“ - I like this one, cause if you look, Steph is doing her flip just like you did. I just think it’s cool that she does so many of your moves without even knowing it.” From behind, it looks like Replacement is holding a photo up to the eyes of the stone angel. He takes a bite of one of the chili dogs and continues talking. “She did whip out train surfing with me and Duke, which was pretty funny. Speaking of, Duke is a natural. I mean, he’s taken to working with us really well. He seems a little uncomfortable with staying on the manor, but I think that’s just because it's a bit confusing to navigate.”
Is he… talking to Jason?
“He did ask about your room actually,” Tim continues. “Cass and I were giving him a tour of the manor and he asked why we skipped showing him your room. Neither of us really knew what to say. Eventually Cass just opened the door and told him it’s your room. He got it after that.”
He shuffles around his bag and pulls out another photo. “I actually have a photo of scaring the shit out of Dick. It’s great, because Cass is Cass, so no one ever knows when she’s coming, and because of Duke’s power, he can sneak up on people pretty easily. They nearly gave him a heart attack.”
Jason has studied both Cain and Thomas, and definitely believes they would have an easy time scaring Dickwing’s socks off. Involuntarily, he finds himself smiling at the idea.
“Anyway,” Tim slips the photos into his bag and gets out a book. He takes another bit of his chili dog then opens the book. “We left last on page 304, ehem, ‘Elizabeth you must listen -”
He’s reading Pride and Prejudice, holy shit he’s Pride and Prejudice to Jason! Does the Replacement not… suck? He spends half an hour reading Jane Austen to Jason’s grave. When he’s done, he puts the book back in his bag. He finishes off his chili dog and sighs.
“Jason…” Tim sighs, “god, Jason please give me a sign that I’m doing the right thing?”
Excuse me?
“Just, Jason… I want to know if I’m making you proud, if you know, wherever you are, that I’m doing the best I can to keep everything together.” Tim takes a shuddering breath. “I just feel like everything is falling apart. Like things are good, and that's the worst part, I can’t enjoy it waiting for the other shoe to drop. B is as good as he can be, Dick is visiting home more, Steph and B aren’t fighting, Cass seems like she’d doing good, Barbra managing the Birds Of Prey like a pro, and Duke does seem like he’s acclimating, but I just feel like there’s some crisis coming. I just… I feel like I’m failing.” His voice breaks on the last word.
Jason takes a deep breath, trying to keep his resolve together. It’s not your job to fix it Tim. He wants to reach out, stand up and tell Tim he is doing a good job.
But before he can make a decision, Tim gather’s himself, grabbing his backpack, leaving the second chili dog in front of Jason’s grave. He takes a moment before he leaves, settling his forehead against the stone of Jason’s grave. “Are you there, Jason?”
Yes.
“I miss you.”