Work Text:
Jason grumbles when his phone rings just as he’s about to chow down on a slice of pizza. There are few people who have this particular phone number, and he’s made it pretty clear that he’s not up for idle chitchat, so it’s got to be important.
“Hello,” he says, because he’s not totally sure who it is and if he snaps at Babs, she’ll make his life hell for at least a week.
“Hello, young sir.”
Alfred’s voice is the best option he could hope for but Jason tenses up worse than before. The fact that Alfred’s calling him instead of Bruce or Dick is definitely cause for concern. A thousand scenarios run through his head and none of them are good.
“I suppose you must be wondering why I’m calling,” Alfred continues, “And I must ask you to do a rather large favor for me.”
“And that is?” Jason asks hesitantly. Any favor Alfred asks is most likely one Jason is doing regardless, but he has a sinking feeling he’ll hate doing this one.
“I’m afraid Robin has had a nasty run in with the Joker over the past few days and it appears to finally be taking a toll on him.” No names over open phone lines, Alfred might be the best trained out of all of them.
Fucking knew it, he thinks. “So why isn’t B-man awkwardly consoling him? Or Nightwing cuddling the crap out of him?”
“I’m afraid Batman has been out of the country for some time and Nightwing is preoccupied with Blüdhaven as of late.”
Jason’s blood freezes, “So the kid faced the Joker alone?!”
“I was there providing as much backup as possible, but mostly yes. Which is why I’m calling. I know you have refused to partake in Robin’s training, but I am concerned about him and you are the only person who may be able to provide some comfort to him.”
Jason sighs, runs a hand over his face, and feels a hell of a lot older than his seventeen years, “Yeah, okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thank you,” Alfred doesn’t quite manage to keep the relief out his voice.
Jason breaks several laws just getting to Gotham. It’s fucking snowing out so he takes a car instead of one of his many beloved bikes and both Bruce and Dick are going to owe him big time for schlepping all the way out there just to handle their precious bird. It’s eerie in the Cave, even from the moment he pulls up, the Batmobile’s absence is like a gaping wound. Alfred meets him there with a cup of tea, some cookies, and Jason’s favorite sandwich. Bribes, basically.
“Thank you for coming, Master Jason, I know this is not a situation you would particularly like to handle, however, you are the best fit to manage it.”
He’s not really paying attention to what Alfred’s saying and he hopes the man forgives him, but he’s too busy staring at the case with his costume in it. Quite frankly, Jason thinks it’s creepy as shit. It especially freaks him out that displayed like some kind of memorial. Hell, maybe it is because any shred of childhood Jason had left in him died in Ethiopia. He usually tries to avoid looking at it, like he has the past few times he’s been in the Cave since Bruce put it up, but he can’t this time because his replacement is crumpled up at the base of it.
Christ, he’s tiny is Jason’s first thought, which is a little mean but it’s true. Kid’s short, shorter than Jason when he started, he can tell even with how curled in on himself the kid is, and he’s the definition of bird-boned. Although, Jason admits, his perspective might be skewed. He’s a lot taller than he’d ever would have predicted when he first put on the short pants and hey, good on the kid for finally putting some fucking real pants on maybe he really is the smartest of them all. The kid hasn’t acknowledged Jason’s presence and now that Jason’s ditched the helmet, he can see that he’s shaking.
He gets a little closer and the kid’s head snaps up. Jason had known, in a distant way, that the newest Robin resembled him and Dick but seeing another set of blue eyes sitting under a mop of black hair is different than idly picturing what he looked like. The resemblance stops there though, thankfully. For all that he’s thin, there’s still some baby fat on his face and shit how old is this kid? His hair is black, yes, but he’s gelled it into spikes in the way that’s fashionable with teenagers these days. His eyes are different too, not sky blue like Dick’s or blue-green like Jason’s, but something a little darker. He’s pale, too, though that could be because he’s just had a solo run-in with the Joker.
“Hey,” he says and his voice comes out loud in the quiet of the Cave.
The kid, Tim, if he’s gonna comfort the kid he ought to start thinking of him by name, blinks at him and then his whole face changes. His expression goes from worryingly blank to something akin to starstruck. It reminds Jason of the way he used to look at Dick, the way everyone always looks at Dick and it’s incredibly painful. All of a sudden Jason is hit with the overwhelming thought of I don’t want to be here, but the kid has no one else and unlike Dickface, he’s not willing to put his anger before someone else’s well being.
“Hi,” Tim says and he smiles at Jason, the first time anyone in the family besides Alfred has done so in about a year.
Jason looks down at his feet, unsure of what to say, and when he looks up again, the blank expression is back on Tim’s face.
“I’m sorry you had to come all the way out here, but I promise I’m fine, I just needed a minute and I guess Alfred overreacted,” Tim’s not looking at him, is staring at his hands and the mask he has crumpled in them.
There’s something...off about the way he says it that Jason can’t figure out but whatever anger toward the kid he’d been harboring evaporates. Among other things, Tim sounds like he’s trying to prove something and Jason’s been there, done that. Jason can’t imagine that he’s made carrying that legacy any easier on Tim, which is when Jason realizes that all of his anger at Tim isn’t gone, it’s just been redirected to Bruce and he better hope that Jason’s had a lot of time to calm down by the time they see each other next or Jason thinks he might just deck him.
“Hey kid,” Tim looks up at him, “You don’t gotta prove anything to me, the Joker fucking scares me shitless too. Hell, he scares B though you’ll never hear him admit it. Now I don’t know what went down, just that you saved Gotham all by yourself which is really fucking impressive considering that you’ve barely been in uniform for six months.”
Tim opens his mouth to object but Jason cuts him off, “Whatever shenanigans you got up to overseas don’t count, Replacement, this is Gotham, it’s different, I assume you know that much.”
Tim’s glaring at him now, which is not great because Jason really doesn’t want to fight with him, but it’s definitely better than the blank mask and hey, the kid’s stopped shaking as much. Come to think of it, the Cave isn’t exactly a sauna, so it’s likely that Tim’s still shivering because he’s just spent almost three whole days in the snow. They stare at each other in silence for long enough that Jason’s getting mad again, he didn’t drive all the way out here just to get the same silent treatment he can get from Bruce.
“I knew he was gonna be intense, but,” Tim swallows and it echoes loudly in the Cave.
“Yeah,” Jason says, visions of a crowbar and a maniacal laugh threatening to send him into a panic attack.
And Tim looks up at him and smiles again, a weak thing, but it makes Jason smile back. Because there really aren’t words for what the Joker is and though Jason will never understand why Bruce won’t let him kill the motherfucker, he knows that doing so would mean never being able to set foot in Gotham again. Worse, it would mean disappointing Bruce and whatever their relationship is now, he was once the closest thing Jason had to a father and Jason hasn’t quite squashed the need for his approval. Even Dick still needs it, which is a comfort to Jason on bad nights.
There’s the sound of a throat clearing and they both turn to see Alfred standing there, “Now Master Timothy, I suggest you shower and come upstairs, it is much too cold down here and I have a fire going and some blankets to warm you up.”
Tim nods and stands up. He’s almost a foot shorter than Jason and Jason makes a mental note to tease the kid about it the next time they meet. Jason shuffles his helmet in his hands, steeling himself for the drive back home. The little bird is back to normal, Jason’s done his duty, and all that’s left is to leave scathing voicemails on both Bruce and Dick’s phones about how much they suck at this mentoring gig.
“Hey Jason,” Tim says, asks really.
Jason raises an eyebrow at him.
“I was wondering, do you wanna stick around? Before you say no, it’s a long drive back to Newark and Alfred just made some cookies and there’s leftover soup from the other day if you want something to eat.”
Jason is honest to god considering it, figures it might be fun to try and corrupt the newbie, but he really isn’t up for any awkward, emotional run-ins with Dick or Bruce. So he’s all set to ignore the hope Alfred’s trying to hide and decline when Tim starts to talk again.
“Look, I know I’m the last person you want to hang out with but I kind of owe you, since I’m the reason you had to come to Gotham in the first place. Also, last time I checked it was getting close to whiteout conditions and I know you’re good, you’re Bat trained after all, but not even you can get through that in that car. Listen, Bruce is out of the country for awhile and Dick’s wrapped up in something in Blüdhaven, so I won’t tell if you won’t.”
He grins at Jason when he says the last part and it’s kind of mischievous. Maybe the kid’s got potential after all, he thinks and then shrugs because. Because he really really doesn’t want to drive all the way back to Newark and he’s secretly missed the Manor and Alfred and Alfred’s cooking.
He shrugs, “I guess I can stay the night, but I’m gone as soon as visibility’s better, okay?”
Tim grins, looking at him with the same starstruck look he’d had when Jason first walked in. He’d thought of smacking it off the kid’s face, but decides that it’ll be more fun to tease him until he’s red in the face and is the one threatening Jason.
Alfred smiles, “I’m sure we can find something for you to sleep in while Tim takes a shower. And while your tea is now cold, I’m sure your sandwich is still perfectly edible and you must be famished from the drive.”
It’s an order couched in butler etiquette that Tim must be well versed in by now because his eyes are glittering with amusement from where he’s standing at Alfred’s side and Jason smirks in response. He lounges around the Cave while waiting for Tim to shower, munching on the sandwich, not quite comfortable with being in the Manor by himself. He’s wearing clothes that are probably from the last time he was here, which are mostly fine except he’s put on a couple more inches since then and as a result, the shirt’s a little short. It’s better than wearing something of Dick or Bruce’s, though.
Luckily, Tim has mastered the art of the quick post-patrol shower so Jason doesn’t have to be there too long. When he comes out, he’s in sweats and a band t-shirt that Jason swears someone has told him he has to listen to.
“Oh, darn, I forgot to finish my case report,” Tim says, frowning worriedly.
Jason rolls his eyes, “Replacement, it’s freezing as shit down here and you’re exhausting. Come on, you said so yourself that Bruce is out of the country, so I doubt he’s checking your report tonight. You can take the night off once in awhile, I promise.”
Tim wavers, but eventually gives in, “I guess you’re right.”
Jason ruffles his hair, “Of course I’m right, now come on before Alfred yells at us for letting the tea get cold again.”
Tim heads up for the Manor, Jason right behind him. He looks back at the computer once, but Jason nudges him forward. He’s going to have so much fun corrupting this kid.