Chapter Text
“You’re pining again.” Jason pointed out, leaning over the back of the couch to poke his finger at Dick’s cheek. Dick stirred, lifting his wrist from where it had been resting over his eyes to blink up at Jason, still startled every time he saw him.
Dick couldn’t always see him, it was about a one in five chance that Dick would actually hear Jason when he spoke. Like one of those old radios that only connected occasionally, fading back to static as it lost the connection again.
Jason was careful to maintain the facade that touch was an option, all too aware that his hand would only pass through if he tried to truly make contact. He’d managed it once or twice, moving small things, but he’d managed to touch Dick once and the look on his face had scared Jason enough that he’d never tried it again.
So Jason carefully maintained that slight distance, his finger held carefully a few millimeters from Dick’s cheek.
“You’re totally pining,” Jason told him, all too used to Dick’s silent treatment. He knew full well that Dick didn’t believe he was real. Despite there literally being ghost superheroes. Whatever.
Maybe it would have been better for Jason not to linger around his brother, maybe he should worry more about the implications that Dick wholly believed he was hallucinating his kid brother and never sought help for that.
But Jason didn’t want to be alone anymore. Alfred couldn’t see him and Bruce always looked like he was going to cry when he managed to catch a glimpse of him.
With Dick at least Jason could almost pretend that things were normal still, that his brother was just being a jerk again and giving him the silent treatment.
Jason wasn’t sure he could handle being all alone.
He was still. Shaky. Since The Incident, as Jason was choosing to refer to it. A lighthearted term to cover up the awful joke that the end of his life had been.
Jason chose not to linger on it, unwilling to go down the path of resentment, wary of where that might lead him.
Dick had been the one to show him that movie about evil ghosts that held grudges and tried to kill the living.
Jason didn’t want to become an ugly thing like that.
“Hey!” Jason said, louder when Dick continued to ignore him, sulking on the sofa. He hadn’t even dried his hair, he’d just dumped his shit, scrubbed off, and thrown himself down onto the couch to sigh wistfully.
“Just text him,” Jason said “I know you have his number,” Dick pressed his lips together, brows furrowing as he worked harder at ignoring Jason “You can say something like ‘wow hi it was great seeing each other today at the end of the world but I really want to bang—“ Dick’s fist thumped against the couch cushion, Jason just talked louder “—You and also your wife—“ Dick shot upright, pressing his palms over his face “Oh my god shut up!” He hissed, peeking between his fingers to scowl at Jason, who stuck his tongue out in return.
Whatever. At least Dick was getting up.
Pretending that he hadn’t said anything and that sitting up had been on his own terms, Dick moved to the kitchen to grab some leftovers, slamming the microwave door like it had personally slighted him.
Dick combed a hand through his hair while he waited, surreptitiously glancing at Jason out of the corner of his eye, wary.
Jason pretended that it didn’t sting, hopping up to sit on the back of the couch, feet sinking through the cushions of the seat.
He didn’t know how ghost physics worked either.
Maybe Dick would have helped him to figure it out, if he believed that Jason was real.
As it was, Jason just lived with it and tried not to think too hard about it all.
“It’s not like you’re trying to be a homewrecker,” Jason said logically “I mean, you’re totally head-over-heels for both of them, and honestly I don’t totally get what you see in him but wow if I had a shot with her—“ The microwave door slammed again.
Jason was a little worried that it was going to break off all together.
Maybe he’d pushed a little bit too hard. “Whatever,” Jason said, crossing his arms with a huff. He watched Dick eat in silence, not following when Dick went to get ready for bed.
It was only a few hours before dawn and Jason knew that Dick had work in the morning. At least he’d get some sleep instead of no sleep like he’d been at risk of if he’d stayed sighing wistfully all night.
Jason didn’t need to sleep anymore. Sometimes he could kind of. Dissipate? Disperse? Fade out until he winked back into the present. It was iffy how much time would pass during that period.
He didn’t do it often, a little bit worried that one day he just wouldn’t come back. Just stop existing altogether.
It wasn’t like he really existed right now either.
So instead of trying that again, Jason pretended that he cared at all about the magazines and newspapers left splayed open on the coffee table, skimming the articles and making fun of the ads.
He wished he could turn the pages.
When the sun rose and Dick stumbled out of bed it was clear that the signal had gotten weak again, Jason’s presence and chatter eliciting no reaction as he followed Dick around, critiquing his diet choices.