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Who knew exactly how the topic was raised.
"Tim's always liked Jason," was a statement Dick ended up making.
"Tim can't date Jason," Bruce said in response.
Tim felt slightly offended. "Why not?"
"You're practically brothers," Bruce said.
Tim was baffled. He and Jason weren't "practically brothers." They barely interacted. Tim would understand if Bruce held some similar misconception about his relationship with Dick, but Jason had first introduced himself to Tim by trying to maim him. And then he tried again multiple times afterwards. The bloodlust had mostly settled now, but Jason still had off days where he shot at Tim on sight.
"We're not even close to brothers," Tim stated.
"I would've thought you'd be more upset about the age gap," Dick commented.
"The age gap would be the least of our problems," Tim said. "He's tried to kill me multiple times. Isn't that on the docket?"
"It should be," Bruce realized.
"If you say so," Dick shrugged.
Tim remembered who he was talking to. Both of them would take attempted murder as a form of flirtation. He shouldn't have been surprised.
He wondered, suddenly, if Jason was similar. If Jason also considered death threats romantic. Did Jason think it was normal to try to murder people to show affection? Occasionally, it felt like Dick was trying to kill him while they sparred, which Dick always said was out of affection, so was Jason the same?
If so, that put a lot of their interactions in a very different light. Tim doubted Jason had been flirting with him the first few times, but maybe he had been, after a while. It was in line with Dick or Bruce to fall for someone's combat style and change their intentions mid-fight, who was to say that Jason wasn't just as insane?
"Maybe I'll ask Jason out," Tim mused.
"You can't," Bruce said.
Tim looked at him. He gave him a very innocent smile. Bruce looked suddenly worried. As he should.
"I've adopted both of you," Bruce stated.
"So?" Tim questioned. "It isn't as though we'd be having kids together."
"You're basically brothers," Bruce reiterated.
"Jason's legally dead," Tim said, rolling his eyes. "And we didn't even grow up together. Would ours really be the most illegal relationship in Gotham?"
Bruce looked heavily pained.
"That's a great way to get Jason to agree to date you, Tim," Dick commented. "Just tell him Bruce doesn't approve."
"I know a great diner downtown," Tim said. "It has Jason's favourite. I'll ask him to go with me."
"Good luck," Dick chirped.
"No, wait-" Bruce tried.
But Tim was already out the door. Bruce sighed extremely heavily. He shot Dick a dark look. Dick held up both of his hands.
"I support Tim's dreams," he said. "Like you apparently don't."
"Am I really the only person here who would find it strange if Tim and Jason dated?" Bruce wondered.
"Master Jason has attempted to kill him multiple times, sir," Alfred spoke up. "Which is tantamount to flirting, as well as making up the majority of the only interactions the two have had."
"Yeah," Dick said. "Neither of them were subtle."
Bruce sighed again, heavier, and tried to start reworking his worldview to fit Tim and Jason's potential romance into it.