Chapter Text
Now, when Jason accepted the role as the kids' mentor he thought he knew what to expect. Basic training, a few half-arsed pep talks, some dire attempts to keep the little shits from carking it. Maybe save some people. What he hadn't — for good reason — expected was for his flat to be regularly broken into. And to be fair, he doesn't think this oversight was his fault. He just didn't realise your kids treating your home as a communal area was a common symptom of mentorship.
It started with PJ, which surprised him — he would've put money on it being Jett or Lian. Jason had been on the way back from a late night run to the corner shop, picking up a new packet of cigs, when he'd returned to his flat and found one of his windows ajar. A huff of annoyance escaped him, took one last drag of his lit cigarette before stubbing it out under a heavy boot. He knew that window was locked when he left. He knew that because he's very particular about the state he leaves his flat in. All windows locked, front door double-locked, all triple checked.
And to think Jason was actually looking forward to sitting down with a book in one hand, a cig in the other and relaxing for the remainder of the night.
Thanking himself — not the Lord — for remembering to carry his pistol with him, Jason widened the gap in the window. Gun brandished, he peered inside.
He narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Are you fucking kidding me?"
Jason holstered his gun. Sat cross-legged in the middle of the unlit living room, back to the window, was PJ. He's accompanied by a singular desk lamp illuminating whatever he's hunched over. Jason doesn't know where the kid got the audacity. With a weary sigh, he clambered through the window.
PJ still hadn't noticed him, he was going to have to give this kid some lessons on vigilance. Treading closer, he heard the faint sound of fast-paced music and spotted the headphones nestled over his ears. Still, not an excuse, if he was blocking out his auditory sensors, then he shouldn't have had his back to an open window. Rookie mistake.
Towering over his shoulder, Jason had a clear view of what he'd been working on. His gear was sprawled across the floor and PJ seemed to be very focused on one aspect of his breastplate. Now, as much 'fun' as creeping up behind him was, he'd really like to fast-track to the relaxing night he'd promised himself. So, the kid needed to go.
"Kid." No answer. "Kid?" Still no response.
"Jesus fuck how loud do you have those?"
He rolled his eyes, reached down and tugged the headphones from his head. Immediately, PJ leaped about a metre into the air and span around.
"Hood?!"
"Bang." Jason mimed a gun going off with his fingers. "You're dead. C'mon kid. Headphones? Back to an open window? You know better than that."
Having gathered himself, PJ sat back on his heels and remarked, "Well this is Red Hood's place. Don't think too many people are eager to break in here."
Now that he had a clearer view of him, PJ's loose posture had… shifted. It was tense. His shoulders were raised, fingers fiddling with some tool of his, eyes darting across the floor. The Teen Titans might've been new territory for Jason, but he knows kids, and something was wrong with this one.
"Except for you, twerp. What're you doing here anyway, surely it's past your bed time?"
PJ levelled him a look that ended up falling back to the floor. "I'm fixing your gear, I said I would, didn't I?"
"Yeah smartarse, I gathered that. I meant why are you doing it at 1 in the morning."
"I was bored and I saw on your cameras you were out, so I thought I could get it done before you came back." He shrugged and returned his attention to the breastplate. "But the plating is giving me some problems… What were you doing out this late anyway?"
Jason did a double take. The kid was lying of course, if he truly was that bored, he could've found something that didn't involve travelling halfway across the city to Jason's place. But luckily for him, Jason was not about to expose him. If he didn't wanna talk about it, then he shouldn't have to.
And, did that little shit just say he had access to his cameras?
"One, when I said you could fix my gear, I didn't mean you could drop in unannounced. Two, I was on a cig run. And three, what do you mean you saw on my cameras."
PJ just smiled guilelessly and honestly fuck the joy he got out of annoying Dick, Jason has started to wish these kids hadn't chosen him.
"Well." He began, feeling displaced in his own flat. "Do you want a drink or something?"
"Nah, I'm good. I took one of your iced teas earlier. Thanks though." PJ picked up a nearby bottle with flourish and went back to his work. Jason's eye twitched. That was his last bottle.
"…You know my place isn't for free-use, k—"
"Do you think we'll find Cole?" PJ blurts.
Jason's head spun at the topic change.
"I mean… I'm not trying to diminish your skills as a leader or the team's ability or anything like that." He rambled, the tool between his fingers is twirled so fast it became a blur. "I'm just worried, you know?"
With all of his smarts and fancy tech, it was easy to forget he was still a child. One with anxieties and hopes that were untested by experience. Jason had almost forgotten what it was like to carry a weight you weren't meant to bear yet. Almost. Crouching down to PJ's level, he realised it was time to kickstart pep talk number one.
"Look kid, I'm not one for big, motivational speeches — you picked the wrong Bat for that — so I'm not gonna do you a disservice and say it'll all work out in the end, you're too smart for that. There's no guarantee we'll find him alive or uninjured, but I'd say this team has the highest chance of saving him we're ever gonna get." He paused and took in PJ's conflicted expression. "As much as I hate to say it, you've got the skills to see this case through to the end. You all do."
A soft smile crept onto PJ's face. "Thanks, Jason. We won't let you down."
"Yeah yeah, I know you won't." He muttered and waved him off. Internally, Jason sighed in relief, fuck yeah, he nailed that.
He stood back up and set off for the sofa, he guessed his relaxing night in could have a couple new additions. Lounging back against the leather, Jason picked up the worn cover of Sense and Sensibility — he'd forgo the cigarette for the headphone-leaked music and the quiet clangs of PJ's tools. An eye caught his and he barely stopped himself from sighing again, externally this time.
"…What."
"You read?"
"Not sure how that's any of your business but yes."
"I didn't know you liked classic literature."
"Why would you?" He asked not unkindly, thumbing the spine.
PJ hummed, "I liked reading The Metamorphosis in school. What about you?"
"Same, I guess the curriculum hasn't changed that much over the years." Jason exhaled through his nose, a near laugh. He didn’t mention Wayne Manor’s extensive array of literature he used to drown himself in way back when. The sheer amount of books left unread by most of the Manor’s occupants, only to be held and read by him. That was what got him into reading, not assigned schoolwork.
With a huff, PJ grumbled, "You know, we aren't that young."
"Grow taller than my shoulder and we'll talk about it."
At that the conversation died down. PJ replaced his headphones over his ears and returned to his work. While Jason finally opened up his book, scanning the page for where he had left off. It was nice. They shared the quiet without fuss. He found himself not minding the quiet company that lit up the usual drab interior of his flat. Still, the little shit didn't need to break through his window for some advice. And after an hour or so of minding each other's business, Jason found himself drifting to sleep, a blanket haphazardly thrown over him.
"You're such an old man." A voice chuckled under their breath. "Good night, Jason."
So waking up the next morning after apparently falling asleep to an, empty flat, his now-fixed gear placed back on its stand, Sense and Sensibility bookmarked and returned to his coffee table was a bit of a surprise. Jason groaned and lifted his head from the ungodly position he'd somehow slept in. A sticky note had appeared on the book's cover, reading:
Figured out the plating issue! Thanks for the tea :)
- PJ
P.S I wasn't sure what page you were on because they all jumbled together when you fell asleep so I made an estimated guess.
Jason rolled his eyes.
He guessed going without his favourite iced tea, losing his page, and a break-in was an okay price to pay for fixed-up gear and decent company.