[Jason sighs, looking up at Dick with a quiet annoyance. He's got shit to do and he'd rather not stare at a symbol of what he's lost. Sure, Dick is now Nightwing, but he's still something and not a big ol' nothing like Jason.]
You're gonna turn this into some therapy session, so no. I think I'll just go.
[Jason rolls his eyes at Dick. Great. Either he gets a tag along while selling at pawn shops or he can stick around and have what will likely be an excruciating conversation.
Dick steps back and makes sure that Jason's fully into the apartment before they head over to the open kitchen, where Dick passes Jason a bottle of beer from the fridge. he pops the cap against the counter.
truth is, he's not sure where to start that wouldn't send Jason wanting to bolt right away. all his questions feel so invasive. ]
[ Dick leans back against the kitchen counter, letting there be a little more distance between them. he takes a swig of the beer, a sigh barely contained sifting through his nose. his expression isn't disappointed, isn't angry, he's just trying to... understand. ]
So you just...
[ a hand splays at his side before dropping again. ]
Left? That's it? No more Robin so fuck it all? Back to your old ways?
[ want another, Jason? Dick heads to the fridge to pull another bottle out and hold it out to Jason. he shouldn't. Jason's not legal enough, but he's close, and Dick is desperate. ]
I'm trying to help. I know you think the best way I can help is to leave you alone, but I...can't. Not when you're out here doing this.
[ Dick scoffs, dark eyes sweeping Jason's form before he shakes his head, hemming back the anger, refusing to play into Jason's emotions.
he folds his arms across his chest, the beer bottle nestled in the crook of one elbwo. ]
Stop talking about Robin. I don't care about Robin, alright? Robin's never been good for anyone besides Bruce.
You don't need to do this to survive. See this place? You can stay here. I'll get you a bank account that has nothing to do with Bruce and you can take your time figuring out what you wanna do instead.
I'm not jumping from one teet to another. I can handle this. Been doing it since I could walk.
[Paying for parental drug habits had never been easy, but by now Jason is an expert.]
I'm good at this. I'm not gonna be a cop or a sunday school teacher. You're talking to the kid who never finished high school. There aren't options for me, Grayson. This is what I have to do.
[And he chugs down the rest of his brand new beer, wiping his chin when he's finished.]
I'm leaving. And either you open that door or I'm going by window.
[ when Jason finishes wiping off his chin, he'll see Dick's brows, raised, unimpressed. there's a hard look in his eyes, like he's steeling himself up for something, but all that it results in is a sigh, shrug of one shoulder. ]
I can't stop you, Jason.
[ a shake of his head, then dark eyes lifting to look at Jason, as he steps toward the door behind Jason and opens it. the fingerprint scanner beeps, and the whole system unlocks. ]
Just know that I'm here, alright? You can come here if you ever need to. I won't ask any questions.
Right. Okay Counselor Grayson I'll make an appointment.
[And then he disappears into the rain.
For a while at least. Until he's been shot twice, once through the shoulder and the other through his side. Gang fight gone wrong. He supposes this is what he gets for trying to make territory in the middle of the Maroni's. As he slips along Dick's front door, Jason tries to consider himself lucky for not being hit with acid.
But he's fading. A lot faster than he ever anticipated.
Jason raises his fist and gives Dick's door a single knock before he passes out.]
[ for a few days, all that occupies his mind is Jason. he looks out for him in the streets of Gotham and searches for all the clues that could indicate what Jason's up to. but as he promised, he doesn't actively dig. Jason clearly wants his space, and Dick is going to keep to his word and stay away from the questioning.
but days later, when his security system alerts him of a presence at his door, he starts to regret it.
he sees the crumpled form in front of his door and rushes to get it immediately. alarm shoots through his system as he pulls Jason inside, flipping him over only to find so much blood pooled on the floor. ]
Jason? Jason!
[ but there's no response, and Jason is going to bleed out on his floor. Dick scrambles across to kitchen to grab the first aid kit and makes fast work of Jason's clothes, pulling away a zipper, a jacket, to find the wounds. bullet wounds. fuck. there's no time to call an ambulance, and they'll do exactly what he's about to do anyway.
the blood makes everything so slick as he rips open packets of cellulose powder to pour onto the wounds, a substance that will stop the bleeding. he shreds Jason's hoodie between his hands and teeth, the pressure he applies by tying the fabric seeming to do absolutely nothing at first. it makes him feel so desperate as he sits there on his knees, Jason's blood soaking into his pants as he presses hard to the wounds.
but eventually, fabric becomes gauze, and the deep wounds stop oozing, and Dick manages to manoeuvre Jason onto the kitchen island so he can start to extract the bullets. ]
[Jason is barely conscious when Dick finds him, pulls him off his stoop and starts to work on him. He's been bleeding his entire journey to the apartment so when Dick cuts away at the fabric, it's saturated with Jason's blood. His eyes flicker half-open when he's muscled onto the kitchen island and groans,] Dick.
[He's not sure he can feel anything but an overwhelming, burning pain in his chest, but he's not in any condition to do anything about it.]
Dick. [He tries again, louder, but he can't find Dick through the haze in his vision.]
[ Jason makes a sound that may have passed for his name, but it's so quiet, so gurgly that Dick barely hears it over the sound of his own heart pounding in his ear. one bullet gets pulled out and dropped into the kitchen sink, his hands bloody and slipping on the forceps.
but Jason says it again and Dick looks up, breathing a sigh of relief as he finds Jason's hand with his and squeezes, leans his face in close to look at Jason. ]
I got you, Jason. [ he breathes, urgency in his voice as he presses a compress to the open wound, quietly counting the seconds in his head. ]
You’re okay. You’re gonna be okay. I’m here. [ he’s here, because he wasn’t here for Jason in the past, because he’s only going to miss those slipping hands once. now, he needs to save Jason. ]
Gonna get this other bullet, okay? It’s gonna hurt.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ feeling smothered yet, Jason? but there's no threat in Dick's tone, and he even backs off a few inches and lets Jason's arm go. ]
What do you need that Bruce can't do for you?
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[Jason shakes his head and huffs.]
Look, I said I'll leave. I'm leaving.
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You just got here. And I need your help with something.
[ he tips his head toward the kitchen, to the Nightwing suit laying in pieces across the counter. ]
Give me a hand?
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You're gonna turn this into some therapy session, so no. I think I'll just go.
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I’ll come with you. [ a raise of a brow, and it’s almost a threat. ]
Or stay for a beer. I just wanna know how you’re doing.
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But the second one at least involves beer.]
Fine. I'll have the beer.
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[ now that wasn't so hard, was it?
Dick steps back and makes sure that Jason's fully into the apartment before they head over to the open kitchen, where Dick passes Jason a bottle of beer from the fridge. he pops the cap against the counter.
truth is, he's not sure where to start that wouldn't send Jason wanting to bolt right away. all his questions feel so invasive. ]
You still living at the Manor?
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[Jason lingers near the door, as if he might bolt at any moment if the conversation turns in a way that he doesn't like.]
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Are you serious?
[ there's genuine surprise in his gaze. ]
Did Bruce make you leave?
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He didn't have to. I could see it in his eyes. All that disappointment.
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So you just...
[ a hand splays at his side before dropping again. ]
Left? That's it? No more Robin so fuck it all? Back to your old ways?
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[Jason takes a long swig of the beer and leans against the door.]
Not like you give a shit.
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Jason. I didn't know Bruce was gonna make you stop. Maybe I should've kept better tabs on you but it's not like you reached out either.
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[Jason states flatly, polishing off his beer at a rate a teenager should not have practiced.]
I'm not reaching out to someone else who will lecture me.
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[ want another, Jason? Dick heads to the fridge to pull another bottle out and hold it out to Jason. he shouldn't. Jason's not legal enough, but he's close, and Dick is desperate. ]
I'm trying to help. I know you think the best way I can help is to leave you alone, but I...can't. Not when you're out here doing this.
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Yeah? Too embarrassed a former Robin is doing what he needs to survive? Don't want the legacy tarnished?
[Another swig.]
You're so full of shit.
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he folds his arms across his chest, the beer bottle nestled in the crook of one elbwo. ]
Stop talking about Robin. I don't care about Robin, alright? Robin's never been good for anyone besides Bruce.
You don't need to do this to survive. See this place? You can stay here. I'll get you a bank account that has nothing to do with Bruce and you can take your time figuring out what you wanna do instead.
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I'm not jumping from one teet to another. I can handle this. Been doing it since I could walk.
[Paying for parental drug habits had never been easy, but by now Jason is an expert.]
I'm good at this. I'm not gonna be a cop or a sunday school teacher. You're talking to the kid who never finished high school. There aren't options for me, Grayson. This is what I have to do.
[And he chugs down the rest of his brand new beer, wiping his chin when he's finished.]
I'm leaving. And either you open that door or I'm going by window.
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I can't stop you, Jason.
[ a shake of his head, then dark eyes lifting to look at Jason, as he steps toward the door behind Jason and opens it. the fingerprint scanner beeps, and the whole system unlocks. ]
Just know that I'm here, alright? You can come here if you ever need to. I won't ask any questions.
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Right. Okay Counselor Grayson I'll make an appointment.
[And then he disappears into the rain.
For a while at least. Until he's been shot twice, once through the shoulder and the other through his side. Gang fight gone wrong. He supposes this is what he gets for trying to make territory in the middle of the Maroni's. As he slips along Dick's front door, Jason tries to consider himself lucky for not being hit with acid.
But he's fading. A lot faster than he ever anticipated.
Jason raises his fist and gives Dick's door a single knock before he passes out.]
no subject
but days later, when his security system alerts him of a presence at his door, he starts to regret it.
he sees the crumpled form in front of his door and rushes to get it immediately. alarm shoots through his system as he pulls Jason inside, flipping him over only to find so much blood pooled on the floor. ]
Jason? Jason!
[ but there's no response, and Jason is going to bleed out on his floor. Dick scrambles across to kitchen to grab the first aid kit and makes fast work of Jason's clothes, pulling away a zipper, a jacket, to find the wounds. bullet wounds. fuck. there's no time to call an ambulance, and they'll do exactly what he's about to do anyway.
the blood makes everything so slick as he rips open packets of cellulose powder to pour onto the wounds, a substance that will stop the bleeding. he shreds Jason's hoodie between his hands and teeth, the pressure he applies by tying the fabric seeming to do absolutely nothing at first. it makes him feel so desperate as he sits there on his knees, Jason's blood soaking into his pants as he presses hard to the wounds.
but eventually, fabric becomes gauze, and the deep wounds stop oozing, and Dick manages to manoeuvre Jason onto the kitchen island so he can start to extract the bullets. ]
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[He's not sure he can feel anything but an overwhelming, burning pain in his chest, but he's not in any condition to do anything about it.]
Dick. [He tries again, louder, but he can't find Dick through the haze in his vision.]
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but Jason says it again and Dick looks up, breathing a sigh of relief as he finds Jason's hand with his and squeezes, leans his face in close to look at Jason. ]
I'm right here.
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Fuck. [Jason forces himself to focus his wandering gaze on Dick's face. That face that he hates more often than not.] Dick. Help me.
[He knows he stepped too close to the fire.]
I somehow lost this!!!
You’re okay. You’re gonna be okay. I’m here. [ he’s here, because he wasn’t here for Jason in the past, because he’s only going to miss those slipping hands once. now, he needs to save Jason. ]
Gonna get this other bullet, okay? It’s gonna hurt.
all good!