singillatim | august catch-all.

[Bruce looks at Jason with what is, at least by Bruce standards, pretty abject confusion.]

I would certainly hope so.

[He doesn't even sound insulted. Just... yeah. Confused.]

Edited 2024-09-24 16:30 (UTC)

( bruce looks confused. jason looks annoyed. at least they're continuing to follow their usual path. )

Just checking.

( it'd be a real shame to let him think otherwise, for even a moment. jason gives a loose lift of his shoulders, then reaches under the back of his jacket to pull out the kris dagger strapped to the back of his belt. not to use it to threaten bruce or anything stupid like that. just to idly toss it in the air in front of him. it keeps his hands busy. )

He's lost a shitton of muscle mass, which isn't surprising. I'm down a lot an' I haven't been here damn near as long as he has. ( it's what happens when one is left starving for a good amount of time while others start eating people. you know. ) Timmy built up an entire goddamn farm full of bunnies only to have the whole damn thing burn down around him. I never got the story there, D probably knows better.

( this is only half relevant. it's filler information, which jason uses to keep his mouth moving while he works through how he wants to... put this, and if he even wants to put it into words for bruce. if bruce deserves that much. )

We haven't talked much. I told you, he still expects me to try an' turn him into a Timkabob. But even you know he's always needed someone to balance his crazy off of. He's an idiot who always puts himself last. Wonder where he picked that up from.

( pot, meet kettle. anyway - )

I'm having a hard time figuring out what the hell he's going on about half the time. Kid needs a good nap in a place he can shut his eyes an' actually sleep, a shitton of protein, and someone who'll obnoxiously refuse to leave him be to remind him he's human. Before he does turn into a psychopath who goes around trying to kill ten-year-olds to fix shit.

[Bruce's response to being on a 'familiar' path, is that he wants off.

Familiar path with Jason is bad. Comfortable and lower energy in most ways, tempting, but not where he wants (or at least not where he committed) to be.

In that way Jason's annoyance is a good reminder to not respond to what, or how, he wants to. That is a short trip to at best yelling at best, and violence at worst; too much of it just makes him want to get defensive, in a dozen different ways and directions.

Ironic given that the 'we will side against you'/I blatantly do not trust you' was a thing he took in complete stride, maybe, but the accuracy is true. ]

Okay.

[ There's a pause, because processing and also shutting himself the fuck up.]

I can work with that. [Maybe] I'll check with Damian, too. Thanks.

( weird, isn't it. how he's more comfortable with bruce getting mouthy and bitchy with him over everything than this - breathing through bringing shit up he knows is a bad idea (jason can see it, he can feel it even if he's not quite sure what comment bruce wants to get bitchy about) rather than opening his mouth and starting crap.

where's dad's stubborn attitude and inability to let anything go that has kept him and jason at odds for years.

probably back with the stink of gotham's trashed alleys and polluted waters. )

That's not shit you can do.

I know. [That one's not a carefully chosen remark to avoid another remark he'd like to make. That one's just acknowledgement.] I wasn't taking it as an instruction set for me, just information and insight.

[And again with the blunt assessment of what should be criticism? He's actually not offended. Tired, yes, but he objective cannot do a damned thing on that list. He doesn't have the knowledge, he doesn't have the relationship, and he doesn't have the resources. That pisses him off, and frustrates him, but there are too many aspects about where they are that ...change the math.

Home? Different story. It likely would have made him at least snap for being misunderstood and probably much more of it.]

Everyone here's fucked. No one's got shit, this place tries to find loose threads it can pull on to break people.

( resource management is an issue jason's noticed, but not one he's tried to resolve. not his circus, not his monkeys, except - it is kind of his circus and his monkeys because these are his people now and he's stuck with them. none of which is really the point he's trying to get to, so.

jason stops in place, turns his head toward where the puppy has started wandering off, and whistles for him to come back around. he knows not to go too far, but. )

There's no time or resources for quickchanges and done-up suits. You're gonna have to pick a face an' decide what sticking to it'll limit you to. ( and with a raised brow, ) Less than a hundred people and you decided to start shit with me in public, so you've already fucked yourself there.

Edited 2024-09-24 19:11 (UTC)

[ In six sentences Jason has managed to give him useful information (twice), decent advice (twice), and insult him (also twice). The whole damn thing is also very accurately targeting at least two -possibly three - points of actual, serious concern for Bruce, albeit in very different ways.

Not that his concerns are prioritized the way the concerns of an at all normal person's would be.

And he wonders why Jason gets under his skin so badly.

(Never mind the fact that he and Jason are entirely too much in common on a base level, but have very different (though always dysfunctional) coping mechanisms.]

I haven't done anything that has any level of consequence that I can see myself regretting. [That's very, very mildly spoken. Not like they were brawling in the street, Jason.] I'll either manage to work the rest out, or I won't and the options become a low intensity but long duration issue for me, or a short duration high intensity issue for someone else. [ The last meaning mostly he'd go off t he rails entirely and someone would manage to kill him.]

( he reads between the lines of that last statement before connecting the rest of it. jason's mouth presses into a fine line before he reaches out the hand that isn't currently holding onto his dagger to try and grab hold of bruce's jacket, just above his collar.

it's meant to come across as pushing limits. meant to be hostile. to potentially start shit. )

You called me your kid in the middle of Milton. I wasn't thinking straight enough to have figured out who might've heard it. Were you? 'cause if not, it ain't like I've made what I'm capable of a secret. Unlike the rest of you, I haven't had a daytime alias to keep up with. And you know damn well the only one of us who'll stomach putting you down is me, unless you push Drake hard enough. ( damian isn't killing his father. not because he isn't physically capable of it, but because of everything else. which. if it came down to necessity, jason would do it before giving the others a chance to. better to let himself crumble than let them break more. ) Which you're not gonna do. You're not pushing Drake. And you're not putting your death on my shoulders. You fuck up that badly - I don't give two shits what you've done, you're pulling your ass out of whatever hole you've dug yourself into and you're fixing it.

[ Bruce can handle people in his space and close personal contact without some switch in his brain flipping over to reading it as either a threat, an invasion or both.

When he expects it. When it fits the role he is playing. When he's prepared for it.

He doesn't actually expect Jason to be coming at him with a weapon or with intent to harm - Jason isn't that subtle. He sees it telegraphed, but only just enough to change the motherfucking pattern.

There's no moving away, no violent response, not even a snarl. Instead he drops his back onto his heels and takes a deeper breath. It's pretty subtle, but it's there. Just him deliberately opted to make himself easier to push off balance in exchange for doing the exact opposite of what amounts to instinct (ingrained habit, training, whatever) says to do.

He exhales a bit harder through his nose and his expression goes from that flicker of intense determination (absolutely not) to where it had been - serious, but reasonably calm and steady]

I was fully aware I was claiming you as my kid in a location where people could and likely would hear me. [Not a single bit of apology about that, and he's matter of fact.] And that's... [He tilts one eyebrow up] fair.

[He's not making his kids killer That's the point. ...also Tim's mind would finish snapping. Other reasons aside and why is Jason being the reassuring adult, here?.]

Edited 2024-09-24 20:10 (UTC)

( bruce hates people being in his space. jason hates people being in his space - but it is fun as hell to weaponize it against others. to press in so close until they snap and lose their shit. it's worked well for him in the field, multiple times. there's nothing that'll piss off a straight russian mobster faster than jason getting right in his face and flirting with him, and someone who is pissed makes significantly worse decisions than someone who isn't addled by anger.

reading batman's body language as easily as reading the words that come out of his mouth is a robin skill. it's one that's ingrained in them from when they pick up the yellow cape and stupid hot pants (fuck tim for not suffering like jason had) to swing after him into gotham's skyline. it's something that jason carries with him now; recognizing the way bruce moves, how he's holding himself back, how he's breathing through his movements, as if he's intentionally holding himself back. trying not to respond to jason's clear invasion of his space with what instincts push for from him.

he's trying to avoid a fight.

trying to keep this civil. he went out looking for jason for help. and jason recognizes he's pushing it. the smart thing would be to stop pushing it.

but no one ever said jason made the smartest of life choices.

there's a grin that spreads across his face. the mirthful kind of grin that was more commonly found on his face before he'd gotten his skull bashed in. jason doesn't remove the hand from bruce's shoulder, nor does he push on him any harder. instead. he lets his palm slide forward, leaning his forearm against that same shoulder instead. leaning his weight against bruce. )

Didn't realize you were that desperate for company, B. ( the return of jason being an obnoxious little shit. he just can't help himself. ) One kid decided to make his home with the feral wolves, the other's falling apart, so, what, you figured you'd pull back in the dead one? That's fair. I'd just hate for you to suffer through empty nest syndrome.

( no he wouldn't. )

[ Pick your face

He hasn't had a mask - literal or metaphorical - on since he arrived in Milton; they don't work here. He wonders, distant and almost abstract, even within his own mind if Jason realizes what exactly that means and why it isn't great.

He also wonders if Jason is trying to be read as a threat, or thinks he's just pushing buttons. If he's trying to come across as threatening, it's working. That thought isn't any more immediate.

Most of his brain is occupied with not moving beyond the way he can feel muscles up his spine, into his shoulders and neck tensing with a hell of an adrenaline dump. Not because Jason's touching him, exactly, or even the words themselves. There's something in the slide, the lean, the tone of his voice... He can't dismiss it.]

I didn't realize you missed Batman that much. [Flat] Should I ask the other two to vote on which face I should pick? Let Damian be the tie breaker?

( it's intentional. the lean, the way he's putting just enough of his body weight on bruce that if he were to suddenly move, it'd likely throw jason's balance off. he's pressed close in the way he does when he's wheedling dick, who is significantly more comfortable with others in his personal space. )

Why the hell do you think I'd miss Batman? I hate that guy. ( he knows bruce is significantly more batman than he is bruce wayne. that's just a fact of life. but nonetheless, ) Asshole walks around in a fursuit like that gives him the right to tell everyone else what to do. I heard he keeps an orphanage on speed dial, for when he needs to get another new sidekick to help him out. Word on the street says soon as one gets too big to fit in all the small crevices he can't, he boots 'em out and tells them to find their own goddamn city. 's why Red Robin lasted so long - guy's the size of a tween.

[Bruce heard what Jason was saying, but only half-listenedto him.

That was possible only because what Jason was saying was just subtly off the mark. There was nothing there that was truly hitting his buttons. It was snarky, it was snide, but the only real thing going on that was an issue was Jason being plastered up against him and the... rhythm of saying it. The implicit threat, not the words themselves.

It freed up some mental space and didn't entirely become throwing gas on the fire.]

Then maybe-

[he took his (empty) hands out of his pockets, and put them on the outside of Jason's arms. Fingers relaxed, no pressure and certainly not shoving or pushing.]

-try door number two and stop knocking on this one. It might be hard to shove him back in there with all his baggage.

( jason always runs hot. he's all fiery passion, always has been. it's both one of his biggest strengths and weaknesses; he feels a lot, and he feels strongly. he understands others' struggles, fights hard to try and protect others from going through the same shit he had as a kid. it's why he made for a great robin.

it's also what got him killed. it's what led to the tears running down his face as he held a gun to joker's head and gave bruce an impossible choice. and it's what gives him the ability to know just what to say when he opens his mouth to make shit hurt. especially when it comes to bruce wayne.

luckily for both of them, he's not all that intent to shove his fingers right into bruce's soft spots. he could. it'd be all too easy, to open his mouth and intentionally instigate a fight here. to ask bruce if bats is going to snap his arm, again. if knocking on door number one is going to leave him in pieces again. if bats enjoys shoving his fists into the hoard of sidekicks he's raised; how much he needs to beat them to make himself feel taller. bigger. better. if jason should go find him someone weaker to beat the shit out of to make himself feel more accomplished. knows too that it's not necessarily like that with him: bruce has a temper, he may get violent with them, but he's not quite like the assholes of crime alley who enjoy beating the hell out of people smaller and weaker than them. who need it to feel like a real man. he isn't like willis todd, who'd start shit while a much smaller jason hid under the table.

part of jason recognizes that it doesn't make his violent tendencies any better just because he's not as bad as he could be. the other part of him tells him that it's not like bruce hit him when he didn't deserve it, so.

it takes him a bit of time, staring straight into bruce's eyes, before jason decides to put some space between them. he raises the arm that had been over bruce's shoulder, palm up in mock surrender as he puts his kris away with his other hand. )

Maybe if he'd stop trying to knock my brain out of my goddamn skull, I'd stop knocking on his shit.

( so maybe he doesn't fully shut himself up, but it's significantly more mild of a comment than jason could have given. )

I ain't starting shit in front of the dog. He doesn't deserve that.

( no violence in front of the puppy. )

[ Jason is uniquely positioned to dig into sore and soft spots.

Instead, Jason is, and has been, incredibly restrained. Bruce knows that. He isn't sure if he's relieved or disappointed - and not because he wants an excuse, but for a whole lot of complicated reasons, that he has no intention of even looking directly at. The reasons for not examining the subject are also complicated.

None of it would exactly lead anywhere good, anyway. Jason is, intentionally or not, working with him here.

I don't give two shits what you've done, you're pulling your ass out of whatever hole you've dug yourself into and you're fixing it..

Yeah. He's trying. With uneven success.

He doesn't move beyond basic biological functions until Jason does. Then he holds up both his hands, facing Jason and takes three, slow steps straight backward. Once he's got some decent distance he drops his hands again. Works on getting tension back out of his muscles the second he doesn't have Jason against him.]

Nightwing would probably take being called a dog, if it came with that rule. [Between the pair of them. The rest not so much. Still.] You have anything you need to cover today?

Edited 2024-09-25 11:12 (UTC)

You don't need to act like I'm gonna bite you the moment you let your guard down. Jesus.

( the hand thing. bruce knows what he's doing, because bruce always knows exactly what his body is doing at every goddamn moment of every day. bruce would call him out on being weird, but. they're all like this.

even more ironic, considering jason was just in his space, waiting to see if he could get him to crack. he's not pointing it out, they both know what he was getting up to. )

I'm not that stupid. If I were out to get you, I'd do it when you weren't expecting me. ( which is never, here. jason'll work on it. ) I'm good. Stay out of trouble, Dad.

( a title he's only used ironically in the last handful of years, and jason isn't changing up his tune just yet.

a hand raises in mock salute, then - turns around his heels. shows bruce his back as he saunters off. no need to touch on the whole, dick would rather avoid fights between them bullshit. they were on good terms the last time jason saw him, no need to sour that bitchfighting with bruce. )

[That wasn't-

He cuts the thought off with a faint sigh that's barely audible and mostly exists in his mind.

He really wants to reply to that. And to the 'dad' thing, but mostly the first. By the time his brain unlocks enough to get words out, Jason's walking away and Bruce decides to let it alone.

For now.

They're not killing each other overtly and right now? That is good enough.

Staying out of trouble though?

Not on your life. Not for long anyway]

august catch-all.

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cw: domestic abuse

Re: cw: domestic abuse

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