bakerstreet | hello hello.

"Ya know, people don't know we're related when we're like," He waves his hand about to indicate the cape and mask, "So people actually do 'throw that in' when they're gossiping about us."

Of course, Tim would know this, Tim's current boyfriend is glued to those Batman conspiracy forums all the time. He gets to hear plenty of bat-shit crazy stuff about what their family totally gets up to.

"Bruce scared all my friends away. They're not coming into the city until the trauma has worn off," and the cowards had run off the second B had turned up and left him with the consequences. So their punishment was all movie nights were now seen through the Kent's tiny old CRT tv.

Jason snickers at Tim's response. He knows everyone in Tim's team has superspeed except for Tim so the escape had to have been very quick.

"And you're more likely to greeted with apple pie than being loomed over while in Smallville," he says, amused.

"That's true but they're still missing the size of the screen in the cave." Tim goes back to lying on the roof, peeking out over the edge and watching through those binoculars.

"Why and who are you gossiping with me about anyway?" cause it's not Bruce.

Jason turns on his helmet's night vision.

"The little gremlin was complaining about still being grounded and wanting to go visit Superboy," he says. "Mentioned how you've been dropping by Smallville for 'superficial matters' somewhere in his rant."

Tim scoffs at that explanation, as much as he likes Jon and thinks the boy has been good for Damian and his general attitude to everyone around him he wishes he could visit the Kent Farm without the demon immediately kicking up some imaginary fuss.

"superficial matters he says like he's not visiting Jon just to watch My Little Pony and play Cheese Vikings," oh yes, he knew about Damian's secret viewings of a children's television show.

"It's not like it's my fault that he's grounded. I didn't try and rob a petting zoo of it's animals."

Jason snickers.

"And then had the gall to try and tell to B and Alfred that it was a 'rescue mission,'" he adds. "He was trying to make a point that you've been punished before and still allowed to go hang with your team. Naturally, that angle didn't fly. He's still grounded."

"I would say I don't know how he knows that that's happened. I haven't been grounded the entire time he's known me," Mostly because he'd been old enough and emancipated that he could just tell Bruce to shove it and go back to his own apartment, "Except that I know he's stalking us all pretty relentlessly."

"Did you get grounded often? cause I got the impression for Alfred that you were always a good boy," There's a teasing lilt in his voice at the end there. Poking at the nerdy good boy that Jason used to be is amusing in contrast to the image he's trying to keep up now.

Jason rolls his eyes at the tease. He knows why Tim is amused.

"With Alfred I usually behaved and even with B I was mostly good," He confesses.

"Mostly" until his last year as Robin but there's no need to elaborate on that part.

"Though I did sneak out a couple of times to try and patrol solo. It's how I met Nightwing."

"Oh yeah? I didn't know that" Tim looks up for a moment before returning to his stake out. "You going to tell me about it?"

He didn't know that Jason and Dick had ever patrolled together. He was under the impression that Jason never went out without Batman and Dick couldn't stand his father at that time so overlap didn't really happen.

"It happened by accident," Jason explains, still looking out at the pier. "I got into trouble while I was trying to take down a drug lab by myself. That's when Big Bird showed up to help. Afterwards, he chewed me out for being so reckless."

In retrospect, Dick was right. At the time, Jason was too eager and not cautious enough.

"He flew back into Gotham to talk to Bruce about why the hell there was a new Robin. That first impression of me he got didn't help."

"And as would become the pattern, he wasn't happy about the mantle becoming a mantle in the first place. And again, as would become a pattern we're not really angry at the new Robin but at the one who passed that title on," An admission on Tim's part there, to say that he was angry at Dick for giving Robin to Damian, much like Jason was angry at Bruce for passing it on to Tim.

"Did you at least get your drug lab taken care of?" There's some movement down below but Tim only pauses to note down the activity on a little tablet beside him. It's all grunts and hired muscle out tonight, he's waiting for something else.

Jason does a count of how many goons there and notes any visible weapons on them before he responds to Tim.

"Yeah, the next night Nightwing and I took down the lab together," he says. "Apparently, whatever he and B said to each other finally helped. He still didn't drop by the manor often but things became less awkward between us."

"You know the way he acted around me when I became Robin was all because of you. He felt guilty that he wasn't there more often so he spent as often as he could with me to try and I don't, alleviate that guilt." Tim's not sure if Dick knows he knows that but neither Dick nor Bruce had been subtle in the way they coped after Jason died.

For a moment Jason's quiet. He's seemingly focused on the henchmen's movements and his helmet hides his furrowed brow. For years he had assumed the worst about his family. He had thought they didn't care about him. If they did, then the Joker wouldn't still be alive and there wouldn't be more Robins. But after coming back into the fold, he knows it wasn't that simple. He knows it was a more complicated story for his family after his death.

But still, it's not as though his family liked to talk about that time when Jason was gone. So there are still plenty of details Jason wasn't aware of.

"That makes sense," Jason muses. "He did care but things were still tense between him and B sometimes. Not to mention he still had his own team to take care of."

"He wasn't happy to find out about your death when he returned from space. Bruce didn't actually contact him in the wake of it." Because Bruce was taking Jason's loss worse than anyone and because Bruce just does not know how to talk to people when he cares about them.

"They were still tense when I approached him about being Robin. Not that I quite understood how much at that time. I just thought I could lead him back to the manor and he'd go back to being Robin," Tim was an idiot and so completely blind to the actual feelings and grieving process at the time.

Jason's hidden frown deepens. He already knew that the situation was dark for a while after his death but that's worse than he imagined.

"After we took down that drug lab, Dick gave me his phone number. Said that I could talk to him anytime. He also said that he knows B isn't great at talking and that I shouldn't let that be my problem like it already was his with B," he says. "Sounds like the lack of communication only got worse for a while."

"Did you ever use it? the phone number Dick gave you, to just talk or complain about Bruce and his inability to properly express emotion?" Tim kinds of doubts it, considering the guilt Dick felt over Jason's death. It didn't appear that they ever got a chance to get closer.

"Obviously I didn't know Bruce before, not in any real way but everyone says he closed off afterwards and never really got back to the same place."

"I did use it a few times but it was hard," Jason replies. "Sometimes Dick was on a mission either with his team or a solo one. Plus, there were plenty of times when I was cocky and thought I had a handle on things by myself."

In retrospect, things might have gone differently if Dick had gotten involved after Jason ran away from home. But Jason usually tries not to dwell on that thought for too long. What's done is done.

Tim will nod, he understands that sometimes they just can't connect at the right times with the way their schedules work out. He knows he's let a lot of his own social connections fall apart because he's had an emergency or simply put more importance in a mission.

"I feel like I understand a little better where his priorities adjusted and where his guilt came from now." He likely blamed all those missed calls and aborted visits for contributing to Jason running away by himself.

Jason goes quiet again as he thinks of a response. He can imagine now how Dick probably felt when Tim came into his life. It was a second chance to be a good big brother after neglecting the last kid.

"I did try to call him one more time before I ran away," Jason admits. "By then he was already in space and I figured it would be okay."

Needless to say, it wasn't.

Sometimes the timing of people and the universe is just cruel. Tim can't help but think that if he'd reached out to Jason before things had gone wrong he could have been there for the boy.

It's a useless thought because the younger Tim hadn't reached out because he didn't see the trouble that Batman and Robin were having.

"You could probably still call him, whenever you want to. Me too."

"We're not usually a family prone to heartwarming conversations," Jason lightly scoffs. "We're all pretty screwed up on that front."

He's not mocking Tim for the reminder and understands his intentions. But emotionally opening to anyone is still a difficult action for Jason. It has been since before he ever came into Bruce's life. Keeping up one's guard on every front was how he survived.

"No, we're not but that's why it's important that when any of us gets to the point where we need to talk that we know who we can call." Tim is determined that Jason understands this. He knows he's also repeating himself but he'll do it a lot more if he needs to.

Tim sits up a little, looking like he's spotted something and ducking between looking through his binoculars and what he can see without.

Jason also ducks after another quick scan of the pier.

"Seems like they got bigger guns tonight," he says as he double checks the safety on his guns. "And okay. I'll admit we all could do better on that front. You I know I can talk to."

"Yeah, they're here early but I'm still not seeing any of the ringleaders. I don't want those guns getting out but just taking out this shipment isn't going to stop things for more than a day."

Tim's fingers tap over the top of his binoculars as he considers his options.

"You can really talk to any of us, even Steph and Cass would listen."

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