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Tim liked to think that he had the best relationship with Jason out of everyone in the bats.
Which… honestly didn’t mean anything because Jason wasn’t really that close with any of them the others but they’re all trying to fix that. Honest!
They had a bit of an eye opener.
To some extent, they’ve all gotten used to Jason having their back which meant that by extension, they trusted him. Then, the confrontation in the cave happened between Hood and Batman and while it wasn’t the worst they’ve had, it was still pretty bad.
On the bright side, it didn’t get physically violent.
His heart sank. As if that meant anything. Pretty bad still meant bad. Jason still got hurt. Even if it wasn’t physically. Cassandra said so- said he was scared.
Of what? She didn’t say. Told them it wasn’t for her to say.
He couldn’t get Jason’s pleading gaze out of his mind. Begging for Tim to say something.
He did.
It was just- he said it a lot later than he should’ve.
Everyone regretted not speaking up sooner. They were just-
No excuses. They all should’ve spoken up sooner. All of them knew that Batman was in the wrong. It was just… easier, he guessed. To have Bruce let it out. Which was wrong. Reallyreallyreally wrong. He knew that. They all knew that.
He wondered if Jason knew that. If Jason blamed them. Or if Jason blamed himself.
Jason stormed off after that and no one could blame him. Not even Bruce. No one stopped him.
Everyone expected him to be back in a few days- maybe weeks at most. But months?
Well. None of them expected that.
And goddamn, did they all feel it.
All of them got injured more frequently. It wasn’t anything critical but if Hood was there- with them- there would’ve been no injury at all.
He had their back. Always.
And once again, they didn’t have his.
Another thing was that their conversations during patrol. It was different. There were no sarcastic quips. No morbid jokes. No random quotes. There was nothing. He missed his voice and his stupid sense of humor. The others did too. He could tell.
They all missed him.
So when he was spotted on patrol again. They waited a few days before they sprung on him- inviting him to hang out with them, eyes pleading for him to say yes to stay but
“I was planning on leaving the city for a while y’know. Go off the grid n’ all that.”
None of them expected that. There was a chance Jason would’ve said no and they knew that. But for him to go off the grid. Again? When he just got back. They barely got to talk to him- hang out with him. And he’s leaving already? That doesn’t make sense.
Tim told Jason so, straight to his face. Well- not the last part.
The man didn’t budge. Tim tried to come with anything to get him to stay but in the end, nothing. There was nothing he could’ve said.
From the corner of his eye, he saw how Dick’s smile grew dimmer, his hopeful expression cracking just a tiny bit. How Damian’s scowl deepened, folding his arms across his chest, and Cass. Well, Cass looked disappointed but she probably already knew that Jason was gonna say no before the man himself did.
Even with the helmet hiding his eyes, Tim could feel the weight of Jason’s gaze sweeping over each of them, quick and assessing. Jason must have realized how disappointed they looked because he said that he would go to their next outing.
Tim smiled. That was good! Better than nothing. They would have to plan it accordingly so Jason would have lots of fun and come back to hang out with them even more. Ideas were beginning to form in his head but before he could further develop them, Steph nudged his arm.
“He’s leaving.”
Jason didn’t say goodbye. He just fired his grapple and left. But Tim was fine with that.
They got something better-
Jason gave them his number. So he could be added to their group chat.
He really should’ve been added earlier. Why didn’t they add him earlier?
Tim couldn’t wait to send him memes and random pictures and to spam him with messages.
Dick added Jason to the group
Dick: hi jay!
Tim: welcome to the gc
Tim: prepare to be spammed
The others all texted back and greeted Jason. Telling him that they were excited because he’ll be in their next hang out. And that he should stay safe with whatever it was he was off grid for. Then they waited. For three dots to pop up. Anything.
No response.
Which was… fair. He was probably driving or something.
Days passed.
Then weeks.
They all expected Jason to text back eventually. They knew he would be busy but to go weeks without a response or a single read receipt. Well, they grew worried.
Tim knows he shouldn’t have but hacked into the phone. What if Jason was in danger and that’s why he wasn’t responding? What if he was captured somewhere? What if someone pickpocketed his phone? So many what-if scenarios were running through his mind.
The phone wasn’t as encrypted as he thought it would. He found the location pretty easily.
Crime Alley…
Wait. A realization struck Tim. He knew that house. That was the one where Jason and him would watch movies after patrol. It was a rare occurrence. Very very rare. But it did happen. Tim treasured those memories.
He really missed his brother.
Next thing Tim knows, he’s at the house. He knocked first because it was the polite thing to do.
But nothing.
He knocked again.
Nothing.
Third times a charm right?
… Yeah no.
So Tim broke in. Again. Probably not his brightest decision but he doesn’t care.
He just wanted to check in. Just in case something bad happened, you know- and oh.
In the middle of a perfectly made bed in a perfectly clean and tidy house, there was phone that vibrated every few seconds.
Seriously though, the house was so clean. He knew Jason was relatively tidy but this was something else. It’s as if Jason scrubbed it clean and wiped it bare. There were no tea mugs, no jackets on the floor. Hell, there wasn’t even food inside the fridge.
Tim guessed Jason planned to be off grid for a while.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the stupid phone on the stupid clean mattress again and his breath hitched. At least that cleared up why Jason hasn’t responded to their messages.
“A burner.” Tim dryly stated, trying not to let the disappointment that he felt in his veins creep onto his voice even though no one could hear him. “He gave us his number from a burner.”
Tim should’ve been able to guess that but for some reason he didn’t and it hurt.
So much for progress.