Fan Fic: What a Drag [Batfam, Dick/Jason]
Rating: Teen
Genre: Gen, Slice of life
Fandom: Batman, DCU
Relationship: Dick/Jason
Characters: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd
Additional Tags: Smoking
Also available on: AO3
Language: English
Words: 928
Summary: Dick hates the smell of cigarette smoke.
Notes: Jason and Dick's relationship can be interpreted as brotherly or romantic. Read into it what you will.
“I wasn’t telling him to quit or anything.” Dick ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he walked down the street. He’d had another fight with Jason and stormed out in irritation. Granted, fights with Jason were a lot less lethal than they once had been, but that didn’t mean they were any less volatile.
Dick hated the smell of cigarette smoke. He hated the way it permeated everything it touched. The way it filled every inch of Jason’s apartment. The way it clung to Dick’s clothes for hours after spending any length of time with him. The way it left a foul taste in his mouth.
In the beginning, Dick had just dealt with it. There had been such bigger issues to work through when trying to bring the former Robin back into some semblance of civility with the rest of the family that Dick had just never mentioned it. He could live with the cloying awful smell that clung to Jason if it meant they could work through everything else.
And Dick’s efforts had eventually been successful.
While Jason would probably never move back into the manor, he could now hold a conversation with Bruce that didn’t end in shouting, and he and Tim could occupy the same space without a murder attempt. In fact, the two were terrifyingly effective when they decided to team up on a case. Jason still used lethal force like a painter uses a brush, but at least he hadn’t killed anyone in the past 6 months. At this point, Dick was ready to declare the whole affair a victory.
So now that Jason had more or less become a member of the family again, Dick felt he could bring up a minor thing like the smell of cigarettes. Naturally, it had been a total disaster. Jason had taken it as a critique of his whole lifestyle and big brother once again telling him how to live his life. Things had been going better, but any hint of moral superiority from Bruce or Dick still sent Jason into a rage. Dick had gotten pretty good at navigating that particular minefield and was usually able to avoid setting Jason off when brining up subjects that could even vaguely be interpreted that way.
Dick had been completely unprepared for the explosion his comment caused.
”Jason! I just don’t like the smell! That’s all! Why is this such a big deal?”
”Well if it’s so horrible why the hell don’t you leave!? I didn’t ask you to hang around here all the time anyways Dick!”
So here he was, walking along a Gotham street in the middle of the night when he really should be out patrolling, fuming about his irrational, pig headed, younger brother. He probably shouldn’t have said anything, but why shouldn’t he be able to spend time with Jason without perpetually concealing a grimace? Why did Jason always have to take everything so damn personally? He ran his fingers through his hair again. He knew he should go back and apologize or something. But he was feeling selfish and was tired of ignoring what he wanted in a relationship with Jason just so he could have one!
Dick grimaced as he noticed a convenience store worker taking a smoke break. The man was blowing smoke directly towards the sidewalk, forcing Dick to walk through a particularly thick cloud. He braced himself against the smell and then stopped in shock. He blinked and took in another breath.
“You okay buddy?”
Dick slowly turned towards the man, a huge grin splitting his face.
---
Jason was sitting on his roof fuming. Who the hell did Dick think he was anyway? Just because his happy family pet project hadn’t blown up in his face didn’t mean he got to tell Jason how to fucking live his life. Bruce and Dick had been harping on his smoking habit since he wore the short pants, and he’d thought that since he was a fucking adult they’d leave it the fuck alone. Jason scowled and reached into his jacket to pull out a lighter for the cigarette hanging from his lips.
“Here. Try one of these.”
Jason blinked in complete and utter surprise at the cigarette box being held in front of him. He didn’t recognize the brand and his gaze traveled up the length of the arm extended in offering to Dick’s hopeful face. Dick quickly attempted to fill the void left by Jason’s stunned silence.
“I really did just hate the smell, Jaybird. These are imported, but you can buy them at the corner store a few blocks from here for not too much more than the ones you normally smoke. And they don’t smell bad at all. They smell kind of nice actually…”
Dick’s babbling was cut off as Jason took the box from him and opened it. He tossed the cigarette he had been about to light aside and brought one of the new ones to his lips. He flicked the lighter a few times, using his other hand to protect the flame from the winds that laced Gotham’s rooftops. Cigarette lit, he tucked the lighter back into his jacket and took a long drag. Dick watched in silence as he waited to see Jason’s reaction, hoping desperately they tasted as good as they smelled.
Jason pulled the cigarette away from his lips and let out a slow breath, the smoke curling gently upwards out of his open mouth. He turned to look at his brother’s hopeful face and smiled.
“Thanks Dick.”