Fic: Hand To Hand
Hey there! I told you I was still writing and here's the proof! I bring you, the next installment of the one-arm series! Over the summer, it will probably be harder for me to post very regularly, but I will try!
Title: Hand To Hand
Author: Singer
Characters: Dick, Jason
Pairings: none
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not my Characters...*rejoices in the creativity of piggybacking*
Warnings: Bad words are spoken. Unbeta-ed.
Summary: Jason and Dick clash once they get back home. This is a part of the one-arm series and will probably not make sense without reading the prequels.
The city was a quiet buzz of background noises, as quiet as New York ever gets, as two figures made their way through the night. One was traveling nearly unseen over the rooftops, keeping a close watch on the other on the sidewalks far below. The distance didn’t matter; it would have still been a silent trip even if they had made it side by side.
Dick resisted the urge to kick a can that was lying in his path. Anger and guilt mercilessly churned about in his gut. Damnit! He shouldn’t have to feel guilty about this; he was a fully-grown man completely capable of leaving his house if he chose to! And yet, the guilt was still there. It was the reason he had taken the low road on this particular walk.
When they had exited Roy’s window, he had been fully prepared to climb the fire escape up to the roof and take the skyline express home, but as soon as he had put his hand on the ladder Jason had given him a look of promised hell. It hadn’t been the barely contained rage in that look that had made Dick pause; it was the guilt of angering his brother so much. That was why he had shifted gears and slowly made his way down the ladder to the street level.
He halfway hoped that a break-in or some other fairly minor crime would happen in between here and his apartment just so Jason could blow off some steam before they had their little talk.
No such luck as his apartment complex came into view, the front door illuminated with the pinkish light of two old fashioned lanterns. He quickly made his way passed the shut doors of his building mates to his flat on the top floor.
A quick glance at the clock as he crossed his floor read 3:12 am. Wonderful…
He could tell that the apartment had been gone through. Chairs were shifted, cushions out of place, the phone was off of its cradle, and a glass lay in shattered pieces under a stain on the wall where it had apparently been thrown. The guilt in his gut performed a double back flip.
He opened his window, pulling himself out onto the fire escape just as Red Hood landed besides him.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Where less things are breakable,” Dick replied, getting onto the railing before hauling himself up onto the rooftop. He could here Jason grumbling as he followed.
Personally, Dick was glad to be on the roof. The height, the wind, the open space, things that made most people somewhat anxious put him at ease. Tonight the air couldn’t completely dissipate the nerves fluttering in his gut, but at least he would start off with a clearer head.
He let his eyes wander over the city skyline as he waited for Jason to speak, trying to ease the tension in his shoulders. He was certain that there was plenty that his brother wanted to talk about.
“Why… the hell… weren’t you here when I got back?” Jason’s voice was deceptively even. The words came out short and forced, like he was either having too hard a time not shouting, or too hard a time just forming coherent sentences through his anger.
He wouldn’t be happy with Dick’s reasons and he knew that, but he also knew that lying was the absolute last thing he should do right now. He owed Jason honesty at least.
He let himself take a steadying breath before he began, keeping his eyes averted, “Well Lian came over, by herself, to check up on me. She got pretty upset about the whole missing arm thing, and I figured I’d need to get her back home before Roy had a heart attack. So I figured I would just get her back home quickly and-“
“And you couldn’t be bothered to leave me a note, or call me or something?” Jason cut him off, “I covered half of the city looking for your sorry ass!”
“I was dealing with a panicking kid! She was crying, and it’s not like I usually have to deal with things like that. Hell, I was panicking!” Dick implored, “How could you expect me to think about notes and stuff when Lian is bawling on my doormat? It’s not like I expected to stay long.”
Jason snorted.
“I didn’t! I thought that all I’d have to do was drop her off and then I could head back home.”
“Well you didn’t.”
“I didn’t expect that I’d have to explain all of this,” he gestured towards the missing appendage, “to a mob of enquiring Arrows!”
He paused, eyes narrowing as something crucial slipped into place in his mind.
“Why did I have to explain it to them?” he asked.
“They should have been already aware of the situation… There was a community meeting just a few days ago where everyone should’ve been told about this…”
Jason unconsciously shifted from being entirely on the offense to a more defensive state of mind. He had really hoped that Dick would figure this out when Tim, or preferably, the Bat was around.
“Why weren’t they told… Jason?” Dick pressed. His eyes were sharp in the way they got when he knew he’d have you pinned with the next move.
“How should I know?” Jason attempted to evade, “I didn’t have anything to do with it. It’s not like I’m exactly welcome at those kind of things.”
“Jason…” Dick’s voice was laced with warning.
Jason was seriously going to kill whichever Arrow gave them away, just as soon as he figured out which one it was.
“That’s not what we’re talking about Dick!” he shot back.
“Oh that’s right! We were talking about why I thought it was more important to get a kid back to her worried parent than waste time unlocking the apartment to write you a little note, because that’s so much more important,” Dick threw his hand up in exasperation.
“Why was the apartment locked up?”
“Because I was just coming back from the Chinese place around the corner.”
“What the fuck, Dick?” Jason was shouting by this point, “You couldn’t just order delivery?”
“That place doesn’t do delivery!”
“So you decide to go waltzing around New York City after dark by yourself instead of settling for pizza!”
“Damnit Jason! I’ve been there a thousand times before!”
“That was different! Back then you could-“
“Could what?” Dick cut him off, “Defend myself?”
“Yes!”
“I’m not a fucking invalid! I can still take care of myself!”
He held up his hand to keep Jason from replying.
“Look. I know you’re trying to help me, but I’m not gonna break if I’m on my own for a bit!”
“You can’t do things the way you used to!” Jason retorted.
“I know that!”
Jason could remember that feeling he d gotten when he had realized that Dick wasn’t in the apartment. It had been hollow and cold, a six-feet-under kind of cold. The entire time he’d been looking, it had followed him.
“Then why won’t you let me keep you safe?”
“Why are you obsessing about it!?”
“I don’t want to lose you!”
…He hadn’t meant to say that.
They were breathing hard at this point, as if it had been a physical battle instead of a verbal one. The rooftop suddenly seemed much quieter than any place in New York ad a right to be.
“Well shit…” Dick muttered under his breath as he dragged his fingers through his hair.
“Jay… you’re not going to lose me. I promise.”
He crossed the space between them to place his hand on Jason’s shoulder.
“I don’t break that easy. And I like you being around, but you don’t have to protect me from the world. I kinda like being a part of it. Ok?”
Jason shrugged slightly.
“I may have over reacted a bit,” he admitted, “But will you let me know next time you decide to disappear?”
“Sure thing!” Dick replied, giving Jason’s shoulder a squeeze and grinning broadly, “Now let’s get inside. It’s cold out here!”
He turned and headed over to the side of the roof.
Jason joined him at the edge.
"Hey Dick," he paused "You never told me why you cried earlier."
Dick didn't meet his eyes as he answered, "I just... missed flying a little bit."
Jason didn't respond.
“Oh, and Jaybird? Tomorrow we’re going to let everyone who should have been told at the meeting about this little situation”
“Everyone?”
“Everyone.”
And with that, he dropped down onto the fire escape and slipped through the window.
Well that would be fun…
But Jason couldn't help but think, that there must be something he could do about that flying problem.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
END.
Title: Hand To Hand
Author: Singer
Characters: Dick, Jason
Pairings: none
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not my Characters...*rejoices in the creativity of piggybacking*
Warnings: Bad words are spoken. Unbeta-ed.
Summary: Jason and Dick clash once they get back home. This is a part of the one-arm series and will probably not make sense without reading the prequels.
The city was a quiet buzz of background noises, as quiet as New York ever gets, as two figures made their way through the night. One was traveling nearly unseen over the rooftops, keeping a close watch on the other on the sidewalks far below. The distance didn’t matter; it would have still been a silent trip even if they had made it side by side.
Dick resisted the urge to kick a can that was lying in his path. Anger and guilt mercilessly churned about in his gut. Damnit! He shouldn’t have to feel guilty about this; he was a fully-grown man completely capable of leaving his house if he chose to! And yet, the guilt was still there. It was the reason he had taken the low road on this particular walk.
When they had exited Roy’s window, he had been fully prepared to climb the fire escape up to the roof and take the skyline express home, but as soon as he had put his hand on the ladder Jason had given him a look of promised hell. It hadn’t been the barely contained rage in that look that had made Dick pause; it was the guilt of angering his brother so much. That was why he had shifted gears and slowly made his way down the ladder to the street level.
He halfway hoped that a break-in or some other fairly minor crime would happen in between here and his apartment just so Jason could blow off some steam before they had their little talk.
No such luck as his apartment complex came into view, the front door illuminated with the pinkish light of two old fashioned lanterns. He quickly made his way passed the shut doors of his building mates to his flat on the top floor.
A quick glance at the clock as he crossed his floor read 3:12 am. Wonderful…
He could tell that the apartment had been gone through. Chairs were shifted, cushions out of place, the phone was off of its cradle, and a glass lay in shattered pieces under a stain on the wall where it had apparently been thrown. The guilt in his gut performed a double back flip.
He opened his window, pulling himself out onto the fire escape just as Red Hood landed besides him.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Where less things are breakable,” Dick replied, getting onto the railing before hauling himself up onto the rooftop. He could here Jason grumbling as he followed.
Personally, Dick was glad to be on the roof. The height, the wind, the open space, things that made most people somewhat anxious put him at ease. Tonight the air couldn’t completely dissipate the nerves fluttering in his gut, but at least he would start off with a clearer head.
He let his eyes wander over the city skyline as he waited for Jason to speak, trying to ease the tension in his shoulders. He was certain that there was plenty that his brother wanted to talk about.
“Why… the hell… weren’t you here when I got back?” Jason’s voice was deceptively even. The words came out short and forced, like he was either having too hard a time not shouting, or too hard a time just forming coherent sentences through his anger.
He wouldn’t be happy with Dick’s reasons and he knew that, but he also knew that lying was the absolute last thing he should do right now. He owed Jason honesty at least.
He let himself take a steadying breath before he began, keeping his eyes averted, “Well Lian came over, by herself, to check up on me. She got pretty upset about the whole missing arm thing, and I figured I’d need to get her back home before Roy had a heart attack. So I figured I would just get her back home quickly and-“
“And you couldn’t be bothered to leave me a note, or call me or something?” Jason cut him off, “I covered half of the city looking for your sorry ass!”
“I was dealing with a panicking kid! She was crying, and it’s not like I usually have to deal with things like that. Hell, I was panicking!” Dick implored, “How could you expect me to think about notes and stuff when Lian is bawling on my doormat? It’s not like I expected to stay long.”
Jason snorted.
“I didn’t! I thought that all I’d have to do was drop her off and then I could head back home.”
“Well you didn’t.”
“I didn’t expect that I’d have to explain all of this,” he gestured towards the missing appendage, “to a mob of enquiring Arrows!”
He paused, eyes narrowing as something crucial slipped into place in his mind.
“Why did I have to explain it to them?” he asked.
“They should have been already aware of the situation… There was a community meeting just a few days ago where everyone should’ve been told about this…”
Jason unconsciously shifted from being entirely on the offense to a more defensive state of mind. He had really hoped that Dick would figure this out when Tim, or preferably, the Bat was around.
“Why weren’t they told… Jason?” Dick pressed. His eyes were sharp in the way they got when he knew he’d have you pinned with the next move.
“How should I know?” Jason attempted to evade, “I didn’t have anything to do with it. It’s not like I’m exactly welcome at those kind of things.”
“Jason…” Dick’s voice was laced with warning.
Jason was seriously going to kill whichever Arrow gave them away, just as soon as he figured out which one it was.
“That’s not what we’re talking about Dick!” he shot back.
“Oh that’s right! We were talking about why I thought it was more important to get a kid back to her worried parent than waste time unlocking the apartment to write you a little note, because that’s so much more important,” Dick threw his hand up in exasperation.
“Why was the apartment locked up?”
“Because I was just coming back from the Chinese place around the corner.”
“What the fuck, Dick?” Jason was shouting by this point, “You couldn’t just order delivery?”
“That place doesn’t do delivery!”
“So you decide to go waltzing around New York City after dark by yourself instead of settling for pizza!”
“Damnit Jason! I’ve been there a thousand times before!”
“That was different! Back then you could-“
“Could what?” Dick cut him off, “Defend myself?”
“Yes!”
“I’m not a fucking invalid! I can still take care of myself!”
He held up his hand to keep Jason from replying.
“Look. I know you’re trying to help me, but I’m not gonna break if I’m on my own for a bit!”
“You can’t do things the way you used to!” Jason retorted.
“I know that!”
Jason could remember that feeling he d gotten when he had realized that Dick wasn’t in the apartment. It had been hollow and cold, a six-feet-under kind of cold. The entire time he’d been looking, it had followed him.
“Then why won’t you let me keep you safe?”
“Why are you obsessing about it!?”
“I don’t want to lose you!”
…He hadn’t meant to say that.
They were breathing hard at this point, as if it had been a physical battle instead of a verbal one. The rooftop suddenly seemed much quieter than any place in New York ad a right to be.
“Well shit…” Dick muttered under his breath as he dragged his fingers through his hair.
“Jay… you’re not going to lose me. I promise.”
He crossed the space between them to place his hand on Jason’s shoulder.
“I don’t break that easy. And I like you being around, but you don’t have to protect me from the world. I kinda like being a part of it. Ok?”
Jason shrugged slightly.
“I may have over reacted a bit,” he admitted, “But will you let me know next time you decide to disappear?”
“Sure thing!” Dick replied, giving Jason’s shoulder a squeeze and grinning broadly, “Now let’s get inside. It’s cold out here!”
He turned and headed over to the side of the roof.
Jason joined him at the edge.
"Hey Dick," he paused "You never told me why you cried earlier."
Dick didn't meet his eyes as he answered, "I just... missed flying a little bit."
Jason didn't respond.
“Oh, and Jaybird? Tomorrow we’re going to let everyone who should have been told at the meeting about this little situation”
“Everyone?”
“Everyone.”
And with that, he dropped down onto the fire escape and slipped through the window.
Well that would be fun…
But Jason couldn't help but think, that there must be something he could do about that flying problem.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
END.