Shades of Gray.
Pairing: Jason/Tim [Batman]
Date Written: December 3, 2005
Notes: Sequel to this.
Tim had told Jason that he wouldn’t follow him anymore. Hell, Tim had told Bruce that he would stay away from Jason, but Tim isn’t the good solider, he’s the detective, the stalker, and just because he said he would stay away doesn’t mean he’s actually going to do it. Especially not when he’s so curious.
Yes, I want you. I want to be you.
Jason’s words echo through Tim’s head on a loop. He had said that he didn’t want to be Robin, so what the hell did he mean? Tim isn’t one for making assumptions when there are cold, hard facts to be found. So he shadows Jason for a couple of nights, this time making sure to stay far enough back that maybe Jason won’t notice him. He watches Jason clean up the streets using force instead of intimidation, guns instead of fists, almost as though he’s trying to be the antithesis of Bruce instead of just taking things one step farther than Bruce ever would. To Tim, it almost has a train-wreck like appeal. How far will Jason go? And how long can Tim just watch him do it?
After all, Tim doesn’t have Bruce’s guilt concerning Jason. If it was up to Tim, Jason would be locked away already, right? As night after night goes by, Tim isn’t so sure anymore. Jason isn’t just cleaning the streets for a night, he’s cleaning them permanently. Maybe with Jason’s way, someday, there won’t be a need for a Batman or a Robin. Especially if Bruce seems to have no intention of stopping Jason.
“I thought I told you not to follow me.”
Jason’s voice is coming from behind Tim and Tim wonders when the hell he lost track of Jason’s location. Tim spins around, but no one’s there. He squints in the darkness of the warehouse and notices a walkie-talkie propped up on a box behind him. Cautiously, Tim picks it up and presses the button to speak.
“Where are you?”
There’s laughter and then, “You’re the great detective in training, Tim, you figure it out.”
Tim frowns down at the walkie-talkie for a second before he looks up toward the ceiling. Sure enough, there’s a grappling hook hanging from a rafter. Jason must’ve lowered the walkie-talkie down behind Tim while Tim was too busy musing over Jason’s motives. Tim curses himself mentally for letting his guard down and then starts to look for a way up to the rafters. Spotting a series of ladders leading up a series of catwalks, Tim makes his way up them until he can jump from the top catwalk to grab the rafter. He pulls himself up onto it before crawling across it to where the grappling hook rests. Calculating the range of the walkie-talkies, Tim figures that Jason can’t be much farther from here.
From this height, Tim has a pretty clear view of the warehouse floor. The only area he can’t really see is the west corner, which is obscured by a stack of boxes, but is still within range of the walkie-talkies. Balancing himself up on the rafter, Tim stealthily heads in that direction. When he can see over the boxes a little, but he’s sure that if Jason is hiding there, he can’t see Tim, Tim leaps on top of the boxes, landing softly. He crouches down and peers over them only to see Jason grinning up at him, gun pointed in his direction.
“So you are the Boy Wonder after all.”
Tim resists the urge to swallow. Instead, he flips backwards onto the rafter, barely catching his balance in time, out of the range of Jason’s gun. Over his own heartbeat, he can hear Jason laughing.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of me, Tim.”
Taking a deep breath, Tim flips back down onto the boxes and peers over them again, just to prove that he’s not afraid. He faces lunatics with guns every night of the week. This is no exception, right?
“Why don’t you come down here?”
Jason practically purrs the words and it absurdly makes Tim think of Little Red Riding Hood and the big, bad wolf. He almost laughs but instead he swings his grappling hook onto another rafter, hooks it, and slides down the rope to land on his feet next to Jason. Immediately, Jason swings to hold the gun up to Tim’s temple and Tim begins to wonder what the hell he was thinking.
“Tell me, Tim, would you die for him?”
Tim doesn’t have to ask which him Jason is referring to and he’s sure it’s a trick question anyway.
“Under what circumstances are we talking about here?”
Jason actually, genuinely laughs at that, as though he really thinks that Tim is amusing.
“You’re the smart one, aren’t you? Let’s just say, it’s either you or him, right here, right now.”
“But it’s not,” Tim can’t help but point out. “Bruce isn’t here.”
“You think I meant Bruce?”
Jason grins and Tim’s heart sinks into his stomach. Dick. He had to have meant Dick. Tim licks his lips reflexively and notes how Jason’s grin almost turns into a smirk.
“Dick isn’t here either.”
“Oh, no?”
Tim’s heart sinks even further, if possible, but his voice comes out calm. “Where is he?”
Jason pulls something out of the inside of his jacket, which Tim immediately recognizes as a remote detonator. He holds his thumb over the button.
“Tick-tock, Timmy. What is it going to be?”
Tim’s mind races. “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. I’ve been following you all night. I know what you’ve been up to.”
Tim didn’t see Jason messing around with explosives tonight, but he could’ve wired them some other night when Tim wasn’t following him. Still, the range of the remote detonator isn’t that far. Unless Dick had been following Tim and Tim hadn’t noticed, which is unlikely anyway, there’s no way that Dick could be in danger.
Jason’s thumb starts to press down on the button. “If I’m bluffing, then you won’t mind me hitting this button.”
“Go right ahead,” Tim says with a slight shrug.
Jason hits the button and the east corner of the warehouse explodes. Tim hears it first and then feels the heat of it as the boxes go flying in the blast. One of them hits Jason in the head, knocking him to the ground before a stack of them comes crashing down to pin him to the floor. Tim barely manages to jump out of the way of a couple of them and ends up boxed in against the wall. Reaching up, Tim grabs onto the edge of one of the boxes and pulls himself over it. He considers leaving Jason there for the police to find, but instead he starts trying to push the boxes off of him.
It takes a lot of effort, but finally Jason is free and still holding onto the gun for all he’s worth, but instead of pointing it at Tim, he puts it away before kipping up to his feet. With a grin, he claps.
“Nicely done, Tim.”
All those manners drilled into him by Alfred have Tim starting to say “thank you” before he stops himself with a slight shake of his head.
“You’re a sick bastard, Jason.”
“I may be, but you’re still helping me escape.”
“I’m not. I’m…”
And what exactly is he doing? Chatting with the enemy? Or helping an ally? The line is so blurred to Tim at the moment that he can’t even finish his sentence. Especially when Jason closes the gap between them and takes Tim’s mouth in a hungry kiss, which Tim finds himself reciprocating as his fingers dig into Jason’s jacket. For a moment, Tim forgets everything except the slick feeling of Jason’s tongue against his own, but then Jason pulls back and grins wickedly.
“By the way, you just ordered me to kill the three drug runners who were operating out of the office on the east side of the building.” Jason pauses and touches Tim’s cheek. “See you tomorrow?”
All Tim can do is nod.
Date Written: December 3, 2005
Notes: Sequel to this.
Tim had told Jason that he wouldn’t follow him anymore. Hell, Tim had told Bruce that he would stay away from Jason, but Tim isn’t the good solider, he’s the detective, the stalker, and just because he said he would stay away doesn’t mean he’s actually going to do it. Especially not when he’s so curious.
Yes, I want you. I want to be you.
Jason’s words echo through Tim’s head on a loop. He had said that he didn’t want to be Robin, so what the hell did he mean? Tim isn’t one for making assumptions when there are cold, hard facts to be found. So he shadows Jason for a couple of nights, this time making sure to stay far enough back that maybe Jason won’t notice him. He watches Jason clean up the streets using force instead of intimidation, guns instead of fists, almost as though he’s trying to be the antithesis of Bruce instead of just taking things one step farther than Bruce ever would. To Tim, it almost has a train-wreck like appeal. How far will Jason go? And how long can Tim just watch him do it?
After all, Tim doesn’t have Bruce’s guilt concerning Jason. If it was up to Tim, Jason would be locked away already, right? As night after night goes by, Tim isn’t so sure anymore. Jason isn’t just cleaning the streets for a night, he’s cleaning them permanently. Maybe with Jason’s way, someday, there won’t be a need for a Batman or a Robin. Especially if Bruce seems to have no intention of stopping Jason.
“I thought I told you not to follow me.”
Jason’s voice is coming from behind Tim and Tim wonders when the hell he lost track of Jason’s location. Tim spins around, but no one’s there. He squints in the darkness of the warehouse and notices a walkie-talkie propped up on a box behind him. Cautiously, Tim picks it up and presses the button to speak.
“Where are you?”
There’s laughter and then, “You’re the great detective in training, Tim, you figure it out.”
Tim frowns down at the walkie-talkie for a second before he looks up toward the ceiling. Sure enough, there’s a grappling hook hanging from a rafter. Jason must’ve lowered the walkie-talkie down behind Tim while Tim was too busy musing over Jason’s motives. Tim curses himself mentally for letting his guard down and then starts to look for a way up to the rafters. Spotting a series of ladders leading up a series of catwalks, Tim makes his way up them until he can jump from the top catwalk to grab the rafter. He pulls himself up onto it before crawling across it to where the grappling hook rests. Calculating the range of the walkie-talkies, Tim figures that Jason can’t be much farther from here.
From this height, Tim has a pretty clear view of the warehouse floor. The only area he can’t really see is the west corner, which is obscured by a stack of boxes, but is still within range of the walkie-talkies. Balancing himself up on the rafter, Tim stealthily heads in that direction. When he can see over the boxes a little, but he’s sure that if Jason is hiding there, he can’t see Tim, Tim leaps on top of the boxes, landing softly. He crouches down and peers over them only to see Jason grinning up at him, gun pointed in his direction.
“So you are the Boy Wonder after all.”
Tim resists the urge to swallow. Instead, he flips backwards onto the rafter, barely catching his balance in time, out of the range of Jason’s gun. Over his own heartbeat, he can hear Jason laughing.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of me, Tim.”
Taking a deep breath, Tim flips back down onto the boxes and peers over them again, just to prove that he’s not afraid. He faces lunatics with guns every night of the week. This is no exception, right?
“Why don’t you come down here?”
Jason practically purrs the words and it absurdly makes Tim think of Little Red Riding Hood and the big, bad wolf. He almost laughs but instead he swings his grappling hook onto another rafter, hooks it, and slides down the rope to land on his feet next to Jason. Immediately, Jason swings to hold the gun up to Tim’s temple and Tim begins to wonder what the hell he was thinking.
“Tell me, Tim, would you die for him?”
Tim doesn’t have to ask which him Jason is referring to and he’s sure it’s a trick question anyway.
“Under what circumstances are we talking about here?”
Jason actually, genuinely laughs at that, as though he really thinks that Tim is amusing.
“You’re the smart one, aren’t you? Let’s just say, it’s either you or him, right here, right now.”
“But it’s not,” Tim can’t help but point out. “Bruce isn’t here.”
“You think I meant Bruce?”
Jason grins and Tim’s heart sinks into his stomach. Dick. He had to have meant Dick. Tim licks his lips reflexively and notes how Jason’s grin almost turns into a smirk.
“Dick isn’t here either.”
“Oh, no?”
Tim’s heart sinks even further, if possible, but his voice comes out calm. “Where is he?”
Jason pulls something out of the inside of his jacket, which Tim immediately recognizes as a remote detonator. He holds his thumb over the button.
“Tick-tock, Timmy. What is it going to be?”
Tim’s mind races. “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. I’ve been following you all night. I know what you’ve been up to.”
Tim didn’t see Jason messing around with explosives tonight, but he could’ve wired them some other night when Tim wasn’t following him. Still, the range of the remote detonator isn’t that far. Unless Dick had been following Tim and Tim hadn’t noticed, which is unlikely anyway, there’s no way that Dick could be in danger.
Jason’s thumb starts to press down on the button. “If I’m bluffing, then you won’t mind me hitting this button.”
“Go right ahead,” Tim says with a slight shrug.
Jason hits the button and the east corner of the warehouse explodes. Tim hears it first and then feels the heat of it as the boxes go flying in the blast. One of them hits Jason in the head, knocking him to the ground before a stack of them comes crashing down to pin him to the floor. Tim barely manages to jump out of the way of a couple of them and ends up boxed in against the wall. Reaching up, Tim grabs onto the edge of one of the boxes and pulls himself over it. He considers leaving Jason there for the police to find, but instead he starts trying to push the boxes off of him.
It takes a lot of effort, but finally Jason is free and still holding onto the gun for all he’s worth, but instead of pointing it at Tim, he puts it away before kipping up to his feet. With a grin, he claps.
“Nicely done, Tim.”
All those manners drilled into him by Alfred have Tim starting to say “thank you” before he stops himself with a slight shake of his head.
“You’re a sick bastard, Jason.”
“I may be, but you’re still helping me escape.”
“I’m not. I’m…”
And what exactly is he doing? Chatting with the enemy? Or helping an ally? The line is so blurred to Tim at the moment that he can’t even finish his sentence. Especially when Jason closes the gap between them and takes Tim’s mouth in a hungry kiss, which Tim finds himself reciprocating as his fingers dig into Jason’s jacket. For a moment, Tim forgets everything except the slick feeling of Jason’s tongue against his own, but then Jason pulls back and grins wickedly.
“By the way, you just ordered me to kill the three drug runners who were operating out of the office on the east side of the building.” Jason pauses and touches Tim’s cheek. “See you tomorrow?”
All Tim can do is nod.