Completely Roundabout, Pt 2
<<Part 1 (Tim’s Birthday)
JayTim - Freeform // Pre-relationship; enemies to friends to lovers; jumping straight into the “we’re not really friends but we kind of are?” stage // 2.9 K // Read on Ao3
Happy Birthday, Jason!! ❤
“Uhhh, what’s up, Red?” Jason asked cautiously, raising an eyebrow at the red and black-clad vigilante sitting beside him on the edge of the roof.
“I just realized that today is September sixteenth,” Red Robin replied as he scrubbed a gauntleted hand over his masked eyes.
“Umm, and this is a problem because…”
“Because it’s been an entire month since August sixteenth.”
Jason raised an eyebrow. “And that date is relevant because…”
Red Robin stared at him. “Hood. That’s your birthday. Remember?”
Jason snorted. “Oh, that?” He reached around the rim of his helmet, deftly unlatched the complicated clasp, and pulled the ‘hood’ off. He ran a gloved hand through his hair and cocked an eyebrow from behind his domino as he turned and asked, “But why’s that a big deal? My birthday was a month ago; why’s that important now?”
Red Robin groaned, leaning back on his hands, surveillance of the precious metals depository in front of them long forgotten - that was okay; based on the intel they’d gotten, nothing was likely to happen that night anyway, Jason figured.
“I completely forgot about it, that’s why,” Red replied quietly, looking pained. Jason opened his mouth to put Red’s concerns to rest - who cared about his birthday, he certainly didn’t - but Red didn’t notice as he stared off at the twinkling skyline. “You remembered mine at the last moment and then were thoughtful enough to do something after the fact.”
“Tim,” Jason sighed, “look, I appreciate the thought, but we were kind of in the middle of dealing with, what, two alien invasions, and then chasing down, like, what, four different supervillians a month ago? Let’s be real, I didn’t even get a chance to think about my own birthday.”
Tim was so upset about the whole thing he didn’t even comment on Jason breaking the no names in the field rule. “Yeah, but I remember remembering it a week after the fact, and I meant to do something, but now it’s been three more weeks and I completely forgot.”
Jason grimaced. If he’d known back when he first came back how much thought his replacement put into beating himself up over every little thing he probably would have gone easier on the kid that first time they’d met. Maybe. He certainly would have aimed to plant more ideas to psychologically traumatize the newest Robin rather than spend so much energy beating on him physically; there was no one better at beating Tim up than Tim himself, he’d come to find out.
As it was now, Jason kind of wished a good pummeling could knock all the self-deprecating thoughts out of the younger man. It would certainly be easier than trying to convince Red Robin to go easier on himself.
“Little Red, you’re making too big a deal out of this.” Jason shook his head. “It was just a birthday. It would have been nice if you had said something, but I’m not upset that you didn’t; not given how overwhelmed we were these past couple of weeks.”
Tim frowned, looking uncertain. Jason leaned forward into Red’s space, huffing a laugh as he added, “I mean it’s just something we humans have made into bigger deal than is really necessary, right? What’s the big deal about a birthday, anyway?”
Red Robin backed away from the ledge and threw down his cowl. Tim’s eyebrows rose as he turned to face Jason, exhaustion melting away to incredulity. “Um. Only that it celebrates the fact that you exist and that you’re alive and that you’ve managed to stay alive for so many years! And, we of all people - you of all people - have the most to celebrate for the feat of staying alive in spite of everything!”
Jason ignored the backhanded reference to his death and raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You certainly didn’t seem to care all that much about your own birthday. You didn’t remind anyone; didn’t ask for a dinner or a party or anything; didn’t even cancel your work meetings or your patrol that night. So what? It’s only important if it’s not your birthday, if it’s not your life?”
Tim blinked then looked away, abashed. The silence stretched but Jason waited, determined to crack through Tim’s self-deprecation on this one. It was one thing that he’d thrown Tim around and talked like he was trash for trying to take his place, back when Jason was in that bad, bad place; and it was one thing that the demon brat had channeled his uncertainty and anxiety over his place in the family into misplaced aggression towards his older brother and predecessor, and repeated attacked him for it, back in the day; but it was another thing entirely that Tim insisted on throwing himself away even after Jason and Damian had both come to appreciate Tim for who he was and what he had to offer as a brother and peer.
He and Damian still had trouble admitting to themselves sometimes how much they admired and respected Tim, and they still gave him shit on a semi-regular basis, if only to hide their shame for how they’d treated him without thinking their actions through, but they appreciated the hell outta him now, so Jason would be damned if he let Tim appreciate himself any less than they did.
Tim fiddled with his gauntlets and shifted his legs restlessly, making Jason think he might try to jump up and run away from the questions - Jason would chase him down if he had to, so help him - but eventually Tim found the words to respond.
“No, it’s not… I don't… Everyone’s life is important, even mine, it’s just not something you’re supposed to make a big deal out of yourself, I think,” Tim explained, looking thoughtful. “I make a big deal out of everyone else’s birthdays, but I don’t make a big deal out of my own because that… it doesn't… I don’t feel like…”
Tim paused to swallow and Jason waited, knowing deep down what Tim was going to say next. “I just feel like it would be really self-centered to call attention to myself instead of letting other people decide if they wanted to remember and celebrate on their own.”
“So, by that logic, how can you really blame me for not making a fuss over my own birthday?” Jason asked, tilting his head towards Tim with a savage grin.
Tim gaped. Jason didn’t often pull out his quiet, rational side, so often it surprised people that he still had one, but he could still keep up with the best of them when he had to - Tim included. After a moment, Tim huffed a laugh and settled back onto the roof.
“Okay, point taken,” Tim conceded with a grin. “However, in that case we should both make a bigger deal out of our birthdays,” he added, surprising Jason. “They’re important. Yeah, other cultures will celebrate different days or celebrate in different ways, but the meaning is the same: we’re alive and we’re stayin’ alive and that means something. That means a lot to people like us.” Tim paused and looked Jason straight in the eye. “It means a lot to me.”
You mean a lot to me was the unspoken takeaway from that and Jason wasn’t sure what to make out of that sentiment. He had beaten this kid bloody, treated him like crap at one time. Things were better now, but he still really couldn’t understand why Tim cared as much as he did.
To be fair, he wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much that Tim beat himself up or didn’t give himself the credit he was due, so maybe there was something worthwhile between them after all.
Sometimes he felt like they both saw something in each other that reminded them of themselves, something that reminded them of who and what they’d always wanted to be. Something that reminded them that for as far as they fell, there were always ways to pick themselves back up again.
So, yeah, maybe there was something small, but meaningful between them, and maybe - just maybe - Tim meant a lot to him, now, too.
A week passed after that night and he and Tim ran into each other a few times, but the younger man didn’t bring up Jason’s birthday again.
Not until one quiet night when he showed up on the roof where Jason was taking a break, carrying what looked like a black and red box wrapped clothes box.
“Uhhhh, hey there, babybird. To what do I owe the honor?”
Red Robin approached, pressing the package against his chest with one arm so he could yank down his cowl with the other. He stopped in front of Jason and offered the package to him.
Jason shifted and studied the package. It was roughly twelve by nine inches in size and an impressive three inches deep, and it was covered in black matte paper with shiny red foil bats all over it.
“Where did you get that paper?”
Tim rolled his eyes. “Yes. It’s not that amazing. Just take the gift already; I swear it’s not a bomb or a trap.”
Jason squinted at Tim appraisingly - teasingly - but reached for the package. The sides of it were firm under his fingers, so he grasped it tightly, but when Tim released his grip, Jason wasn’t prepared for how heavy it would be and he almost dropped the thing.
“Holy fuck, man, what is in this? Lead? Wait, you didn’t get me ammo, did you?” he joked with a grin. “I didn’t think you approved of anything other than the rubber kind.”
Tim shook his head with an abashed smile. “Shut up and open it already.”
Jason slowly peeled back the paper to reveal black cloth and gold embossed letters. Tearing away the rest revealed a book. A huge-ass book. Jason studied the sides of it.
“Holy hell, Babybird, is this a book or a weapon or both…?”
His voice trailed off as he read the shiny title on the cover then whipped the cover open to check the title page.
Jason was speechless. He looked up at Tim then back down at the book and then flipped through the huge pages numbly. Tim cleared his throat.
“I… Alfred… I did some research and figured out that you really appreciate Shakespeare’s works, so I tracked down a copy of this thing,” Tim explained awkwardly. “It’s all his works, unabridged, everything from his comedies to his sonnets. Everything of import he ever wrote, all in a single volume.”
“With illustrations,” Jason added, staring at an old-style lithograph on one page. Tim choked out a laugh and scratched the back of his head.
“Yeah, with some old crappy-ass pictures. Sorry. I always kind of ignored them in my copy….”
Jason shook his head and looked up at Tim again, stunned. “Man, no, this is awesome! Thank you.” He flipped through the pages again, tugging off one glove so he could run his bare fingers over the creamy smooth paper, stopping at one of the sonnets and mouthing the first familiar lines.
“I don't… I can't… This is amazing, man. Thanks for thinking of me. This is perfect.”
Tim smiled, looking relieved. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it. You went through the effort to give me such meaningful gifts, I really wanted to return the favor.”
Jason scoffed. “I got you a sticker and a bag of marshmallows; that was nothing. This… oh man… this is way better than the little things I got you.”
Tim shrugged. “Yeah, I guess they were small and inexpensive, but they were thoughtful - I don’t even know when or how you found out about the marshmallows - and, well, they made me smile.” Jason looked up in time to catch a small smile lighten Tim’s face as he admitted as much to him. Jason mirrored the expression and repeated his thanks.
“But really; thank you, man. Best birthday gift in a long time.”
Tim jumped, eyes widening. “Oh, shit, hold on I almost forgot the…where’d I…” Jason cocked his head as Tim rifled through his pouches. “Aha! Here.”
Tim offered him a small resealable pouch and Jason opened it warily. “I wasn’t sure what kind you’d like best - I’m more of a coffee person, you know - but Alfred said you had a soft-spot for oolongs and the shop owner said that this was one of the best and…”
Jason lost track of what Tim said after that, he was too consumed by what he discovered when he examined the gift. The foil-lined pouch was filled with loose-leaf oolong, just as Tim had advertised, and the moment he lifted the pouch to take a careful sniff, he was gone. That shop owner hadn’t steered Tim wrong - this was a top quality, classic oolong, and Jason was drowning in the multi-dimensional floral notes, dying in the mellow grassy undertones, and coming back to life again in how light and perfectly balanced the combined fragrance was. If it smelled this good, it had to taste amazing.
“-son? Hey, Jason? Did… did I do okay?”
“Wh-what?” Jason blinked down at Tim, who had backed up a step and looked uncertain as he gestured to the tea. “Is… is it okay?”
Jason stared. “No. It’s not.” Tim’s face fell and he blanched. “Holy shit, babybird, no, it’s not okay, it’s so much better than okay, this has to be the best tea I’ve ever held. Jeez, man, you’re two for two with this gift… jeez… I don’t deserve all of this… you seriously outdid yourself, man.”
Tim blinked then broke out into a relieved laugh. “Got lucky, I guess. I thought it smelled interesting, but most of the credit goes to that tea shop guy. I’ll have to let him know his choice went over well.”
“Dude, jeez, give yourself some fucking credit. This is amazing man - the book, the tea - just… thank you. Really. Thank you, Tim.”
They lapsed into an uncertain silence after that, Jason sealing up the tea carefully and pulling out cord to bind the book closed for the trip home. Tim edged towards the lip of the roof as if he was thinking of taking off immediately now that his objective had been achieved.
“Hey, why don’t you-” Jason started at the same time Tim said “Well, I should really-”
They laughed. “You first,” Tim offered, pulling up his cowl at the same time he pulled out his grapple.
“Tonight’s been pretty slow, and I know you’re not a fan, but you should really try this tea,” Jason suggested. “One sip and you’ll understand how you really knocked it out of the park with this one. I’ve got a place nearby that I was gonna head back to soon, anyway; you should come over and we can try it out.”
Red Robin shifted uncertainly. “Are you sure?” This was the first time he had invited Tim to any of his safehouses, Jason realized, but screw it, Tim probably knew about most of them anyway - he’d already proven he knew about Tim’s when he gave him belated birthday gifts two months ago - and if they were at the stage where Tim cared enough to track him down after over a month to give him gifts of Shakespeare and tea that was worth more than its weight in silver, then it was way past time to give Tim the chance to prove he could be trusted in Jason’s home space.
Red Robin still looked uncomfortable, the lines of his body tense and his mouth downturned under the blank stare of his cowl. “I mean, I do have a few things I should follow up on anyway, so maybe…”
“You know what would probably taste like fucking heaven with this tea?” Jason cut in, sending Red a wink as he set down the book so he could get his hood on again. “Marshmallows. Really, Red, we gotta try it; you gotta try it with me. We can run by the mini-mart on the corner and pick up a bag of jumbo-puffed right now. Whaddya say?”
Red paused, then laughed out loud. Jason relaxed as he watched the tension bleed out of Red’s shoulders with the laughter. “Okay, you got me, now I gotta know what that tastes like. Let’s do it,” Red answered with a grin. He turned to face the street. “Lead the way.”
Red Hood pulled out his own grapple with one hand, balanced his new precious book in the other, and stepped up beside Red Robin, lining up his shot. “Try to keep up, Little Red.”
“Will do, Cinnamon-flavored Chewing Gum.”
Jason laughed and together they flew off into the night.
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