snippet from a new fic for script: flipped, my reverse robins series.
for context: post-to be wanted, bruce takes jason (and steph, and cass, and damian, and jon) to the circus. so! here's jason (and damian)'s first meeting with dick~
The only downfall of the day is, well. Brucie.
At least it isn’t gala Brucie. This version of Brucie is mild—more well-meaning but air-headed devoted parent than outrageous flirt or walking disaster. Jason strays from his side; already done making polite conversation with wealthy people. No one pays him any mind. His fifteen minutes of fame are up, and he really couldn’t be happier for it. He wanders over to where Damian is observing the elephant instead.
“Enjoying yourself?” he asks, and Damian casts him a dark look. Jason just smiles at him, which makes him sigh.
“It’s... not as intolerable as I previously thought it would be,” he says, which is high praise coming from Damian. “And I admit I’m looking forward to seeing the show. The Flying Graysons are world-class acrobats. I’m hoping to pick up a thing or two from observation.”
“That’s not just a gimmick they put on the flier?” Jason asks, leaning against the fence.
“No,” Damian says.“They’ve pulled off many stunts once thought impossible—including the quadruple somersault.”
“Huh.” Jason had performed a triple once, but he’d never actually managed to do it again. He's fuckin’ ace at doubles, though.
Distantly, Jason hears the elephant’s handler announce she’s taking a small break before the show. Only a handful people are left in line, and they part with no small amount of disappointment. Jason watches the elephant for a moment before turning away, scoping out the others in the crowd. Steph’s roped Jon into posing with her behind one of those cut out things while Cass takes a picture. Brucie’s been stopped by yet another couple.
“Man, we can’t take—” He turns his head, only to find his vision of Damian blocked by a thick grey trunk. He starts. “What the—”
The elephant noses him gently. He can feel the warm puffs of her breath in his hair. Then she switches, doing the same to Damian. He finds himself sharing a bewildered look with his brother.
“Aw, Zitka likes you!” a voice chirps, and Jason twists to see a tiny little kid on the other side of the fence. He looks like any other kid running around the circus, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with a well worn pair of sneakers on his feet. His hair is a mess of dark curls, face still round with baby fat.
“Um. Are you supposed to be back there?” Jason asks, dumbly.
The kid makes a face at him. “Of course,” he says, like it should be obvious. “I live here.” He gestures to all of the tents. “Zitka is my friend.” He pauses. “And babysitter, sometimes.” He pats one of the elephant’s legs, and she stops nosing Damian to curl her trunk around the boy instead. “My name’s Dick,” he says, cheerily, like this is all completely normal.
Which. For him, maybe it is.
“Uh. I’m Jason.”
“Damian.”
“Nice to meet you!” Dick chirps, with a beaming smile. “Zitka’s real nice, but she doesn’t like just anybody, you know.”
“We’re honored to be among the few, then,” Damian says seriously, and Jason knows he means it. Damian’s never met an animal he didn’t like—as evidenced by the multiple shelters he sponsors in Bludhaven, and the way he almost never turns away a foster animal. Last time Jason visited the penthouse, he and Jon had three other animals; including a little chihuahua on hospice. “You and Zitka are close, then?”
“The closest,” Dick says, bouncing onto his toes. “We hang out together between shows all the time.” He pauses. “Are you guys here to watch the performance tonight?”
“We are,” Damian says. He’s awkward in the way that only Wayne men manage to be. Or, well. Wayne men except Jason.
“That’s great!” he says. “I’ll make sure to do an extra special trick then, just for you guys.” He winks, like a little baby showman. It’s charmingly adorable, and Jason kinda wants to muss his hair.
