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[forceforlight]

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[reneger]

I know, I told Junior he needs to work harder 'cause he's clearly slacking at showing off.

( with a snort, forearm resting against the table. )

I'm a little offended you'll take B's crappy place over my heavily fortified place in NYC, but I'll get over it. A lot of work means a lotta money, an' given my--late night hobbies, I've been getting my own funds up. Told you I'd help.

[forceforlight]

I haven't been invited to the heavily fortified place in New York City. [Which is at least part of it. Because it was always kinda Jason's area, so Dick stayed away.] And I mostly mentioned it because I've been looking for ideas about how to do it. What sort of buildings would be good to renovate so that we all have our own space but bits can also be changed to what we need, too.

[A garage. Medical room. Communal kitchen or each place having their own? He's been putting a lot of thought into this.]

And I know you said you'd help. And I am very, very appreciative of it. [Being here means he can't let his pride get in the way of things. Not when it comes to family.] Thank you.

[reneger]

That was before everything got messier. ( a loose lift of his shoulders, before he's reaching for the salt shaker. just something to keep his hands busy, he's not that salty. or in need of being saltier. ) You can come over, I'll let you in.

( partially because he figures at this point, it's been half a year and nothing's gone so south between them that he's felt the need to hide. partially because he's tired and hasn't slept well in--weeks, and he knows damn well he can rely on dick when he needs someone. which he really, really needs now. as does dick himself, even if jason's fairly certain he isn't the guy for the job. )

Dickie junior got into my head a bit ago. ( mostly what this meeting is for--that and tim. ) Into one of my nightmares. 'bout the Joker. ( he says it casually, voice even even if it's quiet, for jason. ) Saw what happened. I don't know how to--fix that.

[forceforlight]

I haven't been here that much longer than you, but I'm pretty sure it's always been messy.

[He motions to the waitress, holding up his mug as a sign for more coffee. Because he can tell that Jason needs it. Honestly, probably would like something stronger but there are limits in a cafe.]

[Then he turns back, attention fully on Jason.]

I'm not sure if there is a way to fix it. It's not...great for him to know, but only because I know myself. He's going to obsess for a while on how he can make sure it doesn't happen in his world.

[reneger]

He can obsess all he wants, I don't give a shit about that.

( he lives, currently, with a recovering alcoholic. which makes going home drunk off his ass a very not fun move, and jason's working on being respectful--so coffee's about as strong as he's going to go right now. he lets that statement sit for a moment while the waitress comes over, waits until she's out of hearing range before he continues, )

You heard about it. I know I've--yelled 'bout it a few times, what happened. But he saw it directly. Felt it. All of it. He woke up screaming and crying.

( obsessing over how to fix something is--one thing. jason gets it, jason does that often. but it's trauma he hasn't had room to try and deal with yet, trauma they all carry plenty of already without adding jason's bullshit on top of it. )

[forceforlight]

Well, I should have been there.

[Something that Dick has said before. But he doesn't dwell on it right now because it's also not useful.]

[He does sigh, though, shaking his head as the carafe of coffee arrives. The waitress leaves it.]

How has he been handling it since?

[reneger]

He's pulling the Dick Grayson special of pretending nothing's bothering him 'cause then he'd be shit out of room to handle everyone else's problems.

( was this meant to be a call out for dick? nah. but he can run with it, they're already here. he may as well. )

[forceforlight]

[The narrow-eyed glare is most of Dick's answer to that.]

[It's not that he doesn't know it's true. Jason just doesn't have to put it that way.]

So he's more worried about you and how you handle it than he is about how it's affecting him.

[reneger]

( sometimes helping is brutally putting out your big bro's bullshit right there where he'll just have to accept that jason clearly knows what's up. )

Sounds right. Which's why I came to you.

( because dick is.. himself, clearly he should know what the hell jason's supposed to do with this. )

[forceforlight]

You do realize that my usual modus operandi is to just not think about how it's affecting me?

[Look. It's not like he doesn't KNOW he does it. They all do, to some extent or another.]

There have been a couple of occasions where B and Alfred had to wait for me to run myself into the ground or get too beat up to move before I'd talk about what was happening to me.

[reneger]

( jason raises a brow. keeps his eyes focused on dick, even if he's trying to keep half his attention on the cafe around them. this would be a really shit time for someone to approach them, jason doesn't want this to get out from under them. )

You do realize I've been here, watching you, since before Tiny Tim and B showed up, right?

( jason's this close to losing his mind, but he's betting dick's been there for the last six months, slowly chipping away because he doesn't have the space to truly break down. )

[forceforlight]

[Dick glares again, but only sips at his coffee again before refilling it. Because Jason has a point. He's still keeping enough of an eye on the room that he knows not to talk about things with anybody too close.]

And? Somebody has to be the adult. And that's one reason why I'm looking for a bigger place. Right now, I don't have a place I can retreat to. I'd freak Tim out if I let myself have a moment.

[reneger]

( yep. he sees where this is going. sees the look on dick's face, hears the words he's saying. knows before he finishes his statement what jason's going to have to do. hands push against the table to hold up his weight as jason climbs onto his feet, then reaches for the phone he'd shoved at dick earlier to shove it back into his pockets. )

Up. Before I get you banned from another place close to your apartment.

[forceforlight]

[Honestly, he knows he can use it. Things have been too quiet in Central lately. Then B turned up as being 10 and now Tim is 7. He needs to touch base with TJ, since Kon is gone. And how had THAT slipped his attention?]

[Because his attention is split a million ways and he's hitting the point where he needs something to help him refocus. Anger had worked for a bit. But sparring is useful for it, too.]

[Which is why Dick puts down some money for the coffee and says thanks to the waitress, following Jason out.]

I appreciate not being banned again.

[reneger]

Thought 'bout it, then remembered it'd inconvenience me more than it'd inconvenience you.

( he likes coffee, stalking dick grayson, and causing havoc. losing a cafe close to dick's place would be a mild annoyance, and--well, no, it'd be worse for dick than him, but he can pretend otherwise. jason walks out of the cafe, then turns in towards the dark side of the building. reaches a hand back to grab onto dick's wrist, too, because he hasn't dragged other people through shadows with him before, but he's going for it now. they need a quieter place, he can see a high rooftop just a little distance away if he can first get them somewhere out of sight so jason can take advantage of his ability where others can't see it. )

[forceforlight]

I highly doubt that.

[Still, it's good that Jason doesn't start something in the cafe. It's not like it's one of his favorites, but it's close and it does a decent lunch for when Dick isn't feeling like cooking or making his own sandwiches.]

[Jason grabbing his wrist, though, nearly trips him up. Punch, sure, he's expecting that, though not immediately. But this is a bit different than normal.]

I can keep up, you know.

[reneger]

( there's the slightest curl to the corners of his lips, the hint of a grin, before he's answering - )

Not where we're going you can't. ( because he's taking a step forward and they're both stepping into shadows. the world around them fades, for just a moment, before they're stepping out the other side on top of the nearby roof that jason had been able to see from down below--right at the corner, behind the large air conditioning unit that sat on top of the building. into a shadow, out another, and jason lets go as the blue glow in his chest slowly fades back to nothing. )

[forceforlight]

[Dick's USED to strange powers being used on him. He's travelled with Raven a fair number of times, other teleporters have taken him places both willingly and unwillingly. He's fairly used to it.]

[But not from JASON. Which is why he stumbles a bit when they go through the shadow, blinking as they come out into the light on the other side. Pauses. Turns to stare at where they just came from before shaking his head.]

I swear to God, I got the worst power set in the family.

[reneger]

No, you didn't. I got the same shit B did, if you want to talk about shit power sets.

( imagine matching bruce wayne, now that's the worst. but he's not getting into that, because as soon as he's taking another step away from dick, his demeanor--shifts. shoulders squared, significantly less jason todd and more red hood. )

The Tim you've got, in your house? Needs to be benched. No more R, no more late night escapades. He's a liability, both on-field and off. You're worried about him freaking out if you give yourself a minute? Maybe you're not the only problem.

( he and drake have discussed benching tiny tim. not as in actually doing it, but in the he should be, but they can't because he will break if they try it. there's no real intention of throwing him out, he's trying to rile dick up. )

Doesn't give you a pass. 'cause you're a liability like this, too, an' you know it.

[forceforlight]

[Dick could have said something about sharing powers with Bruce, but Jason bulldozed through. It's not surprising, really. Jason is pushing for a fight.]

[And, damn it. He's probably right.]

[Dick's hands close into fists, even while he tries to keep hold of his temper.]

I'm not worried about him freaking out on me if I need a moment. I'm worried about everything fucking going to hell if I take a moment.

[And it's the truth. Tim's not his worry. The fact that the entire family hangs together with a bit of string and bubble gum...]

[reneger]

'cause it's always all about you, ain't it?

( jason's eyes flick down to dick's hands for a moment, before they're raising to refocus on dick's own, lips twisting into a snarl before he continues on. )

What do you think you're doing that's keeping us all together, huh? You haven't done jack shit for me, I've had to figure out crap all on my own. You never even noticed Kon was gone an' that Tim's been moping all on his own in my safehouse, did you? An' I had to come to you about Dickie. He didn't tell you anything 'bout what happened, did he?

( it's harsh, but it's meant to be. jason's still pulling his punches, he doesn't mean for it to break break dick, just-- )

You can't do crap for anyone when you're like this an' you know it.

[forceforlight]

[He does know it. He's too wound up, trying too hard to be what everybody needs and not giving himself enough leeway. It's probably one reason why Tim hasn't come to him about the fact that Kon is gone. Tim knows Dick already has a lot on his plate.]

[His hands flex, heartbeat fast in his own ears, adrenaline flooding his body.]

[He should have more of an answer. He should be able to articulate that Jason ran off and didn't contact anybody for a month. That Tim wouldn't have shut down if the Jasons hadn't been shouting at him.]

[That some part of Dick has always been like this and that's why his own double didn't come to him.]

[He should be able to say those things out loud.]

[Instead, he gives in to the anger (at Jason/at himself) coursing through his body, and punches Jason.]

[reneger]

( better.

some people look at dick grayson and they see the epitome of patience. they see the older brother, the golden boy, the one who holds his shit together when everyone else is losing it because he's just--like that. jason sees all of it, but he also sees the anger lurking under the surface. the cracks slowly breaking apart the soft smiles he wears when he's trying to hold everything else together. dick grayson is the eldest. the golden boy. the one who holds his shit together. but it's not because he has the patience of a saint, it's because he's got so much bullshit on his shoulders that he feels like he doesn't have a choice. jason can't do it, he can't pretend everything is fine when it's not, he can't wear a mask that hides away all the bullshit going on under it; it's part of the reason for the hood, isn't it? because jason's face often reflects everything going on in his head, and he can't be that when he's out on the streets.

dick doesn't have that problem, but dick does have this: all that pent up anger, frustration, irritation, everything bothering him that he keeps inside until he can't anymore and jason--jason knows this is something he can handle. he can push dick over the edge, he can let dick take it out on him for a minute, work out some of the anger until he's riding the edge a little less hard. jason knows how to do this, which is why he pushes.

it's also why he takes the hit. gives a soft grunt when it lands, before he's raising his own fist to return it. he's not trying to hurt dick, not exactly. he's mirroring his anger, mirroring his hits and pushing it just a fraction harder so dick himself will. )

[forceforlight]

[It's at least partly his showbiz background. As long as you weren't hurt enough to affect the show, it had to go on. You plastered on a smile and kept going. Kept your mind in the here and now because if you don't, somebody might get hurt.]

[That somebody might be you, so more reason to keep it up.]

[He SHOULD deflect the punch, make it so that Jason's doesn't hit. But he has body armor on under his clothes. It's why he's wearing a light jacket in the middle of summer, why he hadn't taken it off in the cafe. So it absorbs some of the hit, but not all of it. Not enough to keep Dick from grunting, already punching again.]

[He has enough presence of mind to keep the punches to center mass. He's not trying to hurt Jason, after all. He trusts his brother to have armor on. This isn't about harming each other, anyway. It's just a more emotional bloodletting.]

[reneger]

( see, that'd be a great idea usually. jason's wearing body armor, because he always is these days. it's not quite visible under the jacket, given he's got a loose tee on over it--but dick can probably make out the fabric under the collar of his shirt, if he looks close enough.

except jason's torso is also covered in bruises currently; he's still recovering from a few cracked ribs, but he's not letting that slow him down any. there's a grunt when dick's fist slams against him, but jason's shifting near immediately into another hit, putting more force behind his fist this time when he swings it directly for dick's face.

there's just something satisfying about leaving bruises in visible spaces, especially on someone like dick. not that he'd say that out loud, especially not now. )