Chapter Text
When Jason and Dick returned to the house after lunch, they found Roy sitting on the front steps, an awkward smile on his face when he saw them. “Hey guys, is it cool if I hang here for a little bit? I, uh, locked myself out of the house and I don’t know when Oliver’s gonna be home. I can always break in later if he’s not home, I just didn’t want to do it in broad daylight just in case, y’know?”
“Sure, man. I know Jason’s done that a bunch,” Dick replied.
Jason punched Dick’s arm, “Dude!”
“No shame in it, Jaybird. I’ve had to break into my house more times than I can count.”
Dick opened the front door, saying, “Jason and I were talking about playing video games on the way here so I hope your hand-eye coordination is as good as your Chemistry knowledge.”
“Let’s play Mario Kart,” Jason suggested.
“No!” Dick replied immediately.
“Why not?” Jason asked, feigning confusion
“Because Princess Rosalina is a fucking cheater!”
“Not true! Maybe Princess Peach should just suck less!”
“You both play as Princesses?” Roy asked.
“Yeah,” Jason replied. “Who do you play as?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Dick replied. He shoved Alfred’s food into Jason’s hands. “Give this to Alfred and our guest can pick a game.”
As Jason walked down the hall to the kitchen, Jason and Roy went into the second living room which served as a game room. It had all the boys' consoles as well as a bookshelf filled with games for different Nintendo consoles as well as Xbox and PlayStation games too.
Dick turned on the television while Roy’s eyes wandered over all of the games.
“How do I even pick?” Roy asked. “There are too many options!”
“I guess that means you’ll just have to come over more,” Dick said, “play all of them.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice. I’d much rather be here than-“ Roy cut himself off and pulled a game off the shelf.
“Hey, Roy, is there something you want to talk about?” Dick asked.
“Hm? No, not at all. Why?”
“No reason. Just wondering.”
Roy thought about it for a moment. He didn’t have to go into complete detail about his home life, and he trusted Dick more than anything. “Oliver’s not home very much. He’ll kinda just disappear for days, sometimes over a week at a time. I’ve got food, water, shelter, heat, and everything I need but I just hate being in a big house all alone. Eating dinner with your family is much more fun than a quiet, lonely meal.”
“Well, good news, you can come over whenever, we don’t mind at all.”
“I don’t think you know how much I appreciate that, Dick.”
“No appreciation needed. I’m your friend, I just want you to be happy.”
“I want the same for you, buddy.”
"So, what did you two old men pick out for us to play?" Jason asked, walking into the room.
Roy handed Dick the game in his hands. “I think Super Mario Party sounds like fun.”
"Sure, I'd love to watch Jason lose to an AI again," Dick smiled and popped the cartridge into the switch console.
“It’s not my fault Daisy keeps stealing my stars! Stupid AI Daisy!” Jason grumbled snatching a switch controller from the coffee table.
“If Daisy steals your stars I’ll steal all her coins,” Roy promised, “nobody gets to take Jaybird’s stars on my watch.”
“You don’t have to play nice with him just cause he’s a baby,” Dick teased, pinching Jason’s cheek.
“Fuck off,” Jason replied, pushing his brother away.
“I’m not, I never said I wouldn’t steal his stars, I just said Daisy isn’t allowed to,” Roy clarified, receiving a betrayed look from Jason that made him laugh.
The three played and after about an hour Jason had gotten third place AGAIN, losing to Dick’s Princess Peach in first and Roy’s Waluigi in second but not to Daisy who was in fourth place.
Roy reached over and ruffled Jason’s hair. “Hey, look at you! You beat your mortal enemy!”
“Yeah and gained two!” Jason retorted.
Dick and Roy laughed. “Oh come on, you just gotta get good, Jaybird!”
“Oh, I’ll get good. Next time, I’ll kick your ass!”
“Best of luck to you, I doubt it.”
Bruce very quickly enrolled Jason in a new school and after a week, he was doing so much better. He still had a bit of a hard time making friends but he was sure all he needed was time. Selina, however, was not content to wait.
She arrived at Wayne Manor and called out to Jason hoping to reach him before anyone else in the house. However, when she called out, instead of Jason appearing, Bruce popped his head out of his office.
“Damn,” she frowned, “don’t you have a day job? Why are you here?”
“Hey, Selina, nice to see you. I missed you too. I’m so happy you’re here. Oh. Well, I’m actually working from home today,” Bruce feigned one side of a conversation as he walked over to his girlfriend.
“I’m not unhappy to see you, I was just hoping I’d run into Jason first.”
“Why?”
“I have something for him.”
“What do you have for him?” Bruce asked.
Selina crossed her arms. “She’s in the living room.”
“She?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Selina who is in my house”
“Before I show you, you can’t say no. This is a present from me to Jason and you can’t say no!”
“. . . There is a cat in my living room, isn’t there?”
“Kitten, actually.”
“I wish you would have talked to me first before bringing a pet into my house.”
“No one in here is allergic, you and I both know that. I also know this kitten will be great for Jason!”
“And I understand where you’re coming from, and I’m sure I would have said yes anyway, I am just saying I would have liked to be consulted on this before you brought a kitten for my son.”
“You would have said yes? But I’ve tried to get you to adopt all my foster kittens and you haven’t adopted a single one!”
“Because I haven’t wanted a kitten, but we’re not talking about me. Jason, as he’s been spending more time with you, has been asking about possibly getting a kitten. I’ve been considering it and was going to ask you about helping him find one in the next few weeks.”
“. . . Oh. I thought you just didn’t like cats.”
“I’m not particularly for or against cats, except for one in particular,” Bruce said, kissing Selina on the cheek.
“I love you too,” Selina smiled. “Now, where is Jason?”
“I’ll get him,” Bruce said, “but first, have you thought more about moving in? I’m not trying to pressure you, I just want to know.”
“I have been thinking about it, and I have decided I will move in, but I’m also going to keep my apartment.”
Bruce smiled, “whatever you need.”
“Good. I’m glad we agree.”
Bruce changed the subject back, “Jason is in his room doing homework, I’ll go grab him.”
“Hurry, old man!”
Bruce laughed, kissing Selina one more time before going upstairs.
Jason's bedroom door was ajar and when Bruce peaked in he could see Jason at his desk writing in a notebook.
Bruce tapped on Jason’s door with his knuckles before saying, “hey Jay, do you have a minute?”
“I’m doing my homework, B,” Jason replied without looking up.
“Selina’s here.”
Jason dropped his pencil and spun his chair around, “Selina’s here?”
“Oh, so if I need a minute of your time you can’t stop your homework, but Selina needs you and you can drop it no problem?” Bruce teased.
“Alley cats stick together, B,” Jason said, standing and walking towards Bruce.
“That’s messed up, Jay. C’mon, let’s not keep Selina waiting.”
Jason and Bruce’s walked into the living room where Selina had moved to. She had what seemed to be a cat carrier open on the table and gently pulled out a brown and white tabby cat.
Jason gasped and hurried over to Selina, “she’s so small! You got a new cat?”
“No, Kitten, you got a new cat.”
Jason’s eyes widened. “Me? My cat?”
“Yeah. She’s 6 weeks, doesn’t even have a name yet.”
“I-I can’t believe this!”
“Wanna hear my suggestion for a name?” Selina asked.
Jason nodded.
“I was thinking Bandit because, like you and me, she steals hearts.”
“She does! She does steal hearts! Yes, my sweet little Bandit,” Jason said, taking the kitten in his arms.
“I have a bunch of supplies in my car, we can decide where her toys, litter, and food and water bowls are all gonna go.”
Jason and Selina took everything in and set it up while Bandit sniffed everything they put down and Bruce took pictures because his girlfriend, son, and grandkitten were all so cute together.
After Jason and Selina got the cat settled and she gave Jason all the tips she could think of for raising a kitten, Jason called Roy. “Roy, guess what!”
“What, Jaybird?”
“Selina got me a kitten!”
“A kitten?!” Roy asked, sharing in Jason’s enthusiasm.
“Yes! Her name is Bandit and she’s adorable! Do you want to come over and meet her?”
“Of course. I’ll be there soon!”
Jason found Bruce after his call, “Roy’s coming to meet Bandit.”
“I’ll let Alfred know to make another dinner,” Bruce replied, since Roy never seemed to leave the Manor before breakfast the following day.
“Cool!” Jason spun on his heel, ready to run back to his room where Bandit was.
“Wait, Jay, there is something I need to tell you,” Bruce said quickly.
Jason turned back around, looking impatient.
“Selina is gonna be living here for a week.”
“She is?!” Jason’s impatient frown was replaced with a smile. “That’s amazing!”
“Alright, Jay-lad, that’s all I wanted to say, go have fun with your new kitten.”
When the doorbell rang, Jason jumped up and ran to the door. Bandit followed curiously.
“Jaybird! Where’s the new little bundle of joy?” Roy asked when Jason opened the door.
Jason turned and both boys saw Bandit trotting down the hallway towards them. “Her name is Bandit.”
“Oh my goodness!” Roy said walking in and crouching in the hall a good few feet away from Bandit.
“Isn’t she the cutest?”
“Just about as cute as you are,” Roy replied, looking up at Jason.
Jason blushed, “very funny, Roy.”
“Oh my, have I flustered the little spitfire?” Roy said as he stood again. “Look at your cheeks getting all red!”
“Me flustered? Maybe in your dreams, Harper!”
“Tell that to your cherry red cheeks, Todd-Wayne!”
“They are not that red,” Jason used the hood of his hoodie to cover his cheeks, he could feel how red they were.
“Chill out, Jaybird, I’m only teasing. Let’s play with your kitten until your cheeks decide they want to stop being fruits.”
Jason and Roy took Bandit back to Jason’s room, the boys chatted as they played with her. When Bandit got tired, Jason and Roy moved to the bed, sitting side by side with Bandit resting on Jason’s lap.
“Y’know, I never had a cat before. Street cats are cute, but you can’t pet them without risking an attack,” Roy said, watching Bandit as she slept.
“Yeah. I used to not like cats 'cause they would scratch me and shit but Selina’s showed me pictures and videos of her cats just being cute and silly and it totally changed my view,” Jason replied.
“Selina seems pretty cool.”
“She’s so cool. Not sure why she’s dating someone like my dad but it means she hangs out here so I’m not gonna say anything.”
“Why do you say that?” Roy’s eyes traveled from Bandit to Jason. “Bruce is pretty cool, he’s always been really nice to me.”
“Well, Bruce is nice and a good dad but he’s far from cool.”
“Maybe that’s why Selina’s with him. She balances him out. She gives him the cool he needs, and he gives her some practicality.”
“Y’know, you might be right about that.”
“I’m often right about matters of the heart.”
“Is that so?” Jason asked, running his fingers through Bandit’s fluffy fur.
Roy nodded, “I was the one that told Dick and Wally to just kiss already because we were all tired of watching them silently pine after each other.”
“Oh, that was you? Thank you! Dick used to talk about Wally All. The. Time! It was so annoying.”
“Oh, I know! Imagine having to watch these two eye fuck each other every day at lunch, during lab, when we hung out, everywhere!”
Jason giggled, “that sounds like hell.”
“Oh, it was. But now I just have to suffer through them being a couple while I’m alone.”
“Damn, you can’t catch a break.”
Roy shrugged, “it’s whatever. I don’t go for just anyone, anyway, they have to mean a lot to me.”
“Have you ever dated anyone at all?” Jason asked, still focused on Bandit.
Roy thought about it for a moment. “Once, freshman year. Did not go well.”
“Wait, really? You have to tell me about it!” Jason said, eyes finally leaving Bandit.
“Nah, it wasn’t important.”
“You just said they have to mean a lot to you!”
“He did,” Roy said quietly, “and he took advantage of that. Really fucked me up. Took me a long time to relearn how to trust people again. I thought everyone was going to use me up till they got bored and discard me like I wasn’t anything to them at all. . . It really sucked.”
Jason put his arm around Roy, “I’m sorry he did that to you.”
Roy leaned into Jason’s embrace and closed his eyes. “Me too.”
“I’ll never leave you, I promise. You’re my best friend, Roy.”
“And you’re mine.” Roy smiled, “just don’t tell Dick or else he’ll get jealous.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“Oh, hey Roy,” Dick said, having popped his head into Jason’s room, “I was just coming to get Jason for dinner.”
Jason carefully picked Bandit up from his lap and deposited her on his bed where she quickly curled up and continued to sleep before following Dick and Roy to dinner.
Once dinner was over Dick went up to his room, because he had planned to video chat with Wally since his boyfriend was out of town for the weekend. Meanwhile, Jason and Roy went upstairs to grab Bandit before taking over the living room for a movie marathon. Alfred would come in later to cover the kids with a blanket when they passed out on the couch.
The band had started to notice that they had gone 2 full months without a single interruption from Dick’s little brother. No one, however, wanted to say anything about it and risk ruining the peace at practice.
One day as the band was leaving, they walked past the library in which Jason was reading with the door ajar.
Jason heard the band walking down the hall before he saw them. He looked up from his book to the doors and hopped up from the reading chair when he saw Roy, “hi, Roy!”
“Hey there, Jaybird! What’s the book of the day?” Roy asked, stopping to lean on the doorframe.
“Rereading Sense and Sensibility,” Jason answered walking over to Roy, as well as the rest of the band who had stopped walking when Roy stopped.
“God you are such a nerd,” Roy teased. “Do you ever read books that aren’t a million pages?”
Jason rolled his eyes, but was still smiling at Roy, “it’s only 352 pages.”
“Oh, I get it now,” Wally said.
“Get what?” Jason asked, turning his attention to Wally.
“Why you haven’t interrupted us, you have a crush on Roy!”
Jason’s face started to turn red, “no I don’t, he’s just my friend!”
“Don’t listen to him, Jay, Wally thinks everyone has a crush the minute they’re close with someone,” Roy told Jason.
“Oh, come on, his face is as red as your hair,” Wally told the other redhead.
“Dude shut up, leave the kid alone,” Roy said, playfully shoving Wally, before he turned his attention back to Jason. “Are we still on for Mario Kart?”
“Yeah,” Jason replied, “of course.”
“C’mon, let’s go fire it up!”
Jason and Roy walked off to the game room together.
Meanwhile, Dick said to his boyfriend, “you shouldn’t say stuff like that to Jason, you know, he doesn’t have many friends except for Roy.”
“Someone had to call him out on his obvious crush,” Wally replied.
“Wait, you were serious about that?” Dick asked.
“Yeah, you can’t see it?” Wally asked before adding, “actually you couldn’t tell I had a crush on you for 2 years so that makes sense.”
“Like you were any better!” Dick shot back before thinking about Roy and Jason. Maybe Jason really did have a crush on Roy, and they did spend a lot of time together “Should I go crash their Mario Kart Game? Would that be crazy?”
“Why would you do that? Do you have a problem with Jason’s crush?”
“I- I don’t know. I mean, I don’t really think Jason having a crush on Roy is great, like yeah they’re only a year-ish apart but they’ve got such different maturity levels, and Roy doesn’t even like Jason like that! I don’t want my little brother getting crushed by one of my best friends.”
“So your solution is to get in between him and his only friend?”
“Wally, I love you, but you started this mess.”
“I didn’t start anything, just pointed out what was in front of your eyes, babe, but, if you're asking for my opinion, I don’t think you should do anything.”
“Fine, I’ll stay out of it.”
Wally took Dick’s hand, “want to spend the night at my house?”
“More than anything.”
As the days went on, Dick has to physically restrain himself from coming between Jason and Roy, he was becoming more convinced Jason was unaware of his crush, and Roy, obviously, didn’t feel the same.
The last straw came one night when Dick came home late and saw Jason and Roy on the couch together. They were sitting pretty close, practically on top of each other, and laughing about something. Dick overheard Roy say, “C’mon Jaybird, how can you sit there and lie to me like that? You know I can read you better than anyone.”
Dick stepped into the doorway, unable to stay out of this (whatever this was) any longer. “Hey, Roy, can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Uh, sure, Dick,” Roy followed Dick out into the hall and over to the next room. “What’s up?”
“You need to cut the shit.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s obvious to everyone Jason has a crush on you and you’re not making it any easier on the kid. Stop stringing him along! You flirt with him and spend hours with him almost every day. How is that fair to him?”
“Dick, I don’t know what in the fresh hell you’re talking about. Jason is my friend.”
“Yes, he is your friend, which is why you need to put a little space between you two. Friends don’t act the way you two do, not any friends I’ve seen.”
“Where is this coming from?”
“This is coming from me biting my tongue for weeks because Wally told me I should stay out of it, but I’m not going to let you hurt my little brother. I can’t.”
“Weeks? Wally? Is this because of his crush comment a couple of weeks ago? Oh my god! You know he likes to tease Jason! Jason and I are best friends and that’s it. He doesn’t have a crush on me and I am not stringing him along.”
“Wally wasn’t joking, Roy. Do you really not see how he looks at you? Like you’re the greatest thing in the whole wide world? He adores you, you are the only person in the world that makes him blush at the drop of a hat. He, without a doubt, has a massive crush on you.”
“He. . . does?” Roy, honestly, hadn’t noticed.
“He does. I know it feels like I’m being harsh, I just don’t want Jason getting hurt.”
“Yeah, I get it, man. I don’t want to hurt Jason either.”
“I know you’ll do the right thing, dude. I’m going upstairs, you two should get to bed too, it’s after 1.”
“Alright. See ya later.”
“G’night Roy,” Dick said before heading upstairs as he said he would.
Meanwhile, Roy went back into the living room but didn’t sit down, “hey, Jayb- Jason, I’m gonna head up to the guest room and go to sleep, I’m getting tired.”
“Aww, already? I’m not even tired! We were supposed to play with Bandit.”
“Yeah, but it’s pretty late, maybe tomorrow. . . or some other time.”
Jason was now on high alert. “You’re being weird.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. One minute you’re being your silly self, and then the next you’re saying we might not even hang out tomorrow! What did Dick do?”
“He didn’t do anything, he just had a question about the lab assignment.”
Jason frowned. He didn’t like that Roy was keeping secrets, but harping on it wasn’t going to get him answers tonight. “Okay, fine. Feel free to tell me when you feel like you can,” Jason said, standing to head upstairs.
Roy followed him upstairs and disappeared into the guest room. He was gone before Jason woke up.