metalogs | ( open ) and what's the worst you take

( though the shadowy pool still remains there underneath him — underneath them, it doesn't seek to pull him under as it had been before. rather, it gently sways back and forth beneath them, as if waiting — as if considering, much like bruce himself is as jason speaks.

and, much like jason, his own voice remains quiet when he finally finds it. )

I saw what Joker did to Robin here.

( he swallows. jaw tight. dissociating for just a moment before he comes back. breath on his lips. )

He didn't even do anything for him. Didn't hunt Joker down and make him answer for what he did to him. What he did to you.

( he being the bruce— the batman they all know. the one before him. yeah. that's also something he's been dealing with on top of everything else. )

( bruce catches him off guard.

there's a lot jason could have expected, here. he expected bruce to tell him off. expected him to try and throw him off. tell him to shut up, do anything, but not this.

he doesn't expect the way bruce's jaw clenches. the way he talks about what joker did, the sentiment that so closely ties into the same shit jason had said all those years ago. the way he feels about joker. jason's jaw clenches, too, but significantly less like he's holding back anger--like he had been--and more like he's trying to fight back tears.

he had cried, holding a gun to joker's head. when he told bruce to choose: kill joker, or watch jason do it for him. felt even worse when bruce made his own option and slit jason's throat to get him off joker.

but he doesn't here. his voice gentles, betrays the weight of emotion behind it, just a little, )

I know. Trust me, I know. But you're not gonna get anywhere like this. Not anywhere good.

( it's the fact that he's dealing with the riddler on top of penguin and the mob back in gotham and feeling like he's getting nowhere with any of it that adds to the frustration with joker here. because it's the same. getting nowhere and like back in gotham, he begins to wonder if it's even worth it sometimes. to keep going like this. to keep fighting.

but deep down, he knows he still has to try and that extends to even here. with what's happened.

he can hear the way jason's voice changes some and it has him watching the other's face — blue eyes so similar to his. quiet. reading everything there on his face that he doesn't dare say. taking a breath for himself, he lets his gaze drift off. )

If vengeance is served, then it doesn't matter what happens to me.

( because that's what he is: vengeance. )

( he's so new. jason's heard bruce bitch about how it's justice, not vengeance so many fucking times. he knows it--had been this way for bruce, once upon a time. when he was young, new, when he was full of hurt and a need to punish. but that's not the bruce jason knew. his knee stays on bruce's chest, weight pressing down against it. the grip on the fabric of his uniform doesn't lessen, either. jason doesn't move away, he just stays right where he is.

watching bruce carefully. tries to steady himself a little, because it sure would be a shame if he let bruce break him down. )

You've met them, haven't you? The kids. ( tim and dick. the two robins that shouldn't be so little but are and it's still fucking jason up. he knew damn well he's a shit choice to keep an eye on dick, but somehow he moved dick into his place anyway. tim is--someone jason shouldn't be around, ever, but that's another problem. all of this is another problem. irrelevant. ) They look up to you. You're the person they turn to when they need someone, and it doesn't matter if you're not the one they're used to. Back home, he'd bitch about how it's not vengeance, it's justice he needs to fight for. Batman is a symbol, someone even the alleyrats look for when shit goes south for 'em. I get you're chasing your vendetta, but if you're gonna bitch at me about keeping Dick safe, you'd better do your part and not act like a shithead intent on digging his own grave.

( words jason should take to heart, too. but what fun is that. )

( he has to wonder how long jason plans on pressing his knee into his chest because, while the batsuit helps cushion it some, jason's still heavy.

though he knows, in part, it's a means to keep him here with him — to keep him from slipping into the darkness pooled out beneath him which, ironically enough, has varying levels of meaning to it which so few can either see or understand; jason seems to be one of those few.

staring to him for a long moment there through the black greasepaint smeared across his face, he closes his eyes and lets himself sigh a little to himself. )

You're heavy.

( a quiet bruce isn't necessarily a bad bruce. jason waits it out, keeping his weight on bruce even after he opens his mouth and--yeah, jason's a little heavy. and he's giving an ugly snort when bruce points it out. )

Someone had to get into your weight class. That someone just happened to be me.

( dick is an acrobat, tim is--small. damian is a brat. jason opted to go for being fierce and terrifying, and it works for him. usually. he's the brawler, the heavy hitter, the asshole who doesn't know how to stay down, ever. and he's not quite moving off of bruce just yet. )

You gonna try escaping again?

( with a grunt there on his lips when he shifts, he lets out another breath and tips his head back some. he can still feel the way the shadows lap against him. it's... strange. they're not wet or slick. not even cold or warm. they're just... there and he can feel them.

letting his eyes open some, he stares up to jason. )

Why didn't you let me go?

'cause I wanted to talk, but every time I see that shit cowl I want to knock it off your face.

( which he has done, now. so he feels a little better. and without standing in front of bruce in his cowl, it's--more obvious that this isn't his bruce. they're not the same person. jason's become comfortable with the whole multiverse thing, he's met other bruce's, but bruce versus batman just--weighs different. )

An' every time you open your mouth you make me want to punch it.

( he fights the urge to roll his eyes there and, instead, gives a huff there beneath heavyweight champion jason here still pressing his knee into his chest. )

Can't imagine why I would want to escape.

( sass? sarcasm? oh bruce is capable of it at times. )

'cause you're a little scared baby.

( he's grinning again, the tension in his shoulders rolling out. jason's still on guard, he knows better than to let himself fully relax around bruce, but it's a step in the right direction.

jason takes the cowl in hand, to offer it over to bruce--to the hand he isn't half-pinning down. reaches for his own mask after to shove it back against his face. )

You're so small, B.

( cowl in hand, he shifts a little more beneath jason in an attempt to push him off so he can sit up and put his cowl on. the shadows still sway back and forth there beneath him, but. they no longer seem to be pulling him down. instead, it's more like they're cushioning him. strangely. )

Maybe you're too big.

I'm not too big 'til I lose the ability to do this.

( bruce isn't fucking off, so jason takes it as a good cue to bend himself backwards, planting hands down on the floor behind himself and kicking off bruce to flip backwards onto his hands and then onto his feet. )

( with jason having flipped himself off [huh], bruce sits up and pulls his cowl back on over his face, slow in the way he does so, making sure it's on right. he eyes him through the cowl, the shadows beneath him seeming to melt away almost and, with a slight grunt, he starts to get up from the ground. )

Guess it shows you always ate your vegetables.

( taking a second to loosen up tense muscles, he slowly begins to walk again because... he's not just going to stand around in the street like this. )

( it's less showy than the kind of shit dick does, because jason isn't an acrobat, but he can still show off some. )

Oh, I didn't. ( his hand moves to pull his hood back over his hair, and jason starts walking beside bruce once more. ) I didn't eat worth shit 'til Al started feeding me. Barely four and a half feet when I was fifteen.

( walking with him like this... bruce still anticipates jason suddenly trying to take a swing or shot at him, but. he tries to push those concerns aside. at least a little.

he's heading to one alley in particular, steps heavy as they go, bruce shooting a look out of the corner of his eye to jason when he goes on about how tall— small he'd been at fifteen and the mention of alfred. )

( bruce goes silent, and jason easily starts filling in the silence. he's--a little more comfortable, now. he knows where bruce stands, in a way. knows now bruce needs a babysitter about as much as jason does to keep him out of shit. )

I was a little underfed before you. Lazarus Pit must've fixed up what Al's cooking couldn't.

( there's a low hum in gives in regards to that — in regards to the mention of alfred's cooking. he knows it well, obviously. )

Do you miss it?

( alfred's cooking because... he suddenly finds that he does. with being here. )

I haven't lived at the manor since I died, y'know.

( it's not an answer, because the answer is obvious. who wouldn't miss alfred? and his cooking? jason misses both; he hasn't seen alfred in well over a year. )

When we were on alright terms, I'd come over for food when I was in town. It didn't matter when it was, Alfred'd either have something ready, or he'd start putting together something for me.

That's how he is.

( no matter the version, it seems.

coming to stop then at the mouth of the darkened alley, he stares down to the ground for a long moment before he lets himself look over to jason there beside him. )

The darkness... the shadows... we share that, don't we?

( the manipulation of them, he means. although in a more emotional sense also applies, but. not exactly what he's referring to at the moment. )

No.

( yes. it's exactly the same, far as jason can tell. bruce was sinking into the shadows, jason can do that. bruce was using it as a shield, jason can also do that. he's going to be even more pissed if it turns out bruce can do shit he can't, because as bad as it is to have matching abilities, being outdone by bruce would feel worse. )

It was mine, an' you showed up and stole it.

( like a toddler taking another toddler's toys out of their hands. )

( so that's a yes then. in jason speak.

a glance tossed over to him from out of the corner of his eye, he looks back ahead to the mouth of the darkened alley before them before he continues down it. )

It's not like I had a choice in being given these things.

Doesn't mean you're not stealing my shit.

( it was his first. he would have been fine sharing with anyone else, but bruce is a little much. )

So, you done acting stupid? Gonna chill out a little?

Are you?

( it's meant a little more playful than accusatory as he glances back over his shoulder to jason while he walks, but. also a question he can't help but wonder himself. especially since it seems every time he runs into [a] jason, he comes for him in some way.

jason had said himself that he's not him, so. he's hoping that maybe he'll remember that from time to time — chill out a little.

and that's when the shadows near the end of the alley drop away and an early version of the batmobile is there waiting for bruce. souped up and looking tough. )

( luckily for the both of them, when jason is looking for it, he can pick out what's meant to be playful and what's meant to be closer to scolding.

and he almost opens his mouth to sass back at bruce, but then the charger comes into view, and jason's attention shifts from bitching at bruce to oogling his car. )

There's no way you built that up already.

Not here. This one's mine.

( which is him basically saying this is the batmobile from his gotham. )

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