Selina's Sidekick

part fourteen

Today is Jason's birthday, everyone say happy birthday or you'll make the dead boy sad.

Jason's blaring alarm woke him from his peaceful slumber, causing the young teen to drag himself from his bed with a groan. The thief whacked his alarm clock until it stopped shouting at him before he trudged into the kitchen, following the smell of coffee and burnt toast. Sitting down at the kitchen table with a huff, Jason smiled at his humming mom, watching as she put plates of food together for them. 

"You know, you really should leave the cooking to me, mom." Jason teased when Selina placed the slightly burnt toast in front of him, kissing his hair as she went to sit down. "We both know I am the superior chef."

"That may be true, but I'd starve every morning if I had to wait for you to drag your butt out of bed to cook for me." Selina shot back, sipping her piping hot coffee. 

Jason pouted. "I'm not that bad...am I?"

"Kitten, it's almost time for you to leave for school." Selina chuckled at the string of curses that left Jason's mouth as he verified the time, chowing down his food at an alarming rate. "Jay, slow down, you're going to choke."

"Good. If I'm dead then I won't have to face Tim Drake in chemistry today." The thief managed to say around the toast in his mouth. He swallowed thickly, coughing  a little at the dryness of the bread as it went down his throat. 

Selina pat him on the back, helping soothe the cough attack and help the bread go down smoother. "If you're dead, who am I going to have as my snarky partner?"

"Isis." Jason smirked. 

Rolling her eyes at his retreating form, Selina called down the hallway at her protégé. "She may be as sassy as you, but she can never replace you as my son!"

"Only 'cause she's a lady!" Jason shot back, returning to the kitchen in his school clothes with his back pack on his shoulder. He kissed Selina's cheek as he grabbed another slice of toast, twirling around to head for the door. "Bye  mom! See you tonight! Love you!"

"Bye kitten! Good luck with Drake! Love you!" Selina called after boy, sighing as the door closed behind him. A meow brought her attention to the black cat sitting on the chair Jason left vacated. Selina smiled at her. "Oh, hush. You know I love you." Another meow. "Yes, yes. But he is my son. You've got to understand."

While Selina was conversing with Isis about Jason, said boy was maneuvering his way to school, dodging the crowded Gotham streets as he went. The young thief got to school with barely a minute to spare, heaving a sigh of relief as he trudged his way to home room. 

The school day was going smoothly for Jason; no problems in home room, Tim was absent from chemistry, and he aced his pop quiz in English - as if there was ever any doubt he would. 

Everything was going great. 

Until lunch rolled around.

Jason was making his way down stairs, walking fast, when a hand reached out from a utility closet and pulled him inside. 

It was dark in the closet and the young teen smirked. "You know, usually people come out of these things, not drag others into them."

"Shut up! My god, just shut up!" A suspiciously familiar voice hissed, reaching up to turn the lights on. 

Jason blinked when he saw Tim Drake glaring up at him, looking, admittedly, slightly intimidating. Swallowing that feeling, Jason kept the easy smirk on his face as he leaned back against the wall of supplies behind him. "Hey, Timmy. If you wanted some alone time with me, you could've just asked. No need to be a total creep."

Tim's cheeks flushed more and he bit back a groan. "You are insufferable."

"Ooh, big word for such a small boy."  Whirling around with fury in his eyes, Tim pushed Jason further against the wall of supplies, his hands gripping his biceps tightly. "Feisty."

"You think this is a joke, Jason?" Said boy nodded, which only made the younger teen's eyes flare with rage. "Why would I drag you into a utility closet as a joke?"

Jason arched a brow. "'Cause I'm your only friend and you have weird notions of bonding?"

"What? Y-you're not my only friend, Todd!"

"Todd-Kyle." 

"Whatever!"

"Not whatever. If you are going to try and intimidate or threaten someone, be precise and use their correct name. Everyone knows this, Quail."

"What?"

"See? It doesn't work if I don't use your correct name." Jason shrugged in Tim's grasp. 

Perplexed, Tim loosened his grip on Jason and gave him enough room to move. Seeing his opening, Jason lifted his arms halfway and jammed his fingers under Tim's ribs, stunning the boy into releasing him. 

Backing up, Tim stumbled over a bucket and fell onto his back, giving Jason the upper hand as he dove on top of the smaller boy. Straddling him, Jason pinned Tim's arms above his head, still having the lazy half smile on his face. Tim glared up at him. 

"So, are you going to tell me why you brought me into the closet with you? I mean, I spent enough time - metaphorically - in them and I'm not particularly fond of the stench of this one." 

Tim gaped at him. "You're gay?"

"Pan." Jason shrugged. "Now, tell me why you brought me here or I will resort to...interrogation tactics."

With a snort and a shake of his head, Tim narrowed his eyes before replying. "What interrogation tactics? You think I can't handle you?"

"Frankly, no. It's not like you're Robin." Jason scoffed. "And even that little bitch ain't tough enough to handle me."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Tim mumbled. 

Jason glared down at the small teen beneath him. "What? You don't think I'm tougher than Robin the boy blunder?" Tim arched a brow. "Puh-lease! I grew up in crime alley! That prissy little bird named brat was probably  fed caviar and morals on a silver spoon by Batman since the day he was born. He ain't got nothing on me!"

"Is that why you stole from my brother? To prove that Robin and Batman couldn't get to you?" Tim grunted, trying in vain to get Jason off his body.

His eyes got a certain twinkle to them, one Tim didn't like. Jason leaned down, whispering in a low voice in Tim's ear. "Are you jealous that I chose Dick over you?"

"What? No!" Tim hissed at the older teen. "I want to know why you stole from Dick!"

Jason chuckled into Tim's ear before leaning back, smiling down at the younger boy. He looked him over before releasing his grip on Tim's wrists, getting off his body in a fluid motion, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. "That, Timmy boy, is for me to know and you to always wonder." He walked towards the door of the closet, pausing to look over his shoulder as he gripped the door handle. "Oh, and Tim? Say hello to dear old Dickie for me, will you?"

With a low chuckle and a wink, Jason was gone.

Tim sat up on the floor of the closet and cursed. He went to text Bruce that he couldn't get any information out of Jason when he realized something - his phone wasn't in his pocket anymore.

"That sneaky bastard."

Groaning, Tim pulled himself out of the closet, knowing he was going to be getting an earful from Babs for losing his phone and from Bruce for not noticing Jason's movements.

In other words, he was screwed.