Fill My Lungs | J. Todd ✔

[08] The New Robin

From that day onwards, Jason and Valerie settled into that casual hooking-up situation between them. They didn't meet up too often for her friend Sarah to get worried about her and also because both of them were busy. But when they did, Valerie would end up staying the night at Jason's and getting treated to a delicious breakfast the next morning.

Their friends however were unaware of their relationship. Sarah suspected that Valerie was probably secretly dating someone but each time she asked, she would deviate from the topic. Roy and Kori, on the other hand, were also very sure that Jason definitely had someone other than them in his life too but pestering him with questions would only end up making him angry so they avoided the topic too.

In that way, time passed swiftly with no major development in their daily lives. Until Jason had to go back to Gotham due to a situation his family was stuck in and Richard had called him to come back.

Apparently, the crime situation had gotten worse in the city and though Batman was intent on dealing with it on his own, Richard felt that Jason's connections to the underworld could prove to be a great help. So for Jason, it was more of another mission rather than going back just for the sake of helping his family out.

It would take some time for him to reach the level of trust he had in them years earlier.

So even though he went back to Gotham, he did not stay at the Manor and only helped out where it was necessary. Red Hood's return to Gotham set straight the other crime lords who had been enjoying their short-lived freedom but with him in the city, they too were cautious about not stepping out of line.

It took a few weeks for the situation in the city to resolve and by the end of it, he was completely stressed out and frustrated.

Even the slightest of things would anger him and he wanted to go back to Star City.

Right then, Nightwing had left an injured young Robin in his custody and he was pacing the room, ignoring the little boy chugging on a jug of coffee.

"Why are you so angry, Jay?" The boy who was named Tim Drake and had taken up the mantle of Robin after him spoke up after observing him pace like that for a long time.

"I can't believe they called me here saying they needed help and then I found out all they needed was a babysitter," he huffed in annoyance, paying no heed to the boy who had gotten off the counter and was looking around for medical supplies.

"You got a first aid kit by any chance?"

"Yeah, why?"

Tim had ducked under the kitchen counter and saw a white box peeking out from behind the packed cartons stacked under. He dragged it out and saw that it was indeed a first aid box.

"Never mind, found it," Tim mumbled, sitting down on the floor as he strapped off his boots and cowl, revealing the cuts denting his skin.

Jason paused, realizing that the boy needed help. He was trying to heal his wounds by ointment and putting bandages over them but of course, he wasn't doing a good job at it.

"Wait," Jason sighed softly, taking the roll of gauze as well as the towel with which he had been cleaning himself up, "sit still."

Tim stiffened as he replied, "you don't have to. I can manage."

"Sit still and be silent."

Jason noticed that he was indeed rather frail and was prone to get hurt much worse than the others. Perhaps that was why Nightwing had dropped in his care, knowing that Tim would be scared enough of Jason to refrain from escaping and joining them on patrol on his own.

"What did you do to get yourself this hurt?" He asked at last, wrapping the bandage over his frail frame tightly.

"I got hit by a truck and then slammed into another car," he mumbled in reply, "turned out I was running low on caffeine and just messed everything up."

"You're lucky you're even alive by now," Jay remarked, picking out the shards of glass from his back as the boy winced.

"I prefer saying the opposite. It's unlucky I'm still alive," Tim remarked with a slightly wistful sigh.

That statement seemed to have hit a nerve inside Jason and by intention, he took the other shard out roughly, making him yelp in pain.

"Ow... It hurts," his blue eyes welled up but he roughly wiped at them, not wanting to appear weak in front of Jason.

"Dying is not fun, kid. You joke like that again and I will knock sense into your head which you definitely won't like."

Tim didn't say a word after that, sitting in silence while Jay patched him up. After he was done, Jason stood up to go and fix something to eat for him. He wasn't feeling hungry himself but seeing how malnourished Tim appeared to be, he felt he should at least do the bare minimum and give him something to eat. Whether he ate it or not was completely up to him.

"Um, Jason, can I ask you a question?" Tim's meek voice shook him out of his thoughts again and he turned to look at him as the boy was eyeing the empty coffee jug with wide almost desperate eyes.

"What question? You need more coffee?"

"I don't want to be a burden on you but if I can get some that would be great," he mumbled and watched Jason put some water to boil on the stove to fill up that coffee jug again.

He felt that was the question Tim wanted to ask so he didn't say anything else but a while later, Tim's voice startled him again.

"Actually, I wanted to ask something else."

"Then ask and once I answer, don't hit me with any more questions," he replied, unable to keep himself from still being a bit sour toward him.

"Are you addicted to something too? Like maybe coffee or cigarettes or alcohol?"

He paused, unable to ascertain why the kid would ask him that.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have intruded," he remarked quickly, not wanting to risk the chance of never getting coffee from Jay again.

However, Jason turned to face him with a very skeptical look in his eyes, "why exactly did you ask me this specific question?"

"No reason," he mumbled, suddenly something very interesting to stare at in his bruised fingers, hesitating to look up at Jason, "forget I asked."

"Life is not an undo and delete thing you do with your computer," Jason remarked, putting the jug of coffee in front of him but not letting him take it, "tell me why you asked and I might just give you an answer. Don't tell me and you won't get any coffee."

Tim looked up at that threat, his lips puckering into a tight frown "it's just that... You... I know you are not as chirpy as Dickie but this mood of yours reminds me of what I am like when I can't get any coffee."

"So?"

"So I just thought maybe you're addicted to something too and are going through withdrawal symptoms," he concluded, his cheeks flushing red with embarrassment, "it was very stupid of me to ask you. Please don't get angry at me."

Withdrawal symptoms...

Addicted to something.

It only made him think in a direction that he had been avoiding ever since he had met Valerie Kayes. What if he was becoming addicted to her and staying away from her for so long was the reason for his constantly bad mood?

He let go of the jug so that Tim could take it but stepped back without giving him an answer. Tim didn't push further either as he contented himself with pouring out another cup of coffee and drinking it silently without bothering Jay anymore.

On the other hand, Jason only wanted those days to come to an end and for Gotham's crime situation to get in control so that he would finally be able to go back to Star City and verify for himself whether that accidental revelation was right or not.

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