Petrichor [J.T.]

Chapter 5 - And Then On Purpose

It's been a month since Jason's birthday and the two of them have been happy in their current state. They hold onto their friends with benefits arrangement like it's in a vice, denying of them being a couple whenever it's brought up. Molly brings it up to the both of them every so often, questioning what the hell is going on.

They might not be doing anything in public, but she sees the way Jason reaches for her hand all the time and the way his hand rests on the small of her back or on her knee when they're hanging out. And she sees the way Sam beams when he talks and the way she nudges him with her shoulder, the way she practically sits on top of him and reaches for his hand. They make it so obvious it's almost painful. Even Bruce has noticed and he's just as confused as Molly is but he doesn't pester them about it. Instead, Bruce has a fond smile whenever he sees them together because at least they're happy.

But, while they're happy together, Jason is still struggling. His nightmares are persistent, he still wakes up in a sweat screaming most nights. At one point, he tried to avoid sleeping with Sam entirely because he keeps waking her up and it's not fair to her. He is not her responsibility. But, Sam is very convincing and reassuring. She promised him she'd be there anyway because that's what people do when they care about someone. She's very convincing. But, then his hands shake and his chest gets so heavy he can't breathe. It's paralyzing and he knows Bruce has noticed, too.

Bruce has taken notice in Jason and Sam not sleeping in separate rooms anymore. He's heard Jason screaming in the middle of the night. He sees Jason's hands shake on patrol and in training. He's noticed the limp. Jason seems physically fine but Bruce is no stranger to the harm someone's mental state can cause them. And Jason knows Bruce has noticed, he was not dubbed the world's greatest detective for no reason. And that scares Jason even more because he's afraid it's only a matter of time before Bruce gives up on him.

He'll make Jason hang up the suit, find a new Robin who's not scared of everything. So, Jason tries even harder. He trains harder and more often, him and Sam patrol together on nights Bruce doesn't, which means he's patrolling every single night, no breaks. Sam notices but when she asks, Jason brushes it off and says he's just wanting to train a little more to be prepared. He's very convincing, too.

While Jason is still struggling, Sam has been getting a little bit better. She swore coming back home, it would be different. She can't run from everything the rest of her life and she doesn't want to. So, she deals with it. She has a nightmare and she tells Jason the details about it and she talks about it. Gar was right, it does help a lot more than she actually thought it would. And when she feels paranoid about Jerry showing up or someone recognizing her from patrol, she tells Jason and he reassures her because no one has ever figured out about him, Bruce, or Dick. She wears a mask and no identifiable clothes. She is safe. And she tells Molly what happened, in small pieces, but she tells her just leaving out the powers and such. And it seems to help. 

She's comfortable here. She's comfortable in Gotham, at the manor surprisingly, with Jason, and with Molly. She has nightmares and the paranoia is real, but it's getting better. She keeps up with Gar and the other Titans and things feel like they might be okay again one day.

Tonight, though, Sam and Jason are on another bust without Bruce. It's not something big or anything, just some run-of-the-mill guys who have nothing better to do than deal laced drugs to kids. So, they're here to put a stop to it. And it's going well, until it isn't.

Jason is supposed to be handling half of them and Sam handles the other half. It's how they do this and they watch the other in case things go south. But, Sam is holding her own just fine until she hears Jason groan from behind her.

It's a reflex.

She can't help it but she hears him and she has to turn to look because Jason should be fine. But, she looks over and he's on the ground, and that gives the guy she's fighting enough time to grab her, despite the throbbing in her head. He yanks her arm and twists it behind her back. Sam lets out a scream in response, feeling her arm bending too far in the wrong direction.