I Forgot to Mention

Old Habits

Even now, as he watched the city pass by through the darkened windows of the family's limo, the information gnawed at Jason's mind.  Tim appeared to have calmed down after their little talk at the top of the stairs, able to believe that the situation was as good as taken care of by his crafty older brother.  Jason wasn't against lying about the small things in life, mostly for his own benefit or enjoyment at the expense of others around him.  However, there was no denying that this was a different beast altogether.  The words had been slick, rolling off his tongue in a manner befitting true sincerity. 

Maybe that's why Tim was so quick to believe me?  Jason pondered as he shifted in his seat. 

He didn't WANT to manipulate Tim, at least, not in this particular instance. But, Jason knew that the situation was bigger than just the four of them. He had once asked dear old Daddy Dearest about the Justice League before.  Back when their father's words still meant something to him.  With a large hand on Jason's young shoulder, he was assured that, "They are none of your concern."

Jason blew a stray hair out of his face.  The limo had come to a stop, and the door opened soon after.  Tim greeted Dick as usual, while Damian's eyes narrowed when the oldest only gave a dismissive wave in response. To be fair to the little demon, Jason found the distracted attitude strange as well. Normally, Dick would be the first one to dole out greetings. It was possible that he was tired, after all, he had practically slipped into a coma when he had made it to the bed in the infirmary. Alfred was quick to shoo their younger brothers away, citing that "Master Dick NEEDS his rest!" Jason hadn't really cared about checking up on the sleeping teen and figured if anything important happened then they'd find out. However, something told Jason it was more than just some minor exhaustion from two days ago causing Dick to act so out of character.

Something must have happened at school, he concluded rather easily.

Well, regardless of whatever it was that was bothering Dick, Jason knew there were more important things to fret over. Mainly, how exactly he was going to go about converting his hastily told lie into some form of the truth. They reached the manor a tad quicker than Jason had wanted, as it cut down on his planning time. He would only have until dinner before Daddy Dearest arrived home from the office, after all. Watching as the family went their separate ways for the rest of the afternoon, aside from Damian who clung to Dick's side as the two went to the living room, Jason too sought a bit of solitude back in his bedroom. Stepping between the deliberately left bare patches of floor, he reached his desk with minimal difficulty. A variety writing and art supplies covered the surface, along with a tediously balanced stack of notebooks. Grabbing one from close to the top, Jason turned to the first blank page inside. He clicked a ballpoint pen rhythmically in his hand, as he stared down at the paper.

"I could always-no...what about...won't work...or..." he muttered along, occasionally scribbling down half baked ideas, only to scratch through them a moment later.

It was frustrating how long this was actually taking.  Schemes always came so easily to him, as though his brain was just wired to think ahead of everything and find the best use of the players presented.  However, none of this felt right.  Jason had not been able to foresee these specific consequences.  He knew they would be grounded, he figured Alfred would take away their video games, he even expected a round of "Alfred School."  But nothing indicated that they would be officially revealed to the Justice League!  His father's biggest rule-no biggest PROMISE to them had been shattered over the course of one night.  And all because Jason decided to push against yet another established boundary.  Why exactly he felt the need to consistently test his father's lines, to immediately discount nearly every direction given by the man was written within the notebook labeled "J's Therapy Notes", buried at the bottom of the pile.  But, it didn't really matter.  What's done is done, and now Jason had to live with the fact that he had effectively ruined his brothers' lives.  Worst of all, he couldn't even figure out what was going to happen next.  For the first time after so long, Jason was at a loss.  And he was freaking out.

"Alright," he scolded himself, "you're okay.  It's fine.  You can deal with this.  You WILL deal with this!"

Slowly, as his breathing began to calm, the barebones of a plan began to knit themselves behind his eyes.  Finally, Jason let out a sigh.  It wasn't so much a direct plan of action, falling more along the lines of a contingency, but it was definitely something.  Quickly, he began to jot down the necessary steps.  He had everything he needed, which wasn't much by his usual standards.  Still, it would get the job done, provided he needed to.  Because there was one hanging thread that kept it all just a contingency.  What if their father decided to confess?  It was, admittedly, a long shot that Jason wouldn't feel confident betting on.  After all, he already had the entire weekend to say literally anything about it.  Jason shook his head, his faith that Daddy Dearest would see the error of his ways and finally open up about something important was almost nonexistent.  He decided to give him one chance, though, if for nothing else than to see if his father had finally learned his lesson about keeping things a secret from him.  Besides, his plan wouldn't be able to work until after dinner anyway.

***
Dinner came and went with little fanfare.  Dick still seemed distracted, Tim droned on about his day in a way that suggested he was trying to avoid mentioning the events of the afternoon, and Damian just chewed his food in silence.  And, meeting Jason's expectations to a tee, their father didn't say a word about the Justice League.  Oh well. Guess he'd just have to go through with his plan.  Seeing as they were all grounded from hero work for the foreseeable future, Jason didn't need to wait long before their father decided to slip downstairs to the Batcave alone. The man would definitely be departing soon, but Jason wasn't going to be far behind.