Espera | R. Grayson ✔

[32]

Richard was pacing the room as he carefully listened to Jason recounting all that Tim had said to him regarding the attacks on Gotham's famous families.

Deep down, he too could notice a pattern and it seemed as if the boy was so far correct in his theory that someone was intentionally targeting Gotham's elite one by one. If that was the case, he had to put a stop to it.

And he had to make sure that whoever it was did not come back to hurt Tim again just because the boy had survived and taken up his family's business, making him the youngest CEO in Gotham at just fourteen.

He had sat down on the couch, fingers gently massaging his throbbing temples.

He already had too much on his hands and even though he had Helena and Barbara to help him out, at times it felt as if he had taken up a very huge responsibility, the burden of which had started to overshadow and affect his personal life too.

He had to cut short his performances sometimes due to which the manager of the club was not pleased with him and began to frequently deduct his pay. He felt as if he barely got any sleep and was beginning to get exhausted often.

The only times he got to see Barbara were during work. And none of those times were suitable for him to actually enjoy being with her. At work, Barbara was always strictly professional.

"Dickie, why don't you let me join you as a vigilante too?"

He looked up at Jason, startled out of his deviating train of thought, "sorry, what?"

"I said why don't you let me join you in your mission of protecting Gotham," the boy repeated, waiting for an answer though he knew very well that the elder would refuse on the basis of it being dangerous for him.

"Jason, I can't put you in danger," as expected, his reply was firm and vague.

However, once Jason set his mind on something, it was hard to dissuade him for it as he always had a lot of logical reasons to back him claims up.

"Hear me out first," he began and Richard let out a soft sigh, knowing he was in for a lengthy discussion, "the reason you gave to not letting me join you is stupid and I will tell you exactly why. All I ask is a little patience."

"All I ask is you to stop stalling then."

"Sure sure," the boy nodded, launching into his thorough explanation, "firstly, I won't be in any more danger than you. You have trained me yourself and I think by now I am good enough to handle a few thugs on my own. Secondly, I know very well that you have been overworking yourself ever since you became Batman and I'm offering to join so that I'll be able to help you out on the field, like a partner or a sidekick, whatever you say. We'll be able to get stuff done quicker together and perhaps that way you won't have to cut down on your rest and other personal matters."

A very small smile threatened to flicker on his face but he nodded, "alright, go on?"

"You want more? I stated two very valid reasons for you to reconsider your reason of letting me join."

"Jason, still..."

His sharp blue irises narrowed, "oh if you're gonna use the elder brother card here, let me ask you one thing instead."

Richard looked a bit surprised, "okay..."

"How old do you think I am?" Jason stood with his arms folded defiantly across his chest, leaning against the wall behind him.

Richard paused, assessing that the boy had gotten taller than he had last remembered and it felt a bit awful that he hadn't really noticed much, it felt as if he had been ignorant.

"I took you in when you were fifteen," he recounted, "and I guess two to three years have passed since then so... You're seventeen now?"

"Eighteen. Legally an adult," a smug look was evident on Jay's face, having made his point clear.

Richard shook his head, a soft smile flickering on his face, "time flew by so fast, I barely noticed."

"Now before you distract me and get me sentimental like you always do, my point is that I can take my own decisions and I have decided to help you out. So no, I won't be hearing any refusals from you."

The elder was still looking at the boy who Helena still called pipsqueak, "eighteen... Tell me why does it still feel so unbelievable?"

Jason maintained the convincing look on his face, "I will, if you promise you'll let me join you as a partner."

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"That's very fair, Dickie," he contradicted, "you want to know something, so do I. It's a fair deal and I'll go first. Are you letting me join you as a vigilante or not?"

He thought for a while then sighed, giving in, "okay, I promise I will think about it and discuss it with Helena and Barbara first."

He nodded, "good enough. Just don't get them on your side of not letting me join."

"Now you keep up your end of the bargain and answer my question."

At that remark, Jason chuckled, eyes sparking in mischief, "oh well, that's because my birthday is next week. So you were right; I am seventeen as of now but by the time it will take for you to make up your mind, by then I will be eighteen."

Richard laughed as well, temporarily feeling his stress lessen, "I see. Always the future planner, aren't you?"

Jay shrugged though the mischief in his eyes still lingered, "well someone in the family had to plan beforehand, don't you think? Or if that's left to you, we would always be running on an instinctive emergency plan for survival."

Richard shook his head, another light laugh escaping him, "I guess so."

Jay's eyes softened and he approached him, hand resting on his shoulder, "you remember the day you took me in? You promised we were in this together and we'll always be. Because you and I are the only family we've got, aside from some very genuine friends that I am definitely not overlooking here... But the truth is, Dickie, I want us to be in this together too. Like brothers, like partners. It would be better if we share this responsibility."

Icy blue irises glistened slightly, "and now you're talking like an adult too and getting me sentimental instead... I definitely did not expect that."

The hand resting on his shoulder came up in a light smack on the head, "stop being annoying."

He nodded, standing up and noticed that they were almost the same height by then, Jay would definitely be taller than him in a couple years. But that didn't mean he would leave his habit of ruffling up the younger's head, "we're in this together, huh, so you better get accustomed to me being annoying."

Jason chuckled, "I guess I have gotten somewhat accustomed to it or else I wouldn't be letting you mess my hair up every time you get the chance."

"Eighteen or not, you still look like an adorable hedgehog," Richard ignored his protests and went on to ruffle his head up further until his hair were all messy.

After a long time he felt a lot like the Richard he used to be before he became Batman. And while that feeling was nostalgic and somewhat relaxing too, he knew he couldn't go back to that time of his life.

A lot had started to depend on him by then and he did not want to back off. And definitely not if there were more innocent lives at stake.

***