Blue Eyed Dreamboat | R. Grayson

[02]

He had been right in assuming that a lot of things would have changed in the two years he had been away from Gotham.

For starters, when he came back to Wayne Manor, he found out that there had been a new addition to the family; a boy named Jason Todd who was serving as Batman's Robin in his absence. 

The door was opened by a twelve year old with steel blue eyes and messy hair and by his expression, it seemed he would have slammed the door shut right in his face if not for Alfred who had shown up shortly after.

"Master Richard, welcome home," the old man had spoken with the same warmth he remembered from earlier.

Richard stepped forward to give him a hug, ignoring the kid standing by the door.

For some reason, he did not feel that eager to interact with the boy. And perhaps that feeling was mutual as Richard could sense his piercing gaze on him.

"This is Master Jason," Alfred introduced him and Richard nodded but did not go out of his way to mend the breach between them, "and this is Master Richard."

Seemed like the boy didn't care for staying for small talk as he told Alfred he was going to his room and then disappeared. 

Their first meeting had been awkward on both sides. Richard did not want to jump to conclusions but seeing Jason there was a reminder that his place as Batman's protege had no longer been empty by his act of staying away from Gotham.

It sent a slight sinking feeling to his heart that he ignored, knowing no good would come out of dwelling on such thoughts. He followed Alfred inside and Bruce wasn't at home right then so he eased up a bit. 

"So how long has Jason been living here?" He asked Alfred after putting his books in his room and coming back to the kitchen where the man was preparing dinner.

"It has been a few months," Alfred replied, "Master Bruce found him in Crime Alley after he had stolen the tires off the Batmobile."

He paused, the words sparking his curiosity, "really?"

"Indeed. But you will find in due time that Master Jason is a very caring and intelligent boy. I noticed you two did not have a good start but it will not be so difficult if you give him a chance."

Richard nodded, thinking about that boy he had briefly met. He still had the feeling that it would be difficult for him to get along with that kid as they were two very opposite people.

Perhaps just like Richard had felt he had been replaced upon seeing him, Jason could have felt threatened by his return. He pondered upon it, lips pursing into a small frown.

But he decided that he would wait and see whether Jason was really that caring and intelligent boy that Alfred had described him as or not before trying to make friends with him. 

Dinner at Wayne Manor that night was nothing less than awkward for all three of the occupants at the table. Bruce had not expected to see Richard there and was surprised at first. Jason had quietly taken his seat and seeing that the elder too seemed to be stuck in a stiff silence, he focused on his food, not caring about the rest.

"So you've come back," Bruce spoke up at last.

"For the time being, yes," Richard replied, feeling stiff after all that lack of contact in the past two years.

"Good," he replied vaguely and then focused on dinner, though his sharp blue eyes were subtly observing Richard.

The boy had gotten taller than he had last seen him and he looked well, with no signs of any new injuries that he could pick on yet. But then Jump City could not have been that violent for him considering he had dealt with Gotham from a very young age.

He had known about what Richard was up to with the Teen Titans and though he hadn't interfered, he had still kept watching over them to make sure that those teens did not get themselves into trouble they couldn't handle.

But watching his protege branch out and lead a team on his own for those two years made Bruce realize a lot of things.

Richard was no longer the young boy who he had trained to be the first Boy Wonder. In time, he had grown and become independent, having that sheer streak of not wanting to be controlled by anyone.

He made a good leader, he thought, cutting up his food evenly as he ate, used to the heavy silence in the dining hall.

Although Jason and Richard both did not look much comfortable in that silence.

Both of them were talkative yet the current situation had made them choose an unwilling silence that neither preferred.

At last, Richard decided to speak up, "so do you go to school?"

The boy looked up, surprised by the initiating of conversation from him, "yes."

"What grade?"

"Seventh. What about you?"

"I graduated earlier," he replied but then once again found the conversation at a standstill, not knowing what he could talk to the boy about.

Bruce too had noticed the stiffness between the boys but knew it would eventually pass once they got accustomed to each other. Besides, Richard was quite a people's person, it would not take him long to get Jason to warm up to him, provided that he actually wanted to reach out.

"I am heading to the cave," Bruce remarked and both the boys turned to look at him.

Richard waited for Jason to get up and follow because he assumed the boy would be operating as Robin by then but he didn't. After Bruce had gone, he asked, "do you not have to go on patrol?"

"Tonight's an off," he replied, "I have an exam tomorrow and it sucks."

"But you are Robin now, aren't you?"

"Yes," his eyes dimmed ever so slightly, "but considering you're back now, maybe I won't be Robin for much longer."

Richard felt that same feeling of insecurity within the boy that he had felt upon seeing him there. He knew they might outwardly be different but perhaps the way they felt things weren't much opposite.

"You don't have to worry about that. I am not going to be Robin," he told him before standing up to leave as well, "at least not after I have been replaced."

The boy's eyes sparked instantly at that remark, "suit yourself, I'm out."

Richard felt that he had screwed up unintentionally. It was hard to keep a conversation going with some people and Jason totally struck him as the sort of person he would not get along with.

"Master Richard, I advised you to give him a chance," Alfred's voice shook him out of his thoughts and he looked up.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come back," he mumbled in reply, "things seem okay enough with me not being around."

"That's not the case."

"It's fine Alfred, I... I think I need some time to myself," he spoke up, feeling conflicted again, "I will try to fix things up with Jason tomorrow morning. Or maybe a day after that, I feel like we both need time to get used to each other first. As for Bruce, I still don't want to talk to him."

"As you see fit," Alfred remarked but his wise eyes were locked upon Richard in a concerned expression, "all I can say is that taking the first step doesn't make anyone smaller. So don't hesitate if you have to reach out first. Both in Master Bruce and Jason's case."

He knew those words held merit so he nodded but didn't say anything other than giving a compliment on the dinner, "thanks for the dinner, Alf, I really missed your cooking."

"You're very welcome."

***