Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, etc. in Batman: Arkham Knight. It all belongs to their respectful owners.
Golden Boy
Jason had to hold back from snickering as he continued to apply paint. All was dark in the manor and although Jason knew he should be asleep, he couldn't pass up this opportunity.
He's going to be so angry with me… His thought began but quickly changed when a devious smirk made its way onto his face. But it'll so be worth it!
He continued with his task before he frowned, looking down at his 'project'. He sighed before spraying more paint on.
I wish he'd roll over, but this'll have to do…
He studied his 'creation' stifling laughter. He could just imagine the chaos that would happen the next morning. He carefully crept out of the room; closing the door quietly and making his way back to his own, stuffing his supplies in one of the many drawers in the room.
Tomorrow's going to be fun. He thought before closing his eyes and surrendering to sleep.
Jason was awoken when hearing screaming and he couldn't help the impish smile that made its way onto his face.
A great way to start the day.
He quickly got dressed before hearing pounding on his door and the smile only grew when he answered it. Dick, his brother as Bruce and Alfred told him, was standing there, barely held back rage in his brother's eyes.
"Morning." Jason chirped, stifling a laugh when his brother glared down at him.
Yeah, totally worth it.
Instead of replying, Dick turned around and gestured towards what was on his back.
"What is this?" He asked and Jason only held up for a second before bursting out laughing. His brother only shot him a glare over his shoulder before Jason tried to stifle it again.
"Oh… well that's… your nickname." Jason was able to get out before another bout of laughter hit him and he had to stop. His brother only glanced back at him, annoyance and confusion on his face.
"My… nickname?" Despite the question it still took Jason a few minutes to settle down before he was able to reply.
"Well… yeah… I mean, you are the 'Golden Boy'." Jason made parentheses in the air to help prove his point while Dick just looked at him, anger in his eyes.
"Really now?" Jason took a quick step back when his older brother stepped towards him, no amount of mirth in his eyes. You couldn't see the golden paint from the front, simply because Jason hadn't gotten that far the night before.
"Yeah… so…" Jason stuttered out, briefly wondering now if this was such a good idea. Jokes were a common thing that Jason played on Dick, but sometimes they went a bit far…
Maybe too far this time…
He quickly jumped up into the air vent when his brother lunged towards him, before he started crawling through the vent that would lead away from his room.
Yeah definitely a bad idea… but still totally worth it.
The next hour was a chase-and-catch game, or at least it was supposed to be since he had yet to actually be 'caught'. It finally ended when Jason had made a detour into the Batcave and ran behind Bruce, using him a shield to get a moment's reprieve from his brother's attack.
"Bruce!" Dick yelled, stopping just in front of their adopted father to point at Jason. The Dark Knight only sighed at this before glancing down at Jason, with the latter smiling up at him.
"What did he do this time?" Bruce asked, putting a hand to his head, as if their antics stressed him out.
Well it probably does… maybe I should play a joke on him next time…
Dick only turned around and gestured at his back while Jason chirped,
"Nothing!"
When the Dark Knight saw the golden paint that was plastered all over Dick, he let out another sigh before turning back to Jason, who was trying to hold back a laugh.
"Just tell me it can be removed?" Jason looked indignant at the question before glancing back up the steps.
"Of course it is. I'm not that dumb." The Dark Knight didn't bother to reply, instead taking Dick by the arm and leading him upstairs with Jason trotting along behind them. Jason held back another snicker when they passed Alfred, giving him a smile instead.
"Master Bruce, Master… oh my…" The butler trailed off upon seeing what Jason had done and Jason's smile grew at this. He quickly gave the butler a thumbs up before disappearing after his adopted family, leading them towards the spot where he had hid the paint can.
"See? It is removable." Jason stated, pointing at the open drawer and the paint can, along with the sprayer that it came with. His brother was fuming over in a corner, standing as far away from Jason as he could.
He's probably afraid I'll do something else to him… Jason thought before he stifled another laugh, getting a confused look from his brother in the process. I would though. It's just too much fun messing with him.
The Dark Knight was currently staring at the paint sprayer, a frown on his face, which confused Jason.
It is removable… right?
He had checked before buying it and he could have sworn that it said removable paint.
Then again, it was after a long night of patrol…
He quickly shook his head to dispel the thought, knowing that if it wasn't, then this situation was going to get a lot worse. The Dark Knight merely held the can out to Jason and pointed at the front. His blood froze when the can did indeed say 'permanent'.
Well… this is going to be interesting…
He cast an apprehensive look over at Dick, to which the boy returned with confusion before Bruce tossed him the can. It only took a second for the older boy to get what the two were worrying about before his face became a mask of fury again.
"Jason, I have school tomorrow!" Jason quickly stepped behind Bruce, with the man giving them both curious looks.
"I-it might say permanent, but that doesn't mean it can't come off…" Jason trailed off thinking of the permeant markers that he often got on his skin.
That came off eventually…
"Yeah like a few days maybe!" Dick was stopped when Bruce put his hand up, before glancing at both boys. His gaze softened a bit when Jason moved with him, trying to stay at a safe distance away from Dick and his rage.
"Let's go see what Alfred can do, how about that?" He gently guided Dick out the door, stopping a bit to give Jason a look that they would talk later. With that, the door was shut and Jason threw the paint in the trashcan frustration hitting him.
Having siblings is harder than I thought…
Sure enough, the paint came off in a few hours with Jason often once again wondering how the butler seemed to have a solution for every problem.
It's like he knows everything… He paused at the thought before revising it. Maybe not everything, but a lot of things…
He didn't bother glancing up when the door opened, knowing who it would be. The heavy footsteps that crossed the floor and the weight that settled on the bed was enough to confirm his suspicion again.
"Jason." He heard Bruce say, his voice soft, but Jason didn't feel like talking at the moment. He just wanted to be left alone.
Besides, it's not like the man's ever here anyway… It wouldn't do any good to talk to him…
Bruce only sighed before Jason felt the bed shift a bit before the man started again.
"Would you mind explaining what happened earlier?" Jason turned onto his side, away from Bruce, at the man's question, hoping that the man would understand that he didn't want to talk. After a minute of not answering, the man sighed again before trying again.
"I don't know what's going on between the two of you. I know that jokes are common from you but normally not like this…" The bed shifted again, the weight getting a bit lighter, like the man was torn between continuing to try and leaving. When no answer was given again, Jason had the mind to tell the man to leave.
Sure he adopted me, but so far that's about it. We might be partners in the field but it's only been a few weeks…
"Jason, are…" The man began before seeming to hesitate before continuing. "Are you jealous?" The man's question immediately making him sit up, only to turn around and glare at the Dark Knight.
"No!" He burst out before catching the man's gaze, which was filled with understanding. Confusion hit Jason the more he thought about it, so he pushed the thought away, biting his lip instead to have something else to focus on.
"That's what I thought…" The man's voice was soft and Jason looked away and down towards the carpet, suddenly finding it a lot more interesting. The man continued, only making Jason's confusion grow. "You know Dick can't be here all the time?"
Jason found himself nodding without actually thinking about it.
"What about making some friends?" Jason stayed quiet at this. Most kids his age tended to not share life experiences.
Especially when you're a rich kid…
The man waited a few minutes before continuing.
"What about Barbara? I'm sure you two would get alone since you're close in age." Jason shook his head at this, feeling guilt run through him.
She's Dick's friend. That would be stealing…
He heard Bruce sigh, with a few moments of what seemed like indecision going through the man, before Jason felt arms around him, pulling him close. He vaguely felt a brief memory stirring in his consciousness about what this was, but it was so faded that he didn't know whether it was real.
A hug…
Jason flinched, pulling away at the foreign contact, his mind struggling to react. He quickly got off of the bed; suddenly feeling trapped, and headed towards the corner of the room, which was unoccupied.
"Jason…"
"No!" He yelled, not really understanding why he was acting this way. He vaguely felt something running down his face, and he struggled to get a word to match it.
Tears…
He remembered the way he had been weak, when he was younger, crying for his mother to wake up. It only held him back, caused him pain, things that could have been avoided…
"Dick's never home! You're never home! I'm so-!" He broke off at that, the sentence finishing itself in his head.
I'm so lonely…
He could feel himself shake, making him hate the emotions running through him. It was easier when it was just himself; he only had to look after himself not caring about others. He heard the man take a step towards him and Jason instinctively took one back, hitting the wall in the process.
"Just leave me alone!" He screamed out, confusion running rampant. The man seemed to hesitate before leaving, the door closing softly behind him. A few minutes passed before Jason sunk to the ground, not quite sure how to react. He had told the man to leave, and he had wanted him to, but now…
I don't want to be alone…
Jason startled a bit when he heard the door open, confusion hitting him. It took a moment for him to realize where he was and what had happened before he sighed, trying to ignore the figure that had slipped into the room and was observing him.
"I thought I told you to leave me alone?" There were a few moments of silence before the figure spoke.
"No, you told Bruce to leave you alone." Jason's head snapped over towards the figure, who was actually Dick, in confusion.
Why would he come here?
Before he could ask, the older boy took a few steps towards him, before sitting down beside Jason, with Jason scooting a bit away. Jason looked over at his brother, seeing a few flakes of gold still in the older boy's hair.
They'll be gone by tomorrow…
There were a few minutes of silence, like neither of them knew what to say.
"Bruce told me what happened…" The older boy trailed off, glancing over at Jason with Jason glancing away.
"Oh…" Was all he could think to say. His thoughts and emotions were stilled jumbled, which would most likely last till the next day if things repeated themselves as they had before. The older boy only sighed at the reply before shifting a bit.
"I guess we should start over." Jason looked over at Dick in confusion, not quite sure what he could mean. The older boy only stood up, offering Jason a hand for him to get up as well. Jason only stared at the hand, confusion in his eyes.
"The name's Dick. I'm your brother from now on." Jason looked back at the hand and carefully took it, suspicion filling him.
It can't be that easy…
"Jason." He stated his name and Dick laughed a second.
"It seems like our greetings reversed this time, huh?" Jason nodded, remembering the way the two had originally met and realizing that his brother was right.
Maybe it's because we know each other now…
Dick rubbed his head with his hand, right where Jason had painted it gold so many hours ago before gesturing towards the door.
"How about we go get some ice cream? To make it official…" Jason couldn't help but let out a small laugh at this. It was a known fact that Dick always seemed to be coming up with excuses to get some kind of treat. Dick must have taken that as a 'yes' because he began walking towards the door, with Jason quickly following a step behind, as if things had always been this way between them.
As they exited the room, with the day seeming a lot brighter and cheerful than it had a few hours previously, Jason couldn't help but think how things had improved.
"So… I heard Bruce's trying to set you up with Barbara?" Jason felt his face heat up at the suggestion that his brother was making and he shoved Dick towards the wall, increasing his pace a bit.
"Shut up." He muttered, hearing his brother laughing behind him, although he easily caught up with Jason.
Maybe siblings aren't so hard after all…
So this was originally supposed to end differently, and a lot shorter, but it kind of just took over writing itself and this is what turned up. I hope you all enjoyed even though this isn't set in the Arkham Knight game, more just the Arkham series as a whole (although it's slowly becoming its own universe based off of the games). :) Until next time, have a great day!
-AnimeWolfGirl16