{bird induced insomnia}
Jason Todd could write and encyclopedia of all the times he's fucked up. He could fill it with the times he's gotten himself into situations resulting in severe blood loss, broken limbs, and punctured lungs. He could fill it with the soft words he couldn't speak out loud, and the harsh words he spoke without meaning. He could fill it with the lies he's told, the truths withheld, and the clarities he lacked.
In all fairness, he didn't mean to be such a fuck up. It was just natural to him to take the bold route, to always try and prove himself until he unraveled as a result. His body felt like a warzone, conflicting parts of himself battling on all sides. He felt disgusted with who he was and who he used to be. He felt disgusted wondering what he might become.
Jason Todd had fucked up. He had been teamed up with Zatanna and Troia for a mission in the Alps, and for a short while it had gone fairly well. Until Jason's poor decision making skills had nearly killed them. Zatanna had been knocked out cold before the explosive had even gone off, and the resulting avalanche had caught them. Jason was suffering from a broken leg, but Zatanna was in a coma. And it was all his fault. If Donna hadn't been there…
Bruce had yet to speak to him since Jason had been sent to his room post-bandaging. His cast felt too bulky and restricting, and his leg was itchy, and practicing with his crutches had ended up giving Jason a rather large bruise on his forehead because he tried using them as a melee weapon. He went back to school on Thursday, and the excuse they were going with was a skiing accident. Beautiful. Now people would assume that he liked to ski, and try to invoke the joys of social gathering with him.
Jason really fucking hated Gotham Academy.
His door opened at around four in the morning, and Jason immediately pretended he was asleep. He'd been laying on his bed, listening to music and trying to sort out his muddled thoughts and feelings, shoving his guilt as far away as possible. Donna Troy had called him five times since saving him and Zatanna, and Jason had yet to listen to any of her messages. He was too scared of what she might say.
Jason felt weight added to his mattress as the intruder sat at the corner of his bed.
"Jay?" Dick asked, his voice soft and curious. After a few moments, Dick gave a long sigh. "Jason, I know you're awake."
Jason blinked, and he sat up with a frown. Dick had turned on the light upon entering the room, and his face was glowing with concern. Jason wanted to fling something blunt at it. "How'd you know?" Jason asked, his brow furrowing.
Dick gave a short laugh, and he gave Jason's stomach a little jab. Jason smacked at his hand irritably, scowling as Dick laughed even more. "You snore," Dick said, smirking as Jason flushed involuntarily. "It's like a chainsaw, Jay."
"No I don't!" Jason cried, smacking him back as he gave another laugh. "I know I don't!" I'd have died in Crime Alley years ago if I did.
"You snore," Dick affirmed, pulling his legs onto Jason's bed. His blankets were all tangled up from tossing and turning, and eventually he'd just kicked them away. "But only since recently."
"Um," Jason said, hugging his uninjured knee to his chest. "Is this not the first midnight visit you've paid to my room?" Jason tilted his head curiously, studying Dick's face. "Is there something you want to tell me, Dick?"
"Now, now." Dick smirked, shaking his head. "Don't get any ideas. You are my brother after all."
Jason scowled. He rested his cheek against his fist, his eyes narrowing a little. "Who says I'd be interested?" he retorted.
"What?" Dick scoffed, and gestured exaggeratedly to himself. "And miss out on all of this?"
"Yeah," Jason said, kicking Dick in the stomach with his good leg. The sole of his foot merely smacked against hard muscle, bouncing back uselessly. "All that flab."
Dick stared at him for a few moments, and lifted his baggy tee shirt just to bare his navel. His muscles, though not bulky enough to be conspicuous, were well-defined and obviously there. "Really, Jase?" Dick asked. "Really?"
Jason's scowl deepened. "Jeez, take a joke," Jason grumbled, glaring away from Dick at his overflowing laundry basket. He liked to do his own laundry, and had to get Bruce to ask Alfred to let him do it himself. It gave him something to do around the house to make him feel like he deserved to be there. It was small, but adequate. "Tell me why you're here, or get the fuck out."
"You're so not whelmed," Dick observed resting his elbows on his knee and plopping his chin into his palms. "Don't you want to hear about Zatanna?"
Jason stared at him for a few moments, feeling foolish and incredulous. "What?" he asked flatly. His eyes widened, and he bolted up straighter, his mouth falling open. "Is she okay? Did she wake up? Why the fuck didn't you start with this, you asshole?"
"Because you're fun to tease." Dick laughed, blocking another kick from him. Jason moved to try and tackle him. "Whoa, there! No over-exerting yourself, Jay, got it? Or else your leg is never going to heal right, and you'll walk with a limp for the rest of your life—"
"You're such a fucking drama queen!" Jason groaned, flopping backwards against his pillows. "Just tell me already!"
"Impatient much?" Dick rolled his eyes, his hands dropping into his lap. "Jay, she's fine. She's going to rest up before trying a spell to fix her injuries. She said she wants to heal your leg."
Jason leaned on his elbows, picking his body up to stare at Dick with wide eyes. "What?" he asked vacantly. "Why would she…? I mean, it's my fault it happened. I blew the mountain. She almost died because I… I did something really dumb." Jason glanced downward at his chest, and he took a deep breath. "Maybe… maybe it wasn't a good idea for me to be Robin. We can switch. You can be Robin and I can be Nightwing. How about that?"
"Bullshit?" Dick's eyebrows rose. "Jason… look." Dick scooted closer, and Jason frowned, pulling his legs as close to his chest as he could manage with the cast. Dick stared at Jason, studying his face, and he gave a small sigh. "I know that… it's not easy. The Team still calls me Robin by mistake. But the thing is?" He smiled, his lips stretching wide. "I'm not Robin anymore. You are. And you're Robin because I want you to be Robin. You deserve it."
"What," Jason whispered, "have I actually done to deserve it?"
"You've saved people," Dick said, his eyes widening as he spoke. "You saved Zatanna."
"What do you mean?" Jason asked, feeling taken aback.
Dick smiled, and he waggled his finger at Jason almost disapprovingly. "Oh, don't try to deny it, dude. I figured it out. See, statistically the pressure from the avalanche should have separated you and Zatanna on impact. But it didn't. Donna only found you because you had the foresight to send up a flare. So, let me give you a little play by play of what my marvelous deductive skills have come up with." Dick flicked Jason's chin up, and he smirked at the boy's expression. "You knew the avalanche was coming, and you knew you could have ran, but running with Zatanna would have definitely dragged you down, so you would have had to leave her. You didn't, obviously." He shrugged, leaning against the footboard of Jason's bed. "You tried to cover her. That's what happened to your leg. When you covered her, you took the brunt of the force from the avalanche. Of course, that did a zilch to help the fact that it was an avalanche, and you guys went tumbling anyways. You still held onto her though." Dick watched Jason's expression, and he snapped his fingers. "Bam. There you go. You saved Zatanna."
Jason sat on his bed for a few moments, utterly stunned. He found his mouth falling open as he stared at the older boy incredulously. "You…" Jason said, his voice trailing away. "Holy shit, you are so weird."
"Am I right, or am I right?"
Jason scowled, and he shook his head, glaring up at the ceiling. "Yeah, whatever, I held on to her until Troia got to us. So what?"
Dick's expression faded into a blank, half lidded sort of gaze. "You're kind of infuriating," Dick sighed, ruffling his hair. "God, Jay, listen, will you?"
"It's four in the fucking morning!" Jason snapped. He flung a pillow at Dick's face, and the boy burst out laughing as he dodged it easily, and yanked it out of the air. "I'm sorry I'm a little fucking out of it!"
"Oh my god," Dick groaned, tossing the pillow back at Jason. It smacked into Jason's chest and settled in his lap. "Shut up before Alfred gets suspicious and checks on us."
"Yeah?" Jason's eyebrows rose. "You scared of Alfred, Dickie?"
Dick stared at Jason with a hollow gaze, and he said in a low, empty voice, "Don't let his sweetness fool you. Be afraid. Be very afraid."
"You're full of shit."
"Nuh uh," Dick said. "I'm full of witty banter and cuteness." Dick pressed his fingers to the dimples of his cheeks, a big grin on his face as he twisted his hands back and forth. Jason bent forward to smack him across the face with the pillow, but Dick raised his forearm to block it, and he laughed as he shrunk back a little. "Aw, are you jealous 'cause I'm cuter than you?"
"You are such a tool," Jason grunted, smacking at Dick's arm with the pillow over and over again. "Ugh, just get out. I'm done with you."
"Done?" Dick asked innocently. "With moi? Jason, please, that is no way to talk to your older brother."
"You sure as hell ain't my brother," Jason grumbled whacking the boy over the head. "Get out."
"But why?" Dick whined. "You're not sleeping!"
"Get the fuck out, oh my god!"
"Can I have a hug first?" Dick asked innocently, his big blue eyes sparkling. Jason puffed out his cheeks in frustration. He shrieked as Dick dove at him, and Jason kicked at his chest hard to fight him off.
"ALFRED!"
This is one of the cutest things I've written omfg. The prompt was an angsty Jason being insecure about being Robin and Dick comforting him.
These fucking losers I am so done.