He was on patrol when a familiar flash of color appeared in his line of sight.
"Well, well, well." Jason drawled, raising an eyebrow. "If it isn't the Replacement."
Oddly enough, though it was still there, Tim didn't seem as sarcastic as he replied dryly, "And hello to you, too, Hood."
"What brings you here?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow as he moved over to the edge of the roof. "Not trying to coerce me into doing anything crazy like team up, are you?"
"No," Tim snapped, "Don't be dumb."
"Then why are you here?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow. "Just want to bask in my amazing presence?"
Tim groaned, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. "This was a dumb idea." He mumbled.
"Oh ho, now you're embarrassed?" The edge of Jason's lips quirked up in amusement. "If it's enough to make even the Replacement embarrassed, then how bad must this be? Wait, wait, don't tell me..." Jason's voice turned light and teasing, "You're here for some old timer's advice? Coming to the dark side?"
Tim locked his jaw at that, fingers curling up into a fist (the way that they always seemed to when he was nervous).
Jason's face dropped. "Wait, seriously?" He cackled, "This is great! What did dear old Bats say to that? You've finally seen that I'm right? You know that..."
"It was an accident." Tim's voice was rough as he cut Jason off. "I didn't mean to do it."
Oh.
He understood now... the way that Tim's shoulders rose up, the way that he seemed rigid, how his feet were on tiptoe, as though he might fly away at a moment's notice.
He was scared.
Fuck.
Jason couldn't...
"You're not going to turn this into some chick flick moment, are you?" Jason asked, tilted his head to the side and raising his chin, enough to seem arrogant, distant.
Please don't...
"No," He could hear the scowl in Tim's voice, didn't need to look over to see the annoyance in his eyes. "It's just... how do you do this? Kill so easily? I've read psychology books on dehumanization and the mental consequences of murder, but..." He shook his head, "Something's holding me back. I don't know why. I thought it was because I killed him, and that's what I'm telling Bruce, but it's got to be something more, psychology books can't cover it, I just..."
"You're wondering if maybe it wasn't a mistake." Jason's voice was low, strangely hollow. It felt alien, the words that he'd been longing to say feeling oddly wrong on his tongue. "You're thinking that it'd be so easy to do it again, so you're trying not to."
"Is that wrong?" Tim asked, then shook his head, "No, that's a dumb question. Morals and ethics are in the eyes of the beholder."
Jason snorted, "Try keeping your dumb nose out of those stupid books, and use your brain, Replacement."
Tim's lips twisted to the side, "What?" He asked, voice high as though he was trying to sound superior but failing.
"Why are you so afraid to kill?" Jason demanded.
"Because death is permanent." Tim replied, stiff and stubborn, fully knowing what Jason would say next.
"Death is permanent." Jason agreed, "It's just like putting the criminal in jail forever, right? They're out of your hair, never to be seen again, poof, you don't have to deal with them..." He tilted his head to the side. "Just think about how much the crime rate in Gotham would go down by."
Tim shook his head, as though he were trying to get water out of his ears, and mumbled, "No, it's not... I'm not..."
"You're not a killer?" Jason rolled his eyes. "Spare me the goody two shoes spiel. If you wanted what was best for Gotham, you'd have ended the Joker, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, Two Face and all the others a long time ago. Face it, this isn't about Gotham, this is about you're conscience."
"No matter what the circumstance, killing is wrong." Tim's voice was clear and strong. "Batman wouldn't want that."
"Batman's wrong." Jason replied coolly. "Think about it, kid. Talk to me once you've cleared your head."
"It's already clear." Tim sulked.
Jason laughed as he stepped away. "Then why are you here?" He asked, and jumped away.
He did wonder about that, though.
Why, of all people, would he come to me?
A/N: I know, I'm procrastinating again. And I should be writing my ongoing stuff, but I'm not, and this slew of oneshots is probably just irritating, but thanks for reading! I hope that it wasn't too much of a waste of time.