Whatever hopes Jason had had of Tim distracting Damian went out the window in the first five minutes.

Tim sat in the back seat, not even putting up an argument when Damian had locked his door. And now he sat, chin in hand, leaning against the door, gazing dreamily out the window. This is very unlike Tim, who was usually very interactive with Damian, at least. Jason kept an eye on him in the rear mirror. There was something very familiar about the way he leaned on the rest, eyes glazed over.

Come on, Tim... what's eating you...?

And then it hit him. Tim was acting love-struck. Probably because he was love-struck.

"Good day today?" he asked casually, checking his side. Tim shrugged. Damian had plugged his earbuds in and was listening to his music. But then he took them out and swore.

"Does Dick know you say words like that?" Jason asked sardonically. "What happened?" Damian gave him a look that could have killed.

"I forgot to charge it last night," he said, shoving it back in his pocket. "Can you put on the radio?"

"Better than that," Jason said, pushing in the tape he had in the player. Damian scowled.

"You have one of those?" he asked. "I didn't think they were still legal..."

"Whatever," Jason said, pressing play.

Damian and Tim both jumped as Highway To Hell began to blast over the speakers. Jason started nodding to the beat, but the horror didn't begin till he started singing along.

"I'm on a hiiiiiiiighway to hell," he screeched along. Damian put his hands over his ears. Tim tapped Jason on the shoulder, but he ignored it. Damian screwed up his face.

"Change it!" he bellowed, his not-yet-broken voice. Jason looked him right in the eye.

"Driver picks the music," he said loudly. "Shotgun shuts his pie-hole."

Tim wasn't paying attention anymore. He was rummaging in his pocket, and eventually pulled out an iPhone 5. He looked at it for a moment, and then his face perked up. He tapped Jason on the shoulder again, harder. Finally, Jason said "What!?"

"Got a text... can you turn that down?!" he yelled over the chorus. Irritated, Jason turned the volume dial, ever so slightly. "I just got a text from Alfred."

"Alfred texts?!" Jason asked incredulously. Tim grinned.

"Just because some of us live in the 90's with their phones doesn't mean we all do," he quipped.

"Bastard," Jason grumbled, acknowledging his antique cell phone. "What'd Alfred say?"

"He said he's engaged in some sort of butler war right now," Tim answered. "Don't ask. But he's asked if we can pick up Cassandra for him from her college."

Jason groaned, letting his head fall back on the head-rest. He then banged it against the steering wheel, pulling the car over.

For a long time they remained there, just sitting, staring at Jason, who was still slumped over. Finally, the tape started playing Eye Of The Tiger, and he sat up suddenly, putting the car in gear, turning her around.

"Right!" he said loudly as the opening guitar riffs started. "Let's go pick up the crazed ninja assassin!"


Jason still kept an eye on Tim.

If his suspicions were correct, than Tim had developed a crush on Cass, and that feeling was mutual. Unfortunately, neither had told the other about their feelings, and seemed to think they didn't feel that way. Jason, luckily, had avoided all of that teenage drama when he was growing up(due to his teenage adolescence being cut short by the Joker beating him to death with a crowbar). But he knew how to spot certain inclinations when he saw it.

"So does Alfred usually pick Cass up?" Jason asked, trying to pass the time. Damian had thus far tuned out, but now turned his head.

"Uh, yeah, I think so," Tim answered, rubbing his neck. Yeah, definitely a sign. "Alfred's kinda amazing like that."

"How'd you lose your bike?"

Damian snorted.

"Parked it illegally," he said mercilessly. "Imagine that, the swan princess losing his only mode of transportation."

Tim reddened, turning to look at Damian.

"Will you give it a rest?" he demanded. "It wasn't parked illegally, it was moved."

"Moved?" Jason asked, while Damian snorted again. "What, you were framed?"

"Yes!" Tim said. "I was fighting some of the Riddler's guys at the time. It was part of some riddle he wanted me to solve. Well, this was one crime he couldn't go to jail for."

"I'm sorry," Jason said, laughing. "The Riddler gets you in trouble? The guy's a joke!"

"And his so-called 'riddles' are child's play!" Damian added. Tim scowled.

"Yeah, well, there was a lot going on at the time."

Jason chuckled, turning his attention back to the road. They were coming back into the city. Road rage commence.


"Jason, seriously, that guy was going to arrest you."

"Like hell. I had the right of way!"

"But that doesn't mean you can threaten the other guy with testicle damage."

For a so-called "Outlaw," Jason was very picky about driving laws. Maybe because he spent so much of his time traversing rooftops.

"How much closer are we?"

Tim looked at his iPhone again.

"Just around the next block," he said. "She didn't want to go somewhere too expensive, because she'd feel out of place."

Good. That meant his Impala wouldn't be too terribly noticed.

But when he turned the corner, his jaw dropped. He hadn't realized it, but he had been heading right for the GriffinUniversity. Albeit, it was Gotham U, but the place was known for it's prestige in the world of academics. Why on earth would Cass want to come here? He was surprised she hadn't killed her more liberal professors yet.

And there she was, clad in a black skirt and sweat shirt, clutching a bag full of books. Her Oriental eyes traveled over the parking lot, clearly searching for whatever Alfred drove. She didn't catch sight of the Impala before a group of guys came over to her.

"Oh, god," Jason said, craning his neck. "Tim, better go rescue her."

"Are you kidding?" Damian said. "Cain is the only one who could possibly beat my father in hand-to-hand combat, there's no way-,"

"No, I don't care about her safety," Jason said. "She's about to massacre those poor fools. Tim, seriously, go. Whenever there's bloodshed, the police and everybody else tend to think it was me." Damian stared at him.

"That's because it usually is you."

"Shut up."

Tim sighed, getting out of the car. Jason watched as he walked away, and then leaned closer to Damian.

"So, have you spotted anything between Tim and Cass?" he asked bluntly. Damian turned his head slowly to look at Jason.

"Oh, my god," he said slowly. "You have no idea. It's literally painful watching their pathetic attempts at being coy and uninterested when we all know they are."

"Okay," Jason went on. "Now I have nothing against Tim anymore."

"Big of you," Damian scoffed. "Considering you almost killed him. Twice."

"Yeah, well, I was a little insane then," Jason waved the criticism aside. "Anyway, I think we can engineer something, right?" Damian raised an eyebrow. Yeah, he had the Wayne look of disdain down pat.

"Why?"

"Because he's our brother," Jason hissed, still waiting for the screams that would signal Cass losing it. "And... I kinda owe him."

I owe damn near everybody, don't I?

Damian still didn't look convinced, but at that moment, both back doors opened, and Cass and Tim slid into the car.

"Okay!" Tim said, sounding a little breathless. "Let's go!"

Jason gunned it. He didn't need to look in the mirror to see Cass's face. He could tell she was livid.

"Hi, Cass," Damian said, bored, now flicking through a slightly porno magazine Jason had kept under the seat.

There was silence, except for Tim's breathing, and Cassandra's exhalation through her nose.

"Those bastards tried to hit on me!" she whispered loudly. Damian shrugged, turning the page. Jason blew out his breath, feeling a little like a guy who just survived going to jail.

Well, as a matter of fact, he just did.


I really don't know where this story is going. Bear with me.