Every day for a week after that night on the roof top, Tim and Jason had gone out together. Swinging from building to building, joking and laughing, it had been a blast that reminded Tim of the raw joy of being Robin. Jason's costume was still embarrassing with its short shorts and pixie boots, but Tim was almost used to it now. Now, however, the thing Tim worried about from day one was happening, as he was putting his foot down to stop Jason from being Robin once and for all.
"You are absolutely not going out tonight, or ever again, as Robin."
"Aw, come on Damian," Jason said, smiling at the small boy who glared at him with his arms crossed.
"No there is only one Robin - me! - I won't have you running around embarrassing my name all over this city."
Jason rolled his eyes, "ooookay", he said sarcastically, "I'll come up with a new name, whatever."
"And a new uniform."
"What? Why they're not even the same costume!"
"Thanks to you and Grayson that circus outfit is too recognizable as Robin, doesn't matter what you call yourself, people will see those stupid shorts and think Robin."
Jason sighed heavily, "fine," he grabbed Tim's arm, "I guess we're staying in tonight to name and costume brain storm."
Tim went and grabbed a pen and a note book, flipping it open, "alright, got any ideas Jason?"
"I've got one," Damian said with an evil smile, "how about Deadman?"
Tim shot daggers at him, but Jason didn't react, "sorry D, already taken, and I'd hate to explain to the body snatching ghost why I thought it was cool to steal his name."
"What about Eagle?" Tim said, hoping to get this back on track.
Jason gave him a look, "Eagle? Dude, have you seen me? I'm not even 5 feet tall; I don't really think I can carry that off."
Damian let out a mean natured snigger.
"What about Hawk?" Jason tried.
"Taken," Tim said, "remember, Hawk and Dove?"
"Oh yeah, those guys, um, girls now?"
"Who can keep track?"
"I have another one," Damian piped up, "what about Zombie Lad?"
Tim let a low growl out, but Jason just blandly said, "has potential little bird, put a pin in that one."
Alfred opened the door into the manor and took a few steps down into the cave, "Young Master Damian? Young Mister Wilkes arrived a moment ago, and he took the liberty of showing himself to your room."
"Oh no," Damian gasped, leaping up and running for the stairs, "if he plays Doom he'll have nightmares and Sister Agnes will kill me!"
He bounded up the stairs to the Manor but stopped at the door to turn back, "what about the name Crowbar?" he shouted before ducking through the door way and disappearing.
Tim lunged to go after him but Jason put his hand on Tim's arm. "Doesn't that little shit bug you?"
Jason was quiet for a moment, looking up at where Damian had exited, "Tim, you've never had to deal with the feeling that everyone liked the guy you replaced a lot more than they like you… so where we on a name?"
"Well let's see, other than Zombie Lad, nowhere, um, what about Goldfinch?"
"Hm, it's okay, but yellow isn't really my color."
"Okay, what is your color?"
"Well green is my favorite, but I want to get away from the whole Robin color pallet, you know?"
"Okay, so no to red, green and yellow."
Jason looked thoughtful, before nodding at the stairs, "was that you, by the way?"
"What, Colin? Yeah, I texted him when Damian started throwing a fit."
Jason nodded slowly, "smart move. Blue, I think, I think that's what I want."
"Blue, Jay? For the costume?"
Jason's face broke into an ear to ear grin, "and we got a name!"
"Huh?"
"Bluejay!" Tim's smile matched Jason's, "awesome!"
He grabbed Jason's arm and dragged him deeper into the cave, "let's look at the costume odds and ends, see what we can put together."
Sitting on the floor, they sorted through dozens of masks, capes, boots and other costume detritus.
"Do you think I should dye this?" Jason said, pointing at the large white streak in his hair,
Tim leaned forward and twisted a lock of the white hair between his fingers, thinking about the question.
He let go and rocked back, "I don't know, I mean, if you want to, what color were you thinking?" he looked at Jason who had a glassy and unfocused look in his eyes,
"Ja-" that's all Tim got out because Jason lunged forward and kissed him straight on the lips. Tim's eyes bugged out of his head and placed both hands firmly on his friend's chest and pushed him off.
"Wow, wow, Jay… no, no."
Jason's eyes were wide before his whole face twisted in embarrassment and he blushed a deep red, "oh shit, Tim, sorry, shit, oh I just thought the thing on the roof and how nice you've been something else was up."
"Nooo" Jason bit his lower lip "shit."
"I mean, look Jay, buddy, I'm flattered and all-"
"I just kissed a straight guy, didn't I? I'm such an ass."
"No, you didn't kiss a straight boy, just I have-"
"A boyfriend?"
"Boyfriends"
"Boyfriends?"
"As in more than one, at the same time."
"Oh…"
"They know about each other, we're all dating one another."
"Oh… how does that work?"
"You'd be amazed how often I get asked that, we manage."
They sat in awkward silence, both desperately trying to think of something, anything to break the tension now between them.
Tim spoke first, "I didn't know you were gay."
"I'm not gay."
"Um, bi then?"
"Yeah, no one knows."
"Why?"
"I don't know, just, I became Robin around the same time I figured it out for sure, I had a crush on Dick."
"No!"
"Yeah, that's embarrassing, it's part of why I kept the uniform, but anyways, I was new to being Robin, and just, like, when was the last time you saw an action hero kiss the guy at the end of a movie? I felt like I'd be a letdown, you know? And I had this crazy idea that the villains would find out and say shit about it when we fought, which was way scarier than they were. The cops already said shit about the uniform, I could only imagine what they'd say if they found out I like boys."
"Yeah, I know the feeling, for a long time I didn't come out; I pretended to myself that I wasn't scared, that it wasn't any one's business, and that's why I didn't say, but really, I felt the same way, scared of being a letdown as a hero."
"So you are out?"
"Yep."
"What changed? Why'd you tell them?"
"I met two guys who changed my life; they were sweet and funny, goofy but good, and we started up whatever it is we have. One of the first times we went out fighting crime together, one of them got hit by a car, and in my brain I knew he was fine, but my heart? My heart freaked out. I just thought about how I'd have to fake like I was just his friend at the funeral, how I wouldn't be able to hold Bart's hand during that. I told Bruce that night."
"How'd that go?"
"Ha, he acted like I was telling him my shoe size, not only didn't he care at all I was gay, he already knew."
"How?"
"Who knows with him, I was super careful, but you know him, he knows everything. Anyways, that was that, I thought, no fanfare, kinda a letdown to get no reaction really. The next night I went up to the kitchen to grab something before heading home, and there's a little cake on the table, with a note to me from Alfred, and the cake - each of its layers was one of the colors on the pride rainbow."
Jason smiled softly, "sappy old man. How'd everyone else take it?"
"It was back before the demon brat's time, he's got a lot of problems but that's never been one of them. Babs signed me up for every LGBT youth group and book club in the city, Dick kept trying to set me up with boys from his circus camp he runs down at the Y till I sat him down and told him I was in a relationship."
Jason looked at his hands, "I'm still worried about, you know, letting them down."
"Look, Bruce doesn't care, Damian will hate you no matter what, Dick adores you and so does Babs."
"You can never ever tell Dick about that crush."
"Promise. You know what, here's another promise: Damian thinks he's gonna be Batman after Dick, hell he thinks he'll be the second Batman after Bruce some days. Promise me that whatever happens, one of us will be Batman after Dick, that whatever happens, the third Batman is gonna be queer as fuck."
"I'm not good enough to be Batman, Timmy."
"BS Jay, you're the best," Tim stuck out his hand and Jason shook it. "So about your costume buddy…"
After four hours of sowing, goofing off and awkward measuring, they had it. Blue boots up to Jason's knees, black pants up to a dark blue utility belt and a shirt that buttoned with shiny robin's egg blue buttons up at a diagonal up the left side of his chest and across his collar bone with black sleeves down to blue gloves. The mask matched the gloves and boots and they'd dyed the white in his hair electric blue. It was the cape, however, that was the masterpiece: patches of over lapping fabric flowing down to the floor with different shades of blue, ranging from bright blue to dark with patches of highlighting white, like a bluejay's wings.
"So how do I look?" Jason said, twisting around in front of the mirror.
"You look amazing, Jaybird."
