Taste the Rain
Chapter 20
"I've never had a brother before…"
Dick's apartment smelt like old pizza. Well, it smelt like a lot of things, not just old pizza, but if I tried to think about those other things, I figured I'd get sick. He had taken the idea of being a slob to a whole new level. Now, one of the things Alfred always did was get after me for how my room looked, so I wondered if he ever came to Dick's apartment. Well, he was kind of important to Dick so maybe the young crime fighter didn't want "mommy" to have a heart attack.
"This place is nasty", I said to Wally, who was sitting across from me on the couch.
"You think?" Wally said, "It's even worse than mine, and that's saying something. Make sure you don't look under the couch. I swear there's some sort of monster living under there." I smirked.
"Bruce is having me stay the night, but I'm wondering if something's gonna reach out of the cushions and grab me." Wally gave a snort of laughter.
"I spent the night here once. It was kinda scary. I ended up in Dick's bed and he ended up on the couch. I was like, 'You go sleep with the roaches, they know you better.'"
"Hey", Dick said, "Don't talk about my children like that."
"Yea", Roy snorted, coming up behind him, "Dick the roach lord might send his minions after you. No one is safe." Dick rolled his eyes and gave Roy a shove. When Dick had invited me to come over to his place and spend the night since Bruce was gone on a trip, I had been somewhat apprehensive, but mostly excited. The evening had gotten even more fun when he'd surprised me by having some of his "work" friends over for a little original titans reunion.
They were raucous, loud and loads of fun. No one ignored me and I was included in everything they did. We'd already gone to the amusement park at about seven o'clock and stayed until midnight. I was exhausted, but much too high on caffeine to go to sleep any time soon.
"So", Donna said, sitting down on my other side, "How do you like being Robin, Jason?"
"It's loads of fun", I replied elatedly. Donna smiled at me, a warm, wholesome smile. I liked her a lot.
"All Dick ever used to do was complain" Garth whined. "Ohh, Batman's such a pain. I want a robinmobile. My ass is better than yours."
"Hey", Dick said, "Now I did not talk about my ass all that much." We all stared at him until he started to squirm. "Alright, maybe a little bit." And then we were all laughing, even Dick. I leaned back against the couch, grinning and starting to drop out of my sugar high. Sleep was creeping up.
"Alright you guys", Dick ordered, "it's getting really late, clear out."
"Yea", Garth said, "I gotta get back down to Atlantis. Arthur's gonna kill me. I was supposed to help him with some dolphin thing tonight."
"What sort of dolphin thing?" Wally asked, eyes glittering mischievously as he headed towards the door.
"Shut up", Garth snapped defensively, stalking out.
"Aww, give it a rest fish boy", Roy yelled after him. "See ya Dick! Bye kid." He ruffled my hair and left.
"Bye Dick", Donna said. "Bye Jason." She planted a kiss on my forehead, making me blush all the way up to the roots of my hair. Dick giggled frantically and hauled me up onto his lap as Donna walked out the door.
"I don't see you going all red when Bruce kisses you little bird."
"Shut up", I growled, wrestling out of his grasp.
"Ohh yea", Dick said, standing up and holding up his fists, "put 'em up kid, we'll settle this like men." I leapt at him, sparing playfully and pulling my blows just enough so that I didn't hurt him. He grabbed me, throwing me over his shoulder and swinging me around in circles while I screamed at the top of my lungs. Some guy banged on his roof (which happened to be Dick's floor), roaring at us to keep it down, and we collapsed heavily onto the ground, Dick tickling me.
"Stop it", I squealed, squirming. Dick was laughing so hard, he could barely breathe. Gasping, we leaned heavily against each other.
"Wanna watch a movie?" Dick asked me after we had regained our breath.
"Sure", I replied, happy that I got to stay up this late. Bruce typically put me to bed around ten when I didn't join him on patrol. When I did, I was usually so exhausted by the time we got back, I just went right to sleep. Having an entire evening to mess around was something I didn't get too often.
Dick got up, sending me sprawling onto my back and said, "You can go to my room and change into your pajamas. Why don't you shower while you're at it? You smell."
"I smell", I snorted, "you sure you're not just high on the stench of your apartment." Dick rolled his eyes.
"Yea, yea, yuck it up. Now, go shower, I'm gonna pull a movie and pop us some popcorn. You want some soda?"
"Yea", I said excitedly, because I almost never got soda. Coming out of Dick's room after I had changed and showered, I came upon the sight of him tossing blankets onto the couch. He was in his boxers and had a pile of candy, soda, ice cream and popcorn on table in front of the TV. "Sweet", I said, grabbing a can of coke. Dick grinned and sat down.
"I figure we can watch Terminator. It's violent enough to keep us up. I'll just cover your eyes when the bad parts come."
"Hah, hah", I said, climbing up onto the couch, "I've probably seen worse where I come from." Dick sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulders. At first, I stiffened at the contact, but relaxed after a moment.
"Much better", Dick murmured, eventually you'll just get used to me. I'm a touchy-feely sort of guy." I rolled my eyes and made myself more comfortable, leaning against him with my head on his chest. He collected me close and turned on the TV. "You're not used to being cuddled, are you kiddo?" I shrugged.
"Bruce does sometimes, I guess."
"I mean, before Bruce." I shook my head. "Well", Dick crooned, nuzzling the top of my head, "we'll just have to make up for lost time. You know, I get why Bruce likes having a kid, you're so much fun to cuddle and spoil and you're just so cute." I rolled my eyes.
"I love you Jay Jay, you're like my little baby brother." I looked up at him, surprised at his words. He'd told me he lovedme pleanty of times, but had never mentioned he thought of me as a brother. He nodded, smiling. "I've never had a brother before, but I always wanted one."
"Me too", I said softly.
"Well, we're both Brucie's kids, sort of, so I figure we can be brothers. What do you think?" I nodded happily because I had always wanted an older brother. After my experience with a dad, I kinda figured those were a dud and had craved an older brother. A few of my friends had older brothers, fiercely protective large boys with a bone to pick. I had wanted one of those. Now, Dick didn't quite fit that mold, but he was better than I ever could have hoped for.
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By the time the movie ended, I was so full of caffeine, popcorn and sugar, I should have been bouncing off the walls. But, I was so exhausted, I could barely lift my head. I was on Dick's lap and I almost hoped he might just sit there all night so it could stay. Dick stretched, yawned, groaned. He scooped me up and stood. "You like it jay bird?" he asked. I nodded sleepily. "I think it's time we go to bed." I nodded, rubbing my head against his chest. He smiled and kissed my forehead before walking over to his room. "You can sleep on my bed short stuff. I'll crash on the couch. If you need me, you can find me there." He pulled back his blankets and put me down gently on the bed.
"Now", he began, "I know Bruce usually tucks you in and I'm a terribly poor substitute, but I'll have to do for the night." He pulled the blankets up to my chin and kissed my forehead. My eyelids fluttered as I fought off sleep a little longer to murmur goodnight.
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When I woke up the next morning, I wondered briefly where I was. Rolling over, I noticed a photo of a tiny boy clambering over a widely grinning Bruce. Ohh right, I was in Dick's apartment. Rubbing my forehead to try and ward off the headache I had (caffine and sugar really took their toll the morning after, as did staying up late), I glanced at the clock. It was noon. I had slept really late.
Getting up, I padded into the living room. The floor was cold on my bare toes, but I ignored it and faced the couch. Dick was fast asleep, sprawled out with his limbs everywhere and the blankets bunched around his middle. I climbed up on top of him and straddled his chest. "Dick", I said, poking his nose, "get up, it's like noon." His arms closed around me in an instant. I squealed in surprise, pressed to his chest. Dick grinned sleepily at me.
"You're a lot of fun kiddo, you know that. We gotta get together more." I smiled and he released me, allowing me to sit up once more on his chest.
"Ohh hey" Dick said, "We gotta play our game."
"Oh no", I groaned.
"Come on", Dick said, edging me on, "we gotta play."
"No", I replied, "it's not even a real game, it's just stupid."
"Nah ah", Dick replied, "come on, play it with me, I'll give you a prize."
"Fine" I muttered (though good naturedly). Dick grinned widely at me and giggled.
"Who loves you?"
"Bruce does", I replied.
"Hey", Dick said, "now you know that wasn't the answer I was looking for. Lets try this again. Who loves you?"
"Dick does", I muttered softly.
"Come on", Dick egged, a mischievous grin on his face, "say it louder, I can't quite here you."
"Dick does", I replied, my voice grumbling.
"You can do better than that, scream it to the world, who loves you?"
"Dick does", I yelled in his face.
"That's right", he said elatedly, tossing me up in the air and catching me. I couldn't help my giggle of delight.
"How come you always make me play that with you?" I asked once I was back on his chest.
"'Cause", Dick replied, "I gotta make sure you remember that very important fact. I gotta make sure you know how much I love ya baby bird." I couldn't help but smile at this. For Dick, love seemed to come naturally. In fact, shortly after I'd met him, he'd started telling me he loved me, as nonchalantly as if he were commenting on the weather. Knowing my previous upbringing, he seemed to think I needed all this, which I guess, in a way, I sorta did. It seemed that Dick's love was like Bruce's involving warm arms and cuddles and little soft kisses, which, though I bellyached greatly about, I actually enjoyed quite a bit. Here were these two people that loved me like this and that was just so amazing to me. They made me feel special.
"Hey," I said, "What's my prize?"
"Ohh right", Dick replied, "Why of course it's a great big cuddle from your favorite big brother."
"Aww man", I moaned, "that's a lame prize." Dick grinned and tugged me down into his embrace, cuddling me.
"You're just so cute Jay Jay, I just wanna squeeze you." He kissed the side of my head and nuzzled me. I rolled my eyes.
"Can I have an alternative prize, like a video game or something. This one sucks." Dick made a fake affronted noise.
"And here I thought my affection was appreciated, but ohh hey, speaking of material possessions," he said, sitting up slowly and holding me so that I was on his lap, "I got a question for you."
"What?" I asked.
"What do you want for Christmas?"
"Christmas?" I queried, confused.
"Ohh, this'd be your first big Christmas, huh?"
"Yea, on the streets, we didn't really do much in the way of celebrating. I didn't even realize Christmas was coming." Dick nodded happily.
"I love Christmas", he said, eyes gaining a wistful, happy shine, "it's the best time of the year. Alfred makes the most delicious food and Bruce buys everybody presents and I search frantically for something he doesn't already have. I figure he'll spoil you rotten this year since it's you're first so why don't you tell me something you want that you're not gonna tell him about, something preferably under a hundred bucks." I looked up at him in consternation.
"How come?" I asked.
"How come what?"
"How come you're getting me a present?"
"Just 'cause", Dick replied, "I gotta get presents for everyone. I get for Alfred and for Bruce and now I gotta get for you. So, what do you want?" I shrugged.
"I don't know", I replied.
"Well, think about it. I expect an answer by next week."
"What can I get for you?" I asked.
"Ohh, you're under thirteen so you're not morally obligated to get anything for anyone."
"But", I replied, "if you're getting something for me…" Dick shrugged and thought for a moment.
"I like food. You can always get me some food related item."
"What about Bruce?" I asked. Dick rolled his eyes.
"He is the hardest human being in the world to find presents for because he already has everything. He claims he doesn't want anything but that just means you're even more morally obligated to buy him something. So, I guess maybe we can figure something out together. You're lucky, all you gotta do is draw him a picture and he'll be all excited." I raised one eyebrow. "I swear. Draw him a picture one of these days and see what he does. He'll be so elated. You will just make his day."
"But", I replied, "I suck as an artist."
"He doesn't care. He'll love it. Try it." I nodded.
"Alright", Dick said, "on an entirely unrelated note, who wants some cereal?"