Disclaimer – Own nothing.
To vi – Thanks for your review! Thanks so much for being so understanding! And I'm so sorry about your loss. Losing pets is so hard. I hope you're doing okay! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
AN – Sorry for the wait, again. Had some more assignments to do, and work. And I thought I would have more time to work on this during holidays, but, not so much. Then, I had to edit what I was originally going to do, which made writing this take longer. Only two more chapters left after this though! Hope you guys like this chapter!
Enjoy!
One thing that quickly became clear to the younger generation of Titans, was that stakeouts were incredibly boring. Unfortunately, when they were necessary, Dick usually had them doing the stakeouts. Probably in an attempt to keep them safe. This led to the teens finding creative ways to entertain themselves.
"Alright. So, my favourite stuffed animal when I was a kid was a stuffed tiger. I used to volunteer at an animal shelter, and the first video game I ever played was Spyro," Gar told Rachel, Rose/Jericho and Conner, then waited for them to figure out which of his three statements were true and which one was the lie.
"Spyro's the one with the purple dragon, right?" Jericho asked with his sister's voice and fingers, eyes still on the warehouse in front of them. They had been on the rooftop of the office building across the street for almost two hours now, waiting for the criminals' partners to show up with the weapons they were illegally trafficking to show up. Nightwing, Starfire, Troia, Hawk and Dove were also watching, but at a different, much closer, spot.
"Yup. You ever play that game Jericho?" Gar wondered.
"Only once, I think. At a friend's house."
"I think that's the lie," Rachel spoke up. "I don't think Spyro was the first video game you ever played."
"I think the stuffed animal one is the lie. Kids normally get stuffed bears or bunnies when they're born. At least, in the movies they do," Conner chimed in. Rose however, shook her head.
"No. Jericho and I both think Rachel is right. The lie is the video game."
"Please tell me you guys aren't letting yourselves get distracted right now," Dick spoke through their comms, sounding annoyed.
"No," Gar immediately protested. "We're just trying to not die of boredom while we watch a warehouse where nothing is happening."
"You guys aren't going to die of boredom," their leader informed them.
"I don't know," Hank objected. "I'm kinda feeling like I'm at least about to pass out from boredom."
"And I agree with Raven and Ravager. Spyro wasn't the first video game Beast Boy played," Donna told them.
"Well, you guys are right. The first video game I played was Mario Cart," Gar admitted with a smile.
"Great. Can we focus on our job now?" Dick requested, his annoyance growing.
"Focus on an empty warehouse, you mean," Rachel corrected.
"It's not empty. There are 20 people inside," the clone pointed out.
"With more on the way, carrying hundreds of illegal automatic rifles," Kory added. "So please don't get distracted."
"It's not like we brought a board game and are sitting in a circle ignoring everything and everyone around us. Technically, we're just talking," Rose grumbled.
"Do you guys want to play with us?" The green-haired teenager asked, now sounding excited. "You guys would totally dominate since we don't know much about you."
"Yes, but we know a lot about each other, so it wouldn't be that fair," Dawn gently argued.
The platinum blonde had a point. She had dated both Dick and Hank, so she probably knew a lot about them. Donna and Dick had somewhat grown up together, so they would definitely know a lot of each other's secrets. And they had been a team before. Had lived together. There was a history between them. A comradery. Yet at the same time, there was still some distance between Dick and the others.
Jericho remembered what Barbara had said almost a year ago, about why Dick was so guarded. It made some sense. He still wasn't fully aware of what all happened between the Titans the first and second time his father went after them, as he wasn't there. But he would've thought that enough time had passed and Dick would open up to them. He did seem more comfortable when he spent time with them now, and he would've figured out everyone's boundaries months ago. So the fact that he was still kind of holding them at an arm's length was frustrating to say the least.
"Except for Kory that is, since we haven't know her for very long," Donna reminded everyone.
"As much as I love the idea of kicking your guys' butts at a game, we're going to have to save it for another time. We've got company," Kory responded, just as two, large vans came into view, approaching the warehouse.
The joyful mood between the heroes instantly died and turned serious. It was time to get to business. But Jericho filed his thoughts away, determined to figure out why Dick was still so guarded around them.
2018TITANS2018
"Hey Dick? Can I ask a favour?" The question had Dick looking up to see Rose standing in his bedroom doorway.
"Sure, what's up?" He asked, from his spot on the bed, a case file in his hands.
"Could Jericho hang out with you for a bit?"
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah I just, need some peace and quiet," Rose answered with an awkward and nervous expression. Dick could easily understand her request and why it was awkward for her. She loved her brother but being together constantly was annoying and frustrating for both of them.
Putting the folder down beside him, Dick stood up. "Yeah, no problem."
With an appreciative smile, Rose came over to stand in front of him. As soon as they made eye contact, Dick felt a brush of air hit his face. A few seconds later, he heard Jericho's voice.
'Hey Dick.'
'Hey Jericho' Dick mentally responded, then turned his attention back to Rose for a moment. "I got him."
"Thanks. When he starts getting annoying, just let me know."
'Hey! I resent that! If anything, she's the annoying one!' Jericho loudly protested.
Dick chuckled and said, "Jericho doesn't agree with you."
"He never does. See you tomorrow. Night." With that, Rose headed off to her bedroom to go to bed.
"Night," Dick replied, then sat back down on his bed.
'So what are you doing?' Jericho asked.
'Looking over a new case at work.' Dick could feel the younger man's excitement when he learned that. Even though he had been a part of the Titans for over a year now, he was still so giddy about it. So was Gar. It reminded Dick of how he himself used to be, back when he was younger.
'Something for the Titans to take of?'
'Not sure yet. Right now, it's just a one-time burglary. And I think I know who did it,' Dick informed him.
'Really? Who?'
'The assistant manager. The tread marks found in the alley behind the building match his car and he suspiciously broke his hand last week.'
'What does that have to do with anything?'
'When you owe loan sharks money, they tend to get a bit impatient in getting their payment. Make them wait too long, and they get a little… violent. It's just a hunch right now though. I'm going to look into it tomorrow at work,' Dick explained as he picked up the case file.
'Is that how you always solve cases? Follow your gut?' Jericho sounded confused, skeptical, and a little amazed all at the same time.
Dick nodded, even though the person he was talking to was in his head and unable to see it. 'Part of it. A person's instincts are usually right, but not always. There's still a lot of deduction, clues and evidence you have to look through. Especially since you can't just arrest someone based off a gut feeling.'
'Did Batman teach you?'
'Some of it. The looking for clues part. Learning how to read people however, I actually learned from Lalita, the fortune teller at Haly's Circus,' Dick revealed, feeling a twinge of sadness at the thought of his old family.
Jericho was silent for a moment, which allowed Dick to focus on his papers. Until of course, the younger man said, 'You don't talk about the circus at all.'
'Doesn't really come up,' the acrobat responded, trying not to get annoyed as he already realized where this was going. Jericho was an extremely curious kid, and while it could be fun, there were topics Dick didn't like discussing.
'Why not?'
'Don't know if you've noticed Jericho, but circuses aren't really considered a topic of normal conversation.'
'But it's a part of you and your backstory.'
'Yes, it is,' Dick slowly agreed.
'It's okay for you to talk about it. I'm sure everyone would like to hear about it. I know I would.'
'Maybe so, but that doesn't mean that I want to talk about it.'
'Oh. I didn't think about that,' Jericho replied with a sad tone.
Dick sighed. 'It's okay. But I'd appreciate it if we could drop this line of conversation.'
'Yeah. Yeah sure,' Jericho agreed.
Thinking that would be the end of it, Dick again tried to focus on his case. He had the upcoming weekend off and would prefer to get all of his work done beforehand if he could. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't always enjoy working 24/7. Sure, it was his job and was a helpful distraction when things weren't going well, but he liked spending time with his friends and family more if he could. However, he quickly learned that Jericho wasn't actually that willing to let it go that easily.
'Can I ask why?'
'Why what?'
'Why you don't want to talk about your past? Or about yourself in general?'
Dick couldn't help but let out another sigh as he closed the folder and put it on his bedside table. It was clear he wasn't going to be getting any more work done tonight. Maybe Rose was right. Maybe Jericho was the annoying one.
'Why do you care about talking about my past?' Dick wondered as he pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.
'Because it's a part of you, and we care about you,' Jericho answered. 'Sometimes, it feels like we don't know anything about you.'
'It's nothing personal. I just… don't like it. Being open about things can make you vulnerable. I hate feeling vulnerable,' Dick revealed.
'I get that, I do, but you can trust us. It's okay to be vulnerable with us, just like we are with you sometimes.'
Almost immediately, painful memories started flooding his brain, beyond his control. Memories of leaving the circus, of leaving his family. Memories of the fights he had with Bruce that ended with him leaving his second home. The memories of Donna, Dawn and Hank walking out on him years ago. Then again, with Rachel, only about a year ago. As much as he tried to forget about it, tried to remind himself that they had moved past it, the memories still hurt. So much that he was still hesitant to trust them again, even after all this time.
'Oh, I see,' Jericho mumbled. One of the issues with Jericho being inside other people's bodies and heads, was that he could easily see what they were thinking about. Meaning he just got a front row seat to Dick's memories of being abandoned by people he loved.
'Any chance you can forget you saw any of that?' Dick questioned.
'I don't think so. Sorry,' Jericho answered with a regretful tone.
'Not your fault.'
'I'm still sorry. And I'm sorry all that happened to you. You didn't deserve all that.'
'Lots of things happen to people who don't deserve it. You didn't deserve losing your voice or your body after all.'
''I know. And before you start feeling guilty about that, it wasn't your fault. It was Slade's,' Jericho quickly reminded him.
'I know.'
The two were both silent for another minute or two, both lost in their own thoughts. Then, Jericho asked, 'Do you think we'll ever be able to earn your complete trust?'
'You guys do have my trust,' Dick argued, hating the hurt in the boy's voice.
'On the battlefield, yes. But I mean, in the real way. The way that will let you be open with us.'
This time, it was Dick paused in thought. He wasn't good at opening up to people anymore. It was easier when he was younger. When he was able to trust people at the drop of a hat. But that was before the people who used to have that trust left him. Hurt him in ways that he would never admit or confront. As much as he loves his family and friends, the thought of trusting people that much was honestly, terrifying. And yet…
'I don't know, but I would like to. It's just, it's not that easy,' Dick told him.
'I know, but don't worry. We'll prove it to you.'
AN – And that's Jericho's chapter with Dick! I hope you guys liked it! Next up, is Conner, then the entire team! See you all then!