Holy crap, I haven't updated since October. I'm so sorry for that! Still, even with the delay, I hope all you lovely people enjoy this (short) update.

Jason was sitting on his bed, back turned towards the door. Ace was at his side, as he often had been these past few days.

Jason's arm was currently around the dog's neck as he leaned up against the large animal, taking comfort from his presence.

Dick stepped into the room. He hadn't really had a chance to talk to his brother after, well, everything that had happened with Owen Rogers.

"Hey," Dick said, keeping his voice gentle.

It didn't help.

Jason still startled, spinning around quickly, as if he expected Dick to be an enemy, and Dick flinched.

He should have been more careful.

After what happened, of course Jason was going to be on edge.

Ace's tail thumped against the bed once as he turned to look at Dick.

"Hey, it's just me," Dick said, raising his hands slowly, as he moved closer.

"Dick?"

"Yeah, it's me." Carefully, he took a seat on the bed, watching Jason closely. "How are you feeling?"

There was a moment of silence. Dick was afraid he wasn't going to get an answer.

Then, carefully, Jason shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine."

Dick didn't miss the way his hand tightened around Ace's neck.

Dick sighed. He didn't want to push him, but he didn't want him to think he had to keep everything inside.

He already knew that stuffing it all down deep would only make things worse in the long run.

"You don't have to pretend," he said, trying to sound as neutral as he could manage. Maybe "pretend" hadn't been the best choice of word, considering the flash of immediate defensiveness that flared across Jason's face for the barest of an instant before he regained his impassivity.

"I'm fine," Jason reasserted firmly. "How the hell would you know?"

"Jason…" He didn't mention the expletive. That was Alfred's job.

Anyways, it wasn't all that bad. But Jason would most definitely not appreciate a reprimand. Not now.

And that was not what Dick was here for.

"It's happened to all of us before." He wasn't trying to say it was no big deal. We all go through crap sometimes, so get over it already.

It was a you're not alone. We've all experienced it before.

Danger. Abductions. The kind of mortal terror that comes when your life is threatened.

That little voice in the back of your head that whispers you might just not make it home.

Gotham was a dangerous city.

They led a dangerous life.

But this hadn't happened as Robin. This wasn't because of the nightlife.
This was because of someone with a vendetta against Bruce Wayne.

And that was made it scarier.

Living the life of a vigilante was asking for this kind of trouble.

But as Dick Grayson and Jason Todd? They were just kids, trying to live a normal life.

So what if their adoptive father also happened to be Bruce Wayne?

It wasn't fair that their life could be uprooted anytime someone with a grudge decided to crop up.

Jason's shoulders lifted in a little half shrug.

"You and Bruce have always been able to get away," he said finally. "If I'm Robin, I need to be able to take care of myself." He gave a little snort. "I did a better job of it on the street."

"Jay, no," Dick said. "You shouldn't have had to take care of yourself on the streets in the first place." He swallowed. The streets were no place for a kid who had no one to look out for him. Jason had had to watch his own back. "And now… now we look out for each other." He hesitated, before reaching over and placing his arm around Jason's back.

The boy stiffened, but he didn't scoot away from Dick.

That was a good sign. Dick inched closer before gently tugging his brother to him. Jason fell against his chest.

Dick wrapped his other arm protectively around him, holding him close.

He'd almost lost him.

And, after everything, Dick Grayson couldn't handle another loss.

Jason's balled fist had latched onto his shirt, gripping it tightly.

He was trembling.

Dick remembered everything Bruce did, everything Alfred did, when he was still a nine year old boy, traumatized by the sudden death of his parents.

"Hey, it's okay now," he said, rubbing his hand over Jason's back in small circles. "It's going to be okay."

And, somehow, he knew it would.