Synopsis: Jason preferred going solo, but an unwanted tag along forces him to better understand his fellow robin.
Batman was always known for being silent. Stoic, with a demanding yet subtle presence that persisted fear once it became known, but Robin? Robin exuded bubbly excitement. A bird constantly singing on a gentle breeze. It was a common trait that continued across the generations, and though Jason denied it, he too fell under the common, repetitive nature of Robin's personna inside and out.
Damian, however, did not.
It was by no means a bad thing, yet Jason found the silence unnerving nonetheless as the two continued to trek through sodden land, tracing the ground's prints saturated with past travelers, most of which were heavy weighted animals with the other occasional stray mark coming from a passing human no doubt already dead, suffocated in the past. Yet not even that thought could frighten Jason alone. No. Jason was far too worried about what Dick would do once he found out Damian had disappeared.
To be fair, it was not Jason's fault. The demon had followed him on his own accord. Thus all fault should be blamed on Damian. Yet that would not be how Dick saw it, and Jason certainly dreaded the upcoming, and very unavoidable, reunion that was bound to happen. So, with some reluctance, and a sore swing of his bruised shoulder, Jason lead the way through the thick oaks and poisonous vegetation for some familiar sign that resonated home.
Damian followed quickly and silently in pursuit with one hand tracing the smooth contours of his katana's handle. His shoulders tense with weary eyes and a cautious gait. The rational part of Jason's mind would remind him there were no threats, no civilization, or even a remote sign of human existence for another ten miles, yet he could not deny his own attentive steps, or the way his fingers flew towards his gun hidden beneath the folds of his jacket at the slightest of sounds.
The two continued in silence with Jason occasionally pausing to listen to the rustle of life, yet even mother nature had quieted, receding into the background of white noise. It was only when the shadows of dusk had turned into the pitch blackness of dark did Jason stop in a small clearing to set up camp. Jason worked on setting up the fire as Damian tried, once again, to get in contact with Batman and the others. But their only current transmission was severely jammed, and both simply came to accept their fate. It was about now that Jason began regretting exploding his bike and his transceiver along with it.
It was also about now that Jason wished Dick, of all people, were here to lighten the mood. While Jason had nothing against kids, that certainly didn't mean he knew how to handle them. Especially not Bruce Wayne's biological, crime-fighting, a few screws loose, kid. Honestly, any ice breaker would be a great help now. Hell, he wouldn't mind if Joker came rushing in from the middle of nowhere just to give Jason something to do other than ponder in absolute silence. And yet fate did not heed his call.
The two had then settled in for the night with Jason taking first watch. An uneventful, silent tirade of nothingness clashing with his own monotony of the entire situation adhering to a rather lackluster campaign. In other words, absolutely nothing occurred to alleviate Jason's now accustomed silence, and within four hours of his shift, Damian woke up leading the two to switch positions though Jason kept his gun nearby. Sleep came slowly, partially from Jason's own misguided trust of the newest Robin as well as his own intuition prickling at the back of his neck in some manner that Dick had called instinct and Jason retorted with just dumb luck. But, regardless, the night remained utterly mundane.
When Jason awoke, Damian was already tending to the fire, stamping it out and dimming the embers with what little water was left in the canteen. The sun had not yet even risen from its own sleepy cocoon beyond the horizon when the two packed their remaining supplies and set out from the forest ground.
But something was off.
Jason stopped part way to glare at Damian as the boy also halted mid step to glare at the other in accusation. "What?" he snarled when Jason didn't move nor speak. The two only staring a second longer as Jason's eyes narrowed behind the hooded mask. "Where's your katanas?"
Damian said nothing. Instead, the little demon merely strode forward in aggravation. "We don't have time for this, Jason," he spat before leaping into the awaiting trees as if trying to get rid of Jason. Jason only frowned in response while barely restraining his own urge to tie the boy to a leash. The only thing stopping him now, honestly, was merely the thought of binding himself to a liability. A very angry liability.
So, with a huff and a small mutter of "why me?", Jason followed the irate Robin. Though it was oddly suspicious how quickly and confidently Robin's sense of direction suddenly seemed to be. Especially after their aimless wandering the previous day just hours before. But each time Jason would see the billow of Damian's cape as he leapt, he would allow his mind to stray into confusion and puzzlement.
An assassin's weapons were his most prized possessions. The significant reflex of their skill, the lengthened form of their limb, and the weight of their soul aged with wisdom passed down through each trusted hand. It was a treasured heirloom that signified bonds more deeply than the blood it severed from the body. Damian's katana meaning even more so. Jason knew that. It was drilled into him by Talia's own doing. Weapons to the family of Al'Ghuls were as valued as the Robin title that Tim had fought for and Jason had died for.
And yet here it was. Missing. Jason knew the boy had brought it with him. The kid practically breathed it as twice Jason had heard Alfred scold Damian for bringing the deadly object to school though the butler eventually stopped when all attempts were met with futile results at best. Perhaps they had been ambushed through the night? But that was impossible and utterly foolish. The Red Hood did not merely sleep through such lousy attacks nor would Damian stand for his heirloom to be stolen in such an uncouth manner. Plus the demon would have been demanding Jason help him get it back if that were truly the case.
Yet there seemed to be no other obvious solution as the two suddenly approached the outskirts of a shady town. Jason stopped in surprise, the small plot of civilization, barely even enough to be called so, was very rural with its small slanted buildings. The shindles upon one being lapsed so heavily upon each other that even now, some came sliding down from the roof in clatters of chipping clay. The street was cracked though Jason took some relief in seeing a road that wore off into the distance as the sun rose. But at the same time it was strangely odd. Jason's GPS had not advised him on such a road. It had not even mentioned a town had existed or certainly Jason would have found it sooner. Instead, it seemed Damian was more active in the area though Jason doubted the answer was that simple.
Damian, however, remained unfazed as he instead strutted forward, mask, cape, and all, across the road to the shabby town that even the Joker would find suspicious. For the only thing that seemed to belong in the half road sized stand of a place would be Scarecrow, and even that was a stretch.
"Robin," Jason warned though there was no response from the other and Red Hood could only follow in annoyance. Even when the pair had reached out onto the road did Jason's mind continue to regard what had just occurred. The two had rented a motorcycle from an old coot with twisted knees and a peppered beard. The man having traded the already beaten vehicle for a hundred bucks though Jason doubted it was even worth that much with its twisted metal gears and loose mirrors. Yet Damian did not haggle the price, and, for once, Jason agreed it was best to leave this town. It must have worked as the two were now well onto the road with a full tank, an additional twenty bucks, and miles of endless road ahead of them before they reached the outskirts of Gotham city.
The sun began to rise from its shallow grave and Damian's expenditures did not got unnoticed. They didn't carry money with them often. Money could be traced and with the villains they often worked with, it wasn't hard to lose a couple of items here and there. And if there was anything Batman passed on to his Robins it was the paranoia of having their identity discovered. While Redhood did sometimes carry wads of cash in his pockets, all of it was blood money, already untraceable from the start through shady dealings and greedy thumbs, but Robin did not carry such bills. At least not without Nightwing and Batman exploding on him. But the amount Damian had was no measly few dollars.
Jason didn't question the other. Instead, their ride was silent as they drifted through the morning rush towards the city.
The next day, Damian narrowed his eyes as Jason leaned against his door frame. "I heard you were grounded," Jason began casually as Robin stood up from his bed and sauntered towards the taller in a conceited manner. "I heard Grayson locked away your beer."
"Yeah, well, you could do me a favor and get it back."
Before Damian could open his mouth in protest, Jason had already tossed the other his package causing Damian to catch it mid-air in surprise. "Took me a while to find that thing," Jason began while pointing at the said object. "Don't sell it next time. Especially not to a broke pawnshop whose only income is stuffed house mice carcasses dressed in funeral clothes." Damian said nothing as he flipped over the katana in his hands, checking its weight, and feeling the contours of its workmanship as if analyzing how much damage it had sustained through their parting. He did not look up as Jason left nor did he thank the other, but Jason could see the relief in the kid's shoulders and the way his fingers clenched in comfort over the familiar handle.
Also, when Jason's beer bottles magically returned to his apartment the following evening, that was all the thanks he needed.
AN- This one has been sitting on my laptop for a while, and I forced myself to finish hence the rushed ending. But thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.