The next morning rolls around and Sam groans, stirring awake. A warm body is laying next to her and her eyes shoot open, suddenly very aware of the night before. Gong to Jerry's, almost killing him with her bare hands, finding the boy in the basement, Dick's disappointment, and Jason reading to her. It almost doesn't feel real, not until she notices the ache in her hands, looking at them to see the bloody gauze. The night before was real and guilt hugs her bones like a force.

She never wanted to be violent. She never wanted to be an angry or vengeful person. Sam was never the kind of person to even punch a wall when she got mad. She wasn't even the type that got mad about much. It was always so easy to brush things off and make a joke, make everything okay just like that. But, trauma creates these cracks in the foundation of a person. It puts cracks in every aspect of what made them them, creating the perfect faults to crumble them, and destroy who they were before. Trauma takes the jackhammer and pounds endless flashbacks and nightmares into that foundation until the person is a pile of dust. And Sam hates Jerry for it. And the Joker. And herself.

She hates herself the most because she didn't put up much fight to preserve the person she was before. She caved right into the haunting ghost in the back of her head as it's dancing on her own grave. And she hates herself for being violent last night when she never needed to be. But then she looks to her right and Jason is asleep, peacefully beside her with the book open on his chest.

She's almost completely certain Jason would bite her if she called him soft. But, that's how he seems right now and she wonders how he deals with it. Sure, he's not completely sane or normal, probably because of the trauma he's been through. But, she wonders if it's just the books or if there's more to it because she's sure she hasn't looked peaceful in two years. How does he do it? How does he handle the ghost chewing at the back of his head? Maybe being Robin helps. He gets to be Robin, be violent with a reason, be a rebel with a cause. But, maybe there's more to it. Maybe that's how he can sleep at night with ease and maybe that's why, despite his overall detached cold attitude, he's still caring in his own way.

Jason Todd makes Sam think she doesn't have to hate herself for last night because grief comes in waves and trauma makes scars. It takes time. It takes care to make things better. It takes time and care and a support system to heal from those traumas and the grief. It's finding a tourniquet to put on her bleeding heart until it becomes bearable. Jason's clearly found his and now Sam just has to do the same and she doesn't have to hate herself for it.

But, Sam is pulled from her thought as a loud and obnoxious banging starts on Jason's door. She rolls her eyes while Jason stirs awake just in time to hear Dick on the other side of the door.

"Get in the kitchen." Dick sounds annoyed as he bangs on the door one last time before he heads down the hallway.

Jason groans, putting his hands over his face, as if to be unaware of Sam still in his room. He shakes his head, rubbing his hands down his face and finally looks to his left. Jason shakes his head once more, remembering her falling asleep by the time he got to chapter three. He didn't want to wake her just to move into her room and he definitely wasn't going to give up his own bed. But, just waking up, he did momentarily forget about that and forget about telling her some of his secrets. Suddenly, he's very aware of exposed he's made himself.

"He sounds mad." Sam's voice is quiet as she keeps her eyes on the wall in front of her, trying to read the graffiti on the wall.

"Yeah," Jason's voice is flat and raspy, filled of sleep.

Sam looks to him and she'd be lying if she said her heart didn't skip a beat at the sight of him. "Well," She clears her throat as she sits up, choosing to keep her head straight. "Thanks for last night."

"Don't mention it." Jason sits up with her.

He doesn't know what to do with this. Jason hasn't done this before. The whole reading to someone thing, sleeping with someone without actually sleeping with them, waking up with someone in general. It's not even like he actually has all that much experience with any of it anyway, but this with Sam is entirely uncharted. He's not really sure what he's supposed to do or say or how he's supposed to act. They're friends, of course, but is he supposed to do something else about it? The whole thing is confusing and makes his head hurt.

"We should probably get out there before he has an aneurysm or something." Sam scoffs, looking back at Jason with a tired smile.

She doesn't really know what to do either. At least falling asleep with Gar makes sense. She's just fucking with Jason when she flirts with him. She does, definitely like him, but she likes Gar, too. And Gar is nicer than Jason is, usually. Gar is a soft person and offers this oddly familiar sense of comfort that Jason doesn't. Falling asleep with Jason feels very...awkward like they need to be doing some type of walk of shame for something that never happened. But, Sam is almost entirely sure it only feels awkward with him because it's him. Gar is always comforting so falling asleep with him would just make sense, it's easy. If Sam walked in on Rachel asleep with Gar, it would make sense because Gar is just a comforting person. But, Jason, it's as if it's awkward because there should be a reason bigger than this. It's like they shouldn't be sleeping together unless they have some ulterior motive, whether it's to get together or do something more and maybe that's why it feels awkward to her. Because she almost kissed him and there should have been this other reason but there wasn't and now Sam has to navigate the day about it.

"Yeah, probably." Jason huffs as Sam scoots down his bed and stands up.

Her whole body is sore. She didn't actually realize how much she used all of her muscles to fight Jerry last night. Everything, at some point, went numb but right now, she's definitely paying for it. Her legs, back, arms, hands, everything aches. Maybe, she wasn't actually ready to fight because she thought after a few weeks of training, she wouldn't be sore. But now she's standing here in pain.

"You good?" Jason asks, putting his feet on the floor on his side of the bed, catching the wince on her face.

"Sore." Sam answers, walking carefully to the door and she hears Jason laugh from behind her. She turns to look at him, narrowing her eyes at him. "Oh, shut up."

"I didn't say anything." Jason defends through a tired chuckle.

"Ya laughed." Sam retorts.

"It's kind of funny." Jason chuckles, getting up from his spot and stretching, Sam noticing his shirt riding up a little with the action. Nice. "How're your hands?" He asks, walking over to her.

"Also sore." She looks down to her hands, opening and closing her fists.

"It'll fade in a day or two." Jason assures her.

"That'd be nice." Sam clears her throat as she reaches for the door. "Good?" She asks and Jason nods.

The two of them head to the kitchen, Jason following Sam. When they reach the kitchen, Gar and Rachel are already there finishing up their breakfast while Dick is standing behind the counter. The two of them get looks from the other three. Rachel looks confused and almost a little disgusted, it's as if she knows something neither of them are aware of. Gar looks sad, maybe a little heartbroken. That's the thing about Gar that Sam also really likes, he wears his feelings on his sleeve. He either doesn't try to hide how he feels or he's really bad at it. But, that makes Jason and Sam all the more confused. Clearly, they've missed something.

Sam takes a seat next to Gar and Jason a seat next to Sam. Gar and Rachel haven't looked away from Jason and Sam the whole time. Gar doesn't actually know anything. The only thing he knows is Dick looked pissed when he woke up this morning and Dick said he wanted to have some type of meeting because of something Sam and Jason did. That's all Dick would say about it and now with Sam and Jason walking in together, clearly having been in the same room since Sam's door was open when Gar got up. It looks very fucking weird.

"Why is everyone looking at us?" Sam breaks the silence while Dick leans against the sink, crossing his arms.

"I called a meeting because of the two of you." Dick explains but now he doesn't sound so mad, he just sounds...tired.

"What did you guys do?" Rachel's voice is accusatory. "You guys didn't get caught like...doing one of those things Dick said not to do." Rachel accuses, completely jumping to conclusions with the two of them walking in together and Sam leans over the counter to look past Gar with a confused expression. "In public."

"Oh, gross." Sam recoils back into her seat. "No! I would have more class than that!" Sam defends, annoyed about the conclusion she jumped to over one night.. "We went to Jerry's and I almost beat him to death."

Dick holds the bridge of his nose and he would have liked a calmer discussion about it. But, sure, that works and somehow, completely fits right in with every other conversation that happens in his tower. What did he really expect?

"You what?!" Gar and Rachel both yell, leaning over to look at Sam and Jason.

"It was pretty badass." Jason smirks with a huff.

Dick lets out an exasperated sigh. "No, it wasn't. It was stupid." Dick says, giving Jason a disapproving look.

"Yeah, that's a thing that happened last night." Sam sighs, leaning back and pulling her sleeves over her hands, Gar getting a glimpse at the bandages.

He's a little pissed off. First of all, it was stupid. She could have gotten hurt or taken again. He could have killed her and Jason if he had some type of power they didn't know about. They also could have gotten caught by someone else. It was stupid. But, he's also kind of upset that Sam took Jason. Gar definitely would have tried to talk her out of it, but he would have gone with her had he not been able to. But, she took Jason. Why Jason?

"Kind of offensive as fuck that you'd think we...what went at it in the living room?" Sam huffs because she isn't just gonna let that go and it's better than talking about last night. "Because I slept in his room?"

"What else would you have been doing?" Rachel tries to hold her stance. She knows she's wrong but she's also too proud to say that.

"Having a conversation, watching a movie. Literally, anything but that?" Sam fires back and why is it an issue when it's Jason but not Gar?

"Think she's just jealous, Sam." Jason chimes in, looking down the counter at Rachel who grimaces. "Gar and me, giving you attention, gotta get to her eventually, right?" Jason isn't gonna let Sam take all the heat from Rachel. She has to deal with Dick and she'll have to talk with Gar. Jason can shut Rachel up real quick.

"Fuck you, Jason!" Rachel yells. "I-"

"Okay, enough." Dick cuts Rachel off, tired of the back and forth that he knows Sam decided to pick at it to deflect the 's face is displeased as he looks to Sam. He is still a bit upset about last night. "So, because of last night's events and that time the two of you," Dick looks to Gar and Rachel, Sam and Jason wondering what the hell that's about. "Snuck off behind my back, I have a new rule."

"Here we go." Jason scoffs, resting his head on his fist.

"Curfew for all of you is ten and there'll be a lockdown. I'll be the only one with a code to unlock the tower to come and go after ten."

"Nice, guys." Rachel quips. Sam and Jason's fuse running shorter than usual with her this morning. What is her issue?

"Fuck you, Rachel. You didn't fucking go anywhere anyway." Jason huffs, looking down the counter at her. "He said it was your fault, too."

"That's not the point." Rachel snips. "We didn't almost kill anyone."

"Well, actually, I did...kill someone." Gar interjects. The argument starting to drive him insane. "We did get us, Dick, and Kory kidnapped and then I killed someone and then Dick killed people and then Kory killed people." Gar explains with a slight grimace.

Sam looks to Gar shocked. He never gave a vibe capable of murder, maybe it was the tiger. She's not sure but she's definitely curious about it. But, then she looks to Dick, wondering why it was such a big deal last night. At least she didn't kill anyone.

"We're not arguing about it. I'm just letting you guys know. You can't go off behind my back whenever you want. We have to have rules."

"You our dad now or something, Dick?" Jason quips.

"No." Dick shakes his head. "But I am in charge."

"Yeah? How's that working out?" Jason snips.

"That all?" Sam cuts between the argument that is sure to escalate. It's simply too fucking early for this shit.

"Yeah, that's it." Dick says.

"Cool, can I...go back to bed now? I'm tired."

"You should-"

"Should have thought about that before I snuck out at two in the morning and didn't go home until like four. Yeah, got it, I'll try harder." Sam cuts him off before hopping off of her seat and leaving without another word.

"Is she okay?" Gar asks, looking to Jason.

Jason shrugs. "She's probably just tired, man." Jason watches Sam, keeping his eyes off of Gar until Sam is out of view.

Jason's stare did not go unnoticed by Gar or Rachel. It's one thing for them to walk out together after last night and they both kind of thought maybe the flirting was just that. Jason flirts with everyone and Sam doesn't seem to entertain the idea of Jason seriously but now, Gar and Rachel think there might be more there. Maybe not for Sam, but for Jason. Gar is almost certain of it, at least.

"Where are you going?" Dick asks as Jason hops down from his seat and starts walking towards the hallway.

"Shower, got a problem with that, too, now?" Jason quips back and finishes walking off before Dick could say anything else.

Gar takes Jason's word for it and he figures someone should go check on Sam. Gar figures last night was probably a lot for her and maybe she'll want to talk some of it through or just want some company to keep her mind off of it. At the end of the day, Gar cares about her and they're friends. Dick isn't going to check on her and Rachel clearly isn't in the mood to be friendly with her. Jason is Jason so, Gar wants to do what he does best. Make sure she's okay.

Gar sucks in a breath and he starts moving to get off his seat but Rachel's hand on his shoulder stops him. "Let him do it." Rachel says softly.

"What?" Gar raises a brow at her.

"He's not going to shower." Rachel rolls her eyes. "He's just too Jason to say he's checking on Sam. Let him do it. She's not your problem."

"That's not..." Gar shakes his head and he can't figure out what Rachel's sudden issue is. To his knowledge, Rachel and Sam are on good terms but the way she worded that, he's thinking maybe not. "Did something happen between you two?"

"No." Rachel shakes her head. "But, she went off with Jason for a reason. If they wanna do whatever it is, let them."

"I don't think they're doing anything, Rachel." Gar defends and that aspect is none of their business. Gar is positive that Jason would have something to say if something more were going on or he would have flirty right in front of them right now. It is Jason.

"She slept in his room." Rachel rolls her eyes. "They flirt all the time, seems like something's going on and maybe they sealed the deal last night."

Dick groans from in front of them. "Do you have to have this conversation right now?"

"She sleeps in my room." Gar shrugs his shoulders, facing away from Rachel.

"Okay." Dick lets out a sigh. "She's your friend." Dick looks to Rachel. "You are Jason's friend," Dick looks to Gar. "If there's something, they'll tell you both."

"Because Sam is so forthcoming."

"She is with me." Gar quips, his own patience starting to run thin. "Maybe she thinks you judge her too much."

"And Jason doesn't?" Rachel chortles. "Jason is one of the most judgemental people I have ever met."

"Didn't you have a crush on him in Chicago?" Gar snaps back and he's sick of her talking poorly about his friend. Sure, Jason is a lot but they live together and they're on the same team. Jason only ever even stars shit with her when it's training. Outside of training, Rachel is usually the one to throw the first jab. "Maybe Jason's right, maybe you're just jealous or worried or something."

Rachel is not jealous. It's almost laughable because her two-second crush on Jason was just that. He's charming and nice to look at but then a lot of things spiraled and Jason hasn't exactly been nice to her since. But, she's worried that if Jason and Sam are together and something happens, it'll make Sam want to leave. Sam doesn't seem the type to stay when things get a little rough or when she's been hurt. Rachel likes having her around, even if Sam defends Jason a little too much. She just doesn't want to lose a friend, even when they fight.

"Shut up, Gar!" Rachel yells, cheeks flushing and Dick hates his life right about now.

"Look, last night was a lot for Sam. Maybe Jason is the right person to check on her since he was there. Neither of you were. So, finish eating and get ready for the day." Dick cuts the conversation tired of the back and forth and Gar and Rachel do as told, figuring it's best not to push more Dick's buttons today.

Sam is laying on her bed, her stare at the ceiling while her feet are planted on the floor. She's just not in the mood for it today. Every action has consequences and she does not want to deal with hers. She doesn't even know where she would start because so much happened between Jerry and the boy and then Jason and Dick. there's so much to unpack and she knows she'll have to do it but she does not want to do that today or listen to anyone yell at her about it.

There's a knock on Sam's door and before she can even tell them to go away, the door opens. She sits up just enough, expecting to see Gar but it's Jason. She almost does a double take. He just invites himself in now? And somehow, she's not even bothered by it.

"Sup?" He asks and he has that grin that makes Sam want to jump out of her skin.

"Sup?" She echoes, going back to her position.

Jason closes the door and walks over to the bed, looking down at her. "What're you doing?" There's a hint of a chuckle in his voice.

"Laying down." She keeps her eyes at the ceiling.

Jason sighs and matches her position, laying down beside her and staring up at the ceiling. Sam looks over at him with a raised brow. "You good?" He asks.

Sam looks back to the ceiling. "What the fuck is Rachel's problem?"

Jason lets out a huff. "What isn't her fucking problem?"

"No, I mean, there's obviously something. She like...really hates you, what is up with that? You're really not that bad."

"Not that bad." Jason echoes.

"I'm not gonna stroke your ego right now, I did that enough last night." Sam retorts with a laugh.

Jason laughs beside her, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. "Dunno." Jason answers. "Everything was fine until her dad possessed me and made me almost kill my best friend." Jason gains a snark to his voice. Sam wants to unpack that trauma instead of her own.

Sam looks over at him with a raised brow. "Yeah, Gar mentioned that." Sam sucks in a breath. "Seems you have more reason to hate her than she does you."

"Well, I'm just..." Jason stops himself, Sam watching him carefully. He glances at Sam for just a second and he's not gonna finish that thought. He knows how people view him and if he says it out loud, maybe Sam will start to view him like that, too. Unlikeable, unworthy, not good enough, unlovable. "You're deflecting." Jason matches her stare and something about them being so close makes the both of them feel warm again. Neither of them realized they had even been cold, not until they make eye contact.

"You did say I was very good at it." Sam looks back to the ceiling because the idea of looking him in the eye is suddenly nerve-wracking in a giddy kind of way.

"You are." Jason chuckles softly. "So, honestly, you alright?"

"I guess." Sam lets out a sigh. "Just...ya know? A lot still." Sam faces him again because she just can't help it.

Jason looks over at her just as she looks at him and maybe they should talk about last night. They did almost kiss, that was a thing that definitely would have happened had Dick not walked in. It's in the air now and they can feel it but they're both quiet about it. Sam doesn't want to bring it up because maybe it's a game to Jason. Part of the fun with him is that it's a game. She can't tell if he's serious or not about it and that's fun. But, if she brings it up, then it gets serious. She gets to find out exactly what's going on inside that head of his and she doesn't think she wants the answer if it's not what she wants. And Jason, he doesn't want to overstep if Gar is actively wanting to seek something out with her. He thinks he'll fuck it up anyway. Sam's been through a lot and if he's the one to bring it up, he's worried she'll reject him or worse, she'll want him, too. That's somehow so much worse because he ruins everything he touches. Everything and everyone's lives get worse because of him and he can't do that to her. So, he stays quiet about it, too.

"Wanna train?" He asks as she faces the ceiling, choosing to let her take it out on him instead of talking. "Get that shit off your mind?"

"Gonna go easy on me?" Sam quips, turning her head to face him as he faces the ceiling again.

Jason gains his signature smirk. "Said I would, didn't I?"

"That you did." Sam laughs softly.

"Get up then." Jason sits up and Sam follows suit.

"Hey, Jay." Sam calls and her eyes are tired but soft. "Thanks again for last night, I owe you."

Jason shakes his head. "Don't tell anyone about the reading and call it even.

"Why don't you want anyone to know?" Sam asks.

Sam can figure why but she asks anyway. To her, it's just reading. Lots and lots of people read. It doesn't seem like such a big deal but to Jason it is. There's something about it that he wants to hide and she wants to know what it is. She did ask him last night to tell her something, but she's also a little curious why he actually did and then why he invited her into his world. It was more than him telling her about it, it's that he read to her. Sam thinks everyone should see that side of him, it might change their opinion, if it means so much to him.

Jason shrugs a shoulder. "It's my thing." Jason scrunches his nose.

It is his thing. Bruce knows, of course, because Bruce buys him books and has an extensive library which he's found Jason in several times but that's it. It's his thing that no one can take that away. Libraries are free, there's one in every city. The internet contains free books, it's the one constant in his life. But, a part of Jason likes the rough exterior he gives off and maybe if people know he likes to read, it'll soften him, even just a bit and he doesn't like that idea very much.

"And you shared your thing with me." Sam gives him a pout and Jason nearly combusts as his heart thunders in his chest. "Awww, that's so sweet." She's joking with him but it makes her heart swell. It's his one thing and Sam is one of two people Jason chose to share it with.

"Shut the fuck up." Jason scoffs but there's a smile on his lips. "I can share another thing with you." He wiggles his brows at her.

Sam bursts into a fit of laughter and Jason's heart skips a beat while his stomach swirls with her laugh. Sam sucks in her laughter, letting out a sigh before getting her face an inch from his. "Only in your dreams, Jason Todd." Sam pulls away, getting a look at his flustered expression and she thinks Jason being flustered might be her favorite sight.

"My dreams just got better then." Jason quips right back.

Sam laughs again, her cheeks turning a bright red. "Shut up." She rolls her eyes and Jason's won the game again. "Come on." Sam gets up first and she offers a hand to him.

Jason takes it. "I'm not going too easy though." His eyes narrow flighty, a teasing grin on his lips.

"I don't expect you to." Sam holds her smile, Jason's hand still in hers.

There's almost a sadness that encompasses them with the realization that neither of them are going to bring up the elephant in the room. Jason expected Sam to. She's blunt enough to say something or maybe even try to finish it. She doesn't seem the type to be afraid of that kind of thing, if she were, she wouldn't openly flirt with him and Gar. But, she doesn't and it makes him a little sad. Not shocked, just a little sad. And Sam, she expects Jason to make some joke about it or something. He should have a quip or something but he doesn't. He acts like he didn't almost happen and she even expects him to finish it from last night. Jason doesn't seem the type to her to just let that stuff get brushed under the rug. She actually expects Jason to be blunt about it and cocky because he is about literally everything else. If he wanted her, Sam thinks he'd do something about it so it hurts, just a little. But, they keep quiet about it and pretend it didn't happen as they walk to the training room.

Later that night, the teens all find themselves in their separate rooms. Rachel has kept her distance from Sam and Jason. Sam figures it's best not to pry and she'll figure it out later. Jason and Sam spent a good portion of the day sparring and throwing knives, Jason will probably always have her beat with sparring but she has him beat with knives. Gar joined them for a little while sparring, too which was nice for both of them. It eased some of the awkwardness they've created from the night before and from not talking. So, after the last training session, everyone took their showers and went off to their rooms for the night. But, Gar hasn't had much of a chance to talk to Sam one-on-one today and figures now might be a good time. He still wants to know what happened and Sam has been quieter than she normally is today.

Gar knocks on Sam's door and she opens it within seconds, allowing him in with a smile before walking to her spot on the couch. The thing about Gar is that he's predictable. Sam knew he'd be coming to her room to talk about what happened last night because they didn't talk about it earlier. Jason was the one who checked on her which means Gar doesn't know the story and Sam knows he'll need to make sure she's okay because that's what he does. Gar always makes sure everyone is okay and he's predictable. There's a sense of comfort in his predictability.

"Are you okay?" Gar asks as he walks over and sits beside Sam. She nods, smiling softly at him but there's a tiredness in her eyes. "Did you want to talk about what happened last night?" Gar trends carefully not sure how Sam is going to react. Gar is predictable, Sam is not.

"Beat up Jerry." Sam answers, looking at the TV.

She isn't intentionally being quiet. There's just a lot to process and training allows her to do that without talking. Jason allows her to process without talking when he read to her. Sam likes to process in silence but a part of her thinks that might end up being her downfall. Being quiet about everything that has ever felt too heavy has only ever led her down paths of chaos. Maybe she should talk more.

"Yeah, but why would you do that? You said you wouldn't risk it and then you did?" Gar's words hold more force than they normally do. "And you took Jason?"

Sam looks at him, surprised that's what he's upset about. Jason?

Sam lets out s sigh. "I didn't...pick him." Sam says, keeping her voice soft. "He figured I'd go after him with the newscast. He waited in the kitchen and caught me." Sam explains and she feels bad. She didn't think he'd be upset about Jason going with her.

"You were gonna go alone?" The worry stretches across Gar's face and through his words, almost breaking her heart. Sam never considered how worried Gar would be had this gone south. He's worried now and it all worked out, relatively okay.

Sam nods. "I didn't want to involve anymore." There's a sense of shame that fills her bones and maybe she deserves to feel like this.

Gar is just worried about her. He's not even upset anymore. He was initially because she said she wouldn't go after Jerry and it was dangerous. And then she brought Jason. It all just hurt him and freaked him out at the same time. Then all day, she's quiet. She didn't have many quips for Jason, there wasn't that banter or the usual kind comment she makes to Gar. She never tried to sort it out with Rachel like she did when they had a small argument two weeks ago. Gar's just worried and he wants to help. And Sam knows that. He isn't trying to guilt her or shame her. But, she worried him because he cares about her and if the roles were reserved, she wouldn't be so nice about it

"Why didn't you come talk to me about it?" Gar asks softly.

There are a few reasons she didn't just talk to Gar about it. A part of her is truly terrified that she'll be too much for him. She doesn't want to ruin him with her eternal pessimism and baggage. She'd never hesitate had she met him before the trauma. It would have been easy then but now she has all this bullshit weighing her shoulders down so much it's hard to even get out of bed. She doesn't want to ruin him or break him because she's drowning. Bringing Gar down with her would be unforgivable.

But, a part of her also wanted to be mad. Sam's been mad for a long time but the anger and fury were suppressed by the need to stay alive. She didn't have time or patience or energy to be mad and furious about any of it. All of her energy went into breathing and keeping her mind focused on an escape plan. No part of her had this energy to spend to be mad and sulk about every bad thing that's happened to her in the last two years. Seeing Jerry on the news, it was as if it gave her permission to finally be really, really pissed about it. To be pissed at him for the unforgivable shit he did. The ghost in her mind won but maybe she let it, as bad as it sounds and as guilty as she feels about it. But how is she supposed to tell Gar any of that?

"I dunno." Sam shrugs. "Talking's not my strong suit, I guess." Sam tugs her sleeves down over her hands.

"You can always talk to me about it, Sam." Gar urges. "Or we can talk about something else if you don't wanna talk about that."

Sam hangs her head. "I know. I, uh, I just...I dunno. I wish I had a better reason, but I don't. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Gar's face softens but he's still worried about her. "Did...it help?"

Sam shakes her head. "No, it did not." Sam finally looks at him and the guilt is suffocating. "Jason had to pull me off of him. I just...completely lost my fucking mind. Um, the fucker had a little boy in the basement chained like me."

"Wait, what?" Gar's eyes widen.

"Yeah, I found him. That's how Dick found out, I had Jason call while I freed the kid."

"Shit, that's horrible. Is he okay?"

"Traumatized probably, but yeah." Sam nods. "He said Jerry didn't hurt him."

"That's...wow." Gar looks forward, trying to process what she just told him.

"Yeah..." Sam sucks in a deep breath. "It was a lot so, um, Dick was pretty pissed. Jason...actually was pretty helpful and nice about it believe it or not." Sam scoffs, gaining a bit of a smile thinking about the kindness that Jason showed. "It was pretty late and I didn't want to wake you up and have to explain everything that happened. It felt like...it was just too much." Sam shakes her head. "I didn't... wanna even think about it anymore and waking you up would mean thinking about it. So, I went to Jason's room so I wouldn't be alone and he let me just be." Sam neglects the part about the book, not just because she promised Jason, but because she likes the idea of keeping that part of a secret between just the two of them.

"He can be kind of a pretty good friend." Gar smiles softly at her, glad that she at least had him and he wasn't an asshole for once. Actually, Jason kind of treats her better than he treats anyone else at the tower.

"Yeah, he is." Sam nods. "So, nothing happened. I saw the look on your face when we walked out this morning." Sam chews the inside of her cheek. It feels like a lie but it's not because nothing happened. She didn't bring it up and neither did Jason but him not bringing it up, tells her there's nothing more. It's a game and that's okay.

"Oh, uh," Gar gives an awkward chuckle. "That wasn't-"

"It's fine. It was weird, I'm sure." Sam shrugs it off because she doesn't want to talk about that either but it was important that she clarified it, especially with Rachel's comments. "Are you doing anything tonight?" Sam asks.

"Not anything out of the ordinary." Gar chuckles softly.

"Did you wanna just hang out?" Sam asks. "Watch movies, not talk about...the shit."

There's something going on, Gar can see it. He expects her to deal with last night, of course but something isn't sitting right. Something in the very pit of his stomach is telling him there's something more going on, something maybe bad. Something's wrong and he wants to know what. He wants to help. Even in serious conversations, Sam at least smiles more or smirks or has some type of smartass comment about something. This time, she's dry like she's just trying to get to the end of the conversation as quick as possible. And Gar starts to worry more about her. But, he agrees to not talk about it for now.

Gar goes off to the kitchen to grab a snack while Sam grabs her comforter and moves to the couch. She picks one of her comfort movies and pauses it to wait for Gar. While she waits, she checks her phone, something that almost felt like an impulse. The only one who knows she's even...around are the people in the tower but apparently, those years of being glued to her phone have left a muscle memory that comes back like riding a bike. It's a weird thing to do as she thinks about it, but she shrugs it off and scrolls through Tiktok to kill time.

"What're we watching?" Gar asks as he plops down beside Sam, a bowl of strawberries, with the tops cut off, in hand.

Her face lights up with the bowl of fruit. "Jurassic Park." Sam hits play, scooting closer to Gar and snatching a strawberry.

"Imagine if that actually worked." Gar says, almost in amazement as he grabs his own strawberry.

"There is literally an entire movie franchise as to why that's a bad idea. We're watching the first that proves that." Sam laughs softly.

"Yeah, I know but like imagine having a triceratops in your backyard or something." Gar shrugs at her. "That'd be awesome."

Sam's eyes narrow. "Okay, now hear me out."

Gar nods, a cheeky smile pulling at his lips. "You have my attention."

"You turn into a triceratops and we don't have to worry about anyone being eaten or impaled or stomped on." Sam pops another strawberry into her mouth. "I'll take pictures to show you and it'll be kind of the same thing."

Gar lets out a booming laugh. "That's not the same thing! It doesn't count if I'm the dinosaur!"

"IT COULD, GARFIELD." Sam yells with a laugh, completely ignoring the start of the movie.

"Nah." Gar's laugh subsides as he shakes his head, the smile turning a little sad. "I can only turn into a tiger."

Sam gives him a sympathetic smile. "You told me you turned into a snake once, though! So, I think you could turn into a dinosaur." Her smile turns reassuring as her eyes soften.

Gar gives her a one-sided smile, still a bit sad. "Yeah, that was different though. I was almost killed by my friends and it just happened. It's like there's this block...I can't transform into anything else unless I'm really scared."

Sam pursed her lips before moving her mouth side-to-side. "Yeah," She shrugs. "But maybe that's like the thing though. Maybe it was the trauma that made it happen so if you can figure out how to channel that, maybe you can change into something else whenever you wanted. Dr. Caulder said you could, in theory." Sam lets out a breath. "Maybe talking could help?" Sam suggests because if she's learned anything so far, it's that talking about it does tend to help even temporarily and even when she does not want to. Even just a little bit, it helps and she's learned that from Gar. She thinks maybe Gar should take his own advice talk about it a little bit.

"Yeah, maybe." Gar shrugs.

"You could talk to me. I bitch a lot but I can be a pretty good listener." Sam's lips curl into a cheesy smile.

Gar chuckles softly. "Thanks, it means a lot."

"I think you could do it. I think you could do anything, really."

"Yeah? Why?"

Sam shrugs. "Dunno, I just believe in you." Sam smiles softly at him, going in for another strawberry. "Does it hurt? When you turn into a tiger?"

Gar shakes his head. "Not really." He answers and he gains this look of fondness as he starts to talk. "It's like...electricity flowing through you but it doesn't hurt." Gar holds his voice with ease. "I just feel so strong and I wanna...break shit and scream in a good way. It feels...empowering."

"I think that's pretty cool." Sam's voice is soft as she looks at Gar with endearment. "You deserve to feel powerful."

Gar quirks his head to the right, questioning what she means by that. It's not that he doesn't feel powerful, he doesn't. Not really, not in human form. But, why should he feel powerful? He's safe in a tower with his friends. He's a Titan which is probably the coolest thing that's ever happened to him. He has freedom for the first time in a long time.

"I mean not like a power trip thing or anything." Sam clarifies. "I mean powerful in the sense that you stand up for yourself and powerful in the sense that like you just get to be you, unapologetically and shamelessly."

Caulder Manor wasn't all bad. He was safe and always had food. He had his video games and he did have people there who were nice, though they weren't really interested in anything Gar had to say usually. Except for Rita, Rita usually let Gar talk about whatever he wanted. But, he was never allowed to stand up for himself. The Chief would gaslight him, tell him that he was wrong because The Chief always knew what was right. The Chief controlled him and made it seem like it was in Gar's best interest and his safety was of the utmost concern. Clearly, it wasn't. But, a part of that is basically conditioned into Gar now. It's hard to suddenly be able to speak his mind without judgment. It's something he gets to unlearn in a safe environment.

"Thank you." Gar's smile is soft and shy. "You do, too, ya know? Maybe...without the violence though." Gar's forehead wrinkles as the smile turns quirky.

"Ha-ha." Sam mocks. "Funny." She laughs softly. "Yeah, I will try not to be violent again."

"You could get a hobby that isn't violent." Gar suggests, popping a strawberry into his mouth.

"I have hobbies that aren't violent!" Sam puts a hand over her chest, faking offense. Gar just looks at her with a wrinkled forehead and narrowed eyes. "I watch movies and TV, that's a hobby."

Gar hums. "Is it though?"

Sam scoffs, the smile still tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Okay, since you're so smart, what hobby should I have?" Sam props her arm on the back of the couch, eyeing Gar with curiosity.

He shifts in his seat. "I don't know." He laughs, tilting his head back. "Do you draw? Paint? Play an instrument? Photography? Video games." Gar gives her a slick smile with the last suggestion.

Sam gives him a shy grin, tilting her head to the left and right. "I used to do some scrapbooking." Sam scrunches her face.

"Wait, but that's like really cool." Gar shakes his head, a sweet smile turning up his lips.

"You think so?" Sam asks, voice laced with hints of confusion.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Gar scoffs. "Isn't like really time-consuming? And doesn't it take patience and practice to make it look good?"

"I dunno. Not many people seemed interested in it, I guess." Sam feels her cheeks turning red. "Yeah, it can take a little while depending on what you're trying to do. I always had a theme for a page or a book and then I'd have to find what I was looking for that matched or take the pictures to fill in some spaces." Sam explains. "I would do extra chores to earn money to buy everything." Sam laughs softly.

Sam always liked the idea of preserving memories in tangible things. In an instant, everything can be ripped from her and it was. She didn't get to take anything with her unfortunately but the thought was there. If something ever happened, she'd have memories in a book, fully decorated and themed to whatever she wanted. It makes her sad thinking about it because she knows she'll probably never see those books or some of those photos ever again.

"You should pick it up again." Gar beams at her. "Maybe you could show me."

"I don't wanna bore you." Sam laughs.

"You can't bore me." Gar shrugs as if it was the easiest thing he's ever said.

"Well, that's very sweet." Sam says softly, Gar's cheeks starting to burn. "Maybe, we'll see." Sam tugs at the sleeves of her hoodie, covering her bandaged hands. "Are you okay?" She asks bluntly.

Gar's brows furrow, a shake to his head. "Yeah, why?"

Sam shrugs one shoulder. "I don't ask you very much. You're always checking on me and you said your friends almost killed you and that got you to transform."

"Oh." Gar huffs, looking to his lap. "Yeah."

Sam's eyes narrow slightly while her heart starts to ache. He's mentioned it before, just once, and he brushed over it then, too. He said Trigon made everyone do it but Sam feels like maybe there might be a part of that where it doesn't matter. He was terrified enough to transform into a snake so it must have been crushing. And from Sam's own experience, it's always at least a little scary having someone you're supposed to trust come at you.

"You brush it off." Sam says quietly. "You don't have to. Not with me."

Gar's eyes go soft, holding sadness. He always feels like he can't talk about it. Everyone is just...okay. Jason and Dick were the ones possessed. Rachel ended up losing her parents, and killing her own dad even though he was a demon. No one really understands what it was like looking up and seeing his friends try to kill him. They weren't themselves but it was their faces and it was their bodies.

"It was just pretty scary, ya know?" Gar says, his eyes dodging Sam's.

"Yeah, I bet." Sam nods with understanding.

"I don't." Gar shakes his head, brows raising as he tries to find words. "I don't wanna be mad about it because I know it wasn't them but..."

"It was them. In a way?" Sam asks.

"Yeah." Gar exhales sharply. "And everyone got to move on, ya know? It hurt, a lot." Gar nods his head, pain in his voice. "But, what was I supposed to do? After Rachel killed Trigon, we piled into the jeep for a road trip. Jason and Dick were always there. I didn't..." Gar pauses, feeling a mix of anger and sadness. "I didn't have any time to be away from them."

"It's okay." Sam assures him, scooting closer to him. "Like, to be upset about it. You should have had some time to recover."

"I don't have anywhere else to go." Gar's voice is so small and Sam's heart breaks for him.

"Do you wanna leave?" Sam asks.

Gar shakes his head quickly. "No, no, of course not. I do really like it here and Jason's my best friend and I like Dick, too. But, I wish I had somewhere I could go to get away for a few days, sometimes." Gar bites the inside of his bottom lip.

"It's not the same or anything, but...you can escape in here if you want. It's still the tower and they'll always be around, but maybe it'll help."

Gar pulls a tiny, sad smile to his lips. "Thank you, Sam."

"We can make a 'keep out' sign. Only tigers allowed." Sam nudges him, pulling a teasing smile to her face.

Gar rolls his eyes but the smile grows. "We can see how long it'll take Jason to break down the door." Gar chuckles.

"Oh, I would give it about ten minutes. You put a keep-out sign on something and I think he'll take it as a welcome sign." Sam laughs. "But, really, I'll fight any of 'em that wanna bug you when you're in here."

"I don't know if you stand much of a chance." Gar chuckles, glancing between her hands and her eyes.

"For you, I do." Sam holds her head up high and Gar's stomach twists, chest exploding with warmth. "So," Sam starts. "I go to you when I have a nightmare and don't wanna be alone and you can come in here when you wanna be alone. I'll even leave you alone if you want. I can just put in earbuds or something, I don't mind."

Gar shakes his head. "You don't have to. I like talking to you." Gar gives her a sweet smile. "It's different with you since you weren't there almost beating me to death." Gar lets out a dry chuckle.

"A fair point." Sam matches the chuckle. "Well, just let me know."

Gar wonders how she does it. How she has room for him in herself. Yeah, last night she went rogue and emotions took over every part of her actions and she has nightmares at least a few days a week. She's not okay, not by a long shot. But, she's really good at either hiding it or seeming like she's fine most of the time. And Gar wants to know how she manages it and why.

For him, it's like he can't because he doesn't have anywhere else to go or anyone to talk to. Rachel is too close to Dick to talk about it and she hates Jason anyway. Talking to Rachel about it isn't going to make him feel any better. He has to fake just being okay with it, a clean slate and all that shit. He has no choice. And he's always the caregiver. The one who's always asking everyone else if they're okay because checking in on other people means he doesn't have to check in with himself, dealing with all the emotional baggage that slouches his shoulders. But, he wonders so much how Sam can do it with everything that she has been through because Gar knows even he'd never be able to pull himself out of bed if that happened to him. And he knows he wouldn't have enough room in himself to help other people. But why does she do it? It's not like anyonewould judge her if she sat in her room for a week and just cried, grieved for everything she has lost and everything that's happened. But she doesn't.

Every day, Sam gets up and does her chores, gets ready for the day with what seems to be, ease. She trains just as hard as they do, Gar even swears she trains as hard as Jason which is something insane to watch. Sam doesn't have to do any of it and she does. And she makes jokes, smartass jokes but jokes nonetheless and she hangs out with the group whenever everyone is together. Despite everything, she pulls herself together and Gar doesn't understand how or why she's able to do it. He admires it but he's also equally worried that she'll snap one day. It'll drag her down so far she won't be able to come back from it. It's all gotta hit at some point and he hopes she knows he'll always be there, despite what he's dealing with.

"Thank you." Gar nods at her before reaching over and pulling her into a hug.

Sam hugs him back instantly. Physical touch has never been her strong suit. Hugging, holding hands, just a comforting hand on a shoulder. It's never been her thing. It's not that she minds it all too much, but her reaching out to someone always feels too much. It makes everything feel real and when someone needs one of those things, feeling real makes it all a little too scary and a little too painful, even for her. But, then there's Gar and Jason who make acts of physical touch seem effortless. It feels okay to be a little too exposed and let the pain hurt when it's with them because it won't last forever. There's something comforting in it, with them.

"Sorry." Gar pulls away.

"Don't apologize." Sam shakes her head. "I like when you hug me." Sam's words are nonchalant. "I've never been much of a hugger but with you, it's nice." Sam's smile goes shy, cheeks turning red.

Gar's chest blooms with confidence. "Oh, okay, that's...that's great then." He nods a few times as if trying not to be too excited about it and Sam thinks he's adorable.

"Well, should we actually watch the movie now?" Sam laughs softly.

"Yeah, yeah, start it over! I haven't watched it in a while."

"Shocking considering your love for both classic and, apparently, dinosaurs."

"Dinosaurs are cool!" Gar defends.

"Triceratops are my favorite." Sam gains this teasing grin as she faces the TV and Gar shakes his head, feeling comfortable with Sam.