p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It was a perfectly mundane Wednesday, the sky was clouded over but mercifully dry. There was nothing extraordinary about the way Roy practically inhaled a few of Alfred's brownies. Jason always brought extra for his friend. Roy didn't have anyone to bake treats for him, and Jason would share anything with Roy. It was a completely standard lunch hour, Jason watched his friend with a fondly sincere gaze, chuckled at the chocolate smudge on his chin. Anyone looking in on them would find nothing unusual./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"But Jason's heart was beating fiercely in his chest, and he's on the verge of slight panic. He didn't know when or how this happened. There was no singular event that triggered this revelation, it was a painfully anticlimactic epiphany, and he didn't know how to deal with all that he's feeling, didn't know where to put these thoughts. Roy flicked his tongue out to lick away the crumbs at the edge of his mouth, and Jason loved him. That was it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason wanted Roy to never leave. He realised that his friend was so vastly important, had worked into everything until nothing else mattered as much. And the force of that acknowledgment had thrown the younger boy for a loop, but at the same time, perhaps he should've seen this coming all along. He could see how Roy was hurting, and it made him ache inside that he was helpless to stop it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Even from the beginning, Jason had thrown all of his rules out of the window to be whatever Roy needed. He'd lied to Bruce, even though he'd known that Roy would've forgiven his absence at the gig. Jason had never, ever thought he'd be in a position where he would disrespect his guardian for the sake of someone else. But Roy hadn't even asked that of him, yet he'd done it without hesitation, like it had been the only logical course of action. Jason was not usually comfortable with casual physical affection, it was a byproduct of his childhood, a fear that arms extended under the guise of comfort could ultimately do him harm. Yet every lingering touch between him and Roy made him want to cling longer, get closer./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Roy had no idea. Roy saw himself as less than he was, as if undeserving of the affection he was starved for. And it made Jason feel sick to think about, didn't Roy know that he deserved everything? Jason knew his friend wouldn't believe him if he were to tell him so. The younger boy had been through enough to know that some wounds never truly heal, and break open again at the slightest touch, weep past their bandages. He was determined to prove to Roy in time, that he was worth more than what he was being given./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Now that Jason had accepted his feelings, he was anxious about how he would handle then in practise. He couldn't tell Roy now, it was too much and there was too much going on with Roy, Jason was sure he still didn't know the extent of it. Not to mention that there were too many secrets between them still for him to feel comfortable making himself so vulnerable by spilling his heart out./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Roy noted that Jason was quieter than usual, his eyes were a little glazed over, there was a distant expression on his face. He waved a hand in front of the younger boy's face in a bid to get him to focus. Jason jerked back to the present, blinking owlishly and promptly dropping his gaze to the table top./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Roy frowned, he nudged Jason's arm with his elbow and quirked a brow, "What's up?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Nothing," Jason said immediately, and then chuckled nervously./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Roy just arched his eyebrow further, thoroughly unconvinced. He stared at his friend for a long moment, before ultimately deciding to let it slide. He was confident that Jason would talk to him about it whenever he was ready. With a shrug, Roy turned his attention back to his lunch. He could feel Jason's gaze burning a hole in the side of his face, without looking up he simply grumbled, "Seriously, man, what?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Nothing," Jason repeated, picking up his half-eaten sandwich, "It's nothing."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"But it wasn't nothing. It was anything but./p
hr style="margin: 0.875em auto 1.2525em; border-style: solid; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; width: 359.234px; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bruce Wayne had noticed a change in his son. Jason seemed a lot more open than he'd ever seen him, animated in ways that were subtle but wholly different to how he'd been previously. Jason had always been enthusiastic about his life at Wayne Manor, grateful and eager in all aspects of his new home, but there was something specific about his recent positivity. Bruce would've had to have been blind to not see the direct correlation between Jason's attitude and a boy named Roy Harper. Bruce had yet to meet the boy in Oliver Queen's care, and Jason had told him that he had yet to meet Oliver. The fact that Jason spent a lot of time at Queen Mansion but had yet to meet the man himself rang alarm bells, but Bruce didn't mention it, he decided that he'd wait it out a little longer to see how things progressed. Jason seemed happy, and the friendship between the two boys seemed to be good for them both. If something isn't broken, don't go trying to fix it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"But, much more recently, Bruce had noticed that Jason was distant, pensive. The teenager was easily distracted and not as talkative to either him or Alfred. There was clearly something bothering him, Bruce could swear he could hear the cogs turning in Jason's mind as he thought. Deciding to check on his young ward, Bruce made his way to Jason's room, and he peered around the door. Jason was led out on his stomach across the rug, his homework was spread before him, but his eyes were unfocused and turned towards the window, his hand absentmindedly tapped his pen against the paper, a repetitive, off-beat sound that he didn't seem to be aware of causing. Bruce frowned slightly, worry creased his brow and he knocked on the door to draw Jason's attention./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason was conflicted. Ever since his sudden revelation in the cafeteria the previous week he'd been floundering. He'd tried to back-pedal. There was a part of him that wanted to remain in denial, because it would be easier for the time being to simply pretend that nothing had changed. There was a deep-seated fear within him, and a nagging worry that his feelings wouldn't be returned, that if he were to come clean to Roy - not just about the extent of his affections - but about himself in general, then he would lose Roy entirely. Roy's friendship was too precious, the camaraderie they'd obtained was something that Jason valued very highly, and he'd come to the conclusion that it didn't matter what role Roy filled in his life, as long as Roy continued to be a part of it. He'd wondered if he was simply over-reacting. It was perfectly plausible that he was. After all, he'd never even been close to span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"in love/span with someone before. It was a serious declaration to make, a wild and important word that he didn't want to simply throw around. There were many, many forms of love. And sure, he could love Roy without being span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"in love/span with him. He wondered if maybe that was all it was. Maybe all of his over-analyzing had made his appreciation for his friend into something that it wasn't. But, on the flip-side of that, as Jason had no basis for comparison, he also couldn't span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"rule out/span the very real possibility that he was, in fact, in love with his best friend. It was complicated, there were so many factors to consider./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Another concern that Jason had was that, he was 16, and up until recently he'd had no desire or intention of dating anyone. He'd never met anyone that he felt he could build something with. A lot of that he'd contributed to his past, it was difficult for him to trust people and be open about his feelings, so it would stand to reason that he'd be reluctant and unenthusiastic about romance as a result. But, now these conflicting feelings about Roy were mixing everything up to the point where Jason wasn't sure what he wanted anymore. And, span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"if/span his feelings for Roy were as real as he thought they might be, what did it mean that the first person that he'd felt like dating was another boy? His first thought was that maybe he was gay, but he quickly dismissed that, because it wasn't span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"boys/span he was attracted to, but rather span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"boy/span, singular and specific to Roy in particular. The whole thing was giving him a headache, and the very thought that he might need to eventually explain all of it to Bruce made him want to puke. He was mostly annoyed at himself, he was working himself up over nothing, it wasn't like he and Roy would ever be dating anyway. The only time he'd seen Roy express interest in anyone was at Battle of the Bands, and that had been a girl./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The sharp knock on his door had him whipping his head around so fast his neck hurt with the movement. He catalogued the almost weary expression on his guardian's face as the man stepped into the room. He offered Bruce a small smile and tilted his head in inquiry./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""How's the homework going? Do you need any help?" Bruce asked, more as a way to start a conversation than anything else. He knew that if Jason needed assistance he would've sought it out./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bruce had always felt that he and Jason had established an honest, loving relationship, in which Jason knew and trusted that he could come to him with any problems. The fact that there was clearly something going on with his son that Bruce wasn't privy to, didn't sit well with him. He'd briefly consulted with Alfred about the slight change in Jason's general demeanor. The butler had tried to impart to Bruce that Jason was a teenager, and long overdue for a friendship that allowed him a little healthy, adolescent freedom. It was perfectly standard for Jason to distance himself from his legal guardian slightly in favour of spending time with a friend his own age. Though the millionaire conceded to the Englishman's point, he was still a little uncomfortable with the possibility that something could be bothering Jason, perhaps he could help, but he couldn't do that if Jason didn't talk to him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason gave a small sigh and shook his head, the smile he gave his guardian was genuine, if not a little muted, "Nah, I'm okay. I can handle it. Just a little distracted, I guess."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Oh?" Bruce asked, as if he hadn't already presumed as much, "You wanna tell me what's on your mind?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It's not important, just stuff," Jason hedged, an indifferent shrug accompanied his words, but Bruce wasn't convinced./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Taking a stab in the dark Bruce wondered, "Does it have anything to do with your friend Roy?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bruce watched, almost baffled as Jason bit into his bottom lip almost shyly, there was a rush of blood under his pale skin and he looked almost embarrassed. Bruce hadn't anticipated such a telling response. Jason reached a hand back to scratch at the back of his neck. "Uh...You don't mind that I'm hanging out with him, right? I mean, I know you don't like him too much, but..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It wasn't strictly true, not by any stretch. Bruce thought that Jason's lying had been irresponsible and reckless, he'd pondered the possibility of Roy being a bad influence, but he'd never met the boy, and wasn't one to pass judgments so quickly. He recognized that Jason was responsible for his own wrong-doing, regardless of the motivation. He thought perhaps he should make an effort to get to know the boy that had caused such a change in his son, however, he didn't want to step on any toes, or stick his nose in where it wasn't wanted. At 16, most kids didn't want their parents interfering with their business. Bruce weighed up his options./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Jason, I've never said I don't like him, I was disappointed in your choices, and he might have been a part of that, but I don't blame him, or you...It's normal for you to want to step out a little more," Bruce took a seat on the foot of Jason's bed, and glanced down upon the boy who was still spread out on the floor, his head was tilted back to meet the older man's eyes. "Maybe you should invite him around for dinner next week, it's about time he came around here. You always go over there," When Jason didn't immediately respond, Bruce patted him on the shoulder before getting up to leave, "Just think about it,"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason watched Bruce leave and softly close the door behind him. With a sigh, he turned back to his homework, that lay unfinished before him. He was utterly unmotivated to complete the task set out. He wanted to talk to Roy. Despite his inner turmoil and confusion in regards to the extent and definition of his feelings, he still felt that Roy was essential, that somehow even with all of the over-thinking and pending panic, just speaking with the older boy calmed everything down, it was so effortless. With a quick glance at the clock, Jason knew that Roy would still be at band practice, it was a Friday night after all. He wished he could text him, just to say that he missed him, he wished he was in a position to do something like that and have it be simple./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It took just under an hour for him to complete his assignment, and once he'd finished he promptly filed it away in his backpack, so that it would be where he needed it be come Monday morning, it was comforting to have that little thing organized. It brought him peace of mind to know that he wouldn't need to touch his school things at all for the whole weekend, and they'd be ready for him when he needed them. He headed down to the kitchen to retrieve the left-overs that Alfred had dished up for him. He tapped a beat upon the marble counter top as he waited for the microwave to count down. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone vibrated in his pocket, the microwave beeping obnoxiously a few seconds later./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"strong[text: Roy]:/strong Hey, what're you doing? :)/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason couldn't help but smile as he quickly thumbed in a response. Roy was out with his band mates, who've known him longer than Jason has, who have more in common with him than Jason does, yet Roy still wanted to talk to span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"him/span. That had to mean something, didn't it? Jason really hoped it did./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"But Jason's heart was beating fiercely in his chest, and he's on the verge of slight panic. He didn't know when or how this happened. There was no singular event that triggered this revelation, it was a painfully anticlimactic epiphany, and he didn't know how to deal with all that he's feeling, didn't know where to put these thoughts. Roy flicked his tongue out to lick away the crumbs at the edge of his mouth, and Jason loved him. That was it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason wanted Roy to never leave. He realised that his friend was so vastly important, had worked into everything until nothing else mattered as much. And the force of that acknowledgment had thrown the younger boy for a loop, but at the same time, perhaps he should've seen this coming all along. He could see how Roy was hurting, and it made him ache inside that he was helpless to stop it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Even from the beginning, Jason had thrown all of his rules out of the window to be whatever Roy needed. He'd lied to Bruce, even though he'd known that Roy would've forgiven his absence at the gig. Jason had never, ever thought he'd be in a position where he would disrespect his guardian for the sake of someone else. But Roy hadn't even asked that of him, yet he'd done it without hesitation, like it had been the only logical course of action. Jason was not usually comfortable with casual physical affection, it was a byproduct of his childhood, a fear that arms extended under the guise of comfort could ultimately do him harm. Yet every lingering touch between him and Roy made him want to cling longer, get closer./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Roy had no idea. Roy saw himself as less than he was, as if undeserving of the affection he was starved for. And it made Jason feel sick to think about, didn't Roy know that he deserved everything? Jason knew his friend wouldn't believe him if he were to tell him so. The younger boy had been through enough to know that some wounds never truly heal, and break open again at the slightest touch, weep past their bandages. He was determined to prove to Roy in time, that he was worth more than what he was being given./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Now that Jason had accepted his feelings, he was anxious about how he would handle then in practise. He couldn't tell Roy now, it was too much and there was too much going on with Roy, Jason was sure he still didn't know the extent of it. Not to mention that there were too many secrets between them still for him to feel comfortable making himself so vulnerable by spilling his heart out./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Roy noted that Jason was quieter than usual, his eyes were a little glazed over, there was a distant expression on his face. He waved a hand in front of the younger boy's face in a bid to get him to focus. Jason jerked back to the present, blinking owlishly and promptly dropping his gaze to the table top./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Roy frowned, he nudged Jason's arm with his elbow and quirked a brow, "What's up?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Nothing," Jason said immediately, and then chuckled nervously./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Roy just arched his eyebrow further, thoroughly unconvinced. He stared at his friend for a long moment, before ultimately deciding to let it slide. He was confident that Jason would talk to him about it whenever he was ready. With a shrug, Roy turned his attention back to his lunch. He could feel Jason's gaze burning a hole in the side of his face, without looking up he simply grumbled, "Seriously, man, what?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Nothing," Jason repeated, picking up his half-eaten sandwich, "It's nothing."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"But it wasn't nothing. It was anything but./p
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p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bruce Wayne had noticed a change in his son. Jason seemed a lot more open than he'd ever seen him, animated in ways that were subtle but wholly different to how he'd been previously. Jason had always been enthusiastic about his life at Wayne Manor, grateful and eager in all aspects of his new home, but there was something specific about his recent positivity. Bruce would've had to have been blind to not see the direct correlation between Jason's attitude and a boy named Roy Harper. Bruce had yet to meet the boy in Oliver Queen's care, and Jason had told him that he had yet to meet Oliver. The fact that Jason spent a lot of time at Queen Mansion but had yet to meet the man himself rang alarm bells, but Bruce didn't mention it, he decided that he'd wait it out a little longer to see how things progressed. Jason seemed happy, and the friendship between the two boys seemed to be good for them both. If something isn't broken, don't go trying to fix it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"But, much more recently, Bruce had noticed that Jason was distant, pensive. The teenager was easily distracted and not as talkative to either him or Alfred. There was clearly something bothering him, Bruce could swear he could hear the cogs turning in Jason's mind as he thought. Deciding to check on his young ward, Bruce made his way to Jason's room, and he peered around the door. Jason was led out on his stomach across the rug, his homework was spread before him, but his eyes were unfocused and turned towards the window, his hand absentmindedly tapped his pen against the paper, a repetitive, off-beat sound that he didn't seem to be aware of causing. Bruce frowned slightly, worry creased his brow and he knocked on the door to draw Jason's attention./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason was conflicted. Ever since his sudden revelation in the cafeteria the previous week he'd been floundering. He'd tried to back-pedal. There was a part of him that wanted to remain in denial, because it would be easier for the time being to simply pretend that nothing had changed. There was a deep-seated fear within him, and a nagging worry that his feelings wouldn't be returned, that if he were to come clean to Roy - not just about the extent of his affections - but about himself in general, then he would lose Roy entirely. Roy's friendship was too precious, the camaraderie they'd obtained was something that Jason valued very highly, and he'd come to the conclusion that it didn't matter what role Roy filled in his life, as long as Roy continued to be a part of it. He'd wondered if he was simply over-reacting. It was perfectly plausible that he was. After all, he'd never even been close to span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"in love/span with someone before. It was a serious declaration to make, a wild and important word that he didn't want to simply throw around. There were many, many forms of love. And sure, he could love Roy without being span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"in love/span with him. He wondered if maybe that was all it was. Maybe all of his over-analyzing had made his appreciation for his friend into something that it wasn't. But, on the flip-side of that, as Jason had no basis for comparison, he also couldn't span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"rule out/span the very real possibility that he was, in fact, in love with his best friend. It was complicated, there were so many factors to consider./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Another concern that Jason had was that, he was 16, and up until recently he'd had no desire or intention of dating anyone. He'd never met anyone that he felt he could build something with. A lot of that he'd contributed to his past, it was difficult for him to trust people and be open about his feelings, so it would stand to reason that he'd be reluctant and unenthusiastic about romance as a result. But, now these conflicting feelings about Roy were mixing everything up to the point where Jason wasn't sure what he wanted anymore. And, span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"if/span his feelings for Roy were as real as he thought they might be, what did it mean that the first person that he'd felt like dating was another boy? His first thought was that maybe he was gay, but he quickly dismissed that, because it wasn't span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"boys/span he was attracted to, but rather span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"boy/span, singular and specific to Roy in particular. The whole thing was giving him a headache, and the very thought that he might need to eventually explain all of it to Bruce made him want to puke. He was mostly annoyed at himself, he was working himself up over nothing, it wasn't like he and Roy would ever be dating anyway. The only time he'd seen Roy express interest in anyone was at Battle of the Bands, and that had been a girl./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The sharp knock on his door had him whipping his head around so fast his neck hurt with the movement. He catalogued the almost weary expression on his guardian's face as the man stepped into the room. He offered Bruce a small smile and tilted his head in inquiry./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""How's the homework going? Do you need any help?" Bruce asked, more as a way to start a conversation than anything else. He knew that if Jason needed assistance he would've sought it out./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bruce had always felt that he and Jason had established an honest, loving relationship, in which Jason knew and trusted that he could come to him with any problems. The fact that there was clearly something going on with his son that Bruce wasn't privy to, didn't sit well with him. He'd briefly consulted with Alfred about the slight change in Jason's general demeanor. The butler had tried to impart to Bruce that Jason was a teenager, and long overdue for a friendship that allowed him a little healthy, adolescent freedom. It was perfectly standard for Jason to distance himself from his legal guardian slightly in favour of spending time with a friend his own age. Though the millionaire conceded to the Englishman's point, he was still a little uncomfortable with the possibility that something could be bothering Jason, perhaps he could help, but he couldn't do that if Jason didn't talk to him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason gave a small sigh and shook his head, the smile he gave his guardian was genuine, if not a little muted, "Nah, I'm okay. I can handle it. Just a little distracted, I guess."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Oh?" Bruce asked, as if he hadn't already presumed as much, "You wanna tell me what's on your mind?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It's not important, just stuff," Jason hedged, an indifferent shrug accompanied his words, but Bruce wasn't convinced./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Taking a stab in the dark Bruce wondered, "Does it have anything to do with your friend Roy?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bruce watched, almost baffled as Jason bit into his bottom lip almost shyly, there was a rush of blood under his pale skin and he looked almost embarrassed. Bruce hadn't anticipated such a telling response. Jason reached a hand back to scratch at the back of his neck. "Uh...You don't mind that I'm hanging out with him, right? I mean, I know you don't like him too much, but..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It wasn't strictly true, not by any stretch. Bruce thought that Jason's lying had been irresponsible and reckless, he'd pondered the possibility of Roy being a bad influence, but he'd never met the boy, and wasn't one to pass judgments so quickly. He recognized that Jason was responsible for his own wrong-doing, regardless of the motivation. He thought perhaps he should make an effort to get to know the boy that had caused such a change in his son, however, he didn't want to step on any toes, or stick his nose in where it wasn't wanted. At 16, most kids didn't want their parents interfering with their business. Bruce weighed up his options./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Jason, I've never said I don't like him, I was disappointed in your choices, and he might have been a part of that, but I don't blame him, or you...It's normal for you to want to step out a little more," Bruce took a seat on the foot of Jason's bed, and glanced down upon the boy who was still spread out on the floor, his head was tilted back to meet the older man's eyes. "Maybe you should invite him around for dinner next week, it's about time he came around here. You always go over there," When Jason didn't immediately respond, Bruce patted him on the shoulder before getting up to leave, "Just think about it,"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason watched Bruce leave and softly close the door behind him. With a sigh, he turned back to his homework, that lay unfinished before him. He was utterly unmotivated to complete the task set out. He wanted to talk to Roy. Despite his inner turmoil and confusion in regards to the extent and definition of his feelings, he still felt that Roy was essential, that somehow even with all of the over-thinking and pending panic, just speaking with the older boy calmed everything down, it was so effortless. With a quick glance at the clock, Jason knew that Roy would still be at band practice, it was a Friday night after all. He wished he could text him, just to say that he missed him, he wished he was in a position to do something like that and have it be simple./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It took just under an hour for him to complete his assignment, and once he'd finished he promptly filed it away in his backpack, so that it would be where he needed it be come Monday morning, it was comforting to have that little thing organized. It brought him peace of mind to know that he wouldn't need to touch his school things at all for the whole weekend, and they'd be ready for him when he needed them. He headed down to the kitchen to retrieve the left-overs that Alfred had dished up for him. He tapped a beat upon the marble counter top as he waited for the microwave to count down. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone vibrated in his pocket, the microwave beeping obnoxiously a few seconds later./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"strong[text: Roy]:/strong Hey, what're you doing? :)/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason couldn't help but smile as he quickly thumbed in a response. Roy was out with his band mates, who've known him longer than Jason has, who have more in common with him than Jason does, yet Roy still wanted to talk to span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"him/span. That had to mean something, didn't it? Jason really hoped it did./p