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[ 'Patrol' is always crowded, but bats of all kinds have to have their solitary stretches or they go nuts. Bruce knows how it is. His touch down onto a rooftop a few meters behind Red Hood is silent out of habit, made lighter by his gear being civilian clothes with his utility belt stuck on under his coat. ]

Jason. [ Quietly. Hi? ]

[Jason just nods in acknowledgment, even as he inwardly screeches lie a banshee. He tries to remember if he did anything to get Bruce's attention- every time they have talked it has been because Jason did something, reached out, pushed Bruce until he couldn't help but reply. But last time they talked on Valentine's, about the fucking s'mores so what gives.

Is this about the marshmallows?]

Need anything?

[ That's cool though, not jumping or screaming externally is a huge step up in the world of being approached by Batman. Even civilian clothes Batman. You're totally a cool guy, Jason!! ]

No. I have something for you.

[ Not marshmallows. He's got a thin box in his coat pocket that he's taken out. ]

[Uhm.]

Okay. But it's not my birthday. [It's Clark's soon, isn't it? Clark's is easy to remember. He makes a mental note to tell Bruce later.]

What is it?

I know when your birthday is.

[ Not defensively, just matter of fact and almost easy-going. He'll forget his own, but not Jason's, or Dick's, or Tim's. That he might forget to do something is another story. Meanwhile Bruce is opening the box, efficient. What's inside is a panel holding two lenses - for sunglasses, or more likely, a mask or cowl. Clipped to one end of the panel is a long strip of fiber that could be a wristband. ]

I can see from how you move your head you don't use one, [ he explains, holding it out. ] The strip is the control, the lenses are the heads-up-display. It's got most of the city mapped, you can set markers. Does x-ray on organics, night vision, infrared, blacklight, so on.

[Jason doesn't react, at first. Just stares at Bruce getting that out of the box and trying to convince himself that he's assessing him, and not trying to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. He isn't sure what's happening, he's lost and without a marker to tell me what's going on and all he wants to do is jump at Bruce's throat for making him feel that way. Instead, he just reaches for his helmet and takes it off. Under it there's just Jason... with a wig. And a domino mask.. But still Jason.

Sometimes, the influence of the pits inside his head is exhausting.]

Why?

[ Bruce notes the wig, but only for a flicker of a moment, deliberately choosing to just accept that and not ask about it. Sometimes he really wants to force everyone to wear proper helmets. (At least he got Tim to keep the hood up half the time.)

Anyway. That sure is the question of the hour, isn't it. ]

We have no guarantee this place won't go to hell at the drop of a hat, [ he says, and now that he's shown Jason what he has he's putting it back in the box. ] It bothers me to think you might be half a step behind if it happened.

[ He holds the box out to Jason. An offer without asking for anything in return. ] I'm not going to make you take it.

[There's a snarl forming on Jason's lips that dies down the moment he hears 'I'm not going to make you take it.' Okay, then.]

I'm not going to be any steps behind. [Because he wants to make that clear. He's not going to be thought as the weak chain, and he can't help the part of his brain that tells him this is where that's going. But Bruce pointed out he simply noticed he didn't use one, and he's making an active effort to imply that he'll be ok without it.

He reaches for it.]

Why does it bother you? [Just talk to him, explain.]

[ Bruce doesn't push it into his hand or jerk away, doesn't argue about his assertion, just lets him take it. ]

You know me, and you know Gotham, which makes you one of the only reliable people here in the event of a crisis.

[ So he doesn't want him not having the same tech as Nightwing, and even Arkham Knight has a bootlegged version of it, he knows. It's not complicated-- it's the only non-complicated thing Bruce feels about him, possibly. Jason works in Gotham City, he works peripheral to some other Batman, he's capable. It would be negligent of him not to aid him, wouldn't it? ]

[Jason is actually really eager to try it out. He's a nerd, he'll love all and every one of the gadgets tossed his way and this looks like something he should have figured out long, long ago already. When he goes back home, if what he's been told is true and his memories will be intact he'll totally rub it in Batman's face.

But at the same time he's getting a present. From Bruce. Not his Bruce but it's definitely close enough to count. He reaches to rub the bridge of his nose with a sigh.]

Well, now my birthday present to you kinda sucks in comparison.

[ He hasn't included an instruction manual on purpose. Bruce knows Jason will be able to figure it out, put it together and customize it how he wants it. Whatever problems Jason has, being bad at tech isn't one of them. ]

No it doesn't.

[ Jason not only remembered, but did something. Even if he threw a rock through his window, Bruce probably would have been somewhat touched. ]

[Jason lets out a scoff, going 'right' under his breath. But he's too amazed by the present to try to start a fight. Will he do it accidentally? Well, only time will tell. He's never had a problem doing it before. As long as Bruce is involved he always seems to pick the wrong things to focus on, the wrong things to react to.

Which reminds him-]

Clark's probably mad at me.

[ Bruce considers that statement.

Slowly, ] Perhaps he was, for a moment. [ He holds up one hand, forestalling-- ] Whatever it is, he didn't mention it to me. But that's the kind of man he is.

[ Mad for a moment, then over it, too kind and good of a person to hold onto anything like that. It'd be more nauseating if Bruce wasn't so in love with him. (As it is, it's only slightly nauseating.) ]

It pisses me off.

[He admits, quietly. He knows this will make Bruce angry but he can't seem to stop himself. Why? He has no idea. He just wants to push and push and see how quickly he can be pushed away again. Maybe because if he forces it, it will hurt less when it unavoidably happens.]

I wish I could make him angry, just once. I know he cares, he's proven that to me, but if you care about someone you're supposed to get angry when they fuck up. And he just doesn't give a damn.

[ No immediate response. Bruce figures that's best when dealing with Jason - to consider what he says carefully, even if it doesn't seem to have helped too much so far. ]

Two things.

[ He rolls one shoulder in absence of a hand gesture, working out the right words. ]

First thing. You don't actually want to see him angry. If his temper snaps he's not going to shout at someone or throw a table over. He's going to accidentally put you through a wall and break every bone in your body, or not close his eyes fast enough and heat vision your head off. Second thing-- [ he exhales slightly. ] The fact that he engages with you and risks feeling anger should show you how much of a damn he gives. Nothing scares him - and I mean, terrifies him, a fear beyond what most humans are even capable of feeling - like the thought he might hurt someone. But he cares about you so much he confronts that terror. Not as Superman with all the implicit power looming as a threat to make you behave. As himself.

Edited (phrasing) 2016-02-28 21:45 (UTC)

[Jason mulls that one over, actually giving himself time to think about it. He's aware of what he's doing poking the bear, he's aware that Clark's anger isn't something to sneeze at. And yet, because he's always seen anger as the ultimate expression of caring about someone, he can't help but be frustrated by it.

But not frustrated enough to actually try to hurt Clark. He understands what Bruce's implying, he knows that Clark keeps meeting with him despite how difficult Jason makes it. And that should count, it really should. If Jason wasn't so fucked up.]

...His birthday's soon. Give him something nice.

I picked out some real fancy socks.

[ Deadpan. He's not the best at birthdays but-- something, yeah. He's not going to make blowjob jokes to Jason, anyway.

But: ]

I get it. He drives me up a fucking wall, half the time. [ There's an old, lifelong fondness in how he says it, despite his wry tone. Bruce shrugs. ] I've seen him angry. And I know what it feels like to shatter my hand against a Kryptonian. People like you and I aren't ever easy, even with someone like him.

Like you and I?

[He hadn't meant to sound startled, but he is. Jason is anger, fury, a failure when it comes to controlling his emotions. What part of that makes this a 'you and I' kind of thing?]

We don't know what to do when someone cares.

[ Is he off the mark? Maybe.

Doesn't feel like it, though.

Bruce gestures to the box Jason now holds. ] Let me know what you think if you give it a go.

[ He should get out now, before it turns into an argument. ]

[Jason takes a second to process that. Well, he can't argue that logic can he? He's so lost when it comes to caring every compliment feels like a physical hit, so Bruce's got a point there. And yet it feels so weird to be compared to him- and by Bruce himself, no less.]

I will. Wanna run a couple of tests first, figure it out- but it's... [He's loss at words. He hopes Bruce understands that he's thankful, anyway.]

I'll be using it.

[ Jason is so much like Bruce, sometimes. It's a wonder that more people don't see it, really.

He looks at him for a moment, quiet - letting Jason decide if he's going to continue when he trails off, or maybe just thinking. But he nods. He wants to understand, and wants that understanding not to be just wishful thinking on his part.

With that, Bruce is off, slipping back into the shadows and on his way. ]

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