I'll be good

Brother

Jason was startled awake from a deep sleep by a loud rapping coming from his front door.

He groaned as he sat up, peering around the darkened room. He checked the time on the alarm clock that sat on the table next to his bed; it read four-thirty in the afternoon, indicating he hadn't slept long. Meanwhile, the banging on his door continued, sounding more impatient by the second.

Jason groggily made his way to the door, complaints pouring out of his mouth with every step.

He slammed the door open, ready to spit insults to whoever was unlucky enough to be on the other side.

"Hey! Some people are trying to sleep in-" Jason swiftly cut himself off the second he saw the familiar head of black hair and the cerulean eyes beaming back at him.

His lips slipped into a frown, "oh... It's you."

"Well, hello to you too, brother," Dick replied as he stepped passed Jason, letting himself inside the safehouse.

"What do you want?"

Dick made his way over to the aging couch in the center of the room and sat down on the arm. "We hadn't heard from you... I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he sighed, glancing up at Jason who remained in place beside the front door.

"We have cell phones for that, Dick."

"Yeah, but you never answer."

Jason turned away, a scowl beginning to form on his face. He just wanted to be left alone.

"Well, you came, you saw. I'm fine," Jason replied curtly.

Dick sighed; he could see he was getting nowhere with Jason. He didn't want to leave him alone, but Dick knew— perhaps better than anyone, that Jason would come around in his own time. His brother just needed space, and Dick was happy to provide it but that didn't mean he stopped worrying.

"You can go now, Dick," Jason said, his tone turning harsh.

Dick made his way over to Jason and, ignoring his brother's cold look, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "The thing is, Jay... We all care about you, even if you don't see it. You don't have to spend your life alone anymore, you have a family."

"I know that. I just... I need some time alone for a while," he lied.

Dick nodded in understanding and gave Jason's shoulder a light squeeze before letting go. The afternoon sun shone through immediately as soon as Dick opened the door.

Jason peered out, spotting Dick's silver Porsche parked outside. He squinted his eyes against the blinding sun, and could just make out two figures in the back.

"Why'd you bring the brats?" he asked suddenly, stopping Dick in his tracks.

Dick looked back at his car, watching as the pair began to squabble in their seats. A smile appeared on his face as he looked back at Jason. "Damian's never had ice cream before, so-"

"Wait, Damian's never had ice cream before? Like never?" Jason asked in bewilderment; he just couldn't fathom the thought of the kid never having something as well-known as ice cream. First strawberries, now ice cream, Jason thought, this kid must've lived under a rock.

Dick nodded, "yeah, so I'm taking him and Tim to the ice cream parlor in Blüdhaven."

"Blüdhaven? You're going all the way there for ice cream?"

"They have the best flavors, you know that," Dick shrugged whilst beaming.

Jason chuckled at the comment; he remembered when he and Dick used to sneak out of the manor and catch the train to Blüdhaven. They would spend hours in the ice cream parlors, trying all of the flavors, and slowly making Bruce a little less rich by the hour.