Blair was running across the rooftops of buildings, using her grappling hook to swing across the gaps in between them, Jason hot on her heels. She laughed as she landed on the last roof, staring up at the sky as he landed behind her. Her calm moment ended within seconds as Jason tackled her to the ground from behind. She twisted on the ground, coming face to face with the grinning sidekick, "Oh my god, you are a sore loser!"
"Maybe, but you're pinned down so maybe I'm the winner." He laughed, his breath tickling her face. Blair raised an eyebrow, an idea coming to her mind. She leaned her face upward, licking the side of his face. Jason jumped back in surprise while Blair howled in laughter. "Oh my god, Moon Doom! That was fucking gross!"
She laughed even harder, clutching her sides that ached from the action, "It got you off of me, didn't it?"
"You are so going to pay for that!" Jason exclaimed, wiping his cheek with his hand.
Blair grinned, launching herself off the building, landing on a stack of old mattresses. Using the hook had gotten boring, she wanted a thrill; falling off the roof of the apartment building seemed to supply that just fine.
Jason's head peered over the edge, watching her swing herself onto the fire escape on the building across from the mattresses. She was halfway up to the roof when he landed on the mattresses, jumping up and swinging himself onto the fire escape behind her.
Blair pulled herself up to the roof, running to the edge of the roof, ready to launch herself over the edge again, when a hand grabbed hers, yanking her back. She wasn't aware that Jason had managed to catch up to her. She stumbled back as she lost her balance, falling into him which in turn caused him to fall flat on his back.
While Jason fell flat on his back, Blair landed on top of him, her face barely a few inches away from his. "Sorry, but if you weren't such a sore loser this wouldn't have happened."
"I don't know, I still think I'm winning." He grinned up at her, his eyes gleaming mischievously. Blair furrowed her brows in confusion at first, then felt her face get hot when she realized just how close her face was to his. "You're cute when you blush."
Blair rolled off of him, sitting on the ground as he sat up, still laughing at the brief redness of her face. All the blush was gone now, as she shoved the embarrassment aside, "You okay? I think you may have hit your head a little hard there."
Jason opened his mouth to respond, maybe say something witty, something flirty, when a loud yell cut him off. A yell that sounded very familiar, "Is it just me or did that sound like—"
Before he could even finish his thoughts, Blair was already at the edge of the roof, looking down at the alley below. She let out a small gasp, confirming his thoughts aloud, "River?"
While Jason was fighting the urge to roll his eyes behind her (and failing miserably), she focused on the two men, two very large men cornering River in the alley. She didn't have time to question what he was doing in this part of the city, didn't have time to think about the strange look of concentration on Jason's face next to her; she had to act and she had to act now.
Pulling her body onto the ledge, she looked down again, seeing River look up and meet her eyes. The attention shocked her, though she didn't pause to think about it, she just leapt off the side of the building, landing behind one of the men and landing a sweeping kick to his ankles.
A sound of boots landing on the wet pavement next to her alerted her to Jason's presence as a the other man was ripped away from River. The entire confrontation with the thugs took three minutes. Once they realized just who they were dealing with, they scrambled off the ground and took off down the street.
Jason was almost sad to see them go, itching for a fight, especially when Blair turned away from him to face River, her eyes full of concern when they had previously had been full of fighting fury, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
River straightened his jacket, running a hand through his messed up hair, "I'm fine, Blair."
Blair froze, the blood in her veins turning to ice. Jason stepped forward, saving her from having to respond, "Who?"
"I know who you are. Who both of you are. I've known for a while, I just needed to confirm it." Blair felt her stomach plummet to her feet as River looked between both her and Jason, though she kept her face blank. While she felt the weight of her secret lifted from her shoulders, a new, heavier weight settled in. "So I came out here and provoked these guys to see what would happen, to see you guys."
In the blink of an eye, Jason had River up against the wall again, glaring in his face. Blair was too shocked to do anything but gasp loudly, "Robin!"
"You planned this? How stupid can you be?" Jason ignored her, his anger and frustration getting the better of him. "Are you really so desperate to find out who we are that you resorted to this shit?"
"Robin, stop." Blair tried again, stepping forward, putting a hand on his shoulder that he just shrugged off.
"No, wait. It wasn't to find out who we are, it was to find out who she is." He snapped. It was taking all of his strength to not punch River's teeth in, especially when he saw his gaze go to the girl next to him. "It's actually pretty fucking pathetic that you would instigate a fight that you were losing just to prove a point."
"Oh yeah, like shoving me against the wall and threatening me in the hopes that she'll take your side isn't pathetic?" River shot back, his voice strained as he struggled against Jason's arms.
"Enough! Both of you are being fucking pathetic!" Blair snapped, having enough of their petty argument. "Robin, let him go. River, you're coming with us." Jason let go of River, but almost punched him in the face when he flashed him a smirk. Blair turned around just in time to see it and crossed her arms, "Not a damn word, Tyler. I'm still debating on letting Robin punch your teeth in for your stupidity tonight."
This time, Jason smirked.
********
Blair stood with Jason at the edge of the training mat, eyes on the boy sitting quietly at the computer, spinning the chair around in circles. Despite the situation, Blair smiled, "Look, he's already following orders better than you did."
"You threatened to have me punch his teeth in." Jason scoffed, his arms crossed over his chest. "Of course he's listening."
"I threatened to throw you off a cliff and you still irritated me." She reminded him, her tone light and teasing, a direct opposite of what it had been in the time she was describing. They had really come a long way from their initial meeting over nine months ago. She didn't know exactly when it had happened, but Jason had turned into someone she couldn't imagine living her life without.
"Ah, but that's just part of my many charms." He winked, some leftover paint from underneath his mask smudged at the corner of his eye. Both of them had taken their masks off when they had entered the cave, no sense in wearing them anymore. Blair was tempted to reach over and rub it off, but left it alone. It would come off when he took a shower later.
Ignoring the black smudges under his eyes, she raised an amused eyebrow as she gave him her full attention, "Making me want to kill you is a part of your charm?"
"Do you want to kill me now?" He asked, a grin spreading over his face.
"Jury's still out on that." She shrugged, pretending to think. "You can be pretty fucking annoying."
Jason's eyes lit up in amusement as he took a lazy step toward her, "No, you like me."
"Hardly."
"You love me."
"I can still throw you off the cliff." She threatened, but her eyes sparkled, enjoying their teasing banter.
"You'd dive in after me if I tripped."
"I'd let you splat."
Jason took a step closer to her, walking until he was a mere three inches away from her, dropping his voice so only she could hear his next words, "Bold words for the girl who keeps falling asleep in my bed every morning because she doesn't feel like walking the extra two steps to her room."
"And those are bold words for the boy who ends up in mine on the days I'm not in his." She shot back, just as quietly. He wasn't lying and neither was she, neither one of them had slept alone in months. In fact, Blair slept easier with Jason nearby; his presence seemed to chase away the nightmares that had plagued her for years. What she didn't know, was her presence did the exact same for him.
Clearing his throat, he spoke at normal volume again, though the intensity from her ocean-like eyes almost made him loose his cool, "Still want to throw me off the cliff?"
Before Blair could open her mouth to respond, River's annoyed voice cut through the otherwise quiet cave, "I do."
"Yeah?" Jason looked up, glaring at River who was slumped in the giant chair. "Well, no one asked you Waterboy."
"Okay, seriously? Enough with the macho man routine. It's tired and old, grow up. I think the both of you can shove it." Blair snapped, rolling her eyes. The sound of tires squealed through the cave interrupting their bickering as the Batmobile came to a halt. "Besides, we have bigger issues on our hands than your pissing contest."
Blair pushed Jason over to the computer next to River, wanting to keep him out of the inevitable backlash to the boy being there. Whatever lecture was coming, she wasn't going to back down quietly and she wasn't going to allow Jason to be a part of her battle.
Jason and River both watched as she stalked away, head held high, meeting Bruce at the edge of the training mat near the suite' display cases. If River was surprised to see that Batman was Bruce Wayne, he didn't show it, much to Jason's annoyance. He probably figured it out after he figured out who they, who she was.
"You told someone?!?" Bruce exclaimed, his angry voice filling the cave. Blair crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Of course he would blame her, like she was dancing in the middle of town square and passing out flyers with the address to the Batcave on them. "Don't roll your eyes at me, Blair! You told that boy and brought him here!"
Blair narrowed her eyes, "First of all, I didn't tell River shit. He figured it out on his own. Second of all, I seem to recall you doing the exact same thing six months ago."
"That was different." Bruce argued and though Blair had to agree, after all, it was a different that lead her to someone that chased the shadows away from her, that knew her demons and didn't run from them. It was the different that she needed.
Yet, then it just felt like a knife in her heart. This was something that made her feel heavy, sure, but also was something she had the choice on how to deal with, that she would determine the outcome. "Oh, yes it is. Because unlike then, I actually know River. I trust River."
The words hit Jason like a ton of bricks as he stood up from the desk on which he was leaning. She trusted the guy next to him more than she trusted him? The urge to roll River's chair over the cliff was becoming more unbearable by the second.
"Now, you have a few choices to make here, Bruce." Blair continued, her voice staying steady and calm. "You can either choose to trust me and leave this alone or not. But let me warn you, if you choose to not trust me, I won't hesitate to pack my bags and walk out the door. I don't particularly need you if I want to continue to do this every night. The one thing that I myself don't need is someone not trusting my judgement and my calls. So, what's it going to be Bruce?"
Bruce held her gaze a minute longer before sighing, "This is your responsibility now. If he tells anyone-"
"He won't." She promised. Bruce nodded, turning to head upstairs for a shower.
Feeling accomplished, she turned around to face the boys, meeting Jason's unamused gaze. "Really? Out of all the things you could've used to fuel that fucking argument, that's the one you chose?"
"River, can you excuse us for a minute?" She asked, her eyes never leaving Jason's face.
"I mean-"
"Upstairs. Now." She snapped, her gaze flicking to River long enough to show she wasn't playing any games. "I mean it."
She waited until she knew for sure that River had disappeared into the house before turning back to Jason, crossing her arms, "Go ahead. Let me have it. I know you want to."
"You think?" He exploded, marching angrily to the mat, coming only inches away from her face. She didn't even flinch. "You just said you trust River more than you trust me! What the fuck else am I supposed to do? To think?"
"Are you done?"
"Am I- am I done?" He laughed bitterly. "Are you kidding me? Done? I haven't even started! You-"
"I what? Don't trust you?" She took his hands in hers. "Jason, if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have taken you to Marion. I wouldn't have woken you up first at that gala. I wouldn't have asked for you to stay with me after the incident. I wouldn't have started telling you all my secrets. I wouldn't have run into a burning building for you. If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't choose to fall asleep in your room next to you instead of walking the extra two steps to my room. If I didn't trust you, you wouldn't even be here right now."
Jason took a deep breath, thinking about everything she said. The fire, the incident with Two-Face, Marion, even sleeping in his bed... she was right. Granted he had gone into the building for her first and had nearly lost his mind when she was kidnapped, she had done the exact same for him. She could've chased after River, but here she was, holding his hands in the cave. Not River's.
"If this is a question of trust, Jay, I could say that this says you don't trust me. You don't trust my judgement, you don't trust my— faith— in you, and you don't trust me when I say, I trust you more than River." Her lips curled up in a smile. "I trust you more than Batman."
"That's a lot of trust."
"Don't make me regret it."
Jason couldn't help but smile at their weird phrase, "I do, I mean, I trust you. I do. If I didn't trust you I wouldn't have told you everything I've told you. I wouldn't be standing here having this conversation with you if I didn't trust you."
"Then what is the deal?" Jason didn't answer, looking around the cave as he thought to himself. Blair grabbed his face with her hands, forcing him to look at her. "Hey, talk to me Birdboy. I can't help fix it if you don't tell me what it is."
"I trust you, it's just, shit!" He ran his hand through his hair, causing it to stick out in all directions. "River literally drives me fucking insane."
River... drove Jason insane. Blair had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, it was too funny. River, the boy who couldn't even throw a punch correctly was one of Jason's worst enemies apparently. The more she thought about it, the funnier it got, a small snort escaping from her. Jason crossed his arms, "This isn't funny."
"No, no it's not funny at all." She shook her head quickly, trying in vain to hold back the giggles threatening to take over.
"Oh my god, stop laughing at me!" He whined, causing her to laugh even harder. "I was being completely serious."
"Okay, okay. I'll stop if you tell me why he drives you crazy." She offered.
Jason ransacked his brain, trying to come up with an answer that didn't make him sound like an idiot or a jealous moron. He came up with none. "I don't have an answer."
"Oh my god, you are literally the worst liar!" Blair shook her head, not believing him for a second, another laugh escaping her lips.
"Oh, fuck off." He groaned, though the sight of her laughing brought him a smug feeling of satisfaction. He did that, not River. Fuck River.
"Damn, you're an angry bad liar." She teased, doubling over in laughter as he stuck his tongue out at her. "Okay, okay. I'm going to go give River the lecture. You get changed."
"You aren't going to change before?"
"I think it'll be more... effective... if I stay in the suit." She flashed him a knowing grin.
Jason responded with a smirk, "Didn't work on me."
"Yeah, well you're a shithead." She shrugged as Jason laughed. "Nothing normal works on you. I literally couldn't get rid of you if I tried."
"I feel like you aren't even trying anymore."
"Yeah, well." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Every Batman needs a Robin so if I got rid of you, Bruce would lose a partner."
"I'm not Bruce's partner though." He argued, watching as confusion flooded her face. "I'm yours."
Hers. He had just declared himself hers. He didn't say that she was his, he didn't say that she was Bruce's, he said that he was hers. Her entire life, she had always belonged to someone who never belonged to her— Bruce, Dick, even her uncle. Now she had someone that claimed to belong to her, yet allowed her to be free of claiming the same, though she knew just as he belonged with her, she belonged with him, by his side, her best friend.
"That's right. You're mine." Then, without even thinking about it, she leaned up on her toes, kissing him lightly on the cheek.
Jason froze as she started upstairs, putting a hand up to his cheek where she had kissed him. When he finally regained the thoughts in his head, he whirled around just in time to see her wink and disappear into the house. Holy shit, she was going to be the death of him. One way or another.
********
"So, if I find out that anyone knows about us, I will come after you. I don't care if you're my friend or not. You cannot jeopardize any of this for any of us. I trust you, but this is a big deal. Understood?" Blair twirled her knife in her hand to further emphasize her point. She had already given River the run down of everything he needed to know, which basically consisted of what would happen should their secret get blown.
River didn't take his eyes off of her face, refusing to look at the glinting knife in her hands, "Completely. Thanks for sticking up for me, I know it probably wasn't easy—"
"Bruce will get over it." Blair shrugged, for once not worrying if it was true or not.
"Well, you did give him no choice, B." Jason's voice came from behind her, causing her to turn around and match his grin.
"I'm going to go get out of my gear and into my sweatpants." She announced, standing up from the chair she was lounging in. "You boys play nice."
Both boys watched as Blair disappeared into the cave, sitting in silence for a few minutes, Jason glaring daggers into River's forehead.
River shifted awkwardly in his chair, "So..."
"Blair may have just forgotten that you deliberately put yourself in danger all to see if the girl you have a thing for is secretly a superhero, but I haven't." Jason snapped, wishing he had Martian Manhunter's number one speed dial like Blair and Bruce. He knew it wasn't his place, but a memory wipe sounded great in his opinion. "If you fuck this up in any way for her, you won't have just her to worry about."
"That I have a thing for?" River raised his eyebrows, matching Jason's glare. "Do I like her? Yes, I won't even lie. I've liked her since the minute I met her. But at least I can admit that. At least I'm honest about my feelings for her."
"Congratu-fucking-lations. You can admit that you're in love with a girl that's out of your league." He rolled his eyes. "Am I supposed to clap?"
"Worried, Todd?" River smirked. If he wasn't one of Blair's friends, Jason would've thrown him through the stained glass window behind his head.
Instead, he thought of everything Blair had told him only fifteen minutes before. He focused on every time she chose him over everyone else, including herself. It brought him peace of mind. "You may think you know her, but you don't know anything about her. You are the last person I need to be worried about for anything."
"Shit, is this your way of telling me to back off-"
"This is my way of telling you, I'm not her keeper." Telling River to back off. Like Blair needed someone to fight off the boys she wasn't interested in. "I don't make her decisions and I definitely don't fight her battles but I will kill you if you do anything, anything that she'll suffer from. Understood?"
"You, the little rich boy, is threatening me?" River sneered.
Suddenly, a gleam of silver cut through the air, one of Blair's knives lodging itself in the wood next to River's ear, causing the boy to freeze in place. Blair herself appeared in at the entrance to the cave, her face one of calm fury, "I believe I said, play nice."
Alfred chose that moment to walk into the room, a load of Jason's laundry in his hands. Blair had actually argued with the older man for her to do her own laundry and had been throwing Jason's in with hers, though she hadn't gotten around to doing any this week. He took one look at the knife lodged into the wall and the tense trio and shook his head, "Bloody hell, Miss Blair. Will there be a single wall left in this house that your knives haven't pierced?"
"When there is at least one person who listens to my warnings, Alfred." Blair replied, her gaze never leaving River's shocked face. Jason could've sworn that they flickered like green fire. They were green again... she wasn't just angry, she was furious. It had taken him months to see her eyes change to their natural color; in those months, he learned what the colors meant. Green for any angrily dark emotion, blue for anything else. Blue-green... blue-green seemed to be reserved just for him.
"Get the knife out of the wood. It's older than me, treat it with as much respect." Alfred ordered, waiting for Blair to nod before continuing through the house.
Blair walked over to River, putting her knee on the arm of the chair, yanking the knife out of the wood and holding it up to his face, "The next time you talk down to him, it'll be through your eye, got it?"
Jason blinked in surprise while River nodded slowly, Blair continuing to speak, her voice a low growl, "We may be friends, but the minute you start attacking him, that friendship is over. You don't know a damn thing about him, don't even try to act like you do. He's my partner, mine, if you disrespect him, you're disrespecting me. And I don't like being disrespected, especially by people who call themselves my friends. So I think if you want to continue being in that circle, you better apologize to Jason for being a complete dick."
"I'm sorry. To both of you." Blair stood back from the chair, handing Jason her knife which he stuck in his pocket. "It's just been a weird night."
"You get this one pass, River. One." She warned, River nodding quickly to show that he understood. "Now I want tomato soup, so I'm going to go make some. If the two of you want anything-"
"Soup sounds good." River said quickly, heading in the direction of the kitchen. Luckily, he knew his way around the house already and they didn't have to show him around. Jason would've lost his mind.
"I'll eat some soup." Jason fell into step next to Blair. "You know, you're pretty fucking scary when you want to be."
"I know." She winked, skipping the rest of the way to the kitchen. Jason watched her go, following closely behind, wondering how one girl could be the most lethal and dangerous person in the world, yet manage to be the softest and most caring person in the world at the same time. And how that one girl could manage to stop his heart with just one look.
********
"So what were you and River arguing about before I got there?" Blair asked, scratching Popchik behind the ears while Jason dried his wet hair with a towel. Once again, she was already laying in his bed, trying to keep the exhaustion out of her voice while they talked. Turns out threatening one of your best friends took a lot of you, who would have thought?
Jason threw the towel on an empty chair, "Nothing, just guy stuff."
"Guy stuff?" She snorted. "Are you kidding me?"
"Nope." Jason crawled into the bed next to her and Popchik, letting the dog move and curl up in a ball on the pillow by his head. He fixed Blair with a stubborn gaze, lightly shoving her over to what might as well be known as her side of the bed. "Move over bed hog. I'm tired."
"I will find out, you know." She sighed as Jason turned off the lamp on his side, the room getting completely dark.
"Yeah, I'm sure you will." He yawned, turning over to face her before closing his eyes. "Now shut up and go to sleep."
"Cranky ass." Blair yawned, closing her eyes right as he started to smile.