Dick walked back out to the living room just as Blair and Jason walked out of the kitchen. Before Jason could offer Dick a beer, he handed him something small as he passed by, "Hey Jason, thanks for the help back there, but I'm good now. You should head back to Gotham."
"What the hell, man?" Jason exclaimed, looking down at what Dick handed him.
"I'm not Robin anymore." Dick shrugged as Blair moved closer to Jason to look at what was in his hand. "Have a safe trip back."
Blair's eyes widened as she took the small piece of metal out of Jason's hand— Dick's tracker. He must have ripped it out while she was in the kitchen flirting with Jason. She turned to look at him in anger and shock, "Dick what the fuck is wrong with you?"
"You didn't have to do that." Jason said quickly, glancing over at her out of the corner of his eye. He didn't like the look on her face, it just reminded him of all the times she had cried in the middle of the night when she thought he was asleep, thinking Dick was just going to abandon her altogether.
"Yeah, I did." Dick argued. "And the both of you should too."
Blair stayed unusually quiet as Jason asked, "Why?"
"Because we're not animals in Bruce Wayne's private zoo!" He exclaimed angrily.
Blair stared at Dick, seeing right through his sudden outburst and rebellion. It had nothing at all to do with them and everything to do with him and the fact that he felt replaced by his own family. It was one of the many reasons she kept putting off the conversation about who Jason really was.
"You don't get it man. He did it for you. For us. In case anything ever happened, he could find us." Jason grew more frustrated with every word he spoke. "These trackers saved her life when she was kidnapped! Where were you?"
"Jason, please don't." She said quietly, speaking for the first time since she had grabbed Dick's tracker out of his hand.
Jason glanced over at her, seeing her shake her head slightly, her eyes darting back over to Dick. Dick stood frozen in place, his hands clenched into fists by his side, Jason's words seemingly hitting a nerve. He looked back at Blair, meeting her eyes pleading with him to stay quiet.
"Thanks for stopping by." Dick handed Jason his case, walking over to the elevator. "Tell Bruce I'm gonna need the place for a couple of days. He should be okay with it."
Jason set the case back down on the table, doing his best to avoid looking at the crushed expression on Blair's face. If he looked at her, he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it. She didn't want them to fight and didn't want Dick to know the hell she went through while he was gone and if he looked at her, he would just start unloading it all onto Dick along with a few punches for good measure.
Instead, he turned around, quickly following Dick before he reached the elevator door, "I'm not sure you really understand him man."
"I think I'm the one guy in the world that does." Dick responded as Blair came up next to Jason, both of them waiting for him to elaborate. "Look, he might have you thinking that you're a partnership, but everything Bruce does is in the best interest of one person. Bruce. Time to go."
He reached over to press the button when Blair grabbed his arm, putting herself directly in between him and Jason as she glared up at him, "Hey! You can't throw him out!"
Jason blinked in surprise. It was the most she had said since she had seen Dick's tracker in her hand. He thought she was going to just go along with whatever Dick wanted. Deep down, he knew better. Blair never followed anything if she didn't like it.
"I'm not throwing him out. I'm sending him home." He said nonchalantly, though he looked surprised that she had challenged him. "There's a difference."
"What the hell was all that shit earlier? 'I know you miss him, talk to him.' Why the fuck say all that if you were just going to-" Blair backed up, dropping his arm. "Are you planning on sending me away too?"
Dick's eyes widened as he shook his head quickly, taking a step towards her, "No, I'm not sending you away."
"Then you're not sending him either. He stays." She crossed her arms, looking at him defiantly. "With me."
Jason glanced between her and Dick, swaying back and forth on his feet, "I can't go back home anyway."
"What the hell did you do?" Blair turned quickly on her heel to face him. "What did you blow up?"
"I didn't blow anything up!" He exclaimed. "Why did you automatically assume that?"
"Because I know you and your lack of impulse control." She reminded him.
"Bruce sent me here because I wanted to see you and because of something for him." He jerked his head in Dick's direction, reaching into his jacket, pulling out a small folder which he held out for Dick to take. "He wanted me to show you these."
Dick stared at him in contempt for a moment before taking the folder out of his hands, walking over to the couch. Blair shifted her gaze to Jason in a silent question to which he just gestured over to the couch with his hand. Dick dumped the folder out onto the coffee table as her and Jason sat down, spreading its contents evenly out on the glass.
Blair leaned in to get a better look, immediately wishing she hadn't, "Oh my god, this is horrible."
"How did you get these?" Dick asked, looking up at Jason for an answer.
"They were sent to the Gotham PD addressed to 'Robin'." He explained, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Whoever sent them thinks you're still Robin."
"How?" Blair breathed out, her eyes shifting into detective mode in an instant as she studied the images closely. "Most of the criminals know there's been a change thanks to that night at Arkham."
Jason shrugged, "I don't know, but I don't know these people. So it wasn't meant for me."
"I know these people." Dick said quietly, touching one of the photos.
Blair turned to look at him in confusion, "What?"
"I worked with them at the Haly's Circus." He explained quietly, propping his elbows up on his knees.
Jason didn't look too surprised to Blair, which made sense seeing as how Bruce had been the one to send him in the first place. He had probably figured it out the minute they received the information. Still, he started to speak, "Before your parents were-"
"Yeah."
"That must've sucked." Blair glanced at Dick in concern as he stared at the photos, not a single word being spoken. She turned her head to look at Jason before turning back to study the photos again. Jason leaned forward, looking between the both of them, "He burns them with acid."
"Hydrofluoric acid." Dick specified, dropping his hands from his face.
Jason nodded, "Calling card of the Maroni crime family."
"I know. Tony Zucco worked for the Maroni's when he killed my parents." Dick sighed in frustration. "But they were put away years ago."
"Why'd he do it?" Jason asked quietly, unsure if he would even get an answer.
"Haly owed the Maroni's protection money." Dick responded, looking up from the photos. "He couldn't come up with the cash. So my parents paid the debt with their lives."
Blair leaned back into the couch, letting out a frustrated sigh. It felt like the answer was staring them all in the face, but they just couldn't see it. The only thing she knew for sure was that the message wasn't for Robin. It was personal.
Jason rolled his shoulders back, shifting the conversation back to the issue at hand, "Papers call this guy the Melting Man because he melts their flesh right off their bones. Creepy as shit, huh?" Dick looked back at the photos, trying to find anything that gave him a clue of who they were looking for. "Any idea who this creep is?"
Dick shook his head, "The man I'm thinking of is dead."
"So that's a no."
"Can I just say something here?" Blair interrupted, sitting back up as she pointed to the photos. "These attacks are personal. Not to the killer, but to you, Dick Grayson. Not Robin. There's your starting point. Who knows? Outside of the family, who knows who you were?"
Dick shook his head again, "No one." He glanced back over at Jason, "Have you checked back in with the police?"
Jason furrowed his brows like it was the dumbest question he had ever heard, which Blair had to admit, it kind of was, "Why would I go to the fucking cops?"
"Because five people were murdered." Dick responded in the same tone making Blair wish the couch was a black hole that she could disappear into.
"The cops are a joke man." Jason shook his head. "There's two kinds, useless and dirty."
"Is that what Bruce says?" Dick asked, his voice getting louder as his anger and frustration started to grow.
"No, it's what I say." Blair reached over, lacing her fingers through his to calm him down. Dick glanced down at their hands intertwined together, pursing his lips to keep from speaking about it. "They hit a dead end so they came crawling to Bruce and me. As usual. When Bruce realized who the victims were, he sent me to find you."
Dick turned back to the photos, thinking hard. Jason looked down at his fingers interlaced with Blair's, watching as she studied the photos. He squeezed her hand, hiding a smile when she squeezed his in return, studying the photos until eventually she just leaned against his arm, tired of looking at the photos of Dick's old family lying dead on the floor.
Dick sat back, looking over at them, "I need to look someone up. So whenever you're done with that meet me in the surveillance room."
Blair sat up, letting go of Jason's hand to follow Dick to the surveillance room, stopping to glance at him over her shoulder, "You coming?"
"Yeah. I'll be right there."
********
Blair sat on the desk top while Dick turned the computer on. She looked up, feeling Jason's eyes on her from across the room. She met his eyes, flashing him a smile which he returned in an instant before looking down at the ground.
Dick sighed in frustration next to her, turning to look at Jason over his shoulder, "You mind?"
Blair looked over at the computer screen, seeing everything locked by a password. Last time she checked, the password was still the same as it was a year ago, but she kept quiet as Jason walked forward, "Sure thing."
He pulled the keyboard towards him, quickly typing in the password, watching as everything on the computer became available for use. "Boom."
Dick stared up at him for a minute as he shrugged. When Dick turned back to the computer, Jason winked in Blair's direction, causing her to immediately grin and glance down at her feet.
Next to her, Dick typed in the name of one of the people he used to know from his circus days. She shifted on the desk to better see the computer screens as pictures of a man named Clay Williams appeared in a complete succession. According to Dick's search, he was known as Atlas the Strongman during his time at the circus.
"Phone bill paid last month, utilities still on." He said in relief, a small smile on his face as he looked at the pictures. "Looks like he's still alive."
He took his phone out of his pocket, dialing the number listed on the screen as Blair started swinging her feet back and forth, occasionally kicking Jason in the leg. She giggled when he turned his gaze on her, swatting at her feet, "Knock it off."
"What are you gonna do about it, Jay?" She challenged, continuing to kick her legs back and forth. "Absolutely nothing."
Jason caught her foot, pulling her towards him, until she was on the edge of the desk. He put his hands on her waist, smirking down at her as she hooked her leg around him, "Does this answer your question?"
"Milwaukee's only an hour and a half from here. I gotta go make sure he's safe." Dick said, hanging up the phone before turning to look at them. "Would you two please get a room that I'm not in next time? Jesus Christ, I'd rather not see that. Ever."
Blair looked down with a smile she couldn't hide as her face burned. Dick shook his head, standing up from the desk chair as he walked to the door.
"We're going on a road trip!" Jason grinned, letting go of her. "Excellent!"
"Not us. Me." Dick corrected him, glancing between both him and Blair. "Look I appreciate you bringing this to me, I really do. But there's no reason for you to come, either of you. This is personal."
"If it's personal to you, then it's personal to me." She shoved Jason out of her way so she could jump off the desk. "I'm coming whether you like it or not."
Jason glanced at her by his side before turning to look back at Dick, "If she's going, then I'm going."
Dick looked between the two of them again, taking a step towards Jason, "You're Bruce's Robin, not mine."
"No, I'm my Robin. That's where you're wrong. I'm her partner. We're a package deal." Jason crossed his arms, not backing down.
Blair smirked in Dick's direction, "We're coming."
"I don't need your help." Dick insisted.
Jason looked at him, rolling his shoulders back, "You did back at that apartment."
"And the entire time I've been here." Blair added.
Before Dick could argue any further, the computer started beeping behind them, flashing an intruder alert. Jason turned his head to gaze at the computer in intrigue, reaching over to click on the alert, "Hmm."
The minute he clicked on the alert, a live video feed from downstairs appeared on the screen. Kory stood with Rachel and Gar downstairs at the elevator entrance, the youngest two of the trio waving at the camera. Blair immediately broke out into a smile as she stared at the screen.
Jason turned to look over at Dick just as Gar, as if seeing her grin, broke out into one of his own. Blair let out a small laugh, putting a hand on her heart, "Awe, he's so cute. Oh my god."
Jason immediately whirled around at her words, eyes falling on the screen, "Who?"
"Relax." She laughed, rubbing his arm. "He's fifteen and he's like a little brother."
Dick sighed, turning on his heel to walk out the door, "I'm going to go let them in."
********
Blair followed Jason to the living room, waiting for him to speak. He turned around the minute they entered the room, tapping his beer bottle anxiously with his finger, "So you made yourself a whole new group of friends the minute you left town, huh?"
"Hey, I'm allowed to do that." She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "There's no law saying I can't."
Jason nodded in agreement before looking up at the ceiling in silent frustration, "We haven't even talked about us yet, you realize that right?"
"When have we had the time?" She sighed, sitting down on the couch and running her hands through her hair. Jason sat down next to her, raising his beer bottle to his lips. She reached over, trying to grab it out of his hands as he moved it out of her reach. "We are in the middle of something, Jay."
"So what?" He leaned further away from her, grinning in amusement. "I'm thirsty."
"There's sodas in the fridge." She reminded him, still struggling to grab the bottle out of his hand. He held it above his head before reaching it out of her reach again. She elbowed him in the side, laughing as he slightly lowered his arm. Just as she reached for it again, he took it away.
"You know what? Screw this." Blair moved to sit in his lap, grabbing the bottle in his hands, wrestling it out of his grip. "I won."
"Did you win?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking at her. "Or did I?"
Blair smacked him upside the head, moving to stand up. Before she could move, he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her in place. She started laughing, squirming in his arms, "Quit it!"
"I'll quit when you stop trying to take my drink away!" He laughed loudly.
Before she could retort, Dick walked back into the apartment, their ragtag group of misfits following closely behind him. He looked over at them, shaking his head and muttering to himself in annoyance, "Five minutes. I left them alone for five minutes."
Jason let go of her waist, allowing her to run over to Rachel and Gar, pulling them in for a group hug, "Hi! Miss me?" The kids hugged her back, pulling away with grins on their faces, glancing between her and Jason, "Everyone okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine." Gar smiled brightly.
Rachel gave her a knowing look, "Looks like some of us are doing a lot better than others."
"Who are your friends?" Jason asked, standing up from the couch, glancing around the room awkwardly.
Dick looked over at Jason, "Not important."
"Who's he?" Kory asked, studying Jason closely.
"Not important." Dick repeated, crossing his arms.
"Anybody want a brew?" Jason offered, holding his beer out like he hadn't just been trying to keep it away from her for the past five minutes.
Gar stepped forward excitedly, "Yeah I do."
"No, he doesn't." Dick said, holding out his hand to stop Gar from stepping any closer. "No one wants a brew."
Blair walked back over to where Jason was standing, taking the bottle out of his hands with ease, "Thanks, Jay. Really appreciate it."
He looked up at her in amused shock, reaching for it, "Oh my god, you did not just- you- give it back!"
"No!" She laughed, jogging out of his reach. He followed closely behind, Blair waving it around before hiding it behind her back. "We are in the middle of something important here. You're not drinking anymore of this."
The group watched them chase each other around the living room, Kory laughing in amusement, "That can't be Adamson."
"He's not Adamson. Adamson's in the bathroom." Dick sighed, adding as an afterthought, "Unconscious."
Jason wrapped his arms around her from behind, trying to get the bottle out of her hands. He almost grabbed it when she lifted it to her lips, chugging it to the last drop. He let go of her as she turned around, dropping into a small curtsy as she grinned, "There it's gone."
Jason started laughing as she set the empty bottle down on the coffee table. Rachel walked forward, giving him a small wave, "Hi, I'm Rachel."
"Jason." He stuck his hand out in a greeting.
Before Rachel could take it, Dick called putting over the chaos, "Okay, who we are doesn't matter right now. Can we just chill out, relax, sit on the couch and watch some TV or something?"
"Yo, when did you get another one?" Gar exclaimed, rushing over to the table where their cases still sat. "I'm assuming one of these is Blair's."
"The longer one is a sword." Blair grinned, pointing to the case.
Gar's head shot up as he looked at her in excitement, "No shit!"
"The other one's mine." Jason added, his grin matching Blair's.
"Yours?" Gar repeated in shock as Jason nodded. "Wait, you're Robin too?"
Rachel looked between Dick and Jason, walking over to the table, "I thought you were Robin."
"I am." Dick responded quickly.
Blair raised an eyebrow, "Was."
"He was." Jason said at the same time.
"How many Robins are there?" Gar asked, practically bouncing in excitement as he looked around at all of them. "Are there a lot? Cause I would love to-"
"Okay, quiet!" Kory's voice rang out over the noise, silencing the entire apartment, even Jason. She looked over at Rachel and Gar, pointing to the table. "Sit." They immediately sat down as she looked over at Dick. "Bathroom."
Blair sat down on the couch with Jason as they walked out of the room, shuffling her feet on the ground. Gar leaned over the table, looking over at them, whispering loudly, "Can I be Robin?"
"Oh my god." Rachel whispered in response, rolling her eyes in amusement.
Jason turned to face Blair with a smile, "I can't believe you drank all my beer."
"What?" She shrugged. "It was either that or let you do it and you need to be focused."
"I work with you." He winked. "Trust me, I know how to work with distraction."
Blair's jaw dropped, letting out a shocked laugh, "Jason Peter Todd, you did not just use that line on me."
"Did it work?" He leaned forward, grinning up at her.
She shoved his face away while she laughed, "You're such an idiot."
"This must be the something complicated." Gar mused as Rachel nodded with a happy smile on her face.
Jason looked over at him in confusion, "What?" Blair glanced over at Gar, seeing him open his mouth to respond. She immediately made a cut-it-out gesture, stopping when Jason turned to look at her. He raised an eyebrow, holding in a laugh, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." She smiled innocently, flashing a warning look in Gar's direction.
Jason caught the look, gasping loudly with a giant grin on his face, "You talked about me!"
"No I didn't." She argued, blushing a deep red. It technically wasn't a lie because she didn't really talk about him to Gar and Rachel, but they knew he existed.
Jason poked her cheek, "Maybe not much, but you did talk about me a little bit."
"This is nice." Rachel smiled, swinging her feet back and forth.
Blair turned away from Jason to look over at her, "What is?"
"I can feel what you're feeling again. I guess it's just extra loud or something." She explained, her eyes brighter than Blair had seen them since she had seen her in the arcade with Gar. "It's a really nice feeling. You're really happy right now."
Jason glanced between them in confusion. Blair smiled, turning back to him to explain. "Rachel's an empath. She can feel other people's emotions. She's a badass." Rachel practically beamed, smiling wide. Blair turned to Gar, giving him a knowing wink, "Oh and Gar occasionally turns into a green tiger."
Jason turned to look at Gar in awe, "Bro, seriously?"
Gar nodded, his grin growing as wide as Rachel's when Blair added, "It is the coolest thing ever."
"And the chick with Dick?" Jason nodded towards the bathroom.
"Please tell me you didn't just say that because it rhymed." She grimaced, shaking her head. Jason didn't respond, just gave her an innocent smile. "Oh wow, you are so lame."
"Whatever. It was funny and you know it." He waved her off. "But seriously, who is she and what can she do?"
"Her name is Kory and what if she doesn't have any special abilities?" She raised an eyebrow as Rachel and Gar snickered at the table. "Ever think of that?"
Jason deadpanned, "Does she?"
"Yeah." She nodded, already anticipating his reaction to what she said next. "She can absorb power from the sun and direct it into fire that she shoots from her hands."
He let out a low whistle, shaking his head in disbelief, "You really do attract all the weird." Blair raised her eyebrows as he quickly looked over at the kids sitting at the table, "No offense."
Gar shrugged as Rachel continued swinging her feet responding for them both, "None taken."
"You have no room to talk, Jay." Blair said, crossing her arms.
Jason whipped his head around to look at her, "What is that supposed to mean?"
She cupped his face with her hands, giving him a sweet smile, "If I attract the weird people, what exactly does that make you?"
Rachel and Gar exploded into laughter as Jason's jaw dropped, "Ouch, B!"
"You stepped right into that one." Blair grinned, nudging him with her shoulder.
He opened his mouth to respond when Dick walked back into the room, his eyes immediately going to the both of them on the couch, "Grab whatever you think you're gonna need. You two are coming with me to Milwaukee."
"Hell yes!" Jason exclaimed, jumping off the couch and making a beeline towards the table for his case, Blair following closely behind.
Rachel looked up, "What's in Milwaukee?"
"I need to check in on an old friend. Make sure he's okay." He said, shrugging on his jacket. Once his arms were through the sleeves, he looked over at them, "You two are going to stay here with Kory while I'm gone. Stay out of trouble and try not to break anything."
Blair grabbed her suit and sword that sat next to Rachel, giving her a small shrug, "Just in case."
The girl surprised her by throwing her arms around her neck in a hug, "Be careful."
Gar bounced over to them, bumping fists with her as she walked out the door, calling after them supportively, "Kick some ass!"
A/N: So my online classes started yesterday but there was nothing for me to do so I just finished writing this and planned some other chapters instead. It would have been updated last night but Wattpad was down all night. I swear, the best thing about Blair and Jason's relationship is that they are best friends first and everything else second. I mean, just look how happy they both are. Also my friend and I were talking about this chapter and I came up with this please enjoy: