copsormasks | etraya inbox.

[Jason’s anger is on the verge of exploding out of him. He knows it doesn’t help to let it make a mess.

So he bottles it up. He clenches his jaw and then storms off toward the elevator.]

Jason.

( getting himself up, he makes his way after the other — mindful of his shoulder because, while popped back in, it's not exactly a miracle fix-it. )

No. Fuck you, Bruce.

[He punches the button for the living quarters and when it doesn’t immediately close the doors, he hits it again and again.]

Jason. Talk to me.

( at that, he takes hold of Jason's good arm there as a means to turn him around, but. it's not forced. if jason doesn't want to turn around, he doesn't have to. )

[Jason allows himself to be turned away from the panel but he leans against the elevator wall. He’s fuming as he regards Bruce.]

You know my parents died. You know that Bruce decided I wasn’t worth the work.

[He tucks his good arm under his casted one.]

And now you’re just jumping off buildings?

( if this was a year ago, he would have snapped back with something along the lines of questioning how he's supposed to test things out if he doesn't take the risk for it, but. given the time he's spent here, albeit mostly on his own, he doesn't snap at jason. instead, he stands there and stares to him before he lets his gaze drop in thought for a moment. )

I'm sorry.

( it's soft but said. )

I just wanted it to work.

( and bruce, no matter the age, tends to get tunnel vision when he gets fixated on something. or paranoid. )

[Jason is prepared to be snapped at, to have the bond between them broken and reduced to chaff. However the anger is not mirrored onto him. Instead Bruce is quiet and Jason’s anger starts to bleed away.]

I’m tired of losing people. I don’t want to lose you too.

Please.

( he wonders where he would be here if he hadn't had damian with him by his side before he'd disappeared — before jason had come into his life and started staying here in the tower with him. he's by no means a social butterfly nor brucie wayne here in etraya, but. while he tends to mostly keep to himself and doesn't reach out at all really to others, those who manage to slip past the various layers he wears, he keeps there. jason being one of them.

it's why he doesn't seem to hesitate when he pulls jason in to him, letting his good hand rest against his shoulder blade as he does. )

I'm right here. You're not going to lose me.

( not if he can help it anyways. )

[As Jason is pulled in close, his anger vents into something far more vulnerable. Instead of shouting, his fury dissolves into tears.]

Yeah? Yeah, how can I be sure? You fell off a fucking—

[His shoulders buck as he begins to properly cry into Bruce’s shoulder blade.]

( he wants to say it really wasn't that bad — that he's endured far worse than a dislocated shoulder, but. it's not necessarily about that. it's about a certain sort of fear jason has within him about such a thing happening and he can... relate to that. painfully so.

his one hand holds tight to the back of jason's head, while the other gently rests against the small of jason's back, careful in the way he moves that arm. he keeps jason there. quiet. watching as the elevator slowly arrives behind them. )

I got you.

( words soft, spoken into the dark strands of jason's hair. )

I got you, Jason.

[Jason shakes his head. It’s not about Bruce having him, it’s not about Jason’a insecurity.]

What am I supposed to do if you die?

[Jason’s shoulders shake at the thought, of Bruce with his back broken in an alley.]

( that's the thing. he's not afraid of dying. but others— people he cares about dying... that's what gets him. that's what angers him and upsets him and paralyzes him in fear. what he strives to never have happen again. to think that someone might feel so strongly about that with him... it's not new, given alfred being in his life, but. it's not anything he can claim to really think about much. or that he simply forgets is even a possibility.

so he holds jason a little tighter there — lets his gaze drift down in thought for a moment before he sighs gently and lets his eyes fall shut. )

I'm not going to die. Not anytime soon anyways.

( never mind that people apparently come back to life when they die here in etraya. it's not the point. )

[Jason can understand the reckless lack of fear of death. He’s stood on a roof with the explicit intent to die. Never mind the cast that is a very present reninder of a brush with death.]

Stop, then. Stop jumping. Or I’ll be up there with you.

( those words make his chest tighten. make his brows furrow and his throat go dry. jason's been through enough as it is. he doesn't need to drown in his own darkness with him. which, of course, makes him wonder if he's even capable of being what jason not only needs but deserves. )

I won't. Jump. I'm right here.

I mean it. [Jason pulls back to stare Bruce in the eye.] You go, I go.

[His good hand clenches the fabric of Bruce’s shirt.]

( in his mind, that's not an option for jason.

hand still resting gently on the small of jason's back, he other hand drops away from the back of the boy's head and he holds the side of his face instead as he stares right back at him. )

Then we stay here together.

[Jason’s eyes are rimmed with red and pink, glossed with tears. He nods and swallows.]

I’ll hold you to that, y’know.

I know.

( he would be surprised if he didn't, honestly. at that, however, he gives a nod to the elevator behind them. )

Let's get upstairs.

[Jason nods and presses the button to call the elevator. He keeps a finger tucked in Bruce’s shirt, just in case.]

Okay.

( if jason wants to hold onto him, he lets him, tipping his head back some as he looks up to the elevator. )

What were you doing before?

Not having a panic attack.

[Jason levels his gaze at Bruce.]

Other than that, reading.

( it's fine. he'll take that. )

Didn't find the stash of books I brought back, did you?

Am I not supposed to? [Jason hasn’t but that doesn’t mean he won’t pry.]

( he shrugs his good shoulder gently at that. )

Wasn't sure if I should save them for Christmas or not.

( to which he pulls the gate open with that good arm and lets jason step into the elevator first before he joins him to go back up to the penthouse. )

[Jason doesn’t step into the elevator. Instead he stares at Bruce, incredulous.]

Christmas as in?

[Jason’s chest hollows out as he asks,]

Christmas gifts? For me?

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cw: mention of previous si

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