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[copsormasks]

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wouldn't your soldiers be prepared for it; (for iam_vengeance)

[copsormasks]

[Jason returns to Gotham in shame. The Titans have no need for him, Rose broke up with him, and it seems as if the entire world is collapsing around him. The only thing he has left is Robin and Jason worries Bruce will take that away at a moment's notice, make him an ordinary nothing once more.

He slides his pack off his back as he trudges through the manor. He's about to call out that he's back when he remembers that Alfred is dead and buried, almost a year ago.

He retreats to his room and tosses his backpack on his bed. If Bruce wants to see him, he won't be hard to find.

That is if Bruce isn't off flying to Spain or England or some other place.]

Bruce, I'm back. [Jason says to the cameras he knows must be in his room.]

thanks, this is great! he's def not gonna be like Titans Bruce lol

[iam_vengeance]

[ Bruce doesn't get so much as the smallest heads up that Jason is heading back. Dick doesn't tell him anything these days, so he doesn't even know what went down at the Tower. He thinks they're managing just fine over there without him.

So he's actually surprised, taken off guard when Jason shows up on the sensors, heading through the gates that lead to the Manor.

Bruce is tucked away deep in the cave- it's where he spends almost all his time now that Alfred is gone. He should probably go see why Jason's back, though. Rubbing at his eyes, he stands, leaving the things he's working on to head upstairs. There are no cameras in Jason's room, but Bruce figures that's where he ended up, since the rest of the Manor remains quiet. When he gets up there, he stands at the doorway.

It's strange, not being alone again. ]

Jason.

:>

[copsormasks]

[Jason turns when he hears footsteps, spotting Bruce a heart beat before he stands in the doorway.]

Hey. I... thought it'd be good to come back. Do the crime-fighting duo thing again.

[It's a lie from top to bottom. Jason is disgraced, suffering from horrific nightmares and with little comfort to endure either. Maybe coming back to Gotham wasn't the best idea, but the Manor is home.

Or he hopes it is.]

[iam_vengeance]

[ Bruce stands there quietly, just watching for a long moment, taking in Jason's demeanor, as much as trying to figure out his own.

It's not unusual for him to be quiet, but without Alfred here he's only become more withdrawn. In a way, it was probably good for Jason to be away with Dick, with the Titans. Bruce wouldn't have been a very good person to be around.

He probably still isn't. ]

What happened?

[copsormasks]

Nothing happened. Just. Decided I was done with them.

[Jason shrugs, trying to give off the vibe that he did this on his own, that nothing happened in San Francisco to cause him to come back to Gotham.]

Who wants to hang out with a buncha sidekicks anyway?

[Jason knows there's also a letter from Dick in his pack, slid in there just as Jason was leaving. It was an attempt to be sneaky, but Jason knows better.]

[iam_vengeance]

Done with them?

[After all that? He wants to add, but he's not really sure how much of this he does want to get into right now. He does wonder, though, if Jason ended up having issues with Dick the way he did.

Issues all around, it seems.]

Did you tell them you were leaving?

[copsormasks]

Yeah. Buncha second-rate nobodies. [Jason grumbles as his facade crumbles bit by bit.]

Why would I-- [Jason catches himself at the last second.] Why would I not say goodbye? There were tears, the whole deal.

[He shrugs again.] Everyone loved me there.

[iam_vengeance]

[ Bruce frowns. He knows Jasons M.O. If everyone loved him there he would have stayed, because that's something he knows the kid wants more than almost anything else.

Unfortunately Bruce isn't very equipped for it either. His emotions are stunted, to say the least. It's a wonder he even got this far with Dick and Jason. ]

So you're telling me it was a waste of time? You didn't learn anything?

[copsormasks]

Learned nothing except maybe how to get Dick to listen. [Another lie. They're falling out of him in a landslide.]

You just gotta show him who's boss.

[Which is yet another lie. Jason's spreading it on thick.]

[iam_vengeance]

Hn.

[The lies are radiating off of Jason- it doesn't take a great detective to figure that out. Something happened, he knows that much. Big or small, he isn't sure yet. Jason's the reactive type so it could be either. The lying though- he doesn't appreciate.

Bruce isn't sure he can handle this right now, though. He's itching to go back into hiding in the cave.]

Will he say the same if I call him?

[copsormasks]

Hey, no need to call him. [Jason tries to put a stop to that, but doesn't know what to buffer Bruce with other than the letter. Jason knows what it says, knows that it details how Dick felt he failed Jason. The kidnapping, the roof, most of what happened is in there.

He feels suddenly a bit like a rat caught in a foxhole. It's the letter or a phone call. At least Jason knows the contents of the letter, so he chooses that.]

He sent a letter along. [He pulls the envelope from inside his backpack.]

[iam_vengeance]

[ It's a diversionary tactic, but at least it's something. Bruce steps further into the room for the first time tonight- he doesn't look so great either. Tired, worn, beat up. More than usual. He's been battling a whole set of new demons here on his own while Jason has been off with his "second rate sidekicks"

He reaches out to take the letter with a bandaged hand.]

Did you read it?

[copsormasks]

[Jason's gaze flicks down to the bandaging on Bruce's hand, eager to seize on the distraction.]

What happened to your hand?

[He pulls the letter in closer to his chest, frowning at Bruce's hand.]

[iam_vengeance]

[ Bruce winces just the slightest, annoyed that the letter is being pulled away. Furthermore, that this is turning on him now. ]

Rough night. Nothing out of the ordinary. Are you going to give it to me or not?

[copsormasks]

[Jason raises his eyes to Bruce, watching him for a moment or two before holding the letter back out. His jaw tightens, preparing himself for the scolding. He got kidnapped, blamed for shit he didn't do, ended up on the roof, dated Deathstroke's daughter, and those are just the highlights.]

Fine. Read away.

[iam_vengeance]

[ Bruce takes the letter, glad that Jason isn't arguing any of it further. He doesn't open it up to read it, though. He doesn't think that would be beneficial to either of them. ]

Thank you.

[He tucks it away, glancing down at the floor for a moment, before looking away completely.]

Settle in. Get some rest.

[copsormasks]

[Oh. That's not what Jason expected at all. He blinks and frowns at Bruce before deciding to count himself temporarily lucky. Works fine for him.]

Sure. I'll be here.

[Jason unzips his backpack and sets the case with the Robin suit next to it. He doesn't dare open a bloodied suit in front of Bruce, so instead he starts unpacking the backpack onto his bed.]

[iam_vengeance]

[ Bruce nods, then turns to leave. He'll head back down to the cave and continue his work. He'll read the letter- or he'll call Dick. He doesn't want to to the latter though, so Jason will probably luck out with the letter only. He only turns back slightly to mutter- ]

There are leftovers in the kitchen if you're hungry.

[Take out only, and no Alfred to check up on them. Bruce doesn't know what else to say, so that's it before he goes.]

[copsormasks]

You cooked? [Jason asks before realizing what a dumb question it is.] Nevermind. Of course it's takeout.

[Which Jason doesn't really mind after being fed rabbit food on the pretense of it being good for him.]

I'll be down in a bit. I need to take a shower.

[Which is really code for washing down his Robin suit.]

[iam_vengeance]

[ Another wince, another quiet nod. That's all Jason's going to get.

Bruce is eager to get back to the solitude of the cave. He really hopes Jason eats and goes to sleep, and he can stay down here for the rest of the night working on some cases. That was about as much interaction as he could handle for today. ]

[copsormasks]

[Jason frowns at Bruce's retreating back but figures something somewhere in the universe had finally taken some kind of mercy on him. He spends most of the day unpacking and, when he's sure Bruce isn't about to pop back in on him, he cleans up the suit and takes an actual shower.

The next day, Jason's starting to really feel the lack of other people in the manor. Usually this wouldn't be an issue. Maybe he'd take one of the bikes on a joyride or test out some of the new gadgets, but Bruce is here, albeit busy down in the cave. So, Jason settles in for some cereal before he makes his way down.

He hasn't missed the place much. Not yet, at least. He pockets his hands and spots a familiar figure. Seems like not having Alfred around has hurt more than helped.]

Did you sleep?

[iam_vengeance]

[ Bruce loses track of time. He loses track of everything while he's down here. That tends to happen most days now. His nights are spent out in the streets of Gotham and his days are spent in the cave. There's no one to force him out of it anymore.

When he hears footsteps, he thinks maybe his lack of sleep is finally catching up to him and he's hearing things now- but then he remembers that Jason came back last night. He hasn't read the letter yet.

Bruce barely turns away from the screens in front of him, but he does glance over slightly. ]

I had things to take care of.

[So no.]

[copsormasks]

[Considering that he isn’t getting chewed out yet either, Jason gathers the letter didn’t get read either. Not exactly a bad thing. Jason pockets his hands and watches Bruce for a moment or two.

If Jason learned anything from his time with the Titans, it was that sleeplessness rarely did anyone good.]

Well I’m not gonna be Alfred, but you should probably sleep.

[iam_vengeance]

[ Not gonna be Alfred. It stings a little, but it also reminds him that he should probably sleep. Bruce just stares at Jason blankly for a moment, then looks down at the files he has spread out on the table in front of him and nods. ]

Yeah. Maybe I should.

[How about that.

He starts shuffling the papers back in their files, in a very specific order, then stands to set them aside before he finally turns to look at Jason completely.]

Did you sleep?

[copsormasks]

Not really. Too revved up to sleep.

[Another lie. Jason spent most of his night cleaning up the Robin suit.]

You do this a lot now?

[Either that or jetsetting away.]