Yâall I totally forgot it was Wednesday, but I didnât come empty handed! No answers, of course, just a peek back into dinner while Dannyâs off committing Crimes đ
ââââ-
Jason really wished he could just focus on having a good time with his family. The food was, as always, exquisite, and Sam and Tucker were moaning happily along with the others.
It smelled great. It looked great. It tasted great, but something in the back of Jasonâs head just wouldnât switch off.
Not until Danny came back.
Even the thought that Danny might be in danger while he just ate dinner sat like a lead weight in his stomach.
The expanded aura⌠well. It kind of helped? Being practically choked by Dannyâs presence, aware in every pore of his skin that Danny was there, was fine, wasnât hurting, did help.
It just. Made it impossible to really think about anything else.
He was barely following the conversation, just reading the intricacies of Dannyâs mood changes and losing track of sentences as people said them.
Finally, finally, Dannyâs aura shifted again.
<<Done-got him-no big deal-coming back>>.
Jason almost sagged in his seat, shoulders unknotting marginally (they probably wouldnât finish until he could see Danny and prove he was fine).
Sent <<impatient-relieved-happy-hurry back>> as well as he could, and nearly dropped his fork at the warm swell of <<affection> he received in return.
Well.
<<Affection-amused-teasing>>.
Clearing his throat, Jason did his best to will away the heat along the back of his neck. Nope, he wasnât gonna blush when Danny wasnât even here to look at him while smothering him in those feelings.
And it was definitely just the pit curling up into a little buzzing ball of happiness in his chest. Definitely not actually Jason melting like snow under a blow torch.
Whatever.
Danny was fine, heâd be back soon and Alfred had saved them both plates. And sure, maybe something in Jason wouldnât unclench until he could see Danny in person, but letting Alfredâs cooking go cold was a sin.
He dug into his still steaming plate, forcing his shoulders to relax a little. Tucker and Tim were still talking about tech, currently disparaging what GIW thought were elite security measures.
Harley had lured Sam, Duke, and Cass into a discussion of her new place in Coney Island at the other end of the table, and yeah, Jason could get interested in that.
Someone might have already asked, but hey. He waited for a convenient pause and leaned in.
âDidnât Croc move down there with you? He and Riddler attacked the gala last night,â he explained when Harley made a curious noise, head cocking to one side.
Her brow furrowed, so apparently the others hadnât gotten this far yet. Not sure if he was glad or gonna tease them mercilessly later.
âHe what? Yeah, he moved in, but he came back this way ta keep me company as I came up here. Someoneâs tryinâ ta give me a hard time cuzza my criminal record, anâ theyâre gettinâ intel from one of your local problems,â she added with a shrug, waving her hand.
Cuz yeah, that was also on the list; sheâd been up with Ivy, neither of them noticeably causing trouble before apparently Ida Manson got them out of town.
Cass made a small noise of concern and Harley patted her hand, grinning.
âOh, donât you worry about me doll, itâs all under control. Thought it might be Pengy havinâ another go at my spot but he burst into tears when I walked in so itâs probâly not him,â she said with a very self satisfied smile.
Jason chuckled softly because⌠yeah, he could picture that. It tracked.
âSmart man,â Duke agreed with a snicker and Harley gave him a fist bump.
âYeah, Iâll run âem down. But why was Waylon at the gala? He jusâ said he was gonna look inta some shit while I was gone,â Harley asked, looking around the table for an answer.
Jason shrugged.
âAll their demands were for Harvey Dent. Apparently he was planning to make a run and they beat him to the punch,â he explained, in as much as he understood.
If no one else had a hand on Dent by tonight, he miiiight stretch one of his Red Hood patrols out of Crime Alley to go for a look see.
The man missed his party. The least Jason could do was pay a personal visit.
âCroc mentioned Jason,â Cass noted with a small frown, looking up at him with concern.
And, yeah, that was the other reason he was thinking of getting involved. He couldnât imagine what the fuck heâd done as a civvie to annoy Dent.
Harley huffed, blowing blonde bangs off her face and lacing her fingers, pointing at Jason.
âOkay, so we gotta go talk to Waylon tomorrow and find out whatâs goinâ on. Heâs cominâ with me back to Coney when the time comes so he ainât got time for Arkham,â she said firmly, and something settled in Jasonâs gut.
Waylon had so badly wanted the Red Hood not to turn out like he had; another criminal permanently trapped in the system. Yeah, heâd like to return the favour.
Of course, not everyone in the room was up on all the secrets. Sam leaned forward, breaking her quiet streak that as far as Jason knew was her longest ever.
âWait, youâre going to break that guy out of jail? He wanted to strap a bomb vest to Jason,â she said harshly, finally snapping Tim and Tucker out of their little happy world.
Jason raised both hands.
âHe didnât succeed.â Much as Danny had freaked out about it, Jason wasnât gonna complain about things that hadnât happened.
Too much like it actually happened every day, heâd never be done.
Oh. Maybe that was kinda why Danny had freaked out. That probably wasnât good.
His personal revelation was dampened by Harley waving a hand easily.
âNah nah nah, weâre not gonna break âim out tomorra. Heâs gonna tell us what the fuck he was thinkinâ, Iâm gonna break Dentâs kneecaps, and Batsyâs gonna give a character statement anâ get âim released to me for community service.â
And if any of that didnât work, they could still just break Croc out the next day. Jason knew the unspoken corollary.
Tuckerâs eyebrows raised and he said the very stupidest thing that Jason had ever heard from a genius, and heâd seen Tim on 72 hours of no sleep.
âYou know Batman?â He asked incredulously.
Harley stared at him for a long moment. Then snickered.
âYeah, we know each other from work,â she said dryly, waving her fork, âwe go way back.â
The assorted bats snickered to themselves and Tucker sunk back in his chair a little, grinning sheepishly around the table.
âYeah⌠sorry.â
Sam rolled her eyes, arms folded as she frowned down the table. She clearly had a bigger question, which was probably fair for anyone who didnât know the combined Harley-and-bats history.
âAnd you think Batman will do you a favour? Heâs not exactly known to listen to reason,â she pointed out half sarcastically. Not that anyone in the room would argue.
There was a reason Jason loved her.
Harley weighed her up for a moment, then grinned, leaning forward.
âYâknow, kid, I donât think we were introduced. Thereâs somethinâ real familiar about you,â she mused, folding her arms on the table and leaning over them, plate slowly nudged aside.
Sam smirked and shrugged. They were meeting a lot of new people these past couple days, but if sheâd been doing the gala circuit her whole life?
Yeah, this probably wasnât the worst. Harley was better than Jason had ever met at a party.
âSam Manson. Friend of Jasonâs through Danny,â she added with a nod to the empty seat still between her and Jason.
Harley beamed, hiking forward onto the table a little more.
âOh, youâd be Idaâs granddaughter then?â She asked brightly, clearly pleased to have been right. âYour grannyâs a real doll, sent me and Ivy on a real sweet vacation this week.â
Sam chuckled softly and nodded, giving Harley a half apologetic half cocky smile.
âYeah, thatâd be my fault. Iâm not allowed to come to Gotham if thereâs a chance Poison Ivy is in town,â she explained, fingers on her left hand tapping against her right arm.
Both of Harleyâs brows went up.
âOh? Are they scared somethinâ might happen to ya?â She asked, tone already very firmly suggesting she knew the answer.
So did most of the rest of the table, though Duke hadnât actually heard the explanation last night. Not like he needed to, having met Sam for more than five minutes.
Sam didnât disappoint. She gave another elegant half shrug, her smile turning fully dark.
âOh, more the opposite. They think Iâll run off and join her if I see her,â she said innocently. Across the table, Tucker snorted most of a laugh.
A moment later Harley joined him, tossing her head back and laughing.
âYeah, that sounds like Idaâs girl,â she agreed, wiping a dainty tear from her eye, âshe was a real spitfire in her younger days, the stories she told Ivy when they were protestinâ together were wild.â
Sam was practically glowing with pride, and Jason had to admit that he would kinda like to meet her grandmother. Heâd met her parents, and⌠well, maybe awesome skipped a generation.
Harley suddenly stopped, head cocking as she noticed something, a sly smile creeping across her face.
âSo if they think youâll run away with Ivy⌠whadda they thinkâll happen if ya run into me?â She asked with a delicately studied innocence, examining her nails.
âOnly good things,â Cass offered, grinning past Jason at Sam. Sam grinned back, giving Harley a shrug and a similarly innocent smile.
âYâknow, theyâve just never mentioned it. Clearly thereâs no concerns there,â she agreed, and Jason snickered, raising his glass in a toast.
âNone here,â he noted and Sam laughed, clinking her glass against his. Dick raised a hand, fighting a laugh.
âOne concern for the integrity of Bruceâs skull?â He offered innocently, and laughed when Jason threw a napkin at him.
âIf Bruceâs skull was gonna break itâd have done it years ago,â Steph opined as the voice of experience. Jason raised his glass to her too, but she was a little far to clink.
She grabbed hers up and raised it back anyway, and Sam filled the gap, clinking hers to Jasonâs and then to Stephâs to pass it on.
âItâs good for him ta get his eggs scrambled,â Harley agreed from the other end of the table, raising her glass too, âand Iâm gonna guess you did some percussive maintenance too that Iâll ask about later.â
âBruce might still have a concussion,â Duke offered, not completely certain where he sat with this kind of joking, but the kid was new.
You had to watch Bruce try and kill himself going out on patrol with more bones broken than whole a couple times before you gave into his indestructibility.
Shit, maybe he should ask Danny if Bruce was liminal. For all the guy was technically a default human, Jason knew literal aliens with a better grasp on humanity.
And ghosts, now.
Harley gave him a nod anyway and patted his hand.
âIâll aim low then sugar, donât you fret. But to answer yer other question, Sam, Batmanâs gonna get Waylon out for me cuz he doesnât want âim in Arkham any more ân we do. Bats wants us all ta get better, and Waylon does best left alone,â she explained with a shrug.
âUntil you leave him unsupervised and he teams up with Riddler?â Tim asked with a slight smile.
Jason shook his head, leaning forward on his arms too.
âHe wouldnât do it for no reason. He asked what Iâd done to upset Two Face, but I canât think of anything.â They didnât even cross paths often.
Dent had taken Red Hoodâs claim on Crime Alley as a given, learned quickly that Jason didnât give a shit about playing nice, and minded his business.
âYou sound like you know him pretty well,â Tucker said with a slight frown, and Jason shrugged.
Yeah, Tucker wasnât in on the Robin thing yet. Luckily there was an easy answer.
âI grew up in Gotham. You guys keep coming back and youâll get a feel for most of âem too.â
Tucker hesitated for a moment, probably thinking back to Amity and their own ghostly rogues. Then he nodded, settling back to poke at his mostly finished plate.
Tim still didnât look convinced, but he didnât know Waylon the way Jason did. Theyâd never had the chance to talk beyond the usual Robin-and-Rogue.
Jason could prove his point tomorrow. Maybe bring Danny along.
And like the thought summoned him, Jasonâs phone buzzed to a text from Danny.
âDannyP: who tf is Constantine??đđđ¤Łâ
ââââ
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