It's been um. It's been, uh, 3... 3 years? Hello.

I am... so sorry? I really am. I did honestly think about this story a lot in that time, just never knew how to finish it. But it was one of my favorites though so I wanted to add another chapter. So um. Here it is!

A lot has happened in 3 years. Not to, like, divulge my personal life but I'm graduating college, and moving to another country, and got into a masters program, and writing a children's book. Fun stuff!

Hope you like this chapter. Please don't kill me. Thanks!

-E

Jason appeared again, flickering in and out of view before finally feeling solid and landing on the rooftop. He was thankfully in warmer gear than last time, jacket tightly buttoned, and gloves secured. He was in Old Gotham, closer to the East Bridge, standing on one of those series of row-homes looking south.

He turned around in a circle, half-looking for Robin and half trying to orientate himself to a "when", a thing he never would have thought he would have to do. A when. Time traveling sporadically. At least he'd already been out.

Then again, he winced, moving toward the ledge, he was supposed to meet up with Nightwing at some point in the night. And yeah, okay, technically, he would be meeting with Robin… and they were, technically, the same person… it wasn't the same thing.

Jason trudged through old icy snow, tainted black and brown from the dirt and grim of the air. It must still be late at night. Or, rather, early morning. The sky was clear, and it was bitter cold out, his breath visible in the air. Jason had half a mind to head into the center of the city; if it was as late or as early as he thought it might be, then Batman and Robin wouldn't even be out at all.

So, should he risk it?

Jason slips his grapple off his belt and then pauses, and then slips it back on again, choosing to start his journey toward the center of the city on the rooftops by foot. It's not the easiest. But he can take it closer than with the grapple and with all the ice, it's his best bet of crossing safely.

"You're back!"

Jason turns around. Nightwing had the uncanny ability to show up completely silent too. It seemed this was a natural and normal skill for the little bastard. Light on his feet, just like Cass.

"I'm back, kiddo," Jason says, walking a few feet over to close the distance. Dick's in, thank god, actual winter gear. Long pants and everything. "It's late out."

"I'm good at staying up!" Dick chirps, "And I have more info on my investigation about you to report."

Jason hums. "Is that so? I must say I'm curious. But I've got a question for you."

"Okay!" Robin says, scampering over to Jason's side, saluting. "I'm all yours."

"How do you know where to find me?"

Robin, Dick, doesn't answer at first. He's a sharp kid, obviously, Jason knows that; Jason spent… well, he had felt like he had to spend a lot of time living up to that. There's a lot more to it than that, though, because Jason stills look at Dick like he's his big brother. He can't help it. And Jason had been brothers with Dick, way back when; there'd been no animosity once they'd gotten past the whole slight jealousy thing because, well, brothers. They'd gotten along tremendously well, Dick had been cool, and Jason looked up to him.

And then Jason died, and he'd forgotten a lot about that.

"I just spot you! You're always just hanging around on rooftops, sure you're not just spyin' on kids?"

Jason barked out a laugh. "No! No, I'm not 'spyin'' on any kids."

"Ya sure? Looks suspicious to me!"

Jason shook his head, grinning under the helmet, "Pretty sure, kiddo. Besides, with someone like you patrolling the streets, who'd even bother?"

Robin beamed. His face light up and he squeezed his eyes shut, rounds cheeks blushing light pink from what Jason knew was not the cold.

"So, ready for your report?"

Jason shrugs. "Meh. I don't know. I'm a pretty suspicious looking figure, you know, just hangin' around being suspicious."

Robin scrunched up his nose. "Fine, I guess I won't tell you."

So, Jason, who bets he can hold out longer than an eight-year-old, shrugs and takes a seat on the ground. Robin is quick to follow, although like before, he sits a few feet away. They aren't too heavily exposed on the rooftop, Jason makes sure, and even in the bitter cold they don't feel the wind bite at them. He still almost wishes for summer.

Ironically, he recalls Dick mentioning that he loved windy and snowy days. Never asked why though. Or, he'd never clarified.

He glanced over at the kid, at Dick, who was bundled up in winter gear and staring out over the city. It had annoyed him, for the longest time, how chipper and happy and upbeat Dick was. And that was despite the whole "getting along" thing. He just hadn't understood.

But that was underestimating him.

There was a reason his brother has lasted so long. Was so good at what they did. Jason used to resent Dick, in the beginning, for being so good. So great. His life had been good. He'd had loving parents and then got taken in by practically the richest guy in the world. But then.

They died. They had to die. Not just his parents. But his aunt and uncle and cousin too. And then the circus had just left.

And anyway, Jason couldn't sit there and worry about the past. Dick had tried with them. And Jason had been receptive. He only had… when he'd gotten back, his mind had been so… angry and confused, he'd forgotten. He forgot how much Dick meant to him.

"How's everything with the big ole Bat?"

Dick smiled at him. "I'm learning a lot!"

"Yeah, what's something you learned recently?"

Dick hummed and rocked in his position. "I dunno."

"You 'dunno'? Must not be learning a lot then."

"I am!" Dick insisted, "I am, I am! Um, I learned some stuff about detectiving–."

"Detectiving?"

"–but I can't give away all our secrets!"

Jason laughed. "Yeah, kiddo?"

Dick nodded vigorously. He edged toward Jason. "Yeah! If I told you all the stuff I was learnin' it wouldn't be a surprise when I did it in front of you."

Jason quirked an eyebrow. Dick was looking up at him brightly. "Oh?"

"I have to show off to someone," Dick huffed, "And Batman says it doesn't look good if I show off. I'm not allowed. But I can show off a little, right? To you at least?"

Jason didn't have to see Dick's eyes to imagine the pleading look in them. He wanted to say yes but wanted to avoid making solid plans because he simply didn't know when he was going to be back and returned. He couldn't tell Dick anything because he simply didn't know what was happening.

"Alright, next time I see you."

"When?" Dick asked excitedly, hands clasped together.

Jason grimaced beneath his helmet. "Detective that, kiddo." And then he flicked Dick's ear.

The kid giggled and pulled away, covering his mouth with his gloved hand. They fell into comfortable silence, both looking out over the city.

"Can I ask you a question?" Dick asked him.

Jason glanced over. "Ruining my quiet evening watching the snow?"

Dick squirmed, scrunching up his nose. "Fine, fine. Watch your snow I guess."

"Nah, you've already ruined it kiddo. What's your question?"

"Do you have any siblings? I think you'd be a good big brother."

Jason blinked. Then blinked again. When he spoke, his throat was dry. "Yeah. I do. I have a few younger siblings. And an older brother."

Dick patted his hand, reaching over just a little too far out of his reach, as if it were some comfort. "Can I tell you a secret. You can't tell Batman."

Jason found himself leaning forward. "Okay."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Dick pulled himself up to his knees and scrambled over to Jason, kneeling on his knees and cupping his hands over his mouth to whisper into the side of Jason's helmet. "I want to be a big brother."

Jason's mouth was dry. "Oh yeah?"

Dick leans back on his heels. "Yeah. I. I could've been."

"You probably shouldn't be telling a stranger this."

Dick frowns. "You're not a stranger though. You're Jay."

Jason lays his hand on Dick's shoulder. "I'm gonna give you some advice, kiddo. Keep your secrets to yourself and don't trust anyone."

"But–."

Jason moves to hurriedly stand up, brushing the snow off his pants. "I gotta go. Just, uh, just get back safely okay?"

Then he jumps off the roof.

When he gets back home, Nightwing is waiting for him.

"Hood!" he exclaims, jumping off the roof to land where Jason was standing. "Ready to go?"

I could've been.

Jason appears back on a back street in what appears to be midnight. He flickers into view but is already moving forward, shooting his grapple up. He lands on the roof and barely spots the smaller yellow caped body just a few feet from him. The boy is in a position to fight, feet apart and fists clenched.

"Hey, kiddo, funny seeing you here," Jason jokes.

But Dick doesn't drop the stance. "Thought you said I couldn't trust anybody."

Jason had already been moving toward him but stops short. He doesn't know how long it's been. But Dick's still in winter gear, so it couldn't have been too long. But, then again, he doesn't know. Winter lasts long in Gotham. And there had even been times well into April where Jason was bundled up in his own winter gear, standing on a rooftop and cursing the wind.

"Yeah," he says, mouth dry, "I did."

"Why are you here?" Dick asks, little voice very intense.

They both hear the sound of a grapple in the distance. Jason scrams.

Jason is sitting with Dick in his safehouse. He'd invited his older brother over for a beer and a movie.

It's not the first time they have hung out like that. Not even close. But it's one of the few that Jason knows he'll remember for a long time.

"N'other beer?" Dick asks, moving toward Jason's fridge.

"Sure," he says, voice a little quiet.

It happens again not even a week later, except Jason finds himself on a roof this time. It's later in the morning, the moon lower in the sky. And this time it's Jason who spots Robin first. Dick is swinging over the city, light as air and with feet for feathers.

He doesn't hesitate before launching himself forward, shooting his grapple out to catch up to Dick. Half of him tells him he's an idiot and he needs to be wary of Batman, but the other half is stronger and so Jason finds himself playing catchup with Dick on the rooftops.

Even as a child, his brother is quick and fast, but Jason's legs are longer.

"Hey!" he yells, cupping his one hand over his mouth and landing on a roof. Either Dick doesn't hear him or ignores him. And Jason waits a second for his grapple line to snap back before he realizes he's lost his brother.

"Shit," he mutters, sprinting over toward the other side of the rooftop to leap to the next apartment building. He lands on the rail of a fire-escape and swings a bit into the brick, grunting at the impact. Heaving himself up, Jason views small green boots. He looks up to find Dick.

"You'd be a great older brother," he says instantly.

Dick scrunches his nose. The kid looks adorable. He takes a step back and Jason stables himself on the fire-escape, grabbing the rail for a second. He stands several heads taller because Dick is so tiny and looks down at his small guest as the boy begins to speak.

"I thought you said I couldn't trust you."

"Anyone," Jason corrects, "But. But you can. If you want. I'll leave that to you."

Dick frowns. "Well, why would you trust me?"

Jason ruffles Dick's already unruly hair, not much has changed there, and grinned beneath his helmet. "Well, you're one half of the Dynamic Duo. Let's be honest, you're the better half."

Dick smiled shyly and grabbed the bottom of Jason's jacket. "You bein' honest right now?"

Jason holds a hand up and grins. "As honest as a ruler is straight. You'd be a great big brother. You'd take your sibling skiing and go on trips and when your dad is getting annoying, you'd tell them you'll be there to listen if they needed it. And I think you'd be a good person to talk too."

Dick doesn't react like he thinks. He lowers his head and tilts it to the side and frowns. Then, he looks up at Jason, masked eyes wide. "Is that what your brother did for you?"

Jason freezes and looks down at Dick. "Yeah. He did that."

Dick nods seriously. "Yeah," he laughs, smiling. Then he looks back up at Jason. "Maybe I'll do that if I ever get a brother!"

Jason feels like he's been plunged in ice. Had he somehow influenced how Dick had acted toward him almost ten years later? Or… or was that just how Dick expected a brother to work?

"You do that, kiddo," Jason says. "And let's get off this fire-escape and on the roof. Tradition."

"Our very own!" Dick says quickly, jumping up onto the railing and leaping up the escape.

Jason follows behind him, quick to check the area in case they're being watched. He doesn't know how they've been doing this for so long, because Jason knows Bruce has to know Dick's off doing something. He has to wonder where Dick's been running off to, where he's been lingering for sometimes an hour at a time. But Dick is still there, still sniffing Jason out like a kid sniffing glue, so maybe Bruce isn't as omnipresent as he presumes to be.

And this is well before Oracle, so maybe it's just that.

Dick has settled himself by an AC unit that's clearly seen better days, knees scrunched up in front of him with his hands clasped around his shins. He's grinning at Jason as the man walks over and squeezes himself next to him. Their shoulders, well, Dick's shoulder and Jason's elbow touch.

"I didn't lie," he said, "You would be a great older brother."

"Thanks," Little Dick says, voice small, "How do you think I can convince Batman to let me have a little sibling."

"Have you thought about just asking?" Jason said, thinking how funny the look on Bruce's face would be.

Dick's nose scrunched up and he turned his head away, shaking it. "I don't think I've… been around long enough."

Jason is quiet for a long time before he says in a very small and tentative almost-whisper, "You don't have parents, do you? You live with Batman?"

He can feel Dick tense next to him; all of eight years old and with such a heavy burden on him. How long had it been? Probably barely more than a few months. Jason's only been appearing back here since, what, the early fall? It's winter now. He knows Dick's parents died sometime in the spring and early summer. But the in-between's and the when's were all questions he didn't have the answers to.

Dick instead pulls away slightly, and Jason can say for sure that the weight of the boy's shoulder near his elbow was comforting. It pangs for barely a moment, because Jason wants his older brother for a split second, but he turns and watched Dick shift over a little bit.

Jason wonders for a second what it would have been like if he'd been the older brother. He doesn't know if he could look at this Dick Grayson with anything other than adoration, because this kid's already so strong and smart. He's never felt like an older brother; for heaven's sake, he'd tried to kill Tim several times. Almost killed Dick too. Damian, he felt a sort of tired ambivalence over.

I mean, god, the kid was annoying.

He didn't have nearly the same relationship with him that Dick, or even Tim but that was pushing it, did. Dick and Damian's relationship… well, that was their own thing. Not something the others were privy too or understood. Jason would be happy to be big brother, and sometimes it felt like he was, but he just didn't know what to do. Or even how to approach it. Dick was closer with all of them than they were with each other and the one after that was Cass, because they all adored their sister.

Maybe. Jason glances down at Dick, who's clearly still struggling to come up with an answer to Jason's question.

"You know what," he says, "Forget about that. If you were gonna be a big brother, what would you do?" Because Jason had no fucking idea.

Dick glances at him somewhat suspiciously but settles and squares his shoulders and leans forward a little. "I'd… teach my sibling things."

"Teach them things," Jason says.

"Like… stuff I know! Like family stuff, so they would fit in. Like, I know, um, when I got… where I am, I worried I wouldn't fit in. So, it was nice when, um, I was shown stuff that mattered to my new… where I live now. And I think I'd want to do the same. Share family things to make sure they know they're family," Little Dick says, looking earnestly up at Jason.

He remembered, back before he died, Dick offering to show Jason the trapeze. He regretted turning it down now, but what's done is done, and now he's almost too old to be as flexible as he was then. Not to say he couldn't train, but the acrobatics thing was more Robin than… Red Hood, and Jason doesn't really need the skills.

But it wasn't really about needing the skills, was it?

What did he have that he could teach Tim or Damian or Duke?

Not… not much. Mostly because most of his free time was, well, doing Red Hood stuff. So.

"And what would you teach?"

"Acrobatics!" Dick said, unsurprisingly. "You?"

"Um…," Jason said, "I like… books."

"Then share your books!"

"I don't even know if they like books."

Dick huffs. "Then ask!"

"Ask if they like books?"

"Obviously."

"But what if they don't."

Dick gives him a pointed look and squeezes back into his side again, peering up through the lenses of his mask. "Then you find something else! You're family. You have to have something in common."

Jason… wasn't so sure about that. Maybe asking the younger version of his brother was a bad idea because he didn't know their brothers yet. But Jason wasn't sure he could set aside his pride to ask Dick-of-the-future himself, as much as it would thrill the other one.

"How about," Dick tapped a small finger against his chin in thought, something, Jason thought fondly, he did in the future as an adult as well, "How about this! You ask them what they like to do and do it with them!"

Jason nodded slowly. Yeah, alright, okay. That was doable. Didn't Damian like to paint? He knew that because Dick had mentioned how proud of the kid's progress, he was. He'd given Damian Mary Grayson's goddamn sketchbook.

"My mom, she said my dad really, really loved books and she could listen to him talk about them all day even if she didn't understand them at all, because she loved him a lot," Dick said very softly, as if once spoken the words would bury themselves into the snow and melt away with the incoming spring.

"Yeah?" Jason asked.

"So, you can listen and do things with them too, even if you don't understand, because it's something that makes them happy. I do that with Batman, I think he likes it," Dick remarked, humming a little at the end.

Jason reached over and ruffled Dick's head. "Anyone ever tell you you're a really smart kid? And. And really nice?"

Dick gasped. "Who, me?"

"Prideful too, apparently."

"At least I'm not suspicious!"

"Who're you calling suspicious!"

"Creepy man lingering watching for kids!"

Jason gasped in mock hurt. "What! You came to me!"

Dick giggled, "Alright, I'll give you that. Truce?"

"Oh, absolutely." Jason winks at Dick who smiles back at him.

"I should probably go," Dick mumbles after a moment, "But I'm glad I caught you."

"You too, kiddo," Jason says, watching Dick get up and stretching back in what seemed to immensely hurt (at least, it'd really fucking hurt his back).

Dick disappears after a moment over the roofline and into the night and so Jason leans back, lights a cigarette, and waits until he fades away.

The next time he sees Damian, he asks him about his art. The boy is hesitant and unsure, like Jason's trying to trick him into thinking his art is cool and that he shouldn't really be excited about it, like a bully feigning interest in another's kid's stuff just to laugh when they let their guard down. It hurts a little, Jason admits to himself as Damian lectures him on the different types of watercolor washes, but he tries to ask questions. He really wants to know, he tells himself, and finds that, well, he actually does.

When Jason lands back somewhere in Gotham he almost falls off a dock. His arms cartoonishly swirl around him before he regains enough of his balance to throw himself from the water, landing on the wood dock with a THUMP!

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his head before realizing, ah, helmet, he can't. So, he sits up and tries to get his bearings. He's back east again, of course, because he's by the water, and alone. And it's, well, night again. But there's not sign of Robin or even Batman here, yet, so Jason takes a moment to breathe and think about why the fuck this is happening.

He almost always appears around Dick though, so that has to be… something to do with it. He looks around for a flash of the colors, but can't…

Jason peers out into the murky water.

There's something floating out there.

And he almost always, no… not almost; he always appears somewhere near Dick, near Robin.

Jason is tearing off his jacket and diving into the water before he even gets a thought beyond that. Dick is further away than he realizes, maybe a good 25 meters, before Jason has his arm wrapped around him and is pulling the little boy, his older brother, close. And.

Don't look. Don't fucking look.

(His lips are tainted blue.)

Jason's pulls through the icy cold water and shocking and they hurt. He can barely breathe (jumping in had been a dumb idea; he should've gotten in slowly but what can you do) and the water in Gotham's harbor is brackish and polluted.

He keeps a close hold on his older brother, tightening his arm almost completely around the small body (he's so. He's fucking tiny) and lurching them both forward through the water. Trying to keep your neat up while swimming is hard enough, trying to two keep two heads up while swimming with one arm is near impossible.

When he gets to the dock, he thanks god that it's high tide, and throws Dick up as hard as he can. When the boy is sufficiently on the dock, Jason lurches himself up, scrambling to follow, before he falls back down into the icy water.

No, no, nonononono FUCK!

He surfaces and grabs the edge of the dock boards and pulls, desperate to get up there and start… and find Dick alive and breathing and not blue-tinged.

Where the hell was Batman?

He gets himself up, scrambling against the wood, whogivesafuckaboutsplintersanyway, and nearly drops himself on Robin's, Dick's, blue-tinged and lifeless body.

He pats the boy's cheeks, his right-hand grabbing Dick's tiny little one, and asks, "D– Robin? Are you awake? Come on, kiddo, talk to me. Tell him suspicious or creepy or something. Robin?"

Dick's head lolls limp to the side.

"No," Jason says through clenched teeth, "No, no, I refuse. Come on, kiddo." And he starts chest compressions. (If you think there's something in the throat or airway, don't do CPR, Jason.)

It's maybe… what? Not even thirty seconds when Dick starts to sputter, dirty water dribbling from his throat, that Jason turns him on his side and rubs his back, relief dropping his tense shoulders.

When finally, Dick seems to have recovered, Jason lays him down on his back. "You with me, kid?"

"Haileo," he rasps, "Anseo."

"English, kiddo, for my sake," Jason says, "You know who I am?"

Dick blinks up at him, hand still in Jason's, "Cold."

Jason blinks, then nods, and then, "Oh, uh, right." He reaches over and grabs his jacket, wrapping Dick in it and pulling him close. He's freezing too, but his gear is somewhat water-resistant and waterproof. He'll have to get somewhere warm soon, but Dick was the priority.

They sit there, little Dick Grayson wrapped in Jason's heavy jacket and arms, on the dock looking out toward the harbor.

"Are you alright?"

"Thank you," Dick says quietly, "I'm okay. Thugs. Got knocked off doing recon for Batman."

Jason glanced around them. "He'll be looking for you soon, but I can't leave you here."

Dick tightens his hold on Jason, moving in almost closer. Jason feels. He isn't sure what he feels. Is this what it was like for Dick and Damian? Couldn't be, no, because. Jason wasn't. He didn't… Dick was a good kid.

"Don't go!" he whispered in a hurried voice, "If Batman sees you and figures out who you are, he might make you leave!"

"I–," Jason says, "I know. Alright. But I can't leave you by yourself, either. You need to get warm."

"I am warm," Dick says, peering up at Jason.

The older boy scrunches up his nose. "I doubt that."

"Your jacket is warm. And you give good hugs."

"This isn't a hug."

"It sure feels like a hug."

Jason lets go immediately, but he's kinda, well, he's kinda smiling. "Yeah, I think you're better."

"Hey!"

"How about this, you activate your help signal and I'll wait for a few minutes. Just until he might be close and then I'll dip, alright?"

Dick, now sitting still completely wrapped in Jason's jacket but off the man's lap, nodded earnestly. "That's a good compromise."

They're quiet for another second as Dick fumbles with the emergency signal. Jason hadn't even thought about that before, when Dick was nearly dead (he was surprisingly well-adjusted for a kid who'd almost been dead), because Oracle and the Batcomputer monitored their suits if anything went wrong and their vitals were out of the ordinary.

"I'm glad you were close," Dick says quietly, glancing over at Jason, eyes wide.

"Me too," Jason says, honestly, because it's true and he is glad, and he hates that both of them had to go through that. Jason isn't sure what he'd do if he'd had to cradle his… his older brother's dead body. He's not sure he could handle older Dick dying (he couldn't, none of them could), let alone this small, tiny, and impossibly amazing version (he thinks he understands Bruce a little more now).

"Like magic," little Dick hums, and then holds the blinking signal up. "He's coming."

Jason moves to get up but pauses. "You… you're alright?"

Dick nods. "I'm alright."

"Alright, I… I'll be near, in case you need me," Jason says. He moves to leave but stops a moment and ruffles Dick's hair. The boy scrunches up his face and smiles up at him, clearly weary and tired but alive and breathing and safe and Jason is okay with all of that if he's just alive.

He scrambles down off the dock and hides by some tarped crates. He disappears before Batman even arrives. He hopes Dick didn't wait too long.

When he see's his brother again, Jason stays by his side. He calls Dick as his partner for patrol (which Damian adamantly fights against because, like, the kid is still annoying even if he and Jason talk about art a lot more now) and then asks him if they want to go and get lunch and, oh, by the way, how are things with Babs lately? Good, that's good, hey how about dinner next week maybe?

It was good. Jason. Jason was enjoying it.

Like magic, little Dick had said.

Yeah, Jason thinks… it was a little like magic.

Hopefully you won't have to wait another 3 years but 3 chapters in 6 years has to be some sort of record, right?

Also, I have a Dick Grayson (batfam too but mostly Dick) Discord server, /PeXbEHP where, if you want, you can bully me into updating fics. All ages welcome, just be sure to read the rules and guidelines! Thanks! If that link doesn't show up, it's on my Ao3 version of this story too, same name and username, and you can always find me on tumblr at thetrackrunner and ask for a link!

Hopefully I'll see you sooner rather than later. Thanks!