Web-ing through it
Jason was starting to get worried - Jason -. A couple of days after he had the panic attack, Peter seemed to have shrunk into himself. Although he couldn’t really blame the guy, it was quite troubling; he was so quiet.
And still no answer from Constantine, great.
“Red Hood, are you listening?” said Nightwing, waving a hand in front of Jason’s face. He slapped it away.
“Could you repeat that?”
“I said, there’s no movement in the warehouse so far. It seems they won’t be coming today”.
“Why am I here with you on a stakeout, again?” Jason sighed.
“Because you want to catch the Penguin as much as we do. Things have escalated quickly since Joker went out of commission” Nightwing repeated, something he’d had to do several times tonight.
“What 's going on? Something worrying you?” he inquired, concerned. He always seemed worried about Jason lately. He hated it.
“It’s dawning now, I don’t think they’ll show up”, said Jason, changing the subject.
“I’ll let it go for now, but don’t think I’ll forget”, Nightwing warned, pointing a finger at him.
Jason knew he was serious. Shit, he would have to warn Peter about someone breaking into the apartment soon.
When he finally got home, it was late. Early? Vigilante work hours made time confusing. Entering, he immediately catched the image of Peter, curled into a ball on the couch, empty mug on the coffee table. That couldn’t be comfortable, Jason imagined.
“Peter, hey”. He greeted, nudging his arm to wake him up.
“... Wha’s up” Peter slurred, clearly half-asleep.
“Go to bed if you’re going to sleep, you’ll hurt your back here”
“Meh” was the helpful answer. Peter promptly fell asleep again.
Well, the dude needed all the sleep he could get, he guessed. There was a lot to process.
After getting to close his eyes a couple hours, Jason went to the kitchen to check on the pantry and fridge. Huh, they were low on rations; time to get groceries.
Leaving a note on the kitchen table explaining where he went, Jason left. Peter was still lying on the couch.
…
There was someone trying to break into the apartment, Peter could hear the window opening. His spider-sense somehow found them familiar, but they were definitely not Jason.
Instinctively, Peter did the first thing that came to mind (bad idea), throwing a web in the direction of the intruder, getting up from the couch. He never went anywhere without his web-shooters on anymore.
“Hey! What the-” yelled the intruder, it was a voice he strangely remembered, but couldn’t place. In front of Peter, there was a tall and broad man with dark hair. His feet were caught in webs.
“Who are you?” Peter demanded, trying to look as imposing as possible.
“Who am I? Who are you?” However, Peter detected some recognition in the man’s eyes. Had they run into each other before? He wasn’t sure, his spider-sense said yes.
“I’m not supposed to tell my name to people breaking into the place I live. Stranger danger and all that” Peter retorted.
“You live here?” the man asked, confusion all over his face. Peter thought the guy was a pretty bad burglar.
“Are you new to the burglar business or something?”, he seriously asked.
“What?” the maybe-burglar said, with a look that showed he thought Peter was an idiot. Jason gave him that look a lot.
After a few minutes of silence, the man sighed. “Does Jason still live here?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“You guys live here together?”, exclaimed the other man, amazed.
“Are you an idiot?”. The maybe-burglar-definitely-intruder merely laughed in response.
“I am Dick Grayson”, smiled. It was a nice smile, full of dimples.
“Oh? This is awkward. You are his brother, he told me about you”, he said. “I’m Peter, nice to meet you I guess?”
“Hello Peter, nice to meet you too”, the not-burglar named Dick Grayson laughed again. “Mind helping me out of this?”
“Uh, it should dissolve in about… half an hour”
Silence.
“... I see”, the other man slowly answered.
“Sorry?” Peter said, helpfully. He should get around fabricating dissolvent for his webs. And more web fluid, actually.
“It’s not on you. I’m the one who made a break-and-entering”, Dick seemed awkward for a moment. “Wasn’t expecting to find someone else here”. There was a glint in his eyes that made Peter feel uneasy for some reason.
“Why were you getting in through the window anyway? There’s a perfectly good door, you know”, he said pointedly.
“Old habits die hard?” the other man shrugged, offering no real explanation.
“...Right.”
“So, Peter. How long have you been dating my brother?”
…
Jason almost dropped the bags full with groceries. He had great timing, really.
“Jason!”, greeted Peter, running up to him to help with the bags. He was as red as a tomato. “ I saw your note”.
“Yeah, uh, we were running out of stuff”, Jason said, eyeing Dick.
“Hey, little brother”. Dick had a mischievous smile on his face. Bad news. “I was just getting to know Peter”.
Jason really didn’t like the tone with which the name was said. Then, he noticed Dick hadn’t moved to greet him, frozen in place. “What the hell is that?”
“Uh… my artificial webs?” Peter answered, making emphasis on the artificial part. “I thought he was a burglar”
“Webs? Wait… You thought my brother was a burglar?” Jason, despite the confusion, bursted laughing so hard he didn’t notice the weird look Dick had on his face.
“What are these webs, anyway? They came out of you?”, Dick suspiciously asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Artificial webs, I’m not a spider”, Peter blatantly said. “They come pretty handy to deal with intruders”, was the only explanation he offered. Jason would have to ask about it later.
“Which reminds me! Try to remove the webs now”, Peter looked at Dick, pointing to his feet, after looking at the clock on the wall.
“Hey, it worked!” Dick stretched his legs happily. “So… How long have you been dating?” He added, not giving up. In hindsight, he was glad he didn’t question the web-thing any further.
“What.” Jason this time did drop the eggs he was just taking out of the bag, being caught by Peter immediately before they could hit the floor (super-reflexes as well? nice).
He risked a look at his brother. Dick was crossing his arms and had a smug smile on his face. However, his eyes were odd; he definitely had noticed Peter’s quick response.
“Uhhhh…” Peter said, very helpful. What was happening? Was Dick on drugs? Was Jason on drugs? He for sure felt like he was hallucinating.
“Well, you are living together, after all”
“That’s an odd train of thought. Friends can casually live together too”, was Peter’s response.
“Casual, huh? That’s not a word I’d have ever used to describe Jason”, Dick said, eyeing said man.
“Huh”, Jason intelligently said. Should he correct the assumption? His brother was right, Jason never did anything casually nor would have shared his space willingly with anyone just like that.
The problem with correcting the misunderstanding was that he would have to tell Peter’s story. And telling that story would entail telling his brother he had met Peter as Red Hood, so it would be admitting that the guy knew both his work and civilian self… after barely knowing him for a few days. For someone so careful, Jason had really been careless around Peter.
They would never let it go.
Also, he had the feeling that going around sharing Peter’s story wouldn’t end well, he was already overwhelmed enough. Thus, he probably should still wait to talk to the others about the situation.
“He’s actually… an old friend. He’s in trouble, so I brought him here”, Jason lied through his teeth. Peter turned his head, so quickly he most likely got whiplash, and looked at him like he had gone insane. He probably had.
However, it was close enough to the truth. Peter had almost got attacked by the Joker, proceeded to one-punch him but the clown survived, making Peter a very possible target.
“... an old friend in trouble”, Dick repeated back.
“Yes”, Jason firmly said.
“What trouble is it, that it requires him to live with you?”, questioned his brother, narrowing his eyes.
Just when Jason was about to say that Dick could mind his own business, Peter jumped. “Someone tried to kill me!”, he yelled.
Jason did not facepalm himself, but it was a close call. This was going to get messy.
…
Peter thinks he may actually be an idiot; it would explain how his choices have led him to this point. Which was also why he refused to look at Jason’s face at that moment.
He wasn’t sure yet why the other man was lying to his brother, but he knew it definitely wasn’t the right time to question it. He barely knew Dick (and Jason) and didn’t have any clue about how their relationship was.
“Someone tried to kill you? Jason, why wouldn’t you tell me about this? That is kind of my thing”, Dick complained.
“Kind of your thing?” Peter asked, confused.
“Well, you might not know this, but I’m a detective”, the other man said proudly.
“In Blüdhaven . You are a detective in Blüdhaven, Dick”, interrupted Jason. “Also, this is kind of not of your fucking business.”.
Dick didn’t look affected by the tone, probably used to it, given by what Peter knew about Jason’s character. However, there was still a glint in his eyes; he wasn’t completely convinced. Peter was sure.
“Come on, it’s quite literally my job”, Dick pouted. He then sighed, “well, I know better than to push you on this”. Taking a card out of his wallet, he offered it to Peter. “This has my phone number on it, feel free to call if anything happens”. The smile full with dimples came back.
“Whatever, now leave. Don’t you have detectivework to do or something?”, Jason said, kicking his brother out of his apartment.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get out of your hair now”, answered Dick with a relaxed smile. “Hope to see ya’ soon, Peter”, he winked.
With him gone, there was only Peter and Jason again, alone in the apartment.
“So… lunch?” He said. There was stuff to discuss and he refused to do it with an empty stomach.
Jason sighed. “I guess I could make turkey sandwiches or something”, sounding resigned. Peter cheered.
Like that, they talked about what had just happened while they were eating at the kitchen table. Jason refused to eat anything in the living room that could mess up the couch (“It’s a nice couch, okay?”. Peter had to agree with that).
“I am officially your friend then?”, Peter smiled, for Jason’s clear irritation.
“Well, I wasn’t sure you would want to talk about what happened”, the other man said. “Besides, it would bring a lot of unwanted attention had we revealed you knew about my night job”.
“You make your vigilante work sound weird, man”, he laughed. “I assume he knows you are Red Hood, then?”
“Yeah… He has for a while now”. Peter sensed there was a story there, but he didn’t dare to pry into it.
“... Thank you. I wasn’t ready to talk about what happened with somebody else yet… it’s still pretty overwhelming”, Peter admitted. “It’s also better to keep him out of it probably, even if he’s a cop”, he added thoughtfully.
“What?”
“It would put him in danger, wouldn’t it? He’s still a normal person”.
“... Right”, Jason said. Strangely, he sounded quite amused. “So, artificial webs, huh?”
“Oh, yes. I should probably make more… and some solvent”.
“That’s great but it’s not what I meant. I never noticed them, is it the spider thing? Are they not artificial?” Jason wondered.
“They are definitely artificial, yes. I designed them for the hero stuff, inspired by the spider-thing - to follow the theme -”, Peter honestly answered. “By the way, you didn’t say we were not friends”.
“Don’t push your luck, Parker”. There was definitely a smile on Jason's face.
…
It had been almost a week and Constantine still wasn’t answering. It wasn’t a concern itself, but Jason really was hoping to get Peter some answers before the guy lost his mind. He hadn’t told him about it, of course, since he concluded it maybe would have been giving him false hope.
Instead, Jason gave Peter a sort of tour around the main places in Gotham, so he wouldn’t get lost should Peter go out again when Jason wasn’t around. Nearby supermarkets, local shops, even a bookstore (where Jason had to be dragged from before he bought every book available).
Later, at Peter’s insistence, they took an “ice-cream break”, as he called it.
“What do you think so far? About this place”, Jason asked.
“Honestly? It could use some divine intervention. Seriously, people tried to mug us like three times. Three!”, Peter exclaimed.
“Key word is tried”, Jason pointed out. “Well, I did tell you Gotham is the Capital City of Crime”
Finally, their last stop was Gotham’s library. Jason really hoped Barbara wasn’t working that day. As always, luck wasn’t on his side.
“Jason!” And overly cheery Barbara called from her desk, right when they were entering; it was like she was expecting them. She was called Oracle for a reason, Jason concluded.
“And who would be your friend?”, she added, obviously knowing the answer for that, Jason had already described the man to her. “I didn’t know you were capable of that, Jason”.
“Uh, yeah. I’m kind of his new roommate”, Peter said, rubbing his neck. “It’s pretty recent”.
“I see… Where are you from? I get the feeling you moved here recently, by what you say”. Damn it, Barbara.
“New York, actually”, a nervous laugh. Jason threw daggers at Barbara, which was ignored. But she had some decency left in her, given that she dropped the subject.
“Welcome to Gotham. Try not to get mugged or kidnapped”, she said with a smile.
“... Thank you?”
“Hey, why don’t you go ahead and take a look around? I need to discuss a few things here”, Jason suggested. Peter raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question it.
“Sure, I’ll be over there”, he said, pointing to the Science section (what a nerd). When he got far enough, Jason talked in a low voice, since he didn’t know the range of Peter’s super-senses yet.
“Any updates on what I asked?”
“It’s taking some time, but it should be ready by tomorrow. Don’t worry, the only way it will look suspicious would be by knowing what you are looking for”, Baraba confidently said.
“Great, I will be waiting”, he said, risking a look at Peter.
“Well, it’s not for free. Remember, you owe me”
“Yeah, whatever”, Jason rolled his eyes. How bad could it be owing Barbara Gordon a favor?
…
It was funny; if he thought about it, the books were the same. The ones he had used to study with Ned to improve his webs, while Aunt May tried to bully them into sleeping. And those he had borrowed from Tony for the same purpose. They were happy memories.
But those memories were also a reminder of what he had lost.
He was in a strange place, a whole different universe. Lost, without his friends or loved ones (not that he had any left) nor places he could recognize. Should he go to New York, where he at least knew the streets? No, it would be too painful; either for the memories it would bring or the changes he would see.
It was getting hard to breathe.
“Peter, hey. Are you alright?” Said a voice, it was vaguely familiar. “Come on, follow my breathing, you can do it”. Peter did.
Calming down, he was able to recognize the person the voice belonged to. At his side, looking concerned, was Dick Grayson, Jason’s brother and former intruder.
“Sorry about that”, Peter was embarrassed; Jason was one thing, but even his brother had seen him getting all panicked. Speaking of the devil, through his peripheral vision, he could see the man approaching to where he was quite quickly.
“Are you okay?” Jason asked, worried. “I can’t leave you alone for even a second, eh?” It could have been offensive, but he sounded almost fond, not angry at all.
“Yeah, I… kind of nearly lost it”. Peter was getting more embarrassed every passing minute. They were just books, for god’s sake; he could handle some stupid books (apparently not).
“Come on, let’s go back to the apartment. You have had enough fun for a day”, the other man teased him, not without a touch of kindness. Peter knew he wasn’t actually mocking him.
He almost forgot about Dick.