[ Tim’s motions get even more fastidious when Jason tries to draw it out in the open. A minefield isn’t any less tricky when you know it’s a minefield. ]

Jay.

[ He doesn’t look over because, well, he’s afraid that this is somehow the wrong move. Doesn’t change anything, but he won’t let a misread expression screw it up. ]

I knew you didn’t mean now because you haven’t been an obstacle now. I don’t think it was your fault. Bruce’s. Talia’s. Other people.

[ Jason’s mother. The Joker. Tim’s not suicidal. ]

It was a long time ago, and I’ve got more perspective. More than Bruce, that’s for sure. Dick, too. I got replaced with a Robin who tried to kill me, and I was the one who had to see things from his perspective.

If I can give him grace, why wouldn’t you deserve more? Rhetorical question. I had to accept Damian. I chose to forgive you.

[ He gets considerably quieter. Just staring down at a neat rectangle of blunt objects and sharp metal. Surveying it like it’s the story of his life. Maybe it is. ]

It mattered. It mattered so damn much. I followed you and Batman around Gotham, and then I followed you. It was like moving into my hero’s mausoleum.