Jason isn't surprised that there's a shadow following him. He knew this was coming the moment he shot the stupid baby assassin two nights ago; but he was kind of hoping to hold off on the growling lecture for awhile. He stops on a rooftop, and waits for his tail to catch up. "What the hell do you want, goldie?" Just because he already knows what's going to happen, doesn't mean he has to play along.

Batman stands mere feet away, arms folded over the bat insignia on his chest, and glaring impressively. "You shot Robin."

Jason rolls his eyes behind his mask. "Hey, I gave the kid plenty of chances to get the hell out of my territory. Maybe someone should keep their pets on a shorter leash."

Jason can tell that Dick is grinding his teeth from where he's standing, and it makes him want to roll his eyes even more. "You shot him in the leg. There is no excuse for that. He's a kid."

Jason just glares at him. "Yeah, and I could have shot him in the head. What's your point? Personally, I think you should be thanking me for not just killing him and dumping his body in the river."

"You wouldn't do that...not to another Robin."

Jason raises an eyebrow behind his mask. "You sure about that, golden boy? I mean, you have seen what I'm willing to do to other Robins, right? Hell, I've nearly killed Drake...how many times now? And I just shot your little baby assassin, so really..."

Dick interrupts him, which makes Jason want to stab him a little. "Bruce once said that I should feel sorry for you; that I should pity you, because you never had the things I had while growing up. You know, things like a loving family and people always looking out for your best interest. But you know what I think?"

"I don't give a damn what you think, and you can pity me all you want to." Jason spat out the word pity as though it was something vile. "It still won't change anything, so how about you just keep your fucking Robin out of my fucking section of Gotham."

He moves to jump off the roof, but before he can, Batman's textured glove is wrapped around his arm pulling him back. Jason spins with the pull, brings his fist up, and punches Batman in the face. Dick stumbles back, but manages to keep his grip on Jason's arm. He pulls Jason further away from the edge of the roof, and then flips him. Jason, however, is ready for the flip, and lands on his feet. He grabs his kriss and slashes down toward Dick's hand, which is still holding onto him. Batman has no choice but to release him unless he wants, at the very least, a broken wrist from the force of Jason's blow. Jason goes for a sweep, but Dick flips over him, and manages to clip his shoulder with a boot clad foot, before Jason gets a chance to get back to his feet. "It's cute, you know. If I had just shot that annoying brat, we wouldn't even be having this fight. You'd be holed up in your apartment, or the manor, or fuck maybe even the cave, too stricken with grief, or some other such bullshit, to do anything."

"Is that what you think? That Bruce's grief over losing you was bullshit?" Dick growls at him, which just makes Jason glare more.

"Are you trying to tell me it wasn't? The Joker is still breathing, isn't he? Come on, Dickie-bird, had it been you The Joker had killed, there would have been nothing left of that foul, evil creature, and you know it."

Dick takes a step back, as if the accusation physically hurts him. "Is that really what you believe? Come on, Jay, Bruce doesn't kill. We don't kill."

"Yeah, and how many of you have paid the price for that decision, huh? It's never you guys...it's never him! Babs, me, countless others, but never the one man who lets that deranged clown live."

Dick doesn't know what to do. He just stands there at a complete loss for words. After a few moments, all he gets out is, "Jay..."

Jason holds up his hand to stop Dick from speaking. "Whatever you're about to say, just don't. I don't need your pity."

Dick can practically feel Jason's anger, and the fact that he doesn't want Dick to speak is something that Dick is almost grateful for. He really didn't have anything to say beyond Jason's name. He wants to make this better. He wants Jason to see what everyone else so clearly does. He wants Jason to know how much his death screwed everything up, but he's tried and failed so many times. Dick is almost certain that he'll never be able to get through to the guy. He has an odd thought that, if Jason stopped trying to kill him, then Tim would most certainly be able to get him to see reason. After all, no one has a better track record of getting people to see things his way than Tim, but that's not what this conversation was supposed to be about anyway. Dick shakes his head as if to clear it. "Just stop hurting the people I care about, Jason. That's all I want." Dick doesn't say that that includes Jason himself, because he knows it won't help, but it doesn't make it any less true.

"Just make sure your stupid little Robin doesn't find his way back to this part of town, and we won't have any problems."

"Okay, and what about Red Robin?" Dick knows that he's pushing it, but he thinks that he's found a way to protect two of his brothers, and while he wishes he could find a way to protect all three, the fact of the matter is, no can protect Jason from himself.

"What about him? You replaced him. You can't tell me you actually give a shit about the kid."

The accusation stings more than it should, but Dick just presses on. "Like I said, Jason. I want you to stop hurting the people I care about, and that includes Red Robin."

"Sure, it does. You just keep telling yourself that, Dickie-bird. I'm sure it makes you all warm and fuzzy on the inside to keep that delusion around."

"It's not a delusion. It's fact, Jason." Dick growls at him like some kind of animal.

Jason throws back his head and laughs. "Yeah, right. Well, I'm sure the two little Assassin-Trained Robins can figure out how to survive without another poor imitation of the Bat glaring at everyone. Anyway, see you around, Dickie-bird."

Before Dick gets a chance to respond, Jason jumps off the roof. Dick curses himself for not realizing how close Jason had gotten to the edge during their fight, and probably even moreso during their conversation. He shakes his head as he berates himself for his stupidity, and then leaves. He's got work to do, and at least two of his little brothers are safe...for now.

The End