"My hands, they're strong, But my knees were far too weak To stand in your arms Without falling to your feet." -Set Fire to the Rain by Adele

cCc

The lighting was dim in the cell, but it was enough for his eyes to barely make out the contours of the narrow room. A table sat in front of him, stainless steel and bolted to the floor as was the chair he sat in. A door stood lone against the far wall. A hanging lamp above him swung when he hit it weakly, a pair of handcuffs that were supposed to be holding him prisoner hanging uselessly from a single writs. Dirty orange rays avoided the corners of a unfortunately familiar room, casting just enough shadow to hide in, a fact that shouldn't matter to him anymore. It didn't matter at all.

It didn't matter at all.

He came here for a reason though, a personal note that he wanted to keep separate from his new…friends? Associates? Contacts? Well, whatever the fuck he was calling the two red heads now he wanted to keep them as far away from this part of him as possible. The part of him that he wanted so much to move on from, to separate from completely. But no matter how hard he tried, how far away he went, he couldn't seem to draw his thoughts away from the grease stain that was his birthplace. Kory had worded it better then he thought he could ever dream of. Poetically even; 'One can not expect devastation to simply be forgotten. One can only hope not to dwell, and hold onto the thought that one can now grow strong due to said devastation.'

Dirty boots hit the table and the brunette leaned back, allowing his mind to wander from his muddled thoughts to the stupid archer and his stupid mistake. This was Gotham, The Big League, so why the fuck had Jason Todd let him convince him it was a good idea to bring his fucking Breakfast Club with him?

He let a huff slip past his lips and he shook his head to himself. Kory was one thing, but Roy? The older man probably had the sense of a wet alley cat on fire. And that example made about as much sense as the idea of Harper tagging along to Gotham. A part of him wondered if they were alright, and he couldn't help but let a laugh slip at that. Harper was stupid and probably only useful as a human shield, but the ginger had a knack for getting lucky. Not that the junky's past experiences In life would demonstrate this or anything. And then there was Kory…Jason was pretty sure a nuke wouldn't take that woman out. He hated to admit it, but he'd owe her a favor after today.

But, mistakes happen, and by mistakes it would be easy to say that Harper's quick mouth had been involved, and all in all it wasn't that bad of a day. At least he got to play with the baby bird again. The kid was getting better at what he did, not that he was that bad in the first place, and Jason had the growing bruises on his ribs and collar bone to prove it. He'd gone easy on the kid, but still. It was a pity that the newest Boy Wonder let his old man hold him down, he could do so much good if he was set free. But hey, wasn't none of his business anymore, was it?

The soft almost inaudible click of an external lock brought his eyes down, green narrowing a bit. Speaking of the bat…

The dark and would be ominous figure stood there in the doorway, blocking the light from the hall from entering the dingy room. Jason's ears could pick up on the kid, most likely bitching Out in the hall, and a soft reassuring female voice, before the door closed sharply behind the 'Dark Knight'. They were like that for a long moment, Jason glaring with venom and the man that replaced him standing almost awkwardly acrossed the empty space.

But nothing the Batman did was ever awkward. It was meticulous to the point of exhaustion. The now Outlaw knew that after long and seemingly never ending nights that now burned his very soul. He knew it from the memories of long and disappointed lectures. From the memories of all the fighting, all the laughing, all the tears. From the memories of flying with the man….

they all had become to painful to even bear.

"What are you doing here Jason?" The gruff, strained Batman voice sent a fresh wave of fire through the young man's body and he barked out a laugh.

"Such familiarity Bruce, what's the occasion?"

A smirk crossed the younger man's face when he picked up on the slight tensing of the Batman's throat. Mark that as Jason one, Batman zero. But Jason's face soon took on a stoic expression as he watched the Bat. He didn't move, he didn't react past the slight tensing in anyway. An action that should have made him angry, what would have sent him into a rage only a short year ago, made his chest swell with an uncomfortable pressure.

Suffocating. Suffocating all over again and it was almost to much for him to endure…

"I thought we were done." It wasn't a question, it wasn't even an accusation. It was merely a calm observation, nothing more.

"So did I."

The statement left his lips before he could stop it and he cringed inwardly. On the outside his expression remained as unaffected as the Bat's. Why give the older man the joy of knowing that what they had had made him cringe? Why did Jason even stand by the thought that they may still had something? Bruce had made it very clear that they didn't. That he was the man's Biggest Mistake. A small flicker of anger started up in his chest again and he grabbed a hold of it, clutching to it.

Minutes ticked by, silently counted by both parties no doubt. Finally the older man stepped forward. A mere step. A step closer to the shaken, broken winged bird that sat resigned at the metal table.

"Jason…" The tone of voice didn't match the scowl that painted itself acrossed the cowled face before him. The face that Jason had spent hours memorizing… "It…It doesn't have to be like this."

Bastard.

"Like what?"

Another pause that lasted minutes. Minutes that made the suffocating pressure in the broken bird's chest maddening.

"We can get you help."

"I don't need help. I'm not like the freaks you play tag with Bruce," the man's name left his lips like a curse, "we've had this conversation before."

Jason folded his hands in his lap and waited. Waited for anything, but anything never came. Nothing sat between the two men and it made Jason want to scream. To claw at the cowl that covered the older man's face until it peeled away so he could see the cobalt eyes behind them. Maybe then he'd be able to see if he actually meant the words that he had fumbled over. Maybe then he would be able to see if anything had changed since the night in the graveyard. In that hole-in-the-wall building where he held the Joker's life so easily in his hands. Maybe then he would be able to tell if he missed him. If he suffocated just like the younger man. If he wanted their life back. If he cared at all.

The cowl stayed in place, hiding the one thing Jason needed, as the man retreated. That one step, gone. He didn't hesitate, didn't pause for farewells, just left without so much as a glance.

When the door shut behind the Bat Jason's shoulders slumped, his back sliding down the back of the metal chair. He hated this part. The part when Bruce left him all over again. He felt broken. He felt rejected. He felt betrayed. He felt empty and torn. And yet the feeling that he held onto was the small flicker of the anger that had fueled him all those years. Because if given the choice, Jason would rather be angry with the man then to let such painful feelings linger.

Kory was probably right, dwelling on everything that ran through his heart and mind at the simple thought of the Batman was probably a very bad and perhaps lethal idea, but maybe he wasn't ready to let go of him. Not just yet anyway.

"Merry Christmas Bruce…"

AND MERRY CHRISTMAS HUNY-BUN!~ I know you told me once that you loved Bruce/Jason so here you go, just for you my dear, a surprise present from me. Sorry it's angsty and all, but we all know I'm like a giant angst filled pineapple or something. That and it's hard for me to imagine Bruce and Jason's relationship without a touch of my favorite seasoning.

You have no clue how hard it was for me not to post this early. I had it done before Sugar Coated Cyanide, and I wanted so bad to post it early, but I wanted it to be a Christmas Day sort of surprise. I hope so much that you like it.~