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chibinightowl · 4 years

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Moonlight and Shadows

For @lionsaint, who got me hooked on Jason with wings. Can be a fill for 12 Days of JayTim - Scarf.

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The first time Tim had reason to notice Jason’s shadow, he ended up with a concussion, so he could excuse a faulty memory of that night. But the second time, a few years and some semi-mended bridges later, he found reason to question those memories. Because he was wide awake – okay, highly caffeinated, which was the same thing – and his brain was screaming that something wasn’t quite right with this picture.

But Jason disappeared before he had a chance to open his mouth, jumping off the rooftop and into the shadows below to pursue the lead Tim had passed on to him. Typical.

Their confrontation occurred a few nights later, the light of a full moon shining luridly over the city. Jason stood on the edge of the roof, one foot up on the ledge with a cigarette in hand, his red helm resting by his other boot. It was as though he was waiting for Tim, to see him and to ask.

Tim approached cautiously, uncertain of Jason’s mercurial mood. Things were better between them, sure, but it didn’t take much to set the man off.

Still, there really wasn’t a great way to phrase his question, so he just went for it. “What’s up with your shadow?” he asked, taking a seat on the ledge upwind of the drifting cigarette smoke.

“Took you long enough,” Jason muttered, flicking ash into the night with a practiced gesture.

“Well, the first time I noticed, I was a little distracted by your fist,” Tim countered.

“Fair.” Jason sighed and dropped the remains of the cigarette to the gravely roof, stomping on the butt with his heel to put it out.

The silence dragged on, neither of them making the first move. “Does B know?” Tim asked eventually.

“He’s never said anything, not to my face at least.”

That seemed to spur Jason into motion as he shrugged off his jacket, the leather falling to the rooftop with a soft thud from the weight. He reached behind him to the hidden zipper in his uniform and pulled it down.

Tim shifted from his perch, watching as the strong lines of Jason’s well-defined upper body were revealed. The skin on his back was as scarred as his own, a roadmap of where he’d been and what he’d seen along the way. All of them wore such marks on their bodies. Hazards of the job.

But there were two long, thin scar lines that ran parallel to Jason’s spine, silvery and shining in the moonlight. It was as though they were catching the light and holding it, growing brighter and brighter.

Jason shuddered and rolled his heavy shoulders. A quiet pop echoed through the night and Tim watched, stunned into silence as wings appeared, growing out of the lines on Jason’s back. Skin twisted and muscles rearranged themselves to make way for the extra appendages. Large and glossy, the feathers rose well over Jason’s head, reaching for the sky.

Words escaped Tim because majestic did not manage to quite convey the beauty of what stood before him.

The wings stopped growing and Jason rolled his shoulders again, adjusting for the new weight. His shadow remained the same, two large wings hovering behind him.

“Well?” Jason asked, prodding Tim’s mind to reboot. “Did I break your brain?”

Tim blinked and cleared his throat. “Yeah. Tim.exe needs a second because all I got is wow.”

Jason chuckled and the wings quivered with it, inky darkness that somehow managed to emit their own faint shine.

“Since when do you have wings?” Tim spluttered. He’d had no idea about these, not a clue. And if he didn’t, then Bruce definitely hadn’t either because Tim knew Jason’s file inside and out.

“Since I woke up six feet under,” Jason replied. “I think.”

“You think?”

“The first time they appeared was when Talia threw me off that cliff after my swim in the Lazarus Pit. Fall or fly.”

Tim bit his lip. The simplicity of the statement conveyed more emotion than many would feel possible. Fall or fly.

Really, it was the story of all their lives.

“Do you?” he asked, meeting Jason’s eyes. “Fly that is?”

Jason grinned. “Yeah.”

The smile on his face reminded Tim of a time long past when the man before him still wore short pants and pixie boots, flying through the night with the help of a grapple line following after their mentor. It was a smile that made Tim’s fingers itch for his camera as this level of joy was rarely seen these days and needed to be memorialized.

“They’re beautiful,” Tim offered, attention flickering between Jason’s face and the majestic wings rising over his shoulders. “I know that sounds utterly lame, but they really are.”

“Thanks,” Jason replied, looking down for a second before meeting his gaze head on. “Wanna fly with me?”

Tim gaped, shocked to the core at receiving such an offer from the Red Hood. “You mean it?”

“Scout’s honor I won’t drop you over the harbor.”

“You were never a Boy Scout.”

“Yeah, neither were you. So you wanna or not?”

Tim hopped off the ledge and drew closer to Jason until he stood alongside him. “How’s this supposed to work?”

Jason wrapped an arm around his waist, holding him firmly. “This should do it. And if not, you’ve got your grapple.”

That was all the warning Tim had before he was tugged to the edge of the roof and the two of them flung themselves over the ledge. Jason’s wings spread open with a loud snap, catching the updraft from the twisted corridor of buildings and alleyways below. They rose higher and higher into the night, Jason’s wings pumping strong and steady until they leveled out over the bay.

The air was cold up here and Tim wished he had a scarf for his face, but Jason held him close, warm and solid beside him. The sheer control he conveyed as he flew was masterful and full of grace, yet powerful at the same time.

Tim shivered and Jason looked over at him, a question in his eyes.

Emboldened by the magic of the night, Tim closed the distance between them, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of Jason’s mouth. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you for trusting me with your secret.”

Jason grinned again and grabbed hold of Tim’s chin with his free hand, drawing their faces back together. “Don’t tell Bruce,” he breathed, and Tim nodded.

“Our secret,” he said, capturing Jason’s lips with his own to seal the promise.

They flew on, wrapped in each other, concealed in the sky by a black cape and midnight dark wings.

#chibinightowl writes #jaytim12days #JayTim #Tim Drake #Jason Todd

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