#royjason

"That's because you're not enough of a freak," Tim said, landing next to Steph and stealing some of her Milk Duds. "Like, look. Hear me out. Karen: Plankton's computer wife."

"Now, that's a hear me out," Jason said, tipping his jerky in appreciation. "But also, explain? I cannot imagine wanting to fuck that one."

"He's gonna get meta with it," Kon said, rolling his eyes, planting himself on Tim's other side. "Something about how Karen was clearly created just to be Plankton's wife but still had enough willpower to be mean to him."

"Or, alternatively," Tim continued, picking up from Kon. "Plankton created her just to be mean to him. Which is both funny and interesting. For reasons of the 'tell me what you want me to do' variety."

Roy coughed a laugh into his fist, trying to decide how he felt about learning this much about Tim's sexual preferences. Even if they were hypothetical.

Jason and Dick seemed to be wrestling with the same dilemma but Jason clearly went his admiration win out. "I respect that. I disagree, but I have heard you."

"And that's all I ask," Tim said, gravely before brightening. "Who'd I miss?"

"Spoiler wants to fuck the shrimp muppet, Red Hood wants to fuck the Chrysler building, and Nightwing is the most boring person alive," Roy reported.

"He's a prawn," Stephanie corrected, full of offense.

Kon made a face at Jason. "I don't know about Hood's, either. The Chrysler building is an objectively hot building."

Dick threw his hands up, clearly fed up. Jason just laughed.

"Okay, for Big Bird, let's all pitch our most conventional 'hear me outs'."

"Easy," Tim started. "Kovu. The Lion King 2."

"Oh, yes," Steph said, snapplausing at him.

Jason hummed in agreement. "Roxanne from A Goofy Movie."

"Max from A Goofy Movie," Kon agreed. Jason raised his fist for a fist bump. Konnor complied.

Roy rolled his eyes.

"I'll say Hugh Laurie," Steph added, contemplatively. "But specifically as Gregory House."

Jason sighed in dreamy agreement. "They hate to see a bitch from New Jersey winning."

"He wasn't from New Jersey, though?" Tim said. "He was an army brat. His mom still lived in Kentucky after his father died."

"We claim him!" Steph butt in.

Jason nodded. "New Jersey absolutely claims Greg House."

Roy laughed. "You guys are dumb."

"Yeah?" Steph asked, eyebrow raised. "Who's yours?"

Roy held up a hand like he was presenting something obvious. "Shadow the Hedgehog."

Steph, Tim, and Kon all booed at him. Dick still looked baffled at the lot of him.

"Why are you booing me?" Roy protested. "I'm right!"

"Yeah, but you would say Shadow," Tim mumbled.

"Why? What does that mean?"

Steph snorted. "Shadow's basically just Red Hood in a different font."

"What?" Roy and Jason said together.

Tim rolled his eyes. "What, the whole edgy backstory where he's this outcast who gets experimented on and then breaks out on a plot for revenge?" He scoffed. "Yeah, doesn't sound like anyone I know at all."

"Also, he's got the black and red color scheme."

"Red, you have a black and red color scheme."

"Fuck you, do you not see this yellow?"

Roy wanted to point out that Shadow also had yellow accents in his color scheme but he feared it would not help him make the point he was trying to make.

Jason crossed his arm. "I'm not fucking Shadow."

"Oh, I'm sorry,"  Steph jumped in. "Is your whole pit rage thing not just Chaos Control?"

"Do you not ride around on your Chaos Motorcycle wearing your Chaos Helmet and hitting things with your Chaos Crowbar?"

"Why do you guys know so much lore about Shadow the Hedgehog?" Dick wondered aloud.

"No, you know what, Hood's right," Kon said.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, dying in an explosion and sending loved ones on a vengeance quest is more Maria's origin story."

Steph snapped and pointed at Kon. "Right! The little human girl!"

"And you know who that makes Shadow." Tim grinned.

"No!" Jason yelled. "Fuck you! Batman doesn't get to be Shadow, I'll be Shadow!"

"So you agree!" 

The three of them laughed while Dick looked increasingly grumpy in his confusion and Hood blushed scarlet. Roy was kind of grateful Jason had had to take his helmet off to eat his jerky. Even though they were both being made fun of, Roy couldn't help thinking Jason's blush was cute.

"Okay," Dick tried again, clearly trying to get the game back on the rails. "What about Disney Robin Hood?"

"Still no!" Steph replied, rolling her eyes.

"What? Why? I thought we were doing an easy round for me!"

"Yeah, but, come on," Kon snorted. "That's furry bait number one."

Tim nodded. "Everyone wanted to fuck that fox, Wing."

"And also a super boring choice for you, specifically," Jason commented, smirking beyond his blush. "A redhead? Groundbreaking."

"Oh fuck off with that," Dick said, clearly fed up. "Of the two of us, I'm not the one pining after a ginger archer."

Jason froze. Dick froze. Roy choked.

"Pining?" He tried to ask around the bite of jerky.

"Wow, look at the time." Steph jumped up, yanking on the back of Dick's suit and Tim's suits. "Kon?"

"Yup," Kon confirmed, wrapping his arms around all three of the bats and lifting off, leaving Roy and Jason on the rooftop.

They looked at each other. Or, rather, into the blank white eyes of their domino masks. Which was easier. For Roy at least.

He coughed into his fist, making sure his throat was clear. "Pining?" He asked again. 

Jason's fingers twitched, his Adam's apple moving in a hard swallow.

"Do you–" Jason cleared his throat. "Do you think I'm like Shadow the Hedgehog?"

Roy started to deny it, thinking Jason just wanted reassurance that his image was more distinctive than a rival video game character introduced to the franchise in 2001.

But then he processed the context for the question.

"Yeah, you're just like Shadow," Roy answered, smiling nervously. "Your siblings had me pegged."

Jason let out a choked sounding laugh. "Yeah, Dick too. With me." He waved his hand, redundantly. "About the ginger archer."

"Yeah, okay." Roy laughed back.

They just stood their kind of smiling dumbly at each other until their comms crackled to life.

Both Jason and Roy jumped. They'd forgotten they were wearing them.

"Hear me out," said Steph over the comms. "Both of you get off the roof and go kiss or something."

Roy grinned, extending a hand to Jason. "Sounds like a plan."