bite back you say??
Ohhh yes 🥰
You get two excerpts because Im trying to lure you into the doc
“He didn't have to be such a jerk about it,” Tim complains, wincing as Alfred removes the needle from his arm. “Elbow above your head,” Alfred says, pressing Tim's other hand to the gauze. It's more of a reflex than an instruction, and Tim's already elevating it. “I think, Master Timothy,” Alfred says mildly, as he shucks his gloves to label the test tubes. “What Master Jason was trying to say, is that he would prefer you not put yourself in potentially re-traumatizing situations on his behalf.” Tim's righteous indignation deflates a little bit. “Oh,” he says stupidly. It feels insufficient, so he says it again. “Oh, but that's—” He thinks for a minute, focusing on smoothing the Band-Aid Alfred handed him perfectly flat. Of course he hadn't wanted Jason to bite him, just like he hadn't wanted to lose his spleen, or to become Robin. Good comes from people doing the uncomfortable and scary things in life, not from hiding behind things like fear, or self preservation. “That's nice I guess,” he finally says. “But there wasn't another option.”
and
Jason learns to make dumplings. He wonders if this is what Roy meant when he said his therapist told him to work with his hands more, to use them for something that wasn't violent. Roy had gotten really into whittling, like some sort of geezer. He hadn't been very good at it, and it had driven Jason a little crazy; the spring-warm smell of wood clinging to him, the dozens of tiny cuts on his hands, the tannic, metallic taste of his fingers in Jason's mouth when he couldn't stand it any longer. He's not sure if this is better. The filling is cold in his palms, even through the wrappers, and his teeth ache at the smell of the meat. He can't stop thinking about Tim eating his food, about his body breaking it down and using it to rebuild itself, until everything he's made of has passed through Jason's hands. His replacement had looked… better, at the last team meeting. He'd given Jason a moderately more friendly nod than usual, and graciously refrained from mentioning the rooftop or the food. Jason had checked his report, after. Tim had dutifully described the explosion and what injuries he could identify, with an accuracy that had made Jason shift in his seat, but hadn't included the bite there either. All it said was that he had administered preliminary medical care and blood to RH, with additional treatment received at a licensed donor clinic the following morning and that he predicted no postponement or removal from duty.
