Work Text:
"It has been five years since you left. I still miss you. Every year I start to think that I don't have tears left in my body, and every year you prove me the contrary."
You marked a pause in your speech, letting a sigh out. After five years of coming there, you were running out of words. The pain was still the same, and if some words wern't crossing your lips, it was because they had lost their meanings after using them so many times.
Instead of trying to find the good words, you let your mind wander. After five years, the pain was still here, very present, perhaps too much. But you were also tired of suffering.
At one point, all you wanted to do was to honour your friend, while also protecting yourself.
But not controling where your thoughts were going was a mixed blessing. Especially when they were going to wander on the grave in front of you.
"Jason, I am so tired of crying... So tired of missing you."
You wiped the tears before they could fall. Like the gloomy weather of Gotham, you wern't crying. Just always on the verge of.
You heard footsteps behind you. Which was weird, considering you always made sure to come at the cimetery off peak hours. They stopped right beside you, and a man let a daisy fall on the grave. The flower was dirty from the last tempest, rain still dripping from its petals.
"Hey, you can't let that here. It's my friend's grave !"
In all five years, you had never seen someone else deposer flowers on Jason's grave, you had never seen other flowers than yours. From time to time, luxurious red roses were there, but it had always seemed weird to you.
The man next to you was slightly taller than you, with a red hoodie hiding his face until he turned.
A scar was running from his mouth to his forehead, not ternishing his bright blue eyes. This squared jaw was unusual on his face, but you could have recognized this eyes in a crowd.
"Jason..."
Nothing happened as your heartbeat fastened, preparing the sobs that were to come. You bite the inside of your mouth, clawed your wrist yourself, anything to wake up from a dream or at least making sure not to sob too fast.
"Hey."
His voice had changed. Of course. He wasn't a child anymore. He was in his late teens, almost an adult. This sounded new to you. Yet it was him, you knew it.
Suddenly unable to breath, choking on your tears, you took him in your arms. You never did when you were younger, but it was exactly how you imaginated it. Especially since he was now way taller and bigger than you, wrapping you in his arms like he was never letting you go.
"How... Why..."
You croaked between two sobs, wanting to push him away to look at him and yet unable to let go.
"Are you... Going to disappear again ?"
He forced you to take a step back,still letting his hands on your shoulders.
"I hope not. Not if I can prevent it."
You nodded, wiping tears from your face.
"-Is it really you ? I mean, are you... Jason Todd ?
-...Technically, yes. At least I hope so."
You don't even ask him what those words mean. You just held him tighter, because deep down you know.
This is him. Your friend.
"You're not going to die again, are you ?"
You talk in his chest, not wanting to leave.
"-I hope not. This shit hurts you know.
-Well no, not really."
Hanging on to the words was the last thing not to snap. The fact that he came back from the dead was maybe too much to think of.
But in this moment, your state didn't matter. What mattered was that he was back, alive and surely well.
"Did something happened with Bruce ? Why arn't you with him ?"
You felt his arms clench around you, and you knew you asked the wrong question. Jason was not one to snap without reasons, but he was also short tempered in your memories.
"I went to check. But he replaced me."
He talked softly in your ear, forgetting the distance two friends normally had. He wasn't trying to cross this distance, just thinking too much to the point of putting them aside.
"-Are you sure ? I mean, he could have...
-Yes. I am sure."
His tone let no place for talking, and you respected it. He let go of you, taking a step back to have a better look at your face.
"Well I havn't replaced you."
This made him smile.
"I see that. Thank you."
You looked at him more closely. His face was barely out of teenagehood, yet it felt older than you. The pain you could guess behind his look was just making you want to stay close to ensure he would stay safe.
"-Are you... Still presumed dead ?
-I think so. Do you mind ?
-Not at all."
Despite the situation, you couldn't help but smile. Your friend was back, he was looking at you with this warm look of his, and you couldn't believe that he wasn't dead.