[British and American] Jason Wayne's Struggle

Bucky didn't know if Jason remembered the kiss, and he didn't find a chance to ask Jason, "Hey, do you remember that I danced with you when you were drunk, you danced the girl's steps, and after the dance I kissed you."

I always feel like I'll get beaten for talking like this.

But Jason's attitude towards Bucky remained the same, close and trusting, especially after Bucky brought him out, Jason began to be willing to rely on Bucky.

This is very rare for him. Due to some experiences in his childhood, Jason has always been very independent and seldom relies on others. Once he is willing to rely on someone, it proves that that person is someone for whom he can give his life and let go of his inner defenses.

In the past, the only people he was willing to rely on were Bruce and Alfred, not even Dick and Talia.

But if this change in attitude is related to love, Bucky doesn't think so.

Anyway, the morning after the kiss, Bucky and Jason had a snowball fight. Jason later told Bucky that it was the first time in his life that he had a snowball fight with someone and he was very happy.

Because the vampires had been almost defeated, Frank invited them to his house. This anti-hero loved his family very much, so he used his savings to buy a farm in Tennessee and settled his wife and children there to live a quiet life.

"I have horses at home, you can go riding. Oh, and I have a fireplace. My wife makes delicious roast turkey."

Roy was excited: "Really, I can't wait."

Frank put his arm around Roy's shoulders.

"You and Lian can come to my house for Christmas. My family is very curious about you and Lian."

Roy was surprised when he heard that. In Milijian, spending Christmas together was almost like celebrating the New Year together. It was an invitation only made by very close people.

This means that Frank really treats Roy as a close partner.

"And you, Bucky, Jason, do you want to come to my house and play?"

The invitation was tempting, but Jason didn't accept it. He shook Bucky's hand and smiled at Frank.

"No, we want to take a trip together and visit other friends."

Frank suddenly realized something and said jokingly, "OK, then I wish you a pleasant journey."

Roy looked at their shaking hands and chuckled as well, while Bucky glanced at Jason, paused, and raised his right hand to put his arm around Jason's waist.

Jason didn't refuse.

After they said goodbye to Frank and Roy, Bucky drove Jason on a new journey again.

They first looked at the sea. Although it was a bit cold at this time, the temperature at the beach was still acceptable. In addition, both of them had strong physiques, so Jason even taught Bucky how to surf.

Although the price was that Jason caught a cold and had a fever of 39 degrees that night, the two of them were still on the highway with no village or shop nearby, so Bucky hurriedly took him to the nearest gathering place - an Indian reservation.

Bucky was surprised to learn that Jason could speak Algonquian, and then he remembered that Jason was part Indian and his biological father's native language was Algonquian.

The same language made the local Indians quite friendly to them. An old lady named Irene let them stay in her guest room. When Bucky went to a nearby pharmacy to buy antipyretic medicine, he came back and saw Jason sitting in the living room watching a talk show on TV and occasionally saying a few words to Irene.

Jason pointed at the TV and said, "This Jimmy Kimmel Live show often interviews people on the street and asks some stupid questions. One time, after I finished a game, I was walking on the street and a reporter came to interview me and asked me which team I thought would win. Of course, I answered that it was the team I was on."

Irene shook her head repeatedly: "Oh, they are so unprofessional. They didn't even know that they were interviewing one of the parties involved."

"But there are also funny moments. One time, a reporter caught me and asked me if I was a virgin during a street interview."

Jason complained: "Do I look like a twenty-something who has never experienced anything? I am not an old antique who was born at the beginning of the last century."

Bucky took out the pills and stuffed them into his mouth: "Old antique, please take the medicine."

Jason looked at Bucky and immediately smiled, his cheeks red and looking a little childish.

That's weird, why does he look so happy when he just saw Buggy? Did Buggy do anything funny?

But he immediately understood why Jason was laughing, because he was like this sometimes, as well. Whenever he saw Jason, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

Jason was sick, but he seemed to be in a good mood. The TV station later broadcast the news that Gotham tycoon Bruce Wayne and his son attended a charity gala. Jason's expression remained unchanged and he didn't ask to change the channel. He also complained to Irene that Bruce Wayne never ages. After all these years, he still looks so handsome and charming, attracting a group of young girls.

There was no extra room in Irene's house, so Bucky still slept with Jason. In the middle of the night, Jason touched Bucky's face.

He whispered, "Bucky, you were 27 when you fell off the train."

Bucky responded, "Yeah, what's up?"

"I'm 23 now, so we're actually the same age, right? We were just born in different years."

"But I'm still older than you."

Bucky rolled over and came face to face with Jason. “Why are you asking that?”

Jason blinked. "No, I just remembered that the people I liked before were much older than me. Dick is seven years older than me, and Talia is 19 years older than me. Some people said that I lacked love when I was a child, so I looked for security from older people when I grew up."

"So, did I make you feel safe?"

Jason blinked again. Bucky had good eyesight, and could see how bright those turquoise eyes were in the dim light that shone through the window at night.

The older boy buried himself in Bucky's arms and closed his eyes in contentment.

"I never feel uneasy when I'm with you, but instead of asking you for a sense of security, I want to make you feel safe. I want to protect you."

Maybe because of the fever, Jason spoke more frankly than usual at this moment.

Bucky felt something in his heart almost melt, and he gently replied: "Me too, I also want to protect you, cherish you, keep you from getting hurt, and then we can live together."

"Both of us?"

"Yes, the two of us, together, go home."

They didn’t say anything like I love you or I like that you want to be with you, but by the time Jason recovered, Bucky was sure they were in a whole new relationship.

Before leaving, Bucky helped Irene fix the toilet and water pipes, and Jason left some money and pressed it on the dining table with a teacup, and the two of them left quietly.

This healing journey was not long, after all, Jason still had school to go to, and the orphanage's lawn could not be left unmaintained, but they used this time to visit as many places as possible, buying many gifts along the way and filling the trunk of the car.

It was also during this journey that Bucky and Jason learned how to load and unload tires. When passing a gas station, they were inadvertently dragged into an armed robbery. As a result, Jason picked up a crowbar on the side of the road and rushed forward to beat the robber to his knees and beg for mercy. The gas station employees were very grateful to them, so Jason took the crowbar as a thank you gift.

Bucky knew that Jason had a psychological trauma about the crowbar, but he was now trying hard to overcome this weakness, and his progress was good. In a few days, Jason would be able to use the crowbar to fight Bucky.

Their destination is Florida, a tourist destination with Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Sea World, with a warm climate and humid air.

Although there were amusement parks in Bucky's time, the variety of modern amusement parks still amazed him. Jason took him everywhere to play, which was like letting the old popsicle appreciate the modern style.

Jason himself is more interested in Sarasota because there are many museums, art galleries and art performances there.

On the last day of their trip, they went scuba diving in the Florida Keys.

While floating up, Jason suddenly let go of the oxygen tube in his mouth, leaned over to Bucky and exchanged a kiss with him. This was their second kiss.

The diving instructor next to him was stunned, but he quickly captured the scene with an underwater camera.

The diving instructor thought the two guests would definitely like this photo.

Although this journey started out of a painful experience, until now, both Bucky and Jason believed that this was the best time they had had in recent years.

Let go of all the burdens from the outside world, put the bad memories behind you, surround yourself with the people you love, go to places you have never been to, and do things you have never done before.

This is their journey of healing together.

……

Ever since Jason left Arkham through the portal, no one has seen him since. The Red Hood has also completely disappeared, and he is not seen during the night patrols. The people of Gotham's East Side don't seem to have any extra reaction to this, but are more united to deal with the criminals who dare to cause trouble in their territory.

It has to be said that the mutants in the East District sewers have good fighting capabilities, but they generally look weird and cannot integrate into society. However, Gotham happens to have a good acceptance of these "freaks", and they don't hurt people, so the East District has already treated them as their own people.

Tim took a sip of coffee and filed away the information he had on hand. Thinking of the meeting he had to go to the company tomorrow, he felt irritated.

He is also a top student studying at the Ivy League. He is under a lot of pressure from studying, but he always has endless work to do. Sometimes he gets so busy that he wishes he could divide himself into several tasks.

It would be great if Jason was here too. I heard that he once managed properties for the Augu family, so he would be able to handle the management of the Wayne Group with ease.

But... he probably won't be willing to come back.

Tonight is Christmas Eve, and in the evening, Tim will go to the upstairs living room to eat the cookies and roast turkey made by Alfred.

Tim breathed a sigh of relief and felt that he should have a good rest today and have a day off.

At this moment, Tim sensed something was wrong and turned around sharply. He saw Jason standing not far away, wearing a red Santa Claus suit, a Santa hat, and carrying a big red bag.

Tim stood up suddenly: "Jay, Jason, why are you here?"

Jason didn't say anything, just looked at the photo on a shelf, it was a group photo of Batman, Pennywise, Nightwing, Red Robin, and Robin.

A family photo.

Tim followed his gaze and explained, "That was taken after B came back."

"I know."

Jason interrupted him calmly: "I put the gift for Alfu in the kitchen."

Tim seemed to sense something, and he asked, "Where have you been these days? I, we can't contact you."

"I probably won't come here again. After all, if B knew I came here through magic, he would probably immediately find someone to carve a forbidden magic circle here. After Talia and I broke up, she carved those magic circles all over the Assassin's League."

Jason casually opened the golden halo and turned to leave. Tim subconsciously ran in his direction, but the halo quickly shrank and disappeared, and the red figure in the halo disappeared without a trace.

Several gift boxes fell to the ground, and the Batcave returned to silence.

Tim stood there silently, then walked to the gift boxes, squatted down, picked up the gift box with "ToTim" written on it with a stick and checked it. He opened it only after making sure there was no problem.