The sunlight filtering through the curtains in the room was dim as it was just a little after dawn and the rays were faint. Evelyn woke up feeling his grip loosen as he disentangled himself from her carefully then adjusted the blanket over her again. 

"Jason, are you going somewhere?"

"Oh you're awake," he mumbled, his voice still sleepy as he had just woken up. 

She tried to sit up but he gently kissed her, making her lie back down on the bed. "What time is it?"

"Much earlier than the usual. Go to sleep, Eve." 

"And you?"

"There's something I have to take care of, then I'll be back."

Her fingers lingered on his face and she could feel a smile break out on his features as he kissed her once again in slight reassurance. "And what about breakfast...?"

"I'll manage. Rest for now, okay? I won't take long."

"Right," her eyes fluttered shut and she felt his lips press onto her forehead slightly and then he left the bed. 

Sleep overcame her shortly after and though she could hear him moving about in the room, the sound of the bathroom door breaking the silence twice but very soon she drifted off to sleep, unaware of when he left the house.

When she woke up again a few hours later, the sun was high in the sky and she could tell the difference as the room was flooded in light. The space beside her on the bed was empty, indicating that Jay hadn't yet returned.

Gathering her hair up in a loose bun, she got off the bed and made her way to the bathroom where as usual, she found the water heated and her clothes already hanging out of the closet. The place smelt like him, his scent still lingering in the steamy air, and a soft smile spread on her face.

Jason always took care of everything for her and even though she had told him multiple times that she was used to doing everything by herself, his concern made her heart melt. He always paid attention to even the slightest of things and made sure that she would never come to any harm, not on his watch.

And while she appreciated the sentiment, she also tried her level best to make sure that he felt the same feeling of being loved and cared for that he had kindled in her heart.

What she didn't know was that all those times he went away to take care of something that he never really mentioned, he was actually researching on the eye clinics that were present in the city and beyond, trying to find a way for Evelyn's eyesight to be regained.

He was no expert at medical terms and conditions but so far he knew that if she could differentiate between light and dark, there was still some percentage of vision left and maybe with proper treatment, it could be restored considerably.

***

Jason turned the key in the lock and stepped inside however he stopped upon hearing voices coming from inside the living room. He hadn't been expecting someone else other than him to come visit Evelyn so he was a bit curious as to who it could be.

Dropping the jacket at the hanger by the door he stepped forward, recognizing Tim's faint voice. And though he would have stepped into the room before, he paused not knowing if he should face the boy or not.

He recalled Eve had once told him that Tim used to come for piano lessons to her place and that's exactly what it seemed even then since the two were sitting in front of the piano. But the notes were no longer pouring out of the instrument as Eve had a rather concerned look on her face, attentively listening to Tim.

"But I don't want him to think of me as a foe," Tim's head was lowered, "I want him to come back home. As a friend... As a brother."

Jay realized the two were talking about him and the words pierced through him intensely.

"Have you talked to him?"

"It did not end well."

Evelyn gently patted his back, "look, he's not a bad person. I am sure he will come back to the family but he needs some time to figure things out for now."

"Evelyn, how can you say that with such certainty? Do you know Jason?"

A gentle smile took over her face at the question, "yes. I've known him for quite a long time. And as I know him, that's exactly why I am assuring you that he will come back and he will accept you. But if you try to hasten it, that would be of no use."

He stepped inside the living room at last, clearing his throat to gain their attention. Tim's face drained of the very little color it had upon seeing him and he stiffened immediately as if bracing himself for another beating. 

However, Jason wasn't going to do that as he took a seat on the couch across from them, eyes analyzing him closely. Without the mask and the suit, Tim Drake looked even more fragile and breakable.

The boy was extremely lean, the clothes were loose on him and there were heavy bags under his striking blue eyes. The mop of jet black hair curled down to his shoulders and his skin was a ghostly pale, probably an after effect of lack of sleep and too much exertion.

"Jason, this is Tim Drake," Evelyn began the formal introduction in hopes of mending the awkward silence between the three, "and Tim, this is Jason."

"Yeah, I know," he mumbled softly, "hi Jason."

Jason hadn't torn his scrutinizing gaze away from him but kept silent for a short while before asking at last, "how are you?" 

The abrupt question took Tim by surprise but he nodded his head, "good, you?"

"Not in the mood of beating you up, to be honest."

The reply took Evelyn by surprise but she chose not to probe further. Instead she silently stood up and left the room as of thinking the two should be given space to sort the matter out among themselves.

Jay had grasped her hand to stop her when she was leaving the room but she squeezed it gently, giving a light nod and left anyway. He knew exactly what she had meant by that little gesture and he sighed wearily, bringing his eyes to meet Tim's frantic blue irises again.

"Shall I play something for you?" Tim was still being nice to him and though it would have irritated Jay, the sincerity on his features was too evident for him to dismiss, "I'm not as good as Evelyn but I'll manage."

"No thank you," he replied, straightening up a bit, "tell me, kid, what do you want from me?"

"Nothing."

"Doesn't seem so. You keep on popping up around me, must be a reason."

Tim took in a deep breath as if articulating his thoughts then spoke up, "why don't you come back?"

His jaw clenched slightly but the strain in his features wasn't missed by Tim who quickly withdrew his gaze. "Who would want me back, except you?"

"Dick, Barbara, Alfred... Even Bruce."

Jay dropped his gaze too, thinking about the last time he had met the eldest Wayne, "Bruce?"

"Yes."

"And do you think if I came back everything will go back to how it used to be?"

"No," he admitted truthfully, voice strengthening as Jay hadn't contradicted him outright, "but we could make things work. Like a family."

"Family... A very dysfunctional one then, I might tell you."

"Jason, I'm not kidding," Tim stated.

He stood up and came towards him, watching him stiffen again when his hands dropped on the lid of the piano in what would seem to be an intimidating stance to any onlooker. "I know. You are too easily readable, I see it on your face."

"Then..."

"I am still figuring stuff out like Eve told you," he replied, "so I can't give you a word of when exactly will I come back. Or if I ever will, to be honest."

Tim's blue eyes lit up, "but you will come back?"

"I said I can't give a word as of now..."

"That's okay, I understand," a smile danced on his features and Jason was surprised to see the difference it created, his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners and the fatigue vanished from his face. "Take all the time you need. Just don't distance yourself from us thinking that what happened in the past can't be mended. I know it's not my place to say but I have talked to Dick and Alfred. And I think I know Bruce a little by now too... They would all try to help mend the gap not push you out no matter what you've been through or did recently."

He considered his words knowing that he was right. He had been right the night earlier when he had first met Jason and he was right even now. Only Jay was a bit too stubborn to acknowledge it out loud.

Tim was looking at him expectantly as if waiting for him to say something. 

So after a short pause, Jason spoke up, "stand up and come out."

His smile evaporated at that remark immediately, "Jason, I..."

"Come out kid or I'll make you."

He did as he was told but his features were set in a confused look as if he had no idea what Jason was going to do but given his past experience, he was thinking it was going to be something violent. However, he was caught by shock when Jay's hand closed on to his arm and he reeled him into a firm hug.

"Are you hugging me?" His face was buried in Jay's shirt and his voice was muffled but uncertain.

"No, I'm squeezing you to death," Jay remarked squeezing tighter and felt the slight laugh resonate within Tim as his hands reached up to hug him back. 

Tim felt a burden lift off him and the smile crept up to his face once again such that when Jay let go of him, he didn't look scared or confused anymore. "But seriously Jason, could you really squeeze a person to death?"

"I could if the person was as fragile as you. Be grateful I spared you this time."

His eyes sparked in amusement as he leaned against the piano, much more relaxed than before, "and what if it was someone else like Dick?"

"He won't let himself be caught so easily," he remarked finding himself ease as well, the firmness from his voice fading, "he always puts up a performance with his somersaults, makes me dizzy the way he can contort himself."

Tim laughed, "yeah the first time I saw him at his trapeze set, I really thought he had broken his bones and needed help in disentangling himself. I had freaked out."

"He's a living rubber band."

"And what if it was Bruce?"

Jason paused but then realized he was still referring to the earlier question of him being able to squeeze people to death, so he replied in a low voice recalling the night he had set up the entire showdown with the Joker and the Dark Knight. "I have given it a try, didn't work."

***