Chapter Text
“Jason? Roy Harper. Sorry to call so early, but when you get this, gimme a call back ASAP. We gotta talk about the house.”
It was not the message Jason had wanted to wake up to, that day.
He huffed, sitting up in his bed and staring across towards the opposite wall. God, what now? The renovation was only a week in, he couldn’t afford a hiccup already.
Jason checked the time- it was almost nine. Roy has called over an hour ago. He clicked on the man’s name, tapped his fingers on his thigh as the phone rang a few times.
“Hello?”
“Roy? Jason.”
“Hey man. Sorry to call so early, but something came up. We started work on the bathroom upstairs and found mold. We’ve gotta call in the professionals to take care of it.”
Jason groaned, reaching up to rake a hand back through his hair. “How long is that gonna take? Do you have a price?”
“Probably a day or two- it wasn’t too bad, but we’re sort of at a stand still until it’s taken care of. I put in a call and got you a quote, but I didn’t want to give the go ahead until you were up to speed.”
“We’ve gotta do it,” Jason admitted. “Go ahead.”
“Right. We’ll be out of the house for a day or two while they take care of it- I know you’ve been reworking your budget. How about we meet up? I might be able to give you a hand.”
Jason drummed his fingers on his thighs again. “Honestly? I’d appreciate it. I’ve got some things I have to do this morning- can we pull a late lunch?”
“Sure thing man. Shoot me a message later, I’ll meet you.”
“Thanks.” Jason hung up the phone, flopping back down onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling, trying to calm the feeling of imminent failure in his belly-
Nothing about this renovation was going at all according to plan, and Jason didn’t want to have to face that fact that, only a week in, and he felt like he was going to running back to Bruce with his tail between his legs, because he’d bitten off more than he could chew.
*
“Thanks for meeting with me,” Jason offered, sitting down across from Roy. The cafe he’d chosen for lunch was cute, something up and coming in the city. He knew about it thanks to Damian, because they had a rather extensive list of vegetarian options.
“Anytime. Sorry to start your say off with bad news.” Jason only nodded, pulling his tablet from his bag and setting it down on the table, pushing it towards Roy.
“I’ve made some changes, cuts that I think will help keep us in budget and our time constraints.” Roy hummed, looking over them- and Jason let himself be distracted for a moment by the freckles on his cheeks, his messy pony tail. He’d at least shown up in a flannel and not the tank top or tshirt Jason assumed he had been working in, when he’d gotten to the house.
That was sort of a shame, those arms-
“You didn’t dock anything in the kitchen,” Roy pointed out.
“Nope. A nice, updated kitchen will sell that place for sure.” Jason paused, then added, “And maybe that’s just a little personal preference.”
“Yeah? That on your list of talents?” Roy was smiling, his tone teasing, and it made Jason feel strangely giddy.
“Possibly.” He folded his arms, tried to seem casual, tried to chase away the strange feeling.
“You cut a lot of the character you were gonna give the place.” Roy set the tablet down. “Listen, this is your first flip, right?” Jason nodded. “I’ve worked on plenty. Lemme give you a tip. Don’t cut on the character. The neighborhood that house is in- your house has to stand out. You’re right to keep the kitchen nice, but you cut little things that are going to really help you sell this house.”
“They don’t fit in the budget,” Jason admitted, and Roy pushed the tablet back to him.
“They can. If you’re willing to get your hands dirty.” Jason quirked up a brow. “Once we get to the painting and such, if you lend a hand- it’ll cut costs and time. There’s plenty you can do. And if your brothers wanna help-”
“I’m sure they don’t,” Jason admitted. “This has quickly become a… solo project.” Roy nodded. “But I don’t mind. If it’ll help, I’m willing.”
Roy grinned at that. “Perfect. It won’t be that bad, I promise. You might have a little fun.” He kept that smile up- and Jason had to consider that he honestly might.
Plus, he might get to steal a few more glances at Roy- and he was quickly becoming almost okay with that.
*
Jason pulled up to the house, tossing his car in park and glancing at the clock. It was after ten- he’d wanted to get here sooner, but he’d spent some time attempting to convince his brothers to come with him- and ultimately failing on all accounts.
Tim had meetings planned all day, as expected.
Dick said he’d agreed to spend the morning with his husband- Wally was still studying at Gotham University, wasn’t too far off from getting his Ph.D. and wanted the extra help cramming for a talk he was giving.
And Damian would rather spend the day working on a series of paintings he’d had going for damn near a week now.
So here Jason was, all alone. He stepped out of his car, heading for the house. He caught sight of Roy quickly, crouched down on the ground, working on laying stones on the walk way. His tank top was rucked up slightly, and Jason caught a glimpse of his lower back, above the low rise of his worn and torn jeans.
It was just skin but Jason had to glance away, like it was obscene. It’s his god forsake lower back, get your shit together Todd.
“Hey,” Roy said, glancing over his shoulder and grinning. He stood up, dusting his hands off on his jeans. “So you showed up to work after all.” He flashed a playful grin at Jason.
“I was trying to recruit,” Jason admitted, “unfortunately, it’s just me.”
“One man’s enough.” Roy placed his hands on his hips, just above his work belt, glancing Jason over. “You’re a little nicely dressed though, man.”
Jason glanced down at his striped button down, before he reached up, started working the buttons. “I’ve got something under it,” he reasoned- and he’d worn jeans at least. He had a few buttons open, just below his collar bone, when he suddenly heard a loud daddy!
Jason paused, watched as a little kid rounded the corner of the house, heading for them. Roy turned, grinned at her and bent over, scooping her up.
“You finish your little adventure already?” he asked, and the girl nodded. She glanced away from Roy to Jason, who had paused.
“Hi!” she said, very excitedly, and Jason just stared for a second.
“Uh, hello.”
“This is Lian,” Roy offered, “she’s mine. Lian, can you say hello to Mr. Todd?” Lian gave a wave, and Jason cleared his throat.
“Jason is fine,” he said, couldn’t even bring himself to say Mr. Todd was my father, because he couldn’t remember a moment where his father, when he was alive, had gone by that, either. “Or, Jay is fine.”
“Jayjay,” Lian said, nodding, and Roy shook his head.
“He said Jay, sweetie. Remember that talk we had about names?”
“It’s really okay,” Jason offered, watched as Lian started squirming. Roy set her down, and she took off again, back around the house, towards the back yard.
“Sorry,” Roy said, turning back to him, “Didn’t have anywhere for her to go today. I promise she’s not breaking things.”
“It’s not a problem,” Jason said, and then blurted out, “I didn’t take you for the dad type.”
Well, he felt like an idiot the moment the words left his mouth.
Roy laughed at that, crossing his arms, hands pressed up by the crooks of his elbows, covering. “Yeah, I get that. Now, c’mon, finish that strip show of yours and let’s get you set up painting the first bedroom.”
Roy turned, heading for the house, and Jason kept working on his buttons, following him inside.
*
Jason stepped back, starring at the wall he’d finished painting. One of the smaller bedrooms hadn’t need much work done to it, so while Roy and his crew worked on the other rooms, Jason could start painting here at least.
He turned, looked at another wall- still drying. He dropped his roller, folded his arms-
And let himself think Roy has a kid…
He’d just assumed the guy was single. Which was dumb, and as far as Jason was concerned, probably very wrong. Hell, he was just going to assume the man was into guys too-
He shook his head. Eye candy, he told himself- that’s it. If he was going to let himself have anything, it was just a few glances. He couldn’t get wrapped up in anything.
He walked over to the window, glanced out it. It opened up into the back yard- and he found Roy, wiping at his brow with the back of his hand, cutting the perfect silhouette in the sun and making Jason feel weak in the knees. Next to him, his daughter- Lian he filled in- was laying on her belly in the grass, playing with a few toys.
Jason watched as Roy turned, suddenly swooped in and lifted her up. Watched as she threw her arms up and obviously laughed- he could hear it through the glass- before Roy settled her on his shoulders. She clung to his head, kicking her feet and bumping them against his chest, as he walked over to one of the guys working as if he didn’t have the extra weight at all.
Jason turned away, looking back at the room. He was almost jealous, over how well they went together. He wished his family seemed that pieced together- because as of late, they really didn’t.
He sighed, heading back to pick up his roller, deciding the first wall he’d painted was ready for a second coat. He told himself while he did it, he wouldn’t think about Roy. Wouldn’t think about the fact that some part of him hurt over the fact that he didn’t have a chance-
And it was ridiculous, he barely knew the guy- he had no reason to even want a chance.
But god did he want one.