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Gotham hardly ever surprised Jason. The city was something that he knew deep down in his core. She'd become a part of him when he was growing up, dug her claws in him when he'd been living in her streets, he'd become addicted to keeping her streets free from crime, and - in thanks or in spite - she'd spat him back out of the earth. Even after all of that, Jason couldn't stay away. Not even after he'd left Gotham. Not even after he'd traveled the world and space.
There was something about Gotham that he couldn't get away from. She was familiar and there were hardly any surprises anymore.
"How the actual fuck did you get sunburnt in Gotham?" Jason bit out as he spread aloe gel over the back of Tim's neck.
Apparently he wasn't being very gentle, because Tim winced. "People get sunburns all the time."
"Yeah, people who live in sunny places. If you haven't noticed, Gotham hasn't had sun for three weeks. Not only that, but it's the back of your neck! It's covered by your hair. How the fuck did this happen?" Jason honestly didn't even understand it. There was no way any of this could've even happened.
Not only did Tim have a sunburn, but it was a bad one. The kind that was bright red, itched, and looked ready to peel at any moment.
"The sun is behind clouds. How?" Tim was usually holed up in his office too. The only time he spent outside was on patrol. Even that was at night and the back of his neck was covered by that cowl of his.
"Jay, it happened. Don't ask me how."
Jason rolled his eyes. Something like this really could only happen to Tim. "You're sleeping on your stomach tonight." He grabbed a hair elastic to tie Tim's hair up. Better to keep the hair away from the burn and the aloe gel.
"You know I don't like sleeping on my stomach," Tim said. He started turning his head and hissed under his breath. Looks like the burn was so bad it even affected Tim's movement.
"I'll pin you down in bed if I have to. You'll thank me." Jason got up to wash his hands. While the aloe definitely smelled nice, the gel stuck uncomfortably between his fingers.
He heard Tim get up and a few moments later, arms were wrapped around his waist from behind.
"Thanks for helping me out, Jason," Tim said, nuzzling Jason's back.
"Yeah, well... You owe me." Jason stepped to the side to wipe his hands off and Tim moved along with him. He'd gone out to the drugstore to go and get the gel. There was gel in his first aid kit for severe burns, but nothing so simple as to help with a sunburn.
Tim just hummed under his breath, still holding onto Jason's waist.
Jason didn't try to get Tim off of him, but he wasn't about to just stand around in the middle of the kitchen. It didn't matter that it was their apartment and that no one was around - Jason just didn't like it.
To his credit, Tim moved along with Jason very smoothly. It felt like Tim's forehead was still pressed against Jason's back, so it'd be hard to see what was happening. Jason supposed that over the years they'd just gotten so used to how the other moved that it was easy to go along with them.
He came to a stop in their bedroom. "I'm going to watch something before we sleep." Originally Jason had very different ideas for their night off patrol, since they didn't often get the same nights off, but those were dashed now because Tim could barely move his neck.
"You're going to watch tv in bed and I have to sleep on my stomach? Rude." Tim made a point of pinching Jason's side before he pulled away and walked to his side of the bed.
Jason sat down and browsed through the programs they'd recorded over the last little while. He eventually settled on a knife making competition.
It was hard to concentrate with Tim moving around. He wasn't kidding when he said he didn't like lying on his stomach.
Jason reached out and scratched Tim's back to calm him down and hopefully relax him a little. That way he could watch the show in peace. It was a little surprising when a soft snore came from Tim halfway through the show. He'd actually managed to fall asleep. Jason still kept scratching though. He didn't want Tim waking up, because the younger man really needed his sleep.
In the morning Jason would make sure that Tim was comfortable before going to work. Maybe suggest different clothes and tell him to keep his hair up. It didn't really matter what Tim looked like though. The Board basically worshipped the ground he walked upon.
Maybe he'd go the extra length and make lunch as well. Maybe Jason could bring Tim lunch too or take him out to lunch to make sure he wasn't causing irritation the his sunburn.
Jason sighed. The only person in Gotham that something like this would happen to was Tim.
Maybe it was just her way of keeping Jason on his toes.