After a moment, Jason helped Bruce pick up the books on the floor. Bruce read at the desk, while Jason searched for related books, marking possible key chapters in the index.
As Jason was deeply engrossed in the catalog, he suddenly noticed a black shadow cast on the desk. He turned his head and saw Dick.
"My goodness, how do you walk so silently? Oh, I forgot, you are an acrobat." Jason was startled by him. He was about to lighten the mood with a joke when he noticed that Dick's face was grim.
"Yeah, I'm an acrobat, incapable of anything but performing tricks, especially helping Bruce with his paperwork!" With that, Dick turned to leave. Jason immediately hopped off his chair, grabbed him and asked, "What's up with you? Why are you acting so weird? What's there to be angry about? If you want to do this, we can do it together."
Dick roughly shook off Jason's hand, looked angrily at him and said, "You alone can handle all the work, why do you need me? If Bruce thought I was useful, he wouldn't have asked you!"
Jason sighed. He was about to explain, but Dick strode towards the stairs. Jason swiftly darted in front of him, stopping him, and said, "Bruce asked me to come because he is afraid you might encounter danger while out at night."
"So, you live in Gotham and you've never been out at night?" Dick got even angrier, his face reddened as he raised his voice, "You are younger than me, yet you've never encountered danger. Why can't I go out alone?!"
"It's not like that, Dick, you just aren't familiar with the layout of Gotham yet, you're likely to get lost, that's why we're …"
"Then I'll never get to know the lay of the land if I never go out!"
"Well, you could go out during the day."
"But I've got school during the day!"
Jason was somewhat helpless as he looked at Dick. Right now, Dick seemed to want it all - academic success, combat skills, familiarity with Gotham, wanting to prove his independence, while also wanting to earn Bruce's approval. It was the very definition of a child going through a typically emotionally sensitive phase.
Just then, Bruce, alerted by the commotion, walked in to find the two bickering again, giving him a headache.
Bruce wanted to ask what had led up to the argument, but he didn't know who to ask first. From the looks of it, no matter who he asked first, it would likely upset the other person.
Fortunately, Alfred walked in just then. Dick gave Jason a glare before rushing out. Before leaving, he exclaimed, "I'm going back to school, and I won't be back all week."
Bruce watched Dick's retreating figure, shaking his head helplessly. Currently, the most troublesome issue for Bruce was that Dick seemed completely averse to communicating with him.
Children in their adolescence are unpredictable. Their emotional outbursts have no clear indication for when they might occur. Bruce didn't know when Dick had started throwing temper tantrums.
Although communication and understanding are the best solutions, the problem is, children at this age are unwilling to communicate. They feel that obeying their parents means they lack self-judgment. Some even believe that speaking with their parents is admitting defeat.
Now, the three children living in Wayne Manor were at different stages of their lives. After navigating through the initial chaotic period, Aisha has improved a lot, becoming the adorable human child everyone perceives her to be. Even though sometimes a little clingy, she was still a source of joy.
Jason—at the peak of his physical strength and energy—loved horseplay and seldom had much time to ponder. The only thing that was a bit tiring was his too-abundant energy. In less than two hours, he finished sorting and marking the books, almost overwhelming Bruce.
Judging by his expectant gaze, Jason was hoping for feedback on his work. But as an avid reader, mere words of praise were insufficient. Bruce figured that Jason probably hoped for him to finish reading all the books that night itself.
Conversely, Dick had become extremely emotionally sensitive. Jason's presence sparked a massive sense of crisis in him. The more threatened he felt, the more he wanted to tread deeper into Gotham. But the more specific his actions, the more Bruce worried and wanted to deter him, leading to Dick's increased dissatisfaction.
By the time Batman had finally learned some communication skills, Dick began refusing dialogue. Bruce knew that he had to patrol tonight, not to fight crime, but to prevent Dick from wandering around.
After nightfall, Batman once again appeared on the rooftop of the Wayne building. Standing atop Gotham's highest point and looking down, he quickly spotted a black figure leaping amongst the rooftops of the city's buildings.
Batman dived down and sure enough, spotted Dick running on the rooftop. Dick had already seen Batman flying over with his wingsuit, but he showed no intention of stopping. Instead, he sped up and even jumped high, crossing the gap between two buildings.
This was a highly dangerous maneuver because if he missed the jump, he would plummet to his death.