An extended silence passed between the two of them when Tim came to understand what the problem actually was. Wow, had he been on completely the wrong track. Usually he wasn't that far off the mark. Just went to show how deep emotions were still quite foreign to him.

There was caution in each step he took to get closer to Jason, but now he felt like there was a point to prove. "I'm not afraid of you, Jason. I like being near you." Tim paused just in front of him, and stared up at him with those big blue eyes of his again. "I can defend myself. I'm smart enough to know who I can trust. A lot of what happened went down the way it did because you were being manipulated, or trauma and the pit made you think it was an okay way to deal with your anger."

His hand reached forward to rest against Jason's bicep, establishing physical touch between the two of them. Nothing overwhelming, but there and solid and real. "Even if none of that was true, it wouldn't even matter. Because if I tried to punch you right now, I genuinely believe you'd do your best not to fight back too hard because you don't want to hurt me anymore." He couldn't help the little smirk that reappeared on his face. "And because I think you know I could kick your ass these days."