I stopped chasing the approval

Batman (theknightshift) texts: That guy had a face tattoo and was named Cheddar. Please tell me you’re kidding.

And Eddie replies: No sir. He's my best informant.

* * *

Red Robin (prettyredbird) texts: I knew no one else would have gone along with it since it's morally wrong and probably illegal. You said, "Yes. And let's add fireworks."

Eddie responds: That sure does sound like me.

So why can't I remember agreeing to it?

* * *

Red Hood (abloodybird) sends: I wish the health center treadmills counted beers burned not calories

Eddie sends back: Beer is too variable in calorie count itself to be a reliable measurement..... (It's a long message.)

* * *

...all this money, it would be a shame not to come up with something that Jason can use as Nightwing.

Okay, so... in Eddie's defense, he has been performing maintenance on Jason's motorcycle, as well as experimenting on weaponry improvements in the two months since they moved into the refurbished warehouse on the Metropolis docks. He took the time to create counterfeit supporting documentation for the names 'Jasper Liu' and 'Ken Malloy' and applied for actual genuine identification cards and passports.

(Jason seemed really impressed that his counterfeits hadn't been caught in the process, but Eddie didn't think it was that impressive. It was a stopgap measure until Eddie could figure out how to hack into the two different state databases to put the invented personal information in, so they could officially request genuine birth certificates and close the loop.)

But he'd mentioned to Jason his desire to update his rocket trident, and it was silly to do that without refurbishing his power armor as well. Eddie hadn't quite foreseen how much of a focus and time-sink the power armor update would become.

Some of the actuators were still in good condition, but he needed to build all-new base armor. (The look on Jason's face when Eddie had put on the old set and talked about refurbishment... well... best not to think of it. It still made him blush with embarrassment. Though the only thing Jay actually said was a firm reminder that all the money in the shared account was meant to be his as much as it was Jason's.) Maybe his first couple sets of power armor had just seemed faster and easier to construct because he was smaller in general...

For whatever reason, it was taking Eddie much longer than he initially thought. Any mention of setting it aside in favor of Nightwing-based innovations, however, were eventually met with reminders from Jay that he wanted to patrol with Eddie soon. And Eddie would resume the project.

Just as he was doing now.

While the base was located in Metropolis -- apparently "the rent is so much cheaper than it would be in Gotham City" -- Jay's Nightwing missions could and often did take him far afield, all along the Eastern Seaboard. On such cases, Jay kept in contact via the long-range communicator, which was among the first things about the Nightwing suit that Eddie updated. Eddie kept the receiver to the set close by, even as he welded and hammered and tinkered in the ground-level workshop.

from here

[Eddie paces. He's too upset now, too keyed up to trust himself. He's stuck, mired in the rage and pain that he was going to distract from with physical pain, and now it's layered under more rage at the apparently magical Dick Grayson's interference.]

[He wants his Jason, but the Hub has decided to keep him today. He knows he can't seek out the Jay he's friends with here -- that Jason has too much shit piled on him right now already.]

[So he paces. And he tries not to think about throwing himself out the nearest window.]

[Fuck.]