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Night four.
Four nights ago he had found Jason Todd – or rather, Jason had found him.
Four nights ago Jason had tried to steal the wheels off the Batmobile.
It had been a cold night. He had never admitted to what he was going to use the money for, nor that it really mattered in the end. He was a scrawny child, clothed in ratty fabrics that hung from his frame and were drenched in dirt and littered with holes.
There was a bad snow storm set to hit Gotham City within the next few days.
He realized right then and there he had 3 options.
Option 1: Bring Jason to an orphanage. It was the most logical choice – not to mention the only legal one. The issue with Option 1 was that with the fire behind Jason’s eyes – and behind the swing of the tire iron – it was unlikely that Jason would stay in the orphanage for very long. Which would lead Jason to option 2 on his own.
Option 2: Leave Jason to fend for himself on the streets. It wasn’t really even an option, to do nothing. This child was small, when he had caught up to Jason – after he had tried to flee – there was almost nothing to his arm but skin and bone. His knobby elbow flailing as he had tried to free himself from Batman’s grasp. If Bruce had left Jason to his own devices he was likely to either die from malnutrition or freeze to death in the coming storm. Which led him to option 3.
Option 3: Taking him home and figure out the logistics later. That way Jason would be able to have a warm place to stay and no longer have to worry about food or income or shelter or warmth etc etc. He had the lawyers, there was no way he would actually face repercussions from taking a random child off the streets home – which was a terrifying thought in and of itself.
So he went with option 3.
Alfred had been annoyed but had kept it to himself once he had seen Jason, recognized that a twelve year old boy should not be under three feet tall and have hollowed cheeks where he should still have baby fat.
The past four days had gone well – well enough for a kid that had been taught to fear everyone and everything for four years of his life. It helped that he knew his new caregiver was Batman. Batman didn’t kill, and he only harmed to protect the innocent – and he never harmed children.
They were now having their fourth dinner together. The first one was from Batburger, Jason had been so hungry that he had eaten as fast as he could, likely scared it would be taken away from him. Bruce had kept his distance, trying to convince the boy that his meal was his own without pressuring him to slow down.
He should have told Jason to slow down. He puked shortly after, his body not used to that magnitude of food being shoved into it so quickly – or even in general.
They had taken him to Leslie the next day. They ran blood work – learning that Jason is afraid of needles but unwilling to talk about it – and set up a meal plan for him. He was unlikely to be able to ‘catch up’ to the size he was supposed to be but they could minimize the distance.
On the legal side of things he quickly got to work faking Jason’s papers in the foster care system so they could later move forward to make him a ward of Bruce Wayne’s as Dick Grayson was.
All in all Jason was slowly settling in. He knew it would take time, they just had to go slow and try not to make him scared or flinch at their actions.
Alfred had excused himself a few minutes ago to have his weekly phone call with one of his old service friends, leaving just Jason and Bruce to eat dessert together.
Bruce had been carefully watching him throughout dinner as they had kept a conversation between them about Jason's reading. Jason had already finished quite a large book from the Library and had just started a new one. Alfred had made a fruit tart that Jason was currently picking at. He had eaten some of the tart itself as well as the strawberries. All that really remained was half of the tart and the mangos, kiwi and blueberries.
He had eaten most of his dinner – which had been too much food for him in the first place – so he was probably just full and didn’t want to seem ungrateful.
As their conversation continued – Jason playing with his food, pushing it back and forth across the plate – he would occasionally take a bite of the fruits. Only really going back for the blueberries.
0o0o0
Bruce had gone up to the Watchtower, something about Green Lantern needing to give a report to the original three about sector 2814.
Jason had found himself where he usually went in the Manor, the Library.
He was currently sitting with his legs drawn up, covered in a fluffy blanket as he read.
0o0o0
Jason had been in the library for only about 20 minutes when he registered that he was slightly lifting his head, almost extending his neck, in order to swallow his spit.
And once he noticed it, he realized that his throat was scratchy.
He was probably just coming down with a cold.
0o0o0
As time progressed he kept having to clear his throat. Swallowing was becoming more difficult as the slight irritation from before in his throat really started to kick up.
No longer believing he was just sick, Jason marked his page and left the Library in search of Alfred.
He didn’t know Alfred had taken his phone call outside in the garden, it was too beautiful of a night to pass up on.
0o0o0
He couldn’t find Alfred.
And his throat was really starting to hurt now.
He didn’t know what to do.
In the beginning he assumed he could just wait it out until someone found him but now he was getting scared.
He didn’t know what to do.
He barely trusted Bruce and Alfred, and now he felt like he was about to have a breakdown and cry like a baby because something was wrong. For the first time in a long time he didn’t know what to do.
If he was still on the streets and this was happening he would have just walked to the free clinic.
But now he is in Bristol.
Now he is all alone in a giant house and is starting to wheeze – from his throat swelling or from the panic he wasn’t sure – and had no clue what to do besides make Bruce mad at him.
He could either tough it out and wait, or he could do something really stupid and hope it worked out.
And he was tired of trying to figure things out on his own.
0o0o0
“RECOGNIZE WATCHTOWER GUEST”
Jason stepped out of the Zeta beam.
As he had been searching the Batcomputer for the code he had still had enough of his wits to put on one of Dicks old dominos.
Just because Bruce was gonna be pissed he broke onto the Watchtower didn’t mean he also had to jeopardize everyone's identities as well.
0o0o0
“RECOGNIZE WATCHTOWER GUEST” Green Arrow heard from behind him as he had been talking to The Question. The dude was weird but it was fun to talk shit about the Government with him.
As the Zeta read out the new enter-er Oliver couldn’t help but to turn and see who Bat had as a friend.
A scared little kid with a blotchy red face in a domino didn’t even make the list of what he was expecting to see.
0o0o0
He hadn’t thought to look up the blueprints.
He didn’t know where to go.
He had made the dumb mistake of just assuming Bruce would be at the immediate other side and not actually trying to figure out where he should go.
He felt like he was simultaneously going to combust and self-implode.
Then a man dressed kinda like Peter Pan with a bow strapped to his back had jogged up to him. All of the other heroes seemed to be minding their business.
As he neared Jason he slowed his pace to a walk, “hey kiddo, watcha doing up here?” he asked as he knelt down before Jason.
Jason was stuck. He didn’t know how to respond to that. He didn’t exactly know what was wrong or what Bruce exactly was to him.
As he was still trying to figure out a response – his breathing now auditory, needing visual effort with each breath – Arrow changed his tactic. “Who are you looking for kiddo?” After a second of no response he clarified “Who is your parent?” as he brushed back some of the curls that would forever fall onto Jason’s forehead.
“Batman” Jason croaked out in a voice that sounded like he had gurgled glass.
At the response Oliver's eyebrows raised, probably shocked that Bat’s had given the guest code to a dumb child in the first place. Without voicing any of his concerns though Oliver just scooped him up. Briskly walking further away from the Zetas.
He had settled Jason on his hip. One arm supporting his butt as the other looped around him, his hand settling between his shoulder blades.
Jason didn’t really mind. It was really difficult to breathe. As he sat in the green man's arms he was able to rest his chin on the man's shoulder, extending his neck. Making breathing just the slightest bit easier to accomplish.
0o0o0
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
He was dying to run but he didn’t want to risk jostling the kid too much if he couldn’t breathe in the first place.
Each breath from the kid was dragged, noisy and sharp with the effort he was using.
If Batman’s fucking kid died in his arms it was going to be one hell of a man hunt.
Good thing the debrief room was on the way to the med bay.
0o0o0
“So basically Kilowa—” Hal was saying as the doors to the room burst open, revealing Green Arrow holding a child.
As GL, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman’s head snapped towards the intrusion Green Arrow made direct eye contact with a man he didn’t yet realize was one of his childhood friends. “He has hives and can’t breathe. Probably anaphylaxis.”
Before Ollie had gotten a full word out Batman was up. Stalking towards the two with chilling speed.
The kid must have heard Bat coming. As he stood from his chair he had lifted his boney chin out of Arrow's shoulder to turn and look at his father.
0o0o0
Turning out of Peter Pan’s neck he just hoped he had taken him to Bruce.
As he looked at the group he realized he was crying, had been since the green man had picked him up, he was just trying to hide it.
The second he was Bruce though it was game over.
He all but threw himself out of the green man's arm as he was transferred to Batman's. They then immediately left the room without any further fanfare.
He began crying harder.
He was going to get the beating of a lifetime.
He had risked Batman’s identity all because he was scared and didn’t want to wait it out.
Bruce was holding him differently than Peter Pan was. Bruce was holding him so that he was chest to chest with the Batsuit, fully sitting on Batman's arm. This way it was easier for him to prop his head up, extending his neck without having to awkwardly twist as he had in greenie's arms.
Bruce had his other hand at the base of Jason’s head. Gently rubbing his thumb back and forth over the little baby hairs that were growing at his nape.
He didn’t know when they entered the room. All he knew was that all of a sudden there was the stabbing pain of a needle being jammed into his outer thigh as Bruce restrained Jason against his chest.
He was heaving as the wheezes were trying to leave his throat. His fighting against the needle just making it that much more difficult to breathe.
Then his throat started to loosen, allowing him to take deeper breaths without it feeling like there was a snake constricting his throat. He slumped against his guardian's chest, heaving as he tried to catch his breath.
That was when he realized Bruce was shushing him. Rocking him back and forth as all of the energy seemed to be whisked away from his body.
Slumping against that Bat symbol he vaguely heard people talking behind him. He felt the vibrations through the armor as Batman replied before he was being put into a sitting position.
He will deny the childish whine that escaped his lips as he was removed from Bruce's chest till the day he dies.
“Can you swallow these?” Batman asked, holding out a little paper cup with two small pink pills in it. Not wanting to hurt his sore throat any more Jason nodded. Superman then stepped out from behind him to hand Batman a glass of water to help him take the pills.
0o0o0
“You left him alone?” Superman asked. Wondering how the hell a child got onto the Watchtower to begin with – but also worried about the implications of if he hadn’t been able to.
“No.” Was all Batman replied. Pulling out a communicator and typing out something before hiking the half asleep child up so he could stand.
Leaving Clark to just stand dumbfounded with more questions than answers in the Watchtower med bay.
0o0o0
Hal and Diana had stayed in the debriefing room, expecting Batman to leave to take care of the child and Clark to come back when he was able.
They did not expect all three individuals back in the room.
Batman didn’t say a word. Just quietly went back to his seat as if nothing had happened. A black haired young boy still clinging to his chest as he looked up at Green Lantern, instructing him to continue.
0o0o0
Knowing Batman was not all that he seemed to be, Diana nudged him in the shoulder gently to get his attention. “How is the little warrior?”
Diana noticed the slight upturn of her colleague's lips before he whispered back “he’s sleeping.”
0o0o0
As Bruce Zeta’ed back to the cave Alfred was waiting for them. He had received Bruce's message about Jason having gone to the Watchtower as he had been searching for the missing boy. Now though he stood still, his hands clasped behind his back – face pale but calm as Bruce passed a sleeping boy over to him so Bruce could remove his uniform.
0o0o0
Consciousness was creeping back up on him.
He was being rocked back and forth. Leaning forward against a solid surface, something warm against his forehead.
Cracking open his eyes he realized he was being carried up the stairs of the Manor. Bruce was carrying him to bed.
Knowing his throat was going to protest, Jason powered onwards. “I’m sorry. I tried to wait it out but it just kept getting worse. I didn’t wanna make you mad.”
Having already clocked Jason as awake from the change in his breathing Bruce wasn’t surprised when Jason started speaking.
He was surprised at the testament though. Removing his hand from the banister to instead rub circles on his youngest's back he explained “you scared me, Jason. But I was never mad.”