Chapter Text
poor people don't get options,or rather, they do have "options" but its really just the illusion of choice.
they get to choose between paying the rent to their pervert landlord and go hungry for a week, or they can choose instead to buy food from the market and give said landlord a blowjob instead and get him off their back for the next week until he comes knocking on their door for that weeks rent money.
Jason stared down at the five copper coins in his hand, debating his next actions and the prudence in them, but when has he ever been prudent? prudence was not a Jason Todd virtue.
Jason Todd did things like pickpocket the wealthiest merchant in town and escape by the skin of his teeth, only so he could pay his rent and eat for a few weeks, because the man had decided to carry around eight silvers just casually.
Jason Todd didn't do thing prudently. those silver coins had lasted him exactly one month before he'd run out. it just so happened however that the worst weather the city had seen in years flared up during said month, and of course because his luck being what it was, his leg had decided to flare up as well
when Jason was nine, he'd...made some very stupid decisions that had led to him being chased through the lower city by some thugs. of course his shorter legs had made it terribly easy for the thugs to catch him and rough him up, and of course, his luck being what it was, they'd broken his left leg. his father had not been pleased. hed beaten him as well when he managed to crawl back to the crappy apartment they both called home.
his leg hadn't healed properly because they hadn't had money for a proper doctor, and his father refused to let him go to Leslie, so hed set and splinted it himself. they ached fiercely when the weather got cold and he could really only hobble along, so,so his usual...profession was out of the question.
his only other option for work was to sell himself on the street corner down the block with the other desperate girls and boys of the neighborhood. he only ever resorted to that when he was truly desperate though.
Jason looked down at the coppers in his hand again before he pocketed them and instead raised his fist to knock on Romans door. a yell and heavy footsteps from inside the apartment let him know the man was coming to the door. hed earned that money on his knees, he wasn't about to throw it away for another week without food. hed just come from the corner,what was one more blowjob? a tall, large man answered the door, Roman. "ya here with your rent money, boy?" he said, leering down at him. "i don't have the money this week Roman." Jason replied, making himself a little smaller, hunching his shoulders. he'd learned early on that men like Roman liked it when you acted scared of them, it made them go easier on him. Jason just wanted to go home and brush his teeth then collapse on his bed for a few hours before he went back out. Roman didn't answer him for a minute, his eyes felt slimy on Jason skin. "well, get your ass in here boy, you know what to do." Roman stepped to the side of the doorway leaving barely any room for Jason to slip past him into the warm apartment and out of the cold winter air. as Jason brushed past Roman, the larger man grabbed Jason arm, pushing him further into the apartment towards the mans bedroom. Jason balked, saying "our agreements just a blowjob, Roman, i can do that out here." Romans grip tightened, "yeah? well today i don't want one today, i want your ass, boy" he snarled. Jason yelped as he was thrown down on the bed, leg twisting beneath him. Roman unbuckled his belt, toeing off his boots simultaneously. Jason hurriedly slipped his own boots and pants off,he didn't want Roman to rip his pants again, these were his only pair left. Roam climbed up onto the bed, pushing Jason flat on his back and positioning his groin above Jason's face. "well? what're you waiting for, i don't got any oil you're gonna have to use your mouth if you don't wanna tear, boy,boy"
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Jason groaned as he flopped face first onto the pallet on the ground that mascaraed as his bed.
Roman hadn't been gentle, but he definitely could have been worse. he actually let Jason open himself up on his spit slicked fingers before he pressed his cock into his hole.
his small one room apartment was on the second floor of a blacksmiths shop, making it noisy and smoky but cheaper than the other apartments in this section of the city.
the apartment also came with a tub in the corner that one of the previous tenants had left, a literal godsend for Jason who absolutely detested being dirty even though being a street rat and being dirty went hand in hand.
pushing himself up, Jason debated the merits of trekking down to the well in the smithy's yard to get water for the tub. on the one hand he did want to actually fully wash, but he could make do with just sort of a sponge bath in a singular bucket of water.
filling the tub even halfway would mean several trips up and down the stairs which would make his already aching legs even worse... he decided on just taking a sponge bath.
if he had any money left over after his trip to the market tomorrow he could pay for a bath at one of the cheaper bath houses.
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stalking a boy around the market place was not Bruce's idea of a good time, however he needed to know what was going on with said boy.
a few weeks ago the boy had stolen his wallet and all of the money out of it, leaving behind the small portrait of him, Dick, and Alfred. the wallet probably could have been pawned off somewhere but the boy had to have known that he would have been easily traced then.
the kid stopped at one of the stands selling discounted smoked meats. he pawed through the pile of broken, misshapen sausages ,picking out a handful.
"how much for these, James?" he asked, his hand already going towards the money pouch at his side.
"one copper, but only for you Jace," the man replied, hand reaching out to take the boys money.
the kids hand faltered at his side, before continuing its course and dipping into the sadly depleted little bag.
the man, James, took the money from Jace's fingers, hand lingering a little bit too long to be acceptable.
James leaned forward, his hand moving up the boys arm to rest on his shoulder. he pulled Jace in to whisper something in his ear.
whatever it was, it made the boy stiffen and jerk his shoulder out of the older mans grip.
"you know only Romans allowed that, James. he'll kill both of us if he finds out you had me." the boy tried to come across as bold and big, but Bruce could hear the waver in his voice. the kid was twisting his arm in the mans grip, trying to free himself.
"fine, fine" James grumbled," d'ya want me to charge ya full price or no?"
the kid paused for a moment.
"...how much is full price?"
"well, lets see here... seeing as how you took the biggest ones, and they're mostly intact-" he broke off into muttering to himself, "how does three coppers sound?"
"THREE?? are you joking right now? I'm not paying three coppers for a handful of sausages, James. you can take that offer and shove it up your ass."
Bruce found he liked the fire in this kid, he reminded him of Dick when he was a teenager and just starting to test the boundaries around him.
"give me back my money, James, i don't got all day" the kid groused.
Bruce hung back in the crowd as the boy, Jace, perused more stalls.
.....................................
Jason had managed to get his grubby little hands on a grand total of four potatoes, one whole[!] loaf of bread, some apples, and two meat pies that some kid had dropped in the dust and were therefore half price[so really he'd only paid for the one pie!]
the only issue he had was the middle aged man who'd been tailing him for the better part of an hour.
the guy thought he was slick, sticking close to bigger groups of people, moving with the crowd...but Jason was a street kid, he knew when he was being followed.
he decided he'd confront the guy once they were away from the pair of city guards that patrolled the marketplace...