Chapter Text
The ride was quiet. Scary quiet. A car like the one Jason was in should have made a lot of noise. Instead, it just kind of hummed along, not much louder than a normal car.
Still louder than the man in the driver’s seat.
The same sort of thing should work there. The Batman was a big guy, Jason was all the more aware of it now that he was sitting two feet away. He was more than a head and a half taller than Jason, and something like twice as wide. He hadn’t made a sound when he’d snuck up on Jason stealing his tires. Even his voice was quiet. Deep like he’d dredged it up from the bottom of his lungs, but quiet.
Shit, what did you even say in this situation? Jason was too scared to look at him properly. The Bat said he didn’t kill, and yeah, Jason had never heard otherwise, but that could just mean he was never caught. This was feeling more and more like a kidnapping, even if the Bat had said he was taking him somewhere safe.
Outside the window, the city lights were fading away, and it was too dark to see what was out there. Jason had lived in Gotham all his life and he didn’t know where he was.
It sure didn’t look like they were going to the police. Or Social Services, or any of the shitty agencies Jason had spent most of his childhood dodging. He dared to ask “Where are we going?”
“Home,” the Batman said.
“What, your home?”
“Yes.”
“The fuck I am,” Jason snapped. “I don’t whore myself out for anyone, got that? Let me out, right now!”
Batman glanced his way. He seemed neither surprised nor insulted. “I am no child molester,” he said. “We are going to my home because your previous residence was…inadequate. You can stay with me until I find something better for you.”
Jason snorted. “What, I jack your tires and you take me home like a stray kitten?”
“Close,” Batman said.
He turned the wheel of the car hard, taking a tight curve Jason hadn’t even seen on the road ahead, he was so distracted. It felt like they’d gone a bit off road. Another tight curve, and they were coming in under something. A short drive through a short tunnel, and Batman hit the brakes.
Lights came on, and Jason realised that they were in a cave. An honest-to-god cave, that someone had installed lights in. “Holy crap,” Jason said.
“Home,” the Batman said, sounding a little happier. He didn’t open the car doors, though. “Before I bring you inside, there’s just one thing.”
“Your girlfriend doesn’t know about your secret identity?”
“This is serious,” Batman said. “I look after another young man. Like you, his life has been difficult. He is very protective of me and the third resident of the house and he will likely not warm up to you quickly. He also comes across as…odd.”
“Oh yeah?” Jason asked. “I’ve met weird people before.” His eyes slid across to Batman as he did so. It didn’t get much weirder than dressing up as a bat to fight crime. Jason could cope with weird. Even if that weirdness was being over-protective of Batman.
Batman ignored the jab and continued on. “He hasn’t had much experience with socialising for many years and has difficulty with new people. If he reacts strangely to something, I would ask you to be patient with him.”
“Sure,” Jason said. Be nice to the kid who was here first. Made sense. If this was safe, he was still getting food and a roof over his head for a few days at least. What was there to fight over? Not a big deal. He thought.
With a last look over him, probably making sure to himself that Jason wasn’t lying, Batman opened the car door and let Jason out.
The place was huge. They were parked in a flat, empty space with a few other cars and bikes and such nearby, and racks and racks of tools. There were, like, a dozen spare tires. If Jason had managed to take the in-use tires off the car without getting caught, he would have only inconvenienced Batman. He’d definitely picked the right person to rob. Beyond the cars were all sorts of computers and worktables, interspersed with the most random objects. Like a dinosaur. For some reason. And a giant penny. Also for some reason.
Batman started walking further in, and Jason followed close behind, passing by spare Bat-suits and benches with bits of electronics strewn all over it and a locked glass case full of bright green-and-purple toys. Jason looked up and saw ropes, everywhere, like a giant net. It was so big, and kind of dorky (that dinosaur, seriously), but at the same time he couldn’t help but think it was kind of cool, too.
They’d just got to a set of training dummies, giant punching bags, and weights, when a British-accented voice nearby said, “I see you’ve returned, Master -“
The voice broke off. “Oh dear,” the man finished, coming into view. Old guy. Thin. What hair he had was silvery-grey. And even though it was the ass end of night, his old-fashioned, pinstriped suit was perfectly creased. Jason inched just that bit closer to Batman.
“It’s all right, Alfred,” Batman said, and took off his helmet-thing. Jason had just a second to realise holy shit I’m finding out who Batman is before he actually saw. To his shock, the dark-haired, blue-eyed man beneath was actually familiar. Jason had seen him somewhere, he was sure of it. “Jason will be staying with us until I can find him somewhere safer than his previous residence.”
The old guy, Alfred or so Jason guessed, raised an eyebrow. “I see,” he said.
“Jason, this is Alfred Pennyworth. He’s the butler here. If you need anything - food, clothing, where something is - just ask him. Alfred, this is Jason Todd. He was trying to steal my tires earlier.”
A corner of the butler’s mouth twitched, just for a second. “Indeed? Well. It is good to meet you, young man. Do seek me out if you need anything.” To Batman, he said, “If you will excuse me, I must prepare a room for our new arrival. You know where the food is kept. Don’t neglect to introduce yourself, Master Bruce.”
Jason decided he liked Butler-man. Didn’t know if he trusted him yet, but he liked him.
“Wait a second, Alfred,” Batman called. “Have you seen Richard?”
Alfred stopped briefly on his way out. “He was rather distressed to learn you were hunting down half the Penguin’s gang by yourself,” he said. “I instructed him to work off his emotions. I daresay you’ll find him in the rigging somewhere.”
The rigging - the rope stuff above them? Jason looked up. Nothing but darkness and rope.
“There you are,” Batman said. He turned. Jason turned with him.
There was a guy standing behind them. Maybe eighteen or so? Jason didn’t know. He looked like a paint factory threw up on him - his shoes were a weird fluorescent yellow-green, his leggings cherry red, and his sweatshirt an ocean blue. Jason’s eyes hurt just looking at that colour combination. And, incongruously, above the cheerfully hideous combination was a face that could have belonged to a movie star and an ice-cold blue-eyed stare fixed squarely on Jason.
Better to look at the ugly clothes than to meet those eyes.
“You heard,” Batman said calmly.
Richard, or whoever, didn’t say anything and instead jerked his head in an affirmative manner.
“He needs help,” Batman continued. “Like you did. He’s not going to hurt me, he just needs a place to feel safe. I need you to make him feel welcome here too.”
No response except for more silence and staring. Richard had all the animation of a statue. When Batman had said ‘odd’ he’d been understating it. In spite of himself Jason was a little worried. Not scared! No way he’d be scared of a kid only a bit older than him who dressed like that. Just worried.
“I’ll talk to you about this later,” Batman said, as though that was normal behaviour. “You choose where. But we will talk.”
Another affirmative jerk of the head, this time followed by Richard spinning on his heel and stalking off. Not being stared at like that was a hell of a relief. Jason was starting to have second thoughts about this. He hadn’t even heard Richard approach them. You expected that from Batman. Nobody else.
“Come on,” Batman said. It was strange hearing his voice without the growl, and seeing his face. “Let’s get you some food and then to a room.”
Instead of getting changed, he threw on a bathrobe over the Batsuit. It looked ridiculous. Jason had stumbled into a house of fashion disasters.
Jason followed. He’d made his decision. He’d have to stick with it, for tonight at least. Though if any of them turned out to be the bad sort of creeper, he’d have to run, obviously. One thing was for sure - he didn’t have any plans to sleep tonight.
He risked a glance backwards as he followed Batman from the cave. Richard was checking the tires.
—
When they got to the top of the elevator, which opened into a huge-ass library, it finally dawned on Jason. “You’re Bruce Wayne,” he said. “Right?”
“Right,” Batman said. “Call me Bruce, please.”
“If you want.”
“I do. But first, you should have something to eat.”
Jason was about to refuse when his stomach rumbled loudly. He’d gone for longer without food, but it wasn’t often that people just offered it to him. “All right,” he said. He didn’t want to look too desperate.
From the huge-ass library, Batman - Bruce - led him through a bunch of fancy hallways with shiny wooden floors and portraits along the walls. Occasionally they passed a window, which looked over a dark expanse of nothing. Somewhere in the distance there were lights. It was creepy.
But he promptly forgot about the creepiness when Bruce opened the door to a big, well-lit kitchen. Most of the stuff in there Jason had only seen on TV. Figured. Bruce Wayne wasn’t cooking his own meals on a hotplate, after all. The fridge was the size of his mom’s closet. Bruce grabbed a plate under plastic wrap and stuck it in the microwave. At least Jason had seen one of those in real life before. And when the plate was set in front of him, the vegetables sure didn’t taste like they came from a can. There was almost too much flavour.
Even so he wished it was the sort of thing he could stick in his pockets for later.
Bruce - no, he couldn’t do it, he was sticking with calling him Wayne - ate with him, and Jason didn’t know what to say. It was Batman. Fucking Batman. And yeah, Jason knew that his tires jacked like almost any other tire, but it was still strange to see the man himself unwinding after a night of work. Fancy kitchen and fancy food aside, it was almost like when his own dad came back home and all he wanted was a beer.
He didn’t think Wayne knew what to say to him either. Until Jason finished his plate of warm green bean salad, and Wayne asked, “do you want anything else to eat? Dessert?”
Well, while Jason was getting free food… “All right,” he said.
Even Wayne looked a bit lost in his massive kitchen. Jason awkwardly stayed where he was as Wayne rummaged through the closet-sized fridge. “Sorry,” he said, still pushing around jars and packets of who knew what. “I could have sworn we had cake somewhere.”
“We do,” the butler guy, Pennyworth, said, appearing from nowhere. Jason jumped, then tried to pretend he hadn’t. House of fashion disasters and ninjas. “Whatever are you looking in the fridge for?”
“There’s dairy in the frosting.”
“It tastes better at room temperature, and with Master Richard on hand, long-term storage is not an issue. The cake is in the pantry. Look for a container with a green lid.” The butler turned to Jason. “Would you like a drink, young sir? Milk, juice, tea?”
“Water, please.”
Pennyworth actually poured him a glass from a bottle in the fridge and brought it over to him, while Wayne emerged triumphantly with a container of cake. The butler relieved him of it and cut two small slices, delivering both to the table for Wayne, and Jason himself.
He was being waited on. It gave him a kick, because wow this was new, but it felt awkward as well. Jason wasn’t the sort of kid who got waited on. He knew that.
While they ate (Jason trying not to cram the entire slice of incredibly delicious cake into his mouth whole), the butler said, “I have given Master Jason the room two doors down from yours.” To Jason, he added, “we have little appropriate spare clothing on hand, so unfortunately the only pyjamas I am able to provide you are Master Richard’s hand-me-downs. I am aware his fashion sense is unique.”
Sorry I can only give you clothes that are shit-ugly, Jason translated. He’d dealt with worse. “Thanks,” he said. Even shit-ugly clothes could keep you warm.
“If you are done eating, I can show you to your room directly.”
“Actually, Alfred, I thought -”
“You will do no such thing, Master Bruce. Rules are rules. You will go downstairs and change.” The butler said it so sternly it was clear he expected to be listened to. Jason took note. “I will ensure Master Jason gets to his room.”
Jason glanced towards Bruce. “It’s all right,” Wayne said. “Alfred will get you there just fine. And he’s right about the rules. No Batman things above stairs. You understand?”
When he put it like that, yeah, Jason got it. It made sense. And unlike creepy Richard back in the cave, the butler didn’t give off any real murder vibes.
Which wasn’t to say he couldn’t take Jason apart. He was Batman’s butler and bossed Batman around like a mom might. He probably could take Jason apart. But Jason didn’t think he would, not unless he caught Jason stealing the silverware.
That was an idea, actually.
“I get it,” Jason said.
“I’ll be two doors down from you, and I promise, nobody will go into your room without your invitation unless there’s an emergency.”
They better not. If they tried, Batman or not, Jason would fight with all he had.
“You will be safe here,” the butler added. He cocked his head, and Jason took that he was supposed to follow. Reluctantly, and with one last nod from Wayne, he did.
The hall beyond the kitchen was more of the same. The house, which Jason realised had to be Wayne Manor, was unbelievably huge. He could hardly get his head around it. He definitely couldn’t absorb the fact that he’d actually decided to stay here overnight. According to the magazines Jason saw on convenience store displays, that was the province of supermodels and the like. Jason sure wasn’t a supermodel. He tried to focus on the turns the butler was taking. It was all but hopeless. The place was too friggin’ huge. Who needed a house this big anyway? Only three people lived here!
“This will be your room for the duration of your stay with us, Master Jason,” the butler interrupted his train of thought. “Unless you find another unoccupied bedroom more to your liking.”
When he opened the door, Jason’s mind boggled. The room was as big as his mom’s whole apartment. The bed alone was bigger than their kitchenette. Way bigger.
In the end all he could say was an awkward “Thanks.”
“You’re quite welcome,” Pennyworth said. “Do not hesitate to call if you need anything.”
He left and left the door open. Jason wasn’t sure how he felt about that. On balance he thought he’d rather have a door between him and the Bat-strangers. Even if they could all open the door sneakily, it was something. So he shut it. There was an armchair under a reading lamp in one corner; he dragged that under the doorknob to be a bit safer. That’d probably have to do.
On the bed, aside from some temptingly thick blankets, were the promised clothes (not as ugly as Jason had feared), plus a fluffy towel. Jason frowned at it for a few seconds before realising that the door he’d thought led to a closet, led to a closet that led to a bathroom. A private one.
It was getting to the point where Jason wasn’t sure he should use any of this stuff. He was the next thing up from a street rat, always had been. He got chased out of low-end department stores ’cause he was too scruffy.
On the other hand, he knew perfectly well that rich people expected kids like Jason to be grateful for what they got. Would Wayne be offended if Jason didn’t shower and sleep?
Jason suspected he was out of his depth here.
—
Alfred had arranged that situation so that Bruce could go downstairs and explain things to Richard. Properly. A few seconds weren’t going to be enough. When it came to being cared for and respected, Richard needed a lot of explanations.
It was something Bruce struggled with, but he owed it to Richard to try. To Jason as well, as long as the younger boy stayed in the house; he knew perfectly well how frightening Richard could be sometimes.
The cave appeared empty when he returned. Not unusual. Richard had been trained very well in stealth. “Richard?” he called towards the ceiling, his charge’s preferred refuge in times of stress.
No response.
He was probably angry, Bruce thought. The Court had beaten their chosen assassin viciously at any sign of anger or dissatisfaction, attempting to train the expression out of him. Now Richard tended to hide when he felt such things for fear that Bruce and Alfred would do the same. And Richard hated intruders. If he had his way, the only people allowed to set foot in the Manor (aside from Bruce and Alfred) would be Clark, Diana and her sister, and his friends Koriand’r and Garth. On good days he might be prepared to make an exception for Jim Gordon.
Bruce went to shower and change, hoping that if he resumed his usual post-patrol routine Richard would show his face and let Bruce explain. When he finished, there was still no sign of him. Ignoring his own tiredness, Bruce sat down to do reports in the hope Richard would interpret that as availability.
Hunting down the ex-Talon was not a good idea. Bruce had learned that the hard way, in the weeks after he’d brought Richard home in the first place.
Resigned but determined to get this right, Bruce settled in for a long night-slash-morning.
—
In the end he didn’t use the bed. Jason didn’t think he could stand to. It was so soft it looked like it might swallow him whole. Instead he grabbed a blanket and sat on the floor, so he could see the window and the door both. If anyone came in he’d know about it. He didn’t quite trust anyone here enough to sleep yet.
Nobody came to bother him. Not that Jason knew of anyway. Good sign.
The issue of using the bathroom was settled when Jason was just starting to see a tiny amount of grey in the dark sky outside the window. His stomach cramped up with a vengeance and the choice was bathroom or shit on the floor. That, Jason knew not to be conflicted about.
When he headed back into the bedroom, he saw a glimpse of a blue sweatshirt outside the window.
Jason dashed over, but there was nobody there…anymore. He knew, though. That Richard guy had been watching him. He didn’t know how long for. It could have been all night.
If he’d been worried that he might fall asleep before, he wasn’t now. Jason set his back to the bed and focused on the window.