Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Jason," Elijah greeted, his usual sweet smile on his face as he dropped down on the large beanbag they typically shared. 

"Eli," Jason returned, a smile of his own creeping onto his face under the black facemask he wore, unable to stop it from reaching his eyes. "What'cha workin' on?"

Elijah's eyes lit up even more than they already had been, and he pulled an A5 black book out of his bag, flipping to a marked page, and pulling his phone out.

"Okay, so one of the girls in my school's mixed arts program managed to get this awesome photo of Arkham Knight a few days ago, and I'm obsessed. Look at this pose, the confidence, everything about this photo, it's amazing! So I started drawing it, y'know, to get better at action poses like this, and to work on realism when it comes to armour like this, he's a suprisingly good study for how lighting on difference materials works. What'd'ya think?"

Jason peered over Elijah's shoulder, resting his chin on the taller boy's collarbone, and looked at the photo and drawing. He remembered the photo being taken, Cass had pointed out the girl with the camera pointed at him, so as a laugh, he posed, hiking one leg up onto the ledge of the building he was on, tipping his head back, and drew his guns, combining them into the rifle form. He stood there for a solid minute, letting the girl snap half a million or so photos, before Bruce asked over comms why he wasn't patrolling.

The drawing was amazing, every little detail, all done with one of those four colours in one pens, the ones that had the little buttons thay would put a different pen tip with a different assigned ink down. It was spot on, all of it, even the gun. It was clear Elijah had spent hours scouring over the photo as he worked on his masterpiece.

"That's... holy shit, I have no clue how you can do this," Jason breathed, pride welling up in his chest because that was him in that drawing, done unknowingly by a kind hearted artist who'd looked at the Arkham Knight's civilian identity and decided they had to be friends. "You're incredible- at the art, I mean, y'know?"

Elijah laughed.

"I know what you mean, don't worry man."

"Okay, good, good, I don't want to, like... yeah. Hey, when you're done, you could probably show this to him," Jason quickly suggested, desperately changing the topic.

"What? Go out on the streets in the middle of the night and wait for him to show up?" Elijah joked, and Jason fondly rolled his eyes.

"That's not what I meant and you know it, art boy," he teased, and Elijah laughed again, so hard that he snorted, then cut himself off, embarrassed. Jason bit his tongue.

"Do you think if I atted him on Twitter, he'd actually see this?"

"Sure he would, I think he'd love this."

Elijah tucked a strand of bleached dirty blonde hair behind his ear.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Hey, Jay, I'm just realizing I've never seen he rest of your face before," Elijah quietly brought up, "and I thought you look really cool, like you've got really interesting features, just from what I've seen, and I was wondering if I could draw you? I just figured it might be a disservice to you if I drew you with the mask on, but if you're not comfortable with taking it off, that's okay! So, uh, what'd'ya think?"

"Oh. Oh, I, uh, it's just that... it'd probably freak you out, my face, I mean."

"Oh, sorry. I shouldn't've asked, that was rude of me, I was just curious."

"But, I mean, if you promise not to scream, or cry, or throw up," Jason hesitantly continued. "If you're certain it won't change how you think of me, I could manage without it for a bit."

"Are you sure?"

"Are you?"

Elijah offered a soft smile.

"Jay, you could tell me you're secretly Scarecrow and it wouldn't change that I think you're a cool, smart guy, who I like reading with."

Before he could have a chance to change his mind, Jason reached up and pulled the facemask down. Elijah looked at him for a moment, eyes wide, mouth hung ajar.

"Eli?" Jason asked, getting nervous, "are you okay?"

"Dude, look at you! You have such a great face shape! And your features, they're so neat! Your skull looks super symmetrical too, like, damn, bro, you could be a model- Jason, are you okay? You're turning red."

"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," he mumbled. "You really think so?"

"I wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't true. Seriously, can I draw you? I have to draw you, you're too awesome not to draw."

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Aw yes! Okay, sit still."

For the next ten minutes, Elijah drew Jason, his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth in concentration. Jason couldn't help but smile - it was really cute, and he could imagine Elijah stopping, getting out his sketchbook, and drawing with his tongue sticking out for anything interesting he saw. He had to guess the drawing of the cat with its tongue out on the opposite page was because the cat mimicked him.

"Is it okay if I draw your scars? I think they're an important part to a person's features and how they appear, but not everyone appreciates having their scars drawn," Elijah spoke up, hesitating with the pen, the tip hovering over the drawing's face.

"Sure, I bet you can do it right," Jason agreed, and Elijah got back to work. When the drawing was done, Jason was in awe, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Jason?"

"These are happy tears," he clarified, wiping them away with his palm. "You're so talented, I love it, thank you."

Elijah wrapped a lanky arm around Jason's shoulders, pulling his close into his side. Jason smiled and leaned into the touch, one of the few people who he would do it for, resting his head against Elijah's chest. There was a quick snap, and he noticed Elijah had his phone out.

"New contact info pic," he declared, quickly changing out the old photo of a cat he thought looked like Jason for the new one. Jason couldn't help but laugh.

"Damn it, I don't have one for you," he replied, reaching for his own phone. The moment he unlocked it, however, he saw about thirty various messages from the rest of his family. He quickly gathered up his stuff. "Aw, shit, I forgot, I've got an appointment today. I gotta go, by Eli, great spendin' time with you!"

"Bye Jason!"

He practically ran out of the library, sprinting half way down the street before he saw Dick get out of his car.

"Jason, where were you?"

"Library, lost track of time, forgot about today, lets go," he explained, jumping into Dick's front passenger seat. Dick snorted to himself, getting back in himself, and driving off.

"Got too engrossed in a book, huh? Did you manage to check it out?"

"Yes and no," Jason half lied, because technically he was engrossed in a book, specifically his friend's drawing book, which he couldn't exactly check out of the library.

"Aw man, that sucks, maybe it'll still be there when we get back."

"Probably not, it was a really interesting book. I'll just check for it next week when I go in."

Dick nodded, then asked, "hey, why's your mask down? I thought you weren't allowed to eat or drink around the books?"

"Huh? Oh, I guess I forgot to pull it up after that granola bar this mornin', nothin' major."

"You need to eat more, Jason, you're practically skin and bone."

"Well maybe I was in a rush this mornin'."

"That's in, when we get it, you're going to suit up as quick as you possibly can, and Alfred is gonna get you something to eat before we go, can't do a bust on an empty stomach."

"Yeah, yeah, alright."

True to his word, Jason ran downstairs and suited up as soon as they got back to the manor, managing a record time of five minutes, which he thought was pretty impressive considering how fiddly his armour could be.

Alfred provided a thermos full of pasta, Bruce went over the mission one last time, they checked their comms, and then piled into the Batmobile, with Jason taking a moment to drag Tim into the back because "front seat's for people with back problems, Timmy." And because Bruce promised Jason the front seat because it was slightly better cushioned, and a little higher than the back seats. It was a bargaining chip for if Jason ever decided to bring "the boys" (his Militia) back.

Jason ate in silence as Bruce drove, occasionally giving directions, seeing as the bust was taking place at one of his old warehouses. When he was done, he shoved the thermos in the glove box, and fixed his gloves and helmet in place.

He could hear Dick and Tim whispering in the back, and he was sure his name was uttered a few times. He shot a glare in the mirror at them, which Cass noticed, so she slapped them. He smirked at the sound of Dick and Tim squawking.

"What's going on back there?" Bruce asked in his Batman voice.

"Nothing, me and Robin are just talking about how suspicious it was of AK to not be wearing his face mask when we picked him up," Dick replied, and Bruce sighed.

"I told you, Nightwing, I just forgot, it's not a big deal," Jason growled back, "just leave it."

"You wouldn't be so defensive if it wasn't a big deal," Robin pointed out.

"Yeah, well maybe I'm sick of y'all not trusting me. I get that I've done horrible shit, I get that it'd be hard to trust me, but then you say to my face you trust me completely when you clearly don't. It's okay to say you don't trust me, I'd rather you say that than lie so you don't have to face the facts."

"Robin, Nightwing, that's enough. You know Arkham Knight has memory issues, it's completely logical him to have forgotten. But I would like to know who that boy you were sitting with is."

The car went silent.

"What boy?" Jason choked out.

"Don't play dumb, I know that whenever you go to the library, you sit with a boy. Oracle told me."

"This is her payback for the kidnapping thing, isn't it," Jason mumbled. "Fine, just over half a year ago, I made a friend at the library, and we like to sit and read together. Is that a crime now?"

"They share a beanbag," Barbara spoke up through the comms, and Jason felt his world collapse around him.

"You do?" Dick asked. "Ark, why didn't you tell us?"

"Oh no, I see where you're going with this, and let me reiterate, I'm aroace, I'm not interested in that shit, and frankly, it disgusts me. We're just friends, nothing more, nothing less. Got it?"

"Still, why didn't you tell us?" Tim was the next to ask.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe I knew you'd all be like this, fucking hypocrites. God, why did I change sides, fucking mistake. I shouldn't be here, I should be rotting in Blackgate or Arkham, but nooo, let's redeem Arkham Knight, let's use him as a fucking pet project."

"Knight-"

"I'll stay for this bust but afterwards I'm gonna need time away from y'all, I swear to god, I am not letting this be the thing that brings me back to villainy."

The rest of the drive was quiet, the bust went smoothly, and when the GCPD arrived, Jason took his leave, grappling away from the scene and to one of his remaining safe houses.

When he got in, he changed out of his armour, grabbing more civilian friendly attire. He stopped before leaving to water his plants, only to find Cass, one of his hoodies over her suit, taking appropriate care of the small cacti on the desk, her mask hanging out of the hoodie pocket.

"Cass?" He spoke up, and she turned and offered an apologetic smile.

Sorry, she signed.

"It's okay, you didn't do anythin', hell, you kinda stood up for me."

Should have done more.

"Nah, it's okay. Thanks for tendin' to my plants, by the way."

No problem, and then she smiled a big smile. Are you going out?

"Yeah, gonna see if I can catch my friend, left really abruptly."

The one at the library?

Jason forced a laugh.

"I don't have any other friends outside the family, of course it's him."

Have fun, I will keep the others off your back.

"Thanks Cass, you're my favourite sibling."

She gave him thumbs up as he left. He locked the door behind him, knowing she'd go out the window, and headed for the stairwell, pulling out his phone.

J: Hey I know our time got cut off but are you still free? Appointment ended earlier than I thought it would.

He got a reply by the time he'd gone down a single flight of the stairs.

E: Sure! Im still at the library (working on ak). Meet u there?

J: Duh

J: See you there, art boy

E: Not if i see u first model boy

J: Model boy? Seriously? You can do better than that man.

E: Cut me some slack ok im not good at nicknames like that the best i can do is jay and im not sure if thats even on the table anymore

Jason left his building, walking briskly down the street.

J: Jay's fine, just a common shortening of Jason. Unfortunately Joker and Jason start with the same letter ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

E: Ok Jay boy ;)

E: Get it? Jay boy gay boy?

J: I mean I'm aroace but yeah

E: Ur really making it harder to give u nicknames rn

J: But you love me

E: Luckily for u

J: ??

J: Eli I'm shaking what does this mean??

E: ;3

Elijah didn't respond past that, but in fairness, Jason didn't either seeing as he was just walking into the library when he got Elijah's last message. His smile returned when he saw Elijah still in the beanbag where he'd left him, and when Elijah saw him, he waved Jason over, patting next to him on the beanbag.

It was a massive beanbag, Jason reasoned as he sat down, nothing weird about it.

"Sorry 'bout before," Jason spoke first, pulling his facemask down again.

"No worries, stuff comes up. How was it?"

"It was okay, woulda been better if it didn't cut off us hangin' out. How's the Knight drawing coming along?"

Elijah happily showed him the drawing, which had even more detail now.

"I had to look to other pictures to better see the details of his costume, but I think it's going really well!"

Jason leaned against Elijah, taking in every new detail. The camo was exact, spot on, something he didn't think any self respecting artist would put themself through, but then again Elijah sat with Jason at the library and read with him and sometimes joked about the Bats, so maybe Elijah didn't have much self respect left, but that was something Jason could (and would) give him.

"I don't know how you do it, this is literally perfect. If I was him, I think I'd have to kiss you," he joked, cringing as he said it.

"I mean, I am drawing you too," Elijah reminded him.

"Oh shit, you are. Does that mean I gotta kiss you?"

Elijah laughed again.

"Nah, it's okay. I think you're really cool and such, but it doesn't change that you're not interested. Besides, after hours of looking at this guy's ass..."

"Are you seriously crushin' on the Arkham Knight?"

"What? No, I just appreciate the aesthetic of a guy in armour."

"Specifically a reformed terrorist in armour?"

"Yeah, exactly!"

Jason laughed, almost unbelieving of the situation he'd gotten himself into.

"Does this extend to Batman?" He found himself asking.

"Not really into DILFs," Elijah shot back with a wheezing laugh.

"Oh my god, Eli!"

"What? It's true," he offered. "Sorry, mate, let's change the subject. Can I go back to drawing you? I noticed that the scars around your mouth kind of move depending on your expression."

"Yeah, go ahead. What'd'ya want me to do?"

"Just pull some faces, like this."

The hours passed by as if only minutes, and soon they were being kicked out for the library to close. They laughed as they walked down the street, bumping into each other and cracking jokes, and every time Elijah looked down at Jason, he felt butterflies in his stomach. After dropping Elijah off at the bus stop, waiting to make sure Eli got on the bus safely, Jason did the long walk of shame back to his safe house.

He geared up again, shoving his civilian clothes into a suspicious smelling duffle bag, and dug his motorbike out of storage to ride back to the cave. The drive felt long, drawn out, as if the God he used to believe in was punishing him for all his apparent wrongdoings, justified or not. It started to rain half way through which just made him feel more miserable.

As he pulled in, he found Bruce, in full Batman suit, sitting alone at the Batcomputer, and while the large screen was on and his gloved hands rested on the keyboard, he wasn't working, just waiting. Jason hesitated getting off his bike, wondering if this was a bad time.

"Hello Knight," Bruce greeted, just as Jason was about to turn around and leave.

"Batman," Jason returned. "Can we talk?"

"I was hoping to talk to you, actually," Bruce mentioned.

"Oh. What about?"

"Earlier, about your friend."

"Oh, well, I wanted to talk about that too," Jason mumbled.

Bruce pulled down his cowl.

"Can I see your face, Jaylad?"

Jason reached up and hit the button to raise the helmet's faceplate.

"Uh, you go first?"

"I want to apologise for earlier, for bringing up your friend, I was unaware Tim and Dick didn't know. And please don't hold a grudge against Barbara, she only told me because I was worried you were lonely. She assured me that you're happy, that you have a friend, so I worried less. I thought Tim and Dick received the same assurance, and I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it, but I didn't want you to feel cramped. You're my son, Jason, I just got you back. I'm sorry."

"You're apologisin'?" Jason asked, blinking disbelievingly.

"You deserve an apology, you deserve a lot more than an apology, I'm not sure how much I can give you, but if I could, I'd give you the world and more. You were right, Jason, I should've searched harder for you, I should've found you. I'm meant to be your father, but I couldn't protect you."

"It's okay, Bruce."

"No, it's not okay, you were hurt." Bruce inhaled. "I'm sorry."

"Semantics, it's in the past, there's nothing we can do to change it, might as well keep movin' forward," Jason mused. Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"When did you get so wise?" He asked, fondly.

"Elijah said it once when I was complainin' about you."

Bruce smiled, a genuine smile.

"He sounds like a good friend," Bruce hummed.

"He is, he really is. Thing is, I'm not sure if I want to be more than friends. Not in a queer platonic way, like an actual... what I'm sayin' is that I think I'm demi but for this one guy in particular."

Suprise did not fit the expression on Bruce's face.

"Oh. Huh."

"Yeah. Thing is, I think he might be..." he drowned out.

"Straight? Or also aroace?"

"Into Arkham Knight."

Bruce's eyes somehow got wider.

"Oh."

"Like... like that. The way normal civilian me is to him."

"Oh."

"Can you say somethin' other than `oh`?"

"Right, sorry, is there anything I can do to help?"

"I just wanted advice. Do I talk to him about it? Do I leave it? Do I leave him?"

"No, no, God no, Jason, he's your only friend, you can't risk losing that. Maybe talk to him, approach the subject casually, bring up that there's this guy and you're not sure, hint it. Honestly, I don't know why you've come to me with this."

"Bu- are you kiddin' me? You're basically a slut, you sleep around all the time, you've dated more people than I could ever count!"

"There's no need to be rude, Jason," Bruce went stern.

"Sorry. I'm just... frustrated, you guys manage this stuff easily, but I can barely speak to one boy because he's nice to me. I shouldn't've called you that, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I wish I could help."

"You're alright, Bruce, I'll be fine."

"If you're sure, Jason. We're always here to lend a hand, if you need us."

"Thanks Dad."

Jason changed in the locker room, then shot Bruce one last glance before he went upstairs to his room in the manor.

Flopping onto his bed, he checked his work phone, seeing a notification from Twitter. He opened it, finding the finished drawing Elijah was working on, posted on Eli's art account.

EliDraws (@ArtisticAutistic)

Been working on a drawing of @ArkhamsKnightInShiningArmour for the past little while. A friend got a brilliant photo of him and I just had to draw it. Another friend suggested I post this, so I did! If the Arkham Knight sees this, I hope you like it.

notjusthalloween (@ArkhamsKnightInShiningArmour)

@ArtisticAutistic this is incredible! I looked through this account and the art is just, chef's kiss. This guy really needs more love and attention, and it sucks that more people aren't enjoying his art. Wish you the best my guy.

E: JAY JAY HOLY SHIT HE ACTUALLY RESPONDED!!

J: THAT'S AWESOME ELI!!

J: I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU :3

E: BEST DAY EVER!!

Jason's heart fluttered in his chest, and he smiled, looking at the messages from Elijah. He rolled onto his front, kicking his legs up behind him, and continued the conversation, wondering if he'd done the right thing in replying.

Then again, Elijah was so happy - as long as Jason didn't talk to him as Arkham Knight too much, maybe only every so often to promote Eli's art account (and thus his commissions), he wouldn't be pulling him along.

With the position Arkham Knight had, he didn't want to accidentally toy with Eli, meaning it looked like he was back to mentally separating Jason from AK for the time being.

God, he hated the idea of lying to Elijah, but it wasn't like he could tell him who he is, that'd just put Elijah in danger. On the other hand, he felt something for Eli, and if Elijah someday returned that for the original Jason (which was a big if, and Jason was not going to get his hopes up), he'd inevitably have to tell him, and how would Elijah react if he found out Jason had been lying to him for so long.

Safe to say, he's a mess.

Chapter Text

"Bruce wants me to go to the next gala," Jason murmured, once again watching Elijah draw - this time it was Two Face, who'd held up a bank while Elijah and his mother were there. Elijah had managed to talk to Two Face, and got permission to draw him, snapping a mugshot looking photo and pulling out his trusty pen.

"Sounds shit already."

"I hate rich people so much," Jason grumled. Elijah snorted. "They're so judgy - ooh, street rat, charity case, scar face."

"Jay, did you tell Bruce about that last one?"

A rich bachelorette had called him that the week before, while he and Elijah hung around in the crowd of a charity building opening. The sheer look of scorn and disgust on her face sent him shaking, and he ran off. Elijah and Cass had found him, two hours later, shivering and crying in a little cubby hole he found behind a dumbster as a kid.

"Not yet, I was plannin' to, but Bruce had a bad day and I didn't wanna bum him out more than he already was," Jason replied - Bruce's case had gone wildly out of control, leaving the Batman incredibly frustrated. Jason worried that if he had told Bruce, he would have broken his big rule and slaughtered that woman.

"You need to tell him," Elijah insisted.

"I know. I just. It's hard."

"Is there anyway I can help?"

Jason shrugged, then it hit him.

"I guess I am allowed a plus one - apparently I'm more nervous than a cheetah in a zoo - so if you wanted, you could come along? There's good food, and people mostly don't actually care about any questions they ask, as long as their image is maintained. It's up to you, of course, but if you wanted to, I think it'd be really nice to have you there."

Elijah sat up straight.

"You really mean it?"

"I mean, yeah? I wouldn't've suggested it if I wasn't serious, but like I said, you don't have to-"

"I'd love to go to a fancy party with you, Jason," Elijah cut up off, grabbing Jason's boney, scarred, pale hands with his long, slender, brown hands. Jason couldn't help but smile, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Great, I'll tell Bruce."

"Oh, is there anything I'll need?"

"I guess formal wear, or at least somethin' that comes off as formal, but we could sort that for you, if you want."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm Bruce's second favourite kid, and you're my only friend, so he'd probably do anythin' for you," Jason joked, and Elijah started to laugh loudly. A librarian appeared around the corner to shush them almost immediately. "I'll shoot a message off to him about this."

He typed quickly, not caring for the typos made by his shakey fingers. Sending the message, he settled back down at Elijah's shoulder again. A quiet buzz told Jason that Bruce had already replied, and he checked his phone again.

"Jay?"

"He suggested you come over once we're done here. Sound good? Tim's gonna pick Babs up in like ten minutes, and I bet I can get him to give us a ride."

"Why not, I'll tell my Mom."

When Tim arrived, Jason and Elijah were already waiting with Barbara. He looked at them strangely, but when Babs explained they were coming back to the manor with them, Tim smirked.

"That's great," Tim spoke, "I can show you Jason's embarrassing photos."

Elijah snorted.

"How would you have his baby photos?"

"Oh no, some of these are as recent as last week."

"God damnit."

The drive didn't take long, and when they got in, Alfred pulled Jason away to help with something in the kitchen, and Jason reluctantly let Tim win this time. ("...And here's the time Jason was the Easter Bunny, flipping off Bruce...") Alfred conned him into helping him make dinner, including an extra plate for Elijah, and Jason knew he just couldn't refuse that.

Bruce eventually came downstairs when dinner was servered, and Elijah sat next to Jason at the table, happily listening to the different stories the others had to tell about Jason (without indicting him as the Arkham Knight).

"So we leave him alone for, like, five minutes, and by the time we come back, he is full on snotty crying," Dick said, recounting a redacted version of the tale of Jason's first alcoholic beverage. "He had to cling to me for the rest of the night, and threw up on Tim."

"He still hasn't apologised," Tim grumbled.

"In my defense, I don't remember that happenin', I didn't realize there was somethin' you wanted me to apologise for."

"So now Jason's destined to forever be the designated driver, because he's sworn off alcohol, and only gotten drunk only two times after it, which were equally as eventful and messy."

Elijah was loudly laughing again, smacking his hands against the table, leaning back in his chair. Jason watched him fondly, keeping a keen eye on him to make sure he didn't fall.

"Oh, that's beautiful," he cooed, wiping a joyful tear from one of his eyes. "Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't laugh. Sorry Jason."

"It's okay, Eli," Jason hummed, in awe at how happy he looked, how his smile was so wide that Jason could see his gums - which was unusual enough because Elijah was insecure about his teeth (Jason could understand, and he technically didn't have teeth. Thanks Joker.) "It's nice to hear you laugh."

For a moment, Jason wondered if he saw Elijah's face flash bright red.

"Now you know how I feel whenever you laugh, Jaybae."

Jason almost choked.

"JAYBAE?"

"WHAT? I TOLD YOU I'M BAD AT NICKNAMES!" 

They both devolved into laughing messes, leaning on each other for support, wheezing incoherently between themselves.

Dinner was thus a slow affair. By the time it was over, Bruce took Jason and Elijah to see if there was a suit tucked away that would fit them, finding a nice navy blue suit that suited Elijah very well. By the time that was done, the sun was setting, and none of them wanted to risk Elijah walking out in Gotham at that point.

Elijah once again texted his mom, saying he'd be staying the night, and was lended some spare pajamas, along with an unused toothbrush.

"Sleepover, I guess," Elijah joked, and Jason went quiet.

"I've never had a sleepover," he admitted, "what's it like?"

"Honestly? I don't know." They laughed again. "But hey, we're both technically kids, if you wanted to, it could be a sleepover."

Jason quickly thought about if he left any of his Arkham Knight gear out in the open in his room. After confirming that, no, it was all stowed away or in the cave, he allowed himself to relax.

"Sounds fun, even if we're running blind."

Jason's room didn't really look lived in, apart from the pile of blankets in the corner, the vast shelves of books he never quite got around to returning to the library, and the bare bedframe shoved in another corner.

"Ooh, homey," Elijah said, "very cozy feeling, I like it."

"You can take the bed, I'll get some clean blankets and pillows."

"I don't mind, if that's what's easier for you."

"I mean... I don't really mind either?"

For a moment, Jason could swear Elijah's face turned a bit red.

"I mean, it's not that weird? We're just friends, and you're aroace," Elijah justified, then added, "besides, unless you're secretly a terrorist catboy, it's never gonna happen."

Jason laughed, glad that Elijah could so easily dismiss tension just with a small joke - which admittedly was funnier when he was secretly a terrorist catboy.

After (individually, of course) getting changed and sorting out toiletries, they settled down in Jason's little nest, with Jason once again using Elijah's shoulder as a pillow. Elijah was doing a small study on the Arkham Knight's helmet, with the shape and the lighting and how the faceplate changed how it looked. If it wouldn't've put Eli in danger, Jason would have ran downstairs and got it so Elijah didn't have to rely on vaguely blurry photos.

(Jason took a mental note that he would have to start posing more whenever he noticed a camera.)

And when Jason's eyelids got too heavy to keep open, he settled down, unintentionally tucking in at Elijah's side as he drifted off to sleep.

As light filted through the crack in the curtains, Jason's eyes fluttered open, feeling the soft sensation of fingers running through his hair. He craned his neck to see Elijah's face, whose eyes were closed but he was undeniably awake by the way he stroked through Jason's wild raven curls.

Elijah cracked an eye open, smiling as he saw Jason looking back at him.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Elijah spoke, his voice low and soft, and it made Jason's heart skip a beat.

"I didn't think you'd be awake this early," Jason confessed, knowing the sun only managed to hit his window like that when it was like six or seven in the morning.

Elijah shrugged.

"Eh, I don't really tend to sleep well," he told Jason, "though it was really easy to get to sleep this time, I'm suprised, I should sleep with you more often."

Jason hummed sleepily before the words caught up with both of them and they jolted up.

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT," Elijah loudly clarify, his face bright red, and after a moment of shock, Jason let the humour of it wash over him and started to laugh.

"I know, besides, you'd probably want me to do Arkham Knight cosplay if that was the case," Jason pointed out, and Eli pouted.

"God, you will not let that go."

"You literally said his ass is fine and that you were attracted to reformed terrorists in armour, how can I just let that go?"

Elijah's already red face darkened even more, and then a muffled voice piped up.

"He said what?"

The door flew open and there was Dick, wide eyed.

"How much of that did you hear?" Jason asked.

"Just that Elijah apparently said he's attracted to reformed terrorists in armour and that someone has a nice ass. Am I right in suspecting who this is about?"

"Quite possibly."

Eli hid his face in his hands and groaned.

"Oh, god, no, it was a joke, I'm not trying to get in the Arkham Knight's pants."

Dick roared in laughter, clapping his hands, and walked away.

"You alright there, Eli?"

"No, I'm dead."

"Cute. Now I don't know about you but I'm hungry, and I know the perfect way to make sure Dickie over there doesn't blab. Besides, I think I should thank you for agreeing to come to that stupid gala with me. Let me make you breakfast?"

"I think my legs are jelly."

"Not a problem, I can carry you, if you want, that is."

Elijah moved his hands away from his face to give Jason a skeptical look.

"No way you can do that," he challenged, and Jason effortlessly scooped him up. If Eli's face could flush even more, he'd look like a tomato with straw on top.

"Howdidyoudothat?" Elijah blurted out, and Jason smirked.

"I'm really strong," he told the taller boy, then said nothing else as he carried him out the room and all the way downstairs. It was about half way to the kitchen when he realized how flirty that must have sounded, and started to turn a little red himself.

He settled Elijah down on the big plush couch in the living room, and chased after Dick.

"Hey man, I'm gonna make me and Eli breakfast, I'll make those pancakes you like if you don't tell anyone what Elijah said. It's a weird in-joke between me and him, he isn't actually lusting after my alter-ego."

Dick's eyes lit up when he said pancakes.

"Pancakes?"

"Yep, just for you, me and Eli."

"Deal, where's Elijah?"

"I left him on the couch." Dick would know the one. "I didn't know if Alfred would be okay with me bringing him to the kitchen."

"I'll go keep him company then," Dick decided. He paused on his way through the doorway, leaning back in. "Oh, and Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay safe?"

And then Dick walked away, leaving Jason confused as to what the fuck he meant by that.

Chapter Text

Jason and Elijah spent most of the next few days awaiting the gala at Elijah's house, a nice spacious apartment that must have cost a fortune, but Jason doesn't bring that part up. It's nice, he thinks, and Elijah's mother, Katherine, is a lovely woman, who, every time, lets Jason into her home with open arms.

Jason makes an effort to not swear around her either, which doesn't say much because "fuck" very often does slip by, and he now has a swear jar for when he's at Elijah's. He finds it funny though, so he tries his best.

Elijah's room is really cozy, with a big pride flag on the wall next to his bed, and a long string of fairy lights looping their way around the perimeter of the room. There's a desk across from the bed, with several drawing supplies, and one of those tablets you hook up to a computer to make digital art with. There's also quite a few posters, the walls they're attached to a pretty deep purple, and the carpet underfoot being a pretty pale golden colour - Jason thinks of a sheep with golden fleece when he looks at it, though he can't remember where that thought originated.

They spend a lot of time on that soft, pretty floor, sometimes watching movies or YouTube videos on one of their phones, or talking about something, or reading, or drawing. Elijah encourages Jason to try drawing too, but the best Jason can manage that isn't outright a blueprint is a scruffy little opossum with rabies. Elijah thinks it's cute though, and that's good enough for Jason.

When the morning of the gala rolls around, Jason's nervous, and Elijah's there to keep him steady. He looks really good in that navy suit, Jason can't deny, and Elijah assures him his own maroon and black suit looks great on him too.

Cass and her plus one, Stephanie, both hand over a little box to each of them, both containing matching beautiful hornet shaped earrings, one each - Jason's was gold with padparadchas, and Elijah's was silver with peridots. They wear them on opposite ears.

Jason stays close to Elijah's side on the ride down to whatever place the dumb gala's at this time. Elijah runs a smooth thumb over his busted knuckles, and Jason feels okay.

Elijah's almost blinded by all the cameras flashing, and Jason, with one arm guarding his face, takes him by the hand and leads him through the crowd. Elijah makes a remark that he didn't want to lose his vision, he wanted to look at Jason more, and they both laughed, Jason's facemask disguising the wild blush spreading across his cheeks.

They find the quietest corner and spend the next fifteen minutes hiding there, joking and laughing, before they get hungry and decide to raid the snack table. They encounter a roughly six year old throwing a tantrum over his guardian wanting him to have something healthy - said six year old then turned and his eyes lit up when he saw Jason, or, more specifically, Jason's hand.

"How'd you loose your finger, mister?" The kid asks, and Eli immediately knows Jason's gonna make someone cry. Jason crouches down to the kid's level, holding out the hand with the partially missing pinkie finger.

"See, when I was your age, I didn't want to eat my veggies either," he started, and Elijah had to hold back the laugh that was building in his chest, "so Santa took it as a warning."

And Elijah burst out into giggles when his expectations were turned completely on their head - the kid started crying and begging his (notably horrified looking) guardian to give him some veggies he doesn't want Santa to take his finger. They were drawing stares, so they grabbed some stuff they thought looked interested onto their plates and skedaddled back to their corner.

"Is that something you always do?" Eli asked.

"Yeah, everyone gets a different story," Jason confirmed, and Eli laughed.

"How's it gonna go if you told me?"

"Probably the real way."

"Is that what you tell everyone who asks."

Jason smirked, "maybe."

Across the room, the kid Jason just traumatised was getting in a heated argument with Tim about how Jason lost the finger.

"I can see why you do it," Elijah noted, enjoying the commotion.

"Just wait until Dickie joins."

"Oop, he's approaching!"

"Ohoho! This is gonna be good."

The argument was beautiful yet brief, as Bruce pushed his way through the gathering crowd and told Dick and Tim to leave the kid alone, that Jason was lying, he never had that finger - which was also a lie, only Alfred knew the truth. With their form of entertainment shut down, Jason turned his back to the hall so he could pull down his mask and indulge in some of the sweets they nabbed.

"You have a nice smile," Eli said, between bites, and Jason looked up. "Sorry, that's weird, I just... I don't know, I just don't get to see you smile much, and it's nice."

Jason snorted.

"Thanks, but my teeth are fake. I'd take them out to prove it to you, but that's too much effort for me."

"Wait, really?" Elijah leaned closer before he could stop himself, and Jason, for some reason, let him look at his teeth. "If they are, they look really good, I wouldn't've ever guessed if you didn't tell me."

"Thanks, I, uh..." he bobbed his head side to side, forcing a smile, "Joker got me, a few years ago. That's why I've been gone for so long."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I lost my little sister to him."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Eli."

"It's okay Jay."

Elijah plucked up a little marshmallow thing, from one of the plates, throwing it into the air and catching it in his mouth. His eyes lit up, much to Jason's amusement.

"You okay there?" He asked.

"Dude, you gotta try these!"

Jason laughed, reaching for the plate, but before he could take one of the treats, a new hand shot in and grabbed the one he was going for. He turned, following the hand, and came face to face with the paparazzi guy that it belonged to.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne," the man, Joseph Hill, greeted him, and Jason grit his teeth.

"Todd," he corrected, and Hill waved his hand in Jason's face, brushing off his concerns. Jason could feel his heart speed up.

"Semantics."

Before his kidnapping, he had a restraining order against Hill, mostly because Jason never wanted to be in the spotlight, just wanted to grow up normally (aside from being Robin), but also because Hill had repeatedly followed him home from school, and even tried to sign him out of school on behalf of Bruce - who, of course, had no idea what was happening until Jason told him.

After his return, he'd interacted with Hill once, under the mask of the Arkham Knight, and it hadn't been pretty. Hill had been trying to follow Nightwing, and had gotten himself in quite a bit of danger. Black Bat and Arkham Knight had dropped in at the last possible moment, taking out the danger and getting Hill out of there - Jason was starting to wish he'd dropped the guy. He was really creepy.

"Who are you?" Elijah asked, stepping between Jason and Hill. Jason didn't miss Eli's hand reaching back and giving his palm a reassuring squeeze. Jason shuffled closer to Eli, tucking in at the back of his shoulder. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe.

"Move, scrub, this is between me and Wayne, I don't care who you are, don't get in my way and we won't have an issue," Hill replied angrily, spittle landing on Elijah's face and suit.

"Listen, asshole, we're a package deal. He doesn't want to talk to you, so either you can fuck off or you can go through me," Elijah threatened, unknowing that Jason could absolutely protect himself, but he appreciated his friend's protectiveness. Elijah wasn't exactly a fighter, but to his knowlegde, neither was Jason, so Jason had to guess that Elijah was taking one for the team.

"You don't scare me kid, move, don't say I didn't warn you."

Elijah didn't move, didn't falter, just squared his shoulders and balled up his fist. Jason looked around, and in the moments that Hill moved to shove Elijah, Jason dumped the contents of his plate onto Elijah's plate, and chucked the heavy ceramic at Hill's head.

It shattered on impact, and Jason tugged Elijah's hand.

"We need to find Bruce," he whispered, unable to convince his voice to go any louder. Elijah wrapped one arm around Jason's shoulder, keeping ahold of his hand, as Jason took the one remaining plate as something to focus on. His hands were shaking, and he tried desperately not to let anything fall.

"Jason! What's wrong, what happened?"

Bruce was in front of him now, holding his shoulders in concern. He could hear Hill's wails across the room, and everything piled up on him, and he started to weep. He lost his grip on the plate, and it fell to the floor, spilling the snacks across the floor. He felt a pang of guilt at the wasted food, as on both sides, he was enveloped in a hug. Bruce and Elijah, he could tell, could hear then comforting him. He turned his head into Elijah's chest, holding the lapels of his suit jacket to keep him close.

Bruce took a step back, guiding the growing crowd away from his crying son. Elijah wrapped his arms around Jason, reassuring him that he wasn't going anywhere. Elijah slowly lead him away to a quiet room, and Jason's siblings, Bruce, Barbara, the Commissioner, and Stephanie stayed standing guard.

When Jason had calmed down - God, he was embarrassing - Jim Gordon stepped forward to talk to them.

"Joseph Hill? Wasn't that the man that tried to kidnap you?"

"He what?" Elijah asked, almost hysterical. Jason squeezed his hand, resting his head on Elijah's chest.

"He tried to sign me out of school like two or three months after I started living with Bruce, tried to say Bruce sent him, but Bruce had no clue. We had a restraining order against him for a while."

Elijah was smart enough to put together that the order expired while the Waynes thought Jason was dead, so they never bothered to renew it.

"He came right up to us, and refused to leave when I told him. He was ignoring that he was making Jason really uncomfortable too. He also told me to move several times because I was between him and Jason, I thought he was gonna hurt Jay. When I refused to move, he tried to put his hands on me, and next thing I know, Jason's lugged the plate at him."

"I thought he was gonna hurt you," Jason whispered. "He'd threatened you to get to me. I didn't want you to get hurt because of me. I didn't know what else to do so I panicked. I'm sorry, Eli, I didn't think everything would be such a big deal, I wouldn't've invited you if I knew you could've gotten hurt."

"But I didn't, Jay, I'm alright."

He heard Bruce sigh.

"Looks like we'll have to get another order against Mr. Hill. I'm going to take my family home. It was good to see you, Jim and Barbara. Cass, are you still going to stay at Stephanie's house?" Cass nodded. "Will you be alright without me?" Cass nodded again. "Alright. Good night, all of you. Come on, Jason, let's go home."

Elijah lead Jason outside, and Dick and Tim kept curious people away as they returned to the car. Jason fell asleep in the car against Elijah's chest, and woke up the next morning, still in his suit (sans the facemask and earring), in his bed.

He got changed into more comfy clothes, and headed downstairs. Elijah practically tackled him into a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay," he told Jason.

"An' me you..."

Chapter Text

Arkham Knight was fucked, he was delirious, the world around him was blurry and wonky and his head spun as he tried to find the window to his safe house.

Yeah, this was it, he was sure. He recognised this window. He jimmied the lock, suprised when it didn't give way as easily as usual. Maybe one of the other bats were concerned and replaced it.

Finally the lock gave way, and he was able to lift the window up and out of the way. He fell through and landed roughly on the soft yellow carpet.

Mmm. He was on a sheep, with beautiful golden fleece. He stoked the wool, unable to feel it through his gloves, but he wanted to let the sheep know he loved it.

This was fine, he decided, closing his eyes. It was comfy down here. He could wait to deal with his injuries in a little bit, he was just so, so tired...

Something jolted him, and he flinched, then curled in on himself, groaning. He could do without the piece of metal that slashed into his side. It wasn't deep or anything, but it had been tainted with some sort of poison. The Knight was mostly immune to poison, either because of the titan serum running through his veins or the immunity he'd built up out of paranoia. He knew he'd work through it either way.

"-oly shit, hey, are you with me? Come on, wake up-"

That was a nice voice, smooth, pretty, he recognised it, but how?"

He was rolled over, and he cracked open one eye because yep he's definitely not alone and he needs to make sure he's not in danger. It's not too bright, thankfully, and he can make out the face of his company, and-

Shit.

It all rushes back to Jason, who grabs Elijah's wrist in a death grip. Elijah yelps, and Jason loosens the hold.

"Don't," he warns. Deep down, he wants Elijah's help, he wants Elijah's care, but Elijah doesn't know about the Knight, and after the gala two weeks ago, he couldn't risk Elijah being put in any more danger.

Elijah backed up, but remained close by, on his knees, hovering over the Knight's body. The Knight steeled himself, then forced himself up into a sitting position. He looked around, and, yep, he was an idiot, this wasn't one of his safehouses, this was Elijah's home. At least the window was closed now, Elijah must have done that.

In his defence, the buildings looked very similar and were only a few blocks away. An easy mistake for Jason's hazy and distracted brain to make. Whoopsie.

"Are you okay?"

Okay Jason, you're the Knight right now, you don't know this boy.

"I'm okay, just took a hit. I didn't mean to come here, I thought this was my safehouse. My mistake. I'll be going once I've got my wits about me."

Well, at least his helmet was still fully functional.

"Wait, you got hurt, I can't on good conscious let you go, you could die!"

"So you're just going to let a stranger stay at your house? While your home alone?"

Fuck.

"How did you know?..."

"Lucky guess?"

Elijah lunged at him, tackling him down, and stripped him of as many weapons as the civilian could find.

"Who are you?" Elijah demanded, as the Knight desperately tried not to let out a choked back cry.

He failed.

"I'm injured, you idiot," he yelled, and Elijah jumped back.

"Shit, sorry! Can I help in any way?"

"Do you have a first aid kit?"

"I think so, I'll go get it."

As Elijah ran out, Jason started to try get his chestplate off, so he could access the clips that mostly covered the area of the injury. It would also be way easier to access the tac-suit underneath, where he could then pull up the shirt under that, and get to the wound without having to cut the fabric up.

Unfortunately, his hands were shaking too much. He considered taking off his gloves, but Elijah could probably recognise the missing fingertip and all his scars - not to mention the black ink of one of Elijah's pens after Eli had thrown it at him with the cap off earlier that day.

Elijah ran back in, almost slamming the door behind him, and placed the kit down next to the Knight.

"Thanks," Knight mumbles, once again failing at removing his chestpiece. "I hate to ask this of you, but could you help me remove my chestplate? I need it off for this."

"Uh..."

"It's not hard, I'll show you. Please?"

"Alright," Elijah mumbled, slowly shuffling closer. When he's at the Knight's side, Arkham Knight holds his arm up and explains how the chestplate attaches. "What about the back?"

"That's drawn tight for a reason, leave it, just the chest is the issue."

"Okay."

The chestplate falls away at one side, and Arkham's able to unhook it from there. Elijah watches him warily as he detaches all the little red bands that holds his shit together, and then undoes his belt. Alarmed, Elijah turns away and puts a hand up to his face to block his vision.

"I'm not taking off my trousers, relax, it's all one suit. I will have to undo the zipper though, but I've got a shirt on underneath, and it'll just reveal my belly, okay? You don't need to look if you're not comfortable, but you also don't need to look away. I'm not totally stripping, and I definitely won't be taking off my helmet."

Elijah hesitantly turns back.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, I wouldn't've said it otherwise."

The tac suit has a long zip down from the neck to the crotch, with two zipper head things, one at the top, one at the bottom, with a fold of fabric covering it. He designed it like this because he didn't want to have to take the whole thing off just to pee, but also it made lower injuries easier to get to without, as said before, taking the whole thing off.

He pulled the lower zipper up to the bottom of his ribs, then pulled up the white tank top, and Elijah helped him by handing him whatever he needed when he asked.

The wound wasn't that bad, it was mostly just the poison, which had run it's course, that had caused him bother. He checks the wound to make sure nothing's left in it, then cleans it and stitches it, which is easier now that his hands have stopped shaking, but Elijah threaded it for him. His slightly advanced healing is already working its magic, he can feel it go.

He tucked the white shirt back in, then pulled the zipper back down, and did up all the clasps and wires.

"Are you leaving?" Elijah asked.

"Yes," Arkham answered, pulling his chestplate back on, which was easier than getting it off the first time. Elijah's next to him, finishing the final clasp on the chestplate. "Thank you?"

"Are you gonna tell me how you knew I was alone?"

"I told you, it was lucky guess."

"No it wasn't, you said it too certainly for it to just be a guess. You already knew. How?"

Well, Elijah definitely could be intimidating when he wanted to be.

"You should be careful what you tell people, you'll never really know them, let alone who might be listening."

"I'm not gonna ask you again, who are you and how did you know? I only told one person, and no one else was around-" Elijah cut himself off by sharply slamming his jaw shut. Arkham watched him with growing fear as Elijah pulled out his phone and started searching something. "No, no, this is stupid, I'm insulting him by thinking this," he was mumbling to himself as he searched up when Jason Todd disappeared and reappeared, then, as Arkham's heart sank, how long the Arkham Knight was known to have operated.

Elijah sank down onto the edge of his bed, hands grasped like he was praying, but his eyes were wide open and staring at the Knight's boots. Arkham knew he'd fucked up even more because he'd worn these very same boots just that morning, because Tim hid his civilian boots.

"Look, Eli, I'm sorry-"

"Take off the mask."

"What?"

"You just proved my own suspicions to me, Jay, take off the mask," Elijah repeatedly, almost too calmly. The Knight, now Jason, lowered his head, his arms slumping. After a moment, he reached up and punched the hidden button. His faceplate rose, revealing the red domino under it, and he pulls a bottle of solvent out of one of the pouches on his belt. He removed the domino, tucking it back into the pouch he took the solvent bottle from. As Elijah examined his face, he squeezed his eyes shut and braced. The hit he expected never came, and instead, long arms wrapped around his chest. "Oh, Jay."

"Eli?"

"I'm here."

"You're not mad?"

"Mad? I'm fuming! But it's you, it's always been you, and I'm just scared now."

Oh.

Oh...

That was worse.

Jason pulled back, out of Elijah's so warm, so, so cozy arms, forcing himself to meet Elijah's gaze. There were tears welling up in both of their eyes.

"I can explain, explain everything, I promise, only if you let me, please, I want to explain."

"Jay, slow down, it's okay. Come on, sit down," Elijah sat back down on his bed, and tapped a space on the mattress next to him. Slowly, hesitantly, he sat. After a few moments, he tried to shuffle closer to Elijah, fully expecting him to shove him away, but is suprised when Eli takes his gloved hand and squeezes. "Take your time, we've got all night."

"Heh, all knight?"

Eli shoots him a look, then cracks up.

"Sorry, that's bad."

"Get used to it, art boy, I'm a wanted terrorist. And let's not forget that you think I have a nice ass."

At the reminder, Elijah turned bright red.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry-"

"Naw, it's okay, I appreciate the compliment."

"How is it okay?" Elijah asked, "dude you've heard me joke about that stuff about you and you couldn't even tell me! I'm so sorry, I must have made you so uncomfortable..."

"Again, I don't mind that much, coming from you at least, cuz you're my age, unlike some other people that Nightwing yelled at then revealed my status as a minor to online. Interesting thing to wake up to. Plus, you're also really cute."

If Elijah could go anymore red, he would.

"Bu- I thought you're aro ace?"

Jason averted his eyes.

"Ahaha... yeah, so did I, but I thought about it some more, an'... I don't really know how to say this, but there's a boy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he's tall, and sweet, and pretty, and he holds me when I'm down, and I think I'm down bad for him."

"Oh. Well, uh, good luck on that, Jay."

"It's you, dumbass!"

"Ohh!"

"I'm gay for you, you oblivious man!"

"My bad?"

"Hmph."

There was a moment of silence, before Elijah spoke up.

"So... what does that make us?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"Cuz, for a while, I was trying to get over how I feel about you - as Jason, I mean, not the Knight! 'Cause I figured nothing would change, and I didn't want to push you, and you seemed to value our friendship above all else, so I just had to drop it."

"You don't have to drop it if you don't want to. I wouldn't mind being... I dunno, something else?"

"I'd like that," Elijah agreed. "On another note, your suit looks so much cooler in person!"

"Do you want to draw me?-"

"YES!"

Jason laughed as Eli dove for his sketchbook. He flipped it open to a new page, and stuck his tongue out as he started to draw. Jason tilted his head down so Elijah could see the faceplate a little better - he didn't want to fall back into the Arkham Knight persona right away, and putting the faceplate down in its correct place would pretty much guarantee that. He was too happy as Jason to risk that going away.

"Thank you, Eli," Jason murmured.

"Hmm? What for?"

"For being my friend," he said, then added, "and maybe somethin' more."

"No, thank you for sitting with me and tolerating me, not many people would do that. And you told me your big secret, you could've just left when you had the chance, but you stayed. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't have the balls."

"Why wouldn't people tolerate you, you're awesome to me."

"Seriously? You're the ass-kicking vigilante, I'm just me," Elijah sounded shocked as he spoke.

"Exactly, you're just you, I wish I had something as domestic as that."

"You can be with me," Elijah offered, putting his pen and sketchbook aside and leaning on Jason's padded shoulders, wrapping his long arms loosely around Jason's collarbone.

"I wish, but once you get into a life like this, it's hard to leave, it's the rush of it all, and the secrecy, and almost nothing can compare." He paused for a moment, revelling in Elijah's warm breath sweeping past his ear. "I've not told this to anyone else but Batman and Bruce, but I don't really know who I am aside from AK, we're intertwined in a way moreso that Batman and his identity, and if AK just disappeared one day, I think it would break me," he confessed.

"If that means I've got an awesome kickass vigilante maybe something more for the foreseeable future, then I'm more than fine with that. But... is it too much to ask for you to try to stay a little safer?"

"Of course not! I'll be safer, I'll be more careful, I promise," Jason vowed. "Would it be okay if I stay here tonight? I'm really tired, and you already had a sleepover at my home."

"Sure. Do you need a hand with your armour again?"

"Mhm, come here, I'll show you how it works," Jason invites. Elijah releases Jason from his hold from behind, moving around to Jason's front. "When I take this stuff off, I tend to take the gloves off first so I can get a better grip on my other stuff, but to do that I have to get my gaunts off, which are locked via a latch, so this tends to be a bit difficult for me. First, you see where the two parts of the gauntlets join? Pull the upper one up, then there's a little hook thingy and a little elastic strap attacked to it? Just unclip it."

Elijah followed Jason's instructions, ooing when the gauntlet opened up and allowing him to pull it off. Jason couldn't help but smile as Elijah offered to get the other gauntlet off, and Jason let him take it off for him.

Jason discarded his gloves easily, showing Elijah the little hooks that keep them in place. He drops them down on the desk where Eli put his gauntlets.

"Alright, chestplate, you know how that works-"

"Let me? Please? I wanna figure out how this all works, I wanna help."

"You're too endearing for me to say no to that, go ahead."

Elijah removes his chestplate easily, having remembered how to do it. He sets it down with the gloves and gaunts, patting it twice.

"What next?"

"Something you're definitely gonna have to help me with, my backplate. It's drawn tight like that to stop me from slouching, it keeps me upright, supports my shoulders, and has a piece that runs down my back, it works as part of the brace I've got built into the armour. First, you gotta get your hands under it, pull it up like with my gaunts, and detached the hook." Jason felt the moment it was released. "Yeah, that's good, thanks. There's also this strap at the front to keep it on, I'll get it. Now, to get that off, we gotta go back to my paudrons and these arm guards, the pauds are just attached to the backplate and the front of the tac-suit, same deal, lift, detach the hook from the suit, the plate doesn't matter as much."

"Okay, okay, I think I've got it... there! Okay, let me do the other one. God why are these so fiddly?"

Jason tried not to laugh, knowing the jolting of his chest would make undoing his armour harder.

"You're doing great, it took a lot of practice for me to get used to doing it on myself," he told Eli. "These arm bands aren't that hard to remove, just a pretty simple double-clasp with some velcro just to be sure. That or I could just slip them off, which I tend to do if I'm tired enough and can get the right angle."

Eli's got his tongue sticking out his mouth in focus again. It's cute. The armoured arm bands come off easily, and from there, with help from Elijah, he's able to slip the paudrons down his arm as he pulls off the backplate. Elijah's investigating it, and Jason takes the opportunity to take his helmet off. Elijah obviously noticed.

"Not gonna teach me?" He asked jokingly.

"Sorry, I'd rather keep that part to myself, but if you can figure it out yourself then you've earned it."

"One day."

Jason snorted.

"Right, what's next are these clasps across my torso, they help keep the weight of the belt up, they also just make it harder to pierce into my organs. Again, pretty simple clips, undone really easily. Belt's much the same. Also got some around my legs, mostly for my weapons. Again, same sort of attachment." He removes these himself, because he feels that if he let Eli remove his belt this early he might actually explode.

"How many weapons do you have?"

He glances at the mini armoury on the floor from when Elijah disarmed him.

"Way more than you think," he stated, then sat down on Elijah's bed, "boots are next, gotta start with the leg armour, that's easy, they've got three hooks up my leg, just detach them, like so, and the armour comes off easy."

He shows Elijah with one leg, then lets his maybe something more try the other leg. His boots under that are really easy, just untie them and slip them off, he won't even let Eli offer his help, it's that simple.

He pulls down the zip of his tac-suit, takes it half way off, and ties it around his waist. Eli's giving him a strange look.

"Everything okay, Jay?"

"Yeah? You're looking at me weird?"

"I mean, I thought you have clothes on underneath."

"Hmm? Oh," Jason looked down at his tac-suit, "no, just the shirt and boxers. I like you but I'm not about to strut around your house in my undies just yet, if it's all the same to you."

Elijah laughed.

"Yeah, I'd like to wait before I even consider something like that- hey, sharing the bed won't be weird now, will it?"

Jason shrugged.

"We've not made anything official, we can think about it tomorrow. Let me in."

"Fine, but take off your socks, I won't have some socks in bed heathen between my sheets."

"I wasn't going to, God, you're so picky," Jason joked, rolling his eyes, and pulling his socks off.

"You appreciate me too much," Elijah claimed, pulling back the covers of his bed. Eli settles in happily, then does grabby hands at Jason.

"I do, luckily for you," Jason responded, slinking in and wrapping his arms around Eli's waist, resting his head on Elijah's bicep. Elijah snuggles closer, undoing Jason's braid with one hand and ruffling up his hair. "Night Eli."

"Night Jay."

Chapter Text

Jason slowly comes to the next morning, long arms wrapped around his chest, a wall of warmth at his back.

Huh, he's being spooned.

This is nice.

He closed his eyes and snuggled in, savouring the coziness.

"Hng... Jay?"

"M'rn'n'."

"Did... Di-" Elijah yawned, "did I dream last night? With what happened?"

"Wh't d'y' think h'pp'n'd?"

"I dunno, somethin' stupid, you'll probably laugh. I think I dreamed that you're the Arkham Knight- wait shit, that was real wasn't it?"

"Mhm."

Someone's stomach grumbled, Jason wasn't sure if it was him or Elijah.

"We should get breakfast," Elijah said.

"But I'm comfyyyy," Jason whined, "you're cuddling me, and I'm warm, and you wouldn't want to make me cold and uncomfy, would you?"

"Unfortunately, I'm gonna have to. Pull your tac-suit up if you're cold."

"You're so mean to me," Jason joked, as Elijah detached himself from Jason's back. Elijah laughed, getting up, and a moment later something landed on Jason. He shot up, only to find a nice black hoodie with fluffy rainbow insides on him.

"There you go, drama knight," Eli spoke. "Can't have you freezing to death before we discuss us."

"Us?"

"Yes, or did you forget?"

Jason did, in fact, forget.

He remembered now though he'll be fine, Eli doesn't need to know.

"Why thank you, mi'lord," he says, mock bowing to Elijah, then pulls the hoodie on. "Ooh, this is really comfy."

It's like a dress on him, though he suspects it might be one of those blanket hoodies. Elijah snorts.

"Arkham Wizard."

Jason leans back and wiggles his fingers ominously at Elijah. As Elijah laughs, Jason shoots forward, wrapping his arms around the taller boy's waist and picking him up.

"Casting levitation on ye!"

"Woo! I'm flying!"

There's a knock on the door, and both boys jump, with Jason barely managing not to drop Elijah.

"I thought no one was home," Jason hissed.

"I guess my dad got back a day early," Elijah assumed, and both turned to look at Jason's very obvious Arkham Knight stuff laying mostly on the desk, except for the boots and weapons.

There's another, louder knock, and a voice, "Elijah? Is something wrong? I'm coming in-"

"NO! No, it's fine, Dad," Elijah calls back, as Jason puts him down and starts trying to hide his gear.

"... Do you have a friend over? You can tell me if you do."

"The last time I had a friend over you threatened her," Elijah pointed out to his dad.

"So you do have a friend over."

"Why do you care? Want to scare off another one of my only friends then fuck off back to work?"

"Watch your tone with me, young man."

Elijah and Jason exchange a glance.

"Want me to scare him?" Jason mouths, gesturing with his head to his armour. Elijah looks from him then to the door, and nods.

Quietly, quickly, as Elijah argues with his dad through the door, Jason pulls his armour on, gathers his weapons (not to use them, just to make them visible on his person), and lets his faceplate fall into place alongside the Knight persona.

He puts a hand on Elijah's shoulder, silently asking if he's sure. Elijah crosses his arms, Jason does too, only higher across his chest. Jason widens his stance and squares his shoulders.

"Elijah? Elijah? If you don't respond, I'll come in."

Elijah stays quiet, and the door flies open revealing-

"Boss?"

That's Hassel Boswell, one of the Arkham Militia's minigunners - a big guy, efficient, smart enough to not make dumb decisions like walking under gargoyles and not looking up.

Jason had no clue he had a kid.

"What are you doing?" He growls.

"Deathstroke gave me time off to see my family, boss, y'know, following the rules you set," Hassel explained.

"Right, and stop calling me that, I'm not your boss anymore, Deathstroke is."

"Sorry, what's happening?" Elijah spoke up. Jason studies his maybe something more's face, then turns on Hassel.

"You didn't tell him?"

"No, he's my son, he doesn't need to know what I do for a living."

Jason gestures with his hands, going through general angry gestures, then despairing gestures, then gestures strangling Hassel, and finally, walks around in a circle and wraps his arms around Elijah's middle from behind.

"Love of all loves, prince of my heart, lord I will protect, can I maim your dad?"

"Hang on, the fuck is this? The fuck are you doing here boss?" There's a pause. "Are you fucking my son?"

"Not yet I'm not," Jason teases, when both of them know that's not their sort of thing. Despite the thing he has with Elijah, he still identifies with the aro ace labels, though maybe one of them is a little more demi than the other.

"You can't maim my dad, he's your employee."

"I've got others though."

"But I only have one dad."

"I won't kill him." Elijah gives him a look, and taps his arms, indicating he wants Jason to let go. Jason does, because who is he to ignore what Elijah wants? He's not a total asshole! "Okay, okay, only for you."

Elijah walks forward, sizing up Hassel.

"Listen, dad, he's my friend, he's... we don't know yet, what we are to each other, but I want the chance to figure it out without you scaring him off. Mom likes him."

"No, there's no way your mother would like the Arkham Knight. Elijah, he's insane, you shouldn't trust him."

"She likes his civilian identity."

Hassel turns to Jason.

"You told him your identity? Are you trying to put my family in danger."

"It was an accident, you wouldn't understand. We've been friends for far longer than he's known."

Hassel sighs.

"Forget it, I'll make breakfast, I'll let you talk, but boss, I want answers-"

"Jason."

"What?"

"My name is Jason. I guess I never did say."

Hassel looks at him suspiciously, and Jason raises his faceplate to show Hassel that he's telling the truth. His hair's a mess, hanging into his eyes - he didn't have time to tie it back, so he winged it.

"Alright Jason. Elijah, do you want to help your friend here? And how do pancakes sound?"

"That's good, thanks Dad."

"Thank you, Mr. Boswell."

Hassel raises a scored-through eyebrow at Jason's formality, then turns and walks out, making a point to not close the door.

Jason makes eye contact with Elijah and quickly looks away.

"I didn't overstep, did I? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable-" Elijah cuts him off when he wraps his arms around Jason's chest, pulling the armoured boy into a tight hug. "Eli? I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise," Elijah told him. "Did... did my dad do anything?..."

"Like anything particularly horrible?" Jason asked, and Elijah nodded. "No, he's a good man, all I knew is that he took the job to pay off medical debts, I didn't dig further. He's got a strict moral compass, he refused to do any extra harm, his bullets were modified and he preferred to shoot to drive off. He's a better man than me."

Elijah let out a breath.

"Thank you for telling me. Would you like a hand with your armour?"

"If it's alright with you, I'll just take off the upper plates and put the hoodie back on," Jason suggested.

"Of course!"

"Then yes, I would like some help."

Elijah helps exactly how Jason showed him the night before, and the two boys remain close to each other as they leave Elijah's room.

Hassel's watching Jason closely whenever he takes his eyes off the stove. Elijah clears his throat at his dad, who puts on a pair of headphones, and Jason can hear Diggy Diggy Hole by Wild Rose playing.

Jason and Elijah settle on the couch, holding hands, and they both wait for the other to start. Jason decides to take the fall.

"So... what are we? What seems, for a lack of being able to think of a better word, right? What do we want to be?" He asked.

"We're definitely more than just friends at this point," Elijah points out. "I don't know about you, and I don't want to push, but... God, this sounds stupid to say outloud, but I like the idea of... y'know, being boyfriends."

Jason tests the word a few times, "boyfriends, boyfriends, boyfriends... I like that idea. Hi I'm Jason, I'm Elijah's boyfriend. This is Elijah, he's my boyfriend. Yeah, yeah, yeah! Elijah, would you like to be my boyfriend and I yours?"

"I'd love to be boyfriends with you."

Jason leans back on Elijah, who wraps his arms around him.

"This is cosier than before," Jason murmurs to Elijah. "I'll never be starved for cuddles again."

Elijah laughs, giving Jason a squeeze, and they lie there for several minutes.

"Hey, kids, breakfast's up," Hassel calls, and the music cuts off. Elijah practically drags Jason off the couch and to the table, beckoning his boyfriend to sit next to him. Hassel sets three plates of pancakes down, and offers some syrup. Jason leaves the syrup, but Elijah absolutely drowns his pancakes in it. It's cute.

"Thank you, Mr. Boswell," Jason says again before he starts to eat.

"No need to thank me so much Jason," Hassel says, "you've never been so formal to me before, usually it's just `Boswell, do this, Boswell, do that, Boswell if you call me short one more time I'll cut your legs off!` What's with the change?"

"You're not a subordinate anymore, I'm not a faceless murder obsessed asshole anymore, I'm really close with Elijah and I was taught to be respectful to my friends' parents - if I ever got any, that is. I mean, I did, and I couldn't be happier now, but, y'know."

"So, did you two figure yourselves out?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess I should reintroduce you two, a better first start," Elijah decided. "Dad, this is my boyfriend, Jason. Jason, this is my dad."

Hassel stares Jason down. Is this how Dick's boyfriend felt all those years ago? (Except faced with a tiny eleven or so year old who couldn't exactly do anything.)

"Jason... Jason, I'm going to trust you, do not make me regret my decision. Look after my son, don't hurt him. Normally, I'd think twice about the shovel talk, but given who you are, I think it's a precaution here, because I want to make it extremely clear for you, so you don't somehow not realize it's fucked up, do not hurt Elijah in any way. Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, it doesn't matter, hurt him in any way and you're gone, alright? I won't stand for it."

"I understand, sir, I promise I won't hurt any of you, especially Elijah. I... I appreciate the concern, the makin' it clear, I understand why you think it's a necessary precaution. I've not exactly got an understanding history. Thank you for being concerned for Eli." Jason turned to Elijah. "I promise, I will never hurt you. I promise."

"I believe you," Elijah assures him, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Don't forget your pancakes, love birds," Hassel jokes, settling down into a calmer attitude. "Oh, and kids? If you weren't joking about what I asked you earlier - if you were involved with each other - I'm not saying don't, but I am saying use protection."

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Jason told him, at the same time as Eli yells, "EW- no, Dad, that's not an us thing."

Hassel nods, and Jason starts tearing the pancakes apart with his teeth to distract himself from that thought. As of now, and quite possibly his entire life (how is he to know what the future will bring), all he wants to do is just lie in Eli's arms and hold him close and tangle their legs in an open window while throwing rocks at clowns and kissing his beautiful boyfriend on the cheek or the tip of his nose or his forehead.

"You're cute when you act all gremlin like," Elijah spoke, "my little creature boyfriend. Beasty Knight."

Jason shuffles his chair closer. So does Elijah. This continues until they're right next to each other, their chairs touching, and Jason tucking in at Eli's side.

"You made up with Batman, right Jason? Will he not wonder where you are? Have you checked in with him?"

"Nah, he's able to track my vitals and I let him because he's better off knowing for sure I'm alive, so he'll know I'm okay. Also I've got a tracker in my neck."

"In your neck?" Hassel repeats, astounded.

"Calm down, it was my idea, Batman and I both put in trackers with each other's specific permission. It's better for me to know that where I go I can be found, and Batman figure that if he could track me at all times, it should go both ways."

"Does it hurt?" Elijah asked.

"Not much hurts nowadays," Jason dead panned. "But no, I forget it's there all the time, it just felt like a vaccine when it was put in. Like I said, I wanted it for my safety. Honestly? I wouldn't've been kidnapped by Joker if I hadn't turned the tracker in my suit off in the first place."

"But you've only been Arkham Knight for a few years," Elijah pointed out.

"I was the second Robin before that," Jason explained, "Joker kidnapped me to get to Batman."

"What about Bruce?"

"He knew, he funds Batman." A half lie, he was risking Elijah enough with him knowing about Arkham Knight. Elijah nodded.

"Thank you for telling me, Jay," he said. "Hey, how much do you have to catch up on? Do you like Pokémon? There's been at least one new game since before you returned."

"Ooh, tell me more."

Jason had beaten the Elite Four by the end of the day, and the two of them settle back into Elijah's bed, falling asleep the way they woke up.

Chapter Text

Jason had to leave early the next morning, but promised to stay in touch. He returned to his closest safehouse, where his bike had been returned to, and rode back to the cave from there.

Bruce was there waiting for him, sitting at the Batcomputer, with a cup of coffee in his fist, and a frown tugging at his face.

Jason felt a pang of guilt for not at least sending a text.

"Hi," he greeted, walking up to Bruce. Bruce turned in the spinny chair, and gave Jason a look. He takes off his cowl, and gets to his feet. Jason raised his faceplate to meet Bruce's eyes.

"What happened, Jaylad? I thought you'd ran away, I thought you didn't want anything to do with us. Are you okay?" Bruce asked, sounding really concerned.

"I'm alright, just took a break. I have something to tell you," Jason explained, and Bruce gestured for him to continue. "I fucked up a little, got injured, and got confused on my way back to one of my safehouses, so I accidentally broke into someone's house."

"As long as you're alright now," Bruce decided, hugging Jason.

"It was Elijah's house."

"What?" Bruce pulled back, grabbing Jason by the paudrons. "Jason, are you okay? He didn't figure you out did he?" Jason laughed nervously, and he could see the expression on Bruce's face fall. "Oh, Jaylad, what happened?"

"It's not as bad as you think, B," Jason reassured, "he found out, but he took it well. Turns out his dad was one of my mercs. And, uh, well, we realized some things."

Bruce looked hopeful.

"What sort of things?"

"I have a boyfriend now," Jason told him, and Bruce is hugging him again before he can finish processing the first hug.

"Congratulations, son."

And if Jason cries at that simple three letter word, no one ever needs to know.

Word spread fast, and by the end of the week, both of their entire families knew about their relationship. In the meantime, they've been able to go on a first date, to the movies, then a restaurant, then a walk in the park when it got dark (turns out Ivy wasn't as dead as she made it seem - she wasn't even that mad at Jason, just called him and Elijah cute and went about the rest of her evening.)

Elijah asked to kiss him in the sweetest way Jason could have imagined, and when he said yes, Elijah kissed his cheek - it took a few days for him to realize it was his branded cheek that had been kissed, which just made him love the boy even more.

Since then, whenever asking permission for a kiss, they had taken to say, "may I?" to which the appropriate agreement was "you may."

(Elijah's lips were soft and tasted like grapes.)

Jason kept to his promise, not jumping into danger quite so fast as the Arkham Knight. He told Elijah where all his Gotham safehouses were in case of an emergency, and gave Eli a key to the one nearest his house.

Apparently there was something romantic in a late night rendezvous with your lover when they happen to be Arkham Knight. Even if said rendezvous was just snacking and cuddling and playing video games or watching movies together. Refering to those nights as rendezvous was funny, sue them.

It was during one of those rendezvous, with Jason lazing against Elijah's side, that the topic came up - friends.

Jason didn't have many. The Militia were his employees, the Bats his family, and the Joker his tormentor. Elijah had been his only proper friend, but now they're more than that, they're boyfriends.

"How about I introduce you to some of my friends to start with?" Eli suggested. "Sadie, in the mixed art club, wanted us to come with them to see the new exhibition in the museum. I could ask if I could bring you too? I talk about you a lot, and they've been wanting to meet you for a while. I think you'd like them."

"Are you sure?" Jason asked, "I wouldn't want to intrude on your group."

"I'm certain," Elijah said, pulling out his phone.

The text he sent to the person called Sadie got an almost immediately response: "YOU WANMA BRING MIDTER HANDOME??? 👀👀👀👀 DO WE FINALLY GET TO MEEY HIM??? IM SO EXCITED!!"

"Mister handsome?" Jason guessed.

"I may or may not have referred to you as such in their presence once or twice," Elijah explained. "But I think that's a yes!"

"That's adorable. I can't wait."

The following week, he's on the bus with Elijah, heading towards the museum. They quietly make a plan for if things get too loud or busy, and Elijah promises to stay close for him. Jason's not sure if Elijah's noticed yet, but he's wearing one of Elijah's nice reddish brown woolly jumpers. Then again, he thinks Elijah's wearing one of his baggy t-shirts.

"I wish I could bite you right now."

"I know, my little shark, but I'm going to have to ask you to practice self control, not everyone understands your need to investigate things with your mouth."

"...You just put that stupid Baby Shark song in my head."

Elijah snorted.

"Whoopsie."

"But I forgive you because I love you."

"And I you- ooh, this is our stop, come on!" Elijah dragged Jason off the bus by the hand, pulling him straight to the main entrance of the museum. "Ready, Jay?"

"I think so. Wait, may I?"

"You may."

Jason leaned up and bumped his nose against Elijah's, to show affection without having to take his facemask off. Once that's out of the way, they step inside. Immediately, a group that has to be Elijah's friends, smile and wave them over.

Elijah takes the lead, guiding Jason to the group.

"Hi guys, meet Jason. Jason, these are my friends, Sadie, Michael, Jane, Holly, and Olive," Elijah introduced them, gesturing to each one as he said their names.

Sadie stepped forward first, offering a gentle smile. They were really cool looking, with long braids, black and purple makeup, and their nails painted the non binary flag colours. They also had a really nice leather jacket, complete with spikes and patches.

"I like your jacket," he offered.

"Thank you, I made it myself. As Elijah said, I'm Sadie, I use they/them pronouns. What do you use?"

"Oh, uh, I don't really mind, but I tend to use he/him."

"Nice. Michael uses he/him too, Holly and Jane use she/her, and Olive also uses they/them," Sadie told him, and he nodded, committing the names and pronouns to memory.

"Jay, remember the AK photo I showed you? Holly took it," Elijah informed him, and the girl with the auburn and white hair waved.

"Really? That's incredible! One of my siblings does photography, and he struggles to capture the bats on the best of days. That photo you took is really clear!"

"Thanks, I've got other photos of the bats too. I could show you later?"

"That'd be awesome!"

The group laughed, and Sadie spoke up, "alright nerds, let's get in before it gets too busy."

Elijah's friends went ahead, and Jason trailed back for a second with his boyfriend.

"I talked to people! Are you proud of me?"

"I'm always proud of you, Jaybae."

Jason snorted, taking Elijah's hand, and followed the group into the museum.

"That was a nice day," he said, slipping back into being regular old Jason as he climbed into Elijah's room via the window - no one was watching, Elijah's room window faced an alleyway and no one ever looked up in that area.

"Jason," Elijah greeted him, smiling happily, "you're back!"

"I always come back," he promised, then slid up his faceplate. "May I?"

"You may."

They shared a quick kiss before Eli helped him take off the helmet.

"Elijah, I have to admit, I got a little injured today, I landed on my bad foot wrong. Just telling you now so you don't find out via an online video because at least three people recorded me falling over," he confessed, putting his weight onto his good foot.

"Thank you for telling me," Elijah said. "Sit down, I'll get you a wheatie. Take it easy."

"Wait, don't go," he pleaded, grabbing Elijah's hand as he turned to leave. "please."

Elijah looked at him, frowning, then he nodded.

"Of course. MOM!"

"YEAH?"

"JASON'S HERE!"

He can hear Katherine move across the apartment, and the bedroom door is pushed open a moment later.

"Hello, dear," she said, cupping Jason's face, how she always greeted him. He leaned into the touch, as always.

"He got hurt, Mom," Elijah told her, "his foot."

"It's not that bad, I promise, I just want to sit with you for a bit," Jason explained to Elijah.

Katherine tutted at him.

"Get the armour off, I'll bring the good hot water bottle," she decided. Hassel and Elijah told her about the Arkham Knight back when Jason and Eli became official. She didn't take it too well at first, and Jason got the shovel talk again when he next came over, but she soon came back around to him. What could he say? He was just that loveable.

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"Don't thank me, Jason. How about you two settle on the couch and we put a movie on? I'll have Hassel get the weighted blanket."

"Sounds good, Mom."

Katherine walked out, and Elijah helped him remove the armour, including changing into the spare clothes that he was allowed to leave at Elijah's house. Elijah then helped him limp through to the next room, and set him down on the couch, cuddling in with him as Hassel walked over, placing the hot water bottle oved his bad ankle, and draping the weighted blanket over them, tucking them in.

"Thank you," he whispered, and Hassel smiled, ruffling up his hair.

"No problem, boss," he said - what had once been a title had now become an affectionate nickname, like chief. "Look at you, you're all skin and bones. You just finished patrol, yeah? You hungry?"

"It's okay Hass-"

"No, I insist, we'll get you something to eat. Sit tight, okay?"

"But-"

"Jason, let us care for you," Elijah told him, wrapping his long arms around Jason's chest and holding him close.

"I don't need you to look after me, Eli," he replied.

"But we want to."

Jason blinked. That hadn't occurred to him. He leaned closer to Elijah, settling down into his boyfriend's hold.

"I suppose that's acceptable."

Elijah squeezed him.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He paused. "I should probably tell B that I'm here, apparently he just tends to assume I've run away."

"Good idea."

Jason pulled out his work phone, tapped into the team (family) chat, and shot off a message saying he landed on his foot wrong at the end of his patrol and that he's staying with Elijah for the night, don't worry about him, he's fine, blah, blah, blah.

(He almost immediately got teasing messages from his siblings and the others in the chat, including Cass' friend Stephanie, who turned out to be Spoiler.)

He turned off his phone, tucking it away, and wrapped his arms around Elijah's middle.

He ended up falling asleep before Hassel and Katherine could even get back with the food he'd tried to refuse.