Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jason regrets everything. This was a mistake. He should’ve just infiltrated Titans Tower and throttled the kid like he planned. But nooooooo, Jason just had to go and save the little brat and now the baby bird was apparently his responsibility! Had Bruce and Dick lost their freaking sanity?! Red Hood was a crime lord and a murderer! He was not an acceptable babysitter!

It had all been an accident. But one stupid decision derailed all of his carefully crafted plans. All of his hard work had gone up in smoke in a matter of minutes. It all happened about two months ago. He’d been patrolling his territory when he saw lights on in a warehouse that had been abandoned for ages. Everyone knew the place was on the verge of collapse. Jason knew it’d take more than a sneeze for the place to topple, but with the rate at which various rogues managed to make the entire city shake, it was most likely going to come down the next time Ivy had a tantrum.

He had a bad feeling about this, so he crept through the roof and started slinking through the rafters to investigate. As soon as he’d entered the building, an odd thumping sound echoed throughout the area. It made something stir in the back of Jason’s mind, but he couldn’t quite place it. So, he shook off the sticky, foreboding feeling that was creeping up his spine and pressed forward.

When he finally saw the source of the sound, his vision flooded green as rage roared through his veins. Joker was standing over a small, chained Robin and beating him with a baseball bat. Over the thundering of his heartbeat in his ears, he could hear Joker cackling about not wanting to use the same punchline twice. What was the clown doing out of Arkham? There hadn’t been an alert, so the crook had somehow slipped out unnoticed. This….this was bad.

Memories of the agonizing hours leading up to his death flooded Jason’s vision, and he could barely breathe under their weight. Terror, panic, and anger swirled ferociously within him as he lashed out to protect himself (and the clown’s new toy) the only way he knew how.

The next few minutes were a blur. When he looked back, he could recall hearing pained screams and plunging a dagger into his sworn enemy's gut, but nothing else. When he came to, Joker was unrecognizable from the sheer amount of blood covering him and his surroundings. Jason had half a mind to start taking the clown apart so he could feed the pieces to Ivy’s man-eating plants when a strained groan reached his ears.

Whipping around, expecting an attack, Jason was met with the sight of a beaten and bleeding Robin sprawled out on the ground and looking like he may bleed out at any second. Cursing, Jason lied to himself that he totally hadn’t forgotten the kid and dropped at Robin’s side.

The kid let out a terrified whine as he tried to pull himself away from the blood-soaked Red Hood. In a tone that was nowhere near as comforting as he’d hoped with his modulator, Jason said, “Calm down, Robin. I need to patch you up before you join your predecessor in the afterlife!”

That snapped the kid out of it, and Tim stopped moving, allowing Jason to start treating his various wounds. The newest Robin still eyed him suspiciously, but that didn’t interfere with Jason’s work so he didn’t care.

What he did care about was the random goon that ambled in occasionally because they were curious why they couldn’t hear their boss’ maniacal laughter anymore. Jason was usually able to pop them with a freedom seed before they even processed that the pile of gore was Joker and not Robin, but every now and then, a thug got too close for comfort.

While Jason was finishing up, he heard a soft thump maybe a stone’s throw behind him, and he whipped around with a gun in his hand and a snarl on his lips only to find none other than the Batman on the other end of his barrel.

Unable to restrain himself any longer, he snarled, “Where the hell were you? You’d have another dead bird on your hands if I wasn’t here!” When there was no response, Jason rose to his feet, chucked the wad of gauze at his ex-father, and snarked, “Your kid, your problem.” WIth that, Jason turned on his heels and stormed out of the warehouse.

He wasn’t going to risk hanging around and getting arrested for Joker’s murder of all things. After that whole debacle, he spent several days in his least favorite safehouse coming to terms with everything that happened. His plan was ruined, he couldn't destroy the little bird after he rescued him and patched him up, and now he wasn’t so sure if he even wanted Bruce to prove his love. Because he wouldn’t. Why did he only realize Bruce never loved him after Joker was already dead? Bruce disowned him before Jason even left Gotham. He was going to be thrown back out on the street or into the foster system by someone he loved like a father.

Jason knew better now. So, he decided to just focus on his criminal empire and protecting Gotham while he figured out his next steps and pulled himself back together. He wouldn’t antagonize the Bats or even go near them. From now on, he had nothing to do with them.

Except things didn’t go to plan. Robin would drop by Crime Alley just to say hi. He was telling the guy who threatened to snap his little bird-brained neck on many, many occasions hi. The kid would thank him for saving his life, bring snacks from Agent A (which didn’t almost move him to tears the first time), and let him know whenever he saw an alley kid who might need help but didn’t trust the Bats.

As if that wasn’t weird enough, Robin wasn’t the only one being weirdly, no, creepily chummy. Nightwing would bounce by with that stupid massive smile on his face and offer to trade intel. Jason knew how anti-murder Dick was, so he thought killing (a dozen or so people) in front of Tim would have made Dick hate the Red Hood even more. That wasn’t the case… In fact, Dick was downright friendly to him.

Before the rescue, Dick had threatened to snap every bone in Jason’s body for threatening his baby brother. Now, the guy was offering to trade intel and asking him if he wanted to grab post patrol pizza. It was weird.

As for the big bad Batman himself, he just glared and brooded from a distance. It was creepy and Jason made it a point to make direct eye contact and flip the man off.

It was weird. And it was weirdly okay. He didn’t totally hate it (except Bruce. He hated that). He begrudgingly allowed Robin to hang around and would trade info with Nightwing on occasion, but that was the extent of his affiliation with the Bats. He refused to do anything stupid like work with them.

Or that was the plan until Robin disappeared off the face of Gotham and a week later Nightwing finally approached him to explain the situation. “Robin’s in danger, and we don’t know who’s targeting him.” He went on to explain how threats, traps, and snipers had all been sent after the kid who was currently on house arrest until it was deemed safe…and because he somehow sprained both an ankle and a wrist dodging a sudden bullet aimed for his head.

Unfortunately, Jason’s maybe kinda sorta got attached to the annoying little brat, so he grouchily agreed to keep an eye out for anyone with a vendetta against Robin. When Nightwing left, he immediately threw himself into rooting out the idiots after the pipsqueak.

Because he knew exactly who was to blame. The reason he hadn’t filled the Bats in was because he intended to murder them all. And the only reason he hadn’t taken care of them previously was because everyone talked big in Gotham. There wasn’t any evidence pointing to them hunting a certain birdie until now, but this screamed that it was their handiwork.

After a little more digging, he found conclusive evidence that this gang was actively after Robin, so Jason merrily skipped down to their decrepit old dock house of a base. The moment he got there, he boarded off all other entrances, kicked down the front door, and went to town. Because this was a message. Everyone in all of Gotham had quickly learned that Robin was off limits if they didn’t want to end up like Joker, and he was simply delivering the promised consequences.

Bodies dropped left and right, screaming filled the building, and blood dipped like rain as Jason slaughtered everyone in his path. He’d done his research. None of them deserved to live. There were only four or so thugs left when everything went wrong.

A goon’s stray bullet hit a cluster of crates…crates that were hiding a dozen or so massive cylinders of oxygen. Why they had oxygen tanks, Jason didn’t know. But what he did know was that the resulting explosion was catastrophic. He was thankfully far enough away that he wasn’t instantly incinerated, but the heat burned straight through his suit in several locations and threw him through the rickety wall and into the harbor.

The cold water shocked his system, and Jason couldn’t do anything but sink for a minute. Thankfully, his helmet would recycle air for several minutes so he could breathe for a bit, but he could see a bead of water sliding down the inside of his helmet. Getting hurled through the wall must have compromised his systems, which likely cut his time in half before it filled with water and he started drowning.

Forcing himself to get a grip, he figured out which way was up. However, when he tried to swim, a scream tore its way out of his throat as he quickly discovered that his leg was broken and his shoulder was dislocated. Half of his body was out of commission, and he was still sinking into the abyss that was Gotham Bay. Panic clawed at the edges of his mind, but he knew if he let the terror take over he’d die again, so he desperately tried to pull himself upward.

But he kept sinking. The cold water was making him sluggish as hypothermia sunk into his very bones and shock further crept in. He wasn’t going to make it, he realized as his body fully stopped responding to him and he finally hit the sludgy mud that made up the bottom of the harbor. Looking up, he could tell that there was at least a dozen feet between him and the surface. Probably closer to twenty if he was being realistic.

His unresponsive body drifted in the current, dragging along the seafloor, and all Jason could do was wait to drown. He could always set off the bomb in his helmet, but that’s not how he wanted to go. Not again. So he stayed slumped in the mud in resigned silence as he waited for his helmet to fill with freezing cold water and drag him back to death’s embrace.

_______

Bruce was displeased with Red Hood’s actions, but had put up with them till now because both of his boys had inexplicably taken a liking to the violent crime lord. It was aggravating to say the least, especially since the man reminded him of Jason with the absolute snark and sheer protectiveness that was programmed into the man’s very bones. It made things worse since he knew the little boy he lost would also approve of this trigger happy crook.

But he was patient. He held himself back, kept an eye on the guy, and stayed out of the way. But tonight was too much.

Red Hood had gone from a threat to an invaluable ally to Robin’s safety literally overnight. And as soon as Dick informed him of the threat to Tim’s safety, the guy went on a rampage. Bruce had cameras tracking Hood across the city and just so happened to have one positioned at the docks where Hood was heading. Bruce knew that a suspicious gang was holed up here, but given Hood’s razer focus on reaching them, they must have something to do with it.

He watched in mild curiosity as Hood skirted the building and then stormed through the front door. At first, he thought Hood was going to question them. Shock raced through his system when the camera picked up the carnage occurring inside through a dirty, and quickly bloodied, window.

Bruce instantly turned the Batmobile around and raced for the dock house, keeping one eye on the feed the whole time. It could only be described as a slaughter.

The only thing he could think about was throwing Hood in jail and tossing away the key, but he quickly changed his tune when the building went up in flames and a bright red streak careened into the harbor. Now all Bruce could think about was rescuing his sons’ friend. All he could see was the warehouse exploding and taking Bruce’s son away.

Bruce was still two minutes out, and Hood wasn’t resurfacing. He glanced at the screen far more often than was safe at the speed he was going, but Hood wasn’t coming back up. Hood was drowning, and there was nothing Bruce could do about it.

Tim was going to be devastated. He’d have to do everything in his power to cover up the fact that Hood went there for him. Otherwise, Tim may very well hang up Robin and blame himself for the murderer’s death till the day Tim too passes on.

Damnit, but what about Dick? He was going to rip himself apart over this, and there was nothing Bruce would be able to do to shield him from his own guilt. Because Dick was the one who insisted on bringing the Red Hood into the loop. Which if you’re just looking at the end result (ignoring the grisly method), it was the correct decision. Hood took care of everything and Robin’s safe. But it was at the cost of a tentative friend and ally’s life. Gritting his teeth, he filled Dick in on the situation, hoping he broke the news gently and didn’t get his eldest son’s hopes up. His son replied in a worried and clipped tone that he’d be there a minute after Bruce arrived.

Screeching to a stop near the end of the dock, Bruce jumped out of the car, dropped his cape on the end of the pier, secured his grapple to the sturdiest pillar, and jumped into the freezing harbor. As the cold water closed over his head, he began his search for Hood’s corpse. Between the frigid temperature and the lack of air, the likelihood that the man was still alive was slim to none. Still, he had to check. At the very least he could get the Red Hood’s identity and have the police alert the man’s next of kin.

While Bruce valued life, there wasn’t much he could do when a violent criminal got themselves killed. It was unfortunate, but he didn’t feel much beyond distant pity for them. The biggest thing he felt in relation to Red Hood’s death was sadness for his sons’ sakes. No matter how Bruce felt, they cared about the guy. And with him dead, Bruce will have to be there to comfort his boys.

He was wrenched from his thoughts by a flicker of red several feet below him on the ocean floor. The water was so murky that Bruce had almost missed it, but now that he’s looking, he can vaguely make out Hood’s outline. As he swims further down, he can’t help but notice the eerie stillness in the crime lord’s body. Internally sighing to himself, he reaches out and grabs what he thinks is a corpse. But the moment he touches the body, Hood jerks, and Bruce realizes that he’s alive.

Not knowing how much time Hood has left, Bruce gets a firm hold on him and taps a button on his belt, causing the grapple to retract rapidly and drag them toward the surface and land. The moment they breach the surface, Hood’s hands instantly reach up to his helmet and wrench it off. A torrent of water floods out of the headwear when it’s unsealed, and Bruce can feel Hood coughing and hacking up the harbor from where he’s still securely holding the man.

“B, he’s going to freeze!” a voice calls from above, and Bruce realizes that Dick’s made it and is beckoning for him to hand Hood over. Bruce still wants to haul the guy off to the hospital and then Blackgate at the least, but he begrudgingly complies.

Dick starts to pull Hood up, and halfway up Bruce notices that Hood’s leg looks crooked and wrong. It’s very clearly broken, but before he’s able to warn his son, Hood’s leg smashes into the corner of the dock. There’s a choked off scream before the crime lord goes completely limp in Dick’s arms.

Swearing colorfully and apologizing profusely to the now unconscious man, Dick finishes hauling the guy onto the dock and wrapping him in Bruce’s cape. As for Bruce, he starts to climb the ladder, eager to get somewhere warm and dry. Tonight’s as good a night as any to turn in early. Robin was safe, Red Hood wasn’t dead, and he might even get to turn the notorious criminal if he can convince Dick that he’s a danger.

Suddenly, Dick’s mutterings are cut off with a strangled whine. “B?” Dick says after a second. “B, I think I’ve been dosed with something.”

“What?!” Bruce snaps with barely veiled panic as he whips around to face his son.

Scratch that, his sons.

Because that was Jason. That was his baby boy. He was older and bigger than Bruce had ever gotten to see him, but it was very clearly Jason. All of Red Hood’s little tells that Bruce had connected to his dead son really were his child’s mannerisms. Bruce stumbled and very nearly fell back into the harbor, but managed to collapse at Dick’s side and get a closer look at Hood’s- Jason’s face.

Jason had nearly died while Bruce apathetically searched for him. He could be holding his twice dead son right now if he was even a minute later. Five minutes ago, he hadn’t cared whether his own son lived or died. It made him horrifically nauseous, and he had to mentally tear himself away from those thoughts to keep himself sane.

He could have stayed there staring at his living, breathing child all night, but the practical part of his brain yelled at him to act. Jason had a broken leg, dislocated shoulder, was hypothermic, and may be dry drowning at this very moment.

Swallowing back a choked sob full of relief and gratitude at having his son returned to him, Bruce said, “Nightwing, help me carry him to the car. We’re taking him back to the Cave.” With a jolty nod, Dick helped him maneuver Jason’s bulk back to the Batmobile.

As Bruce clambered into the driver’s seat and took off for the Cave, he couldn’t help but marvel at how big Jason had gotten. Due to a childhood of malnutrition, Bruce had thought Jason would grow to be as tall as Dick’s chin at the most. And now here he was, a full grown young man who was at least half an inch taller than Bruce himself. It was almost as astounding as Jason’s miraculous return.

The rest of the night passed in a blur as they treated Jason, found signs of the Lazarus Pit, and shed more than a few tears over Jason coming home. Tim was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement when he found out. His vicious protector and maybe friend was his hero!

It was a lot to take in for everyone.

When Jason finally woke up, Bruce was the only one still in the medbay since he’d sent Tim to bed and Dick off to shower off. The moment Jason realized where he was and who was with him, he sneered ferociously and snapped, “So, where will it be? Arkham or Blackgate?”

The rage and barely concealed fear in his son’s face broke Bruce’s heart, and he very gently said, “Neither. You’re going to stay here and heal.”

“What?!” Jason practically yelled, shock spelled out in every line of his body. “Why?”

Reaching out oh so slowly, Bruce grabs his second son’s hand and rubs it comfortingly. “You belong with your family.” Jason just stares at him dumbly for a minute before tears streak down his cheeks. Bruce hushed him saying, “It’s okay, you’re home now. Everything’s going to be alright.”

And it would be. Bruce’s family was finally whole once more, and he could feel the once fractured shards of his heart finally mending.

~ End Note ~

It took a lot of effort on everyone’s part, but eventually they became the happy family they were always meant to be. They still had their rough patches and Jason still vehemently disagreed on when it came to morals, but they learned to look past it and not let their differences interfere with their relationship.

Bruce was still haunted by how close he came to losing Jason and internally loathed himself for being so apathetic towards his own child dying, but Jason, after learning exactly what was bothering his dad, forgave him. He understood completely and reassured Bruce that he did get there in time. Jason wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

When Damian appeared on their doorstep a year later, he was accepted into a loving family that was more than happy to help him acclimate to the new environment and rules. All of their efforts resulted in a strong family unit that was a force to be reckoned with out in the field and in Gotham’s spotlight. They still had their problems, but nothing could break their family.

Years down the road, Jason would thank his lucky stars he rescued Tim instead of beating the crap out him. When he inevitably told Tim his original plans because the guilt was eating him up inside, Tim straight up laughed in his face. “There’s no way! You’re far to much of a protective guard dog to ever be able to do something like that to a kid!”

No matter what Jason said, no one believed him. He eventually let it go because it was just proof of how much he’d grown and changed from who he was when he first arrived in Gotham and how much his family trusted him. And in the end, that’s all that mattered.