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Doctor Fate had been staring intently at Jason for five minutes and Jason was kind of ready to punch him in the face.
Kyle seemed to sense this because he squeezed Jason’s hand and said, “Well, Doctor? What’s the prognosis?”
“He is like nothing I have ever laid eyes on before,” Doctor Fate replied. “He is outside of Fate’s whims.”
“And?” Kyle prompted. “Is he going to keep existing now?”
“I…” Doctor Fate said. “I think that he will exist for however long he wants to. I think there are few powers that could stop him if they tried.”
“He seems pretty stable to me,” Constantine agreed. He gave Jason a wry smile. “Congratulations, kid. You’re gonna be just fine. More than fine really, seeing as you can’t stay dead. I’m almost jealous.”
Some tense part of Jason finally relaxed. He hadn’t wanted to come to this Justice League debrief, but it was nice to get some reassurance that he was going to be sticking around.
“So if he starts bouncing around the multiverse again, nothing bad will happen to him?” Kyle pressed, wanting absolute confirmation.
“To him? I think not,” Doctor Fate replied, “However, I would advise against interfering too much in the multiverse. Fate does not take kindly to being altered by one outside of her purview, such as yourself. She may overlook the occasional adventure as a favour to Death, but I do not think it wise to test her grace too often. She may start reclaiming the destinies that you altered.”
Jason nodded, accepting this advice.
Kyle wrapped himself around Jason in his relief, and Jason blushed. He’d never been good with PDA, and doing it in front of a crowd of his friends, family, and superhero acquaintances was not the most comfortable experience. Still Jason hugged back, if only to feel the way Kyle always melted happily into the embrace.
“Get a room,” Guy called out jokingly.
Nightwing cackled as they pulled apart, the traitor.
“Do not tease them,” Kori scolded warmly. “They are cute.”
“For men,” Artemis joked with a warm smile.
“Thanks,” Jason said, deciding to ignore his embarrassment and appreciate his friends’ support.
“Sure they’re cute now,” Donna said, “But you guys didn’t have to watch them being idiots around each other for months .”
“I already apologised for that,” Kyle groaned, rubbing the back of his neck.
“And I have nothing to apologise for,” Jason insisted, crossing his arms.
Kyle being an idiot and not just telling Jason he liked him was not Jason’s fault. Yes, maybe he should have noticed— in retrospect there had been some hints— but in Jason’s defence, he wasn’t wired to notice things like that .
“So that’s all well and good,” Hal said, “but what about the Kyle problem?”
“The what?” Jason asked. It sounded like the lead up to some kind of joke, but Hal looked uncharacteristically serious.
“Kyle is the White Lantern again,” Hal clarified. “The Guardians are going to want him to disappear. They think it’s too big of a risk to have him out in the open. Last time they made him fake his death, twice . Or they’re going to shunt him off to some corner of space.”
Kyle deflated. “It’s likely,” he admitted.
“No, it isn’t,” Jason disagreed, grabbing Kyle’s hand. “Kyle is being exiled to the far reaches of space over my dead body. And you know, death doesn’t stick for me, so good fucking luck.”
“This one’s a keeper,” Guy said, winking at Kyle.
“I’m going to have to agree with Jason,” Roy said. “Anyone wanting to pry Kyle away from Jaybird is going to have to go through the Outlaws first.”
Kori and Artemis nodded their agreement.
“And the Bats,” Dick said.
“And the Titans,” Donna said.
“I’m sure it goes without saying,” Hal said, “But the Lanterns will back you too.”
“As will the rest of the Justice League,” Wonder Woman agreed.
Kyle smiled brightly at them. “Thanks, guys.”
Jason squeezed his hand again.
The next day, Jason went to talk to Bruce. No one had been particularly thrilled by the idea— including Jason— but… But Jason thought he needed to. He needed the closure. He needed to face this new Bruce who had killed the Joker for him. He needed to understand what that meant.
So for the first time, Jason showed up at Pennyworth Manor, and rang the doorbell.
The Bruce who answered the door was haggard . There was a smattering of faded bruises on his face like he’d gotten beaten real bad a few weeks back. He looked noticeably thinner than last Jason had seen him— small almost— which was a word Jason never imagined could describe Bruce. He wasn’t small in the physical sense— a man with Bruce’s frame could never be that— but his mannerisms, his movements, his confidence— everything about him was smaller.
Bruce was broken.
Jason would know, he’d seen Bruce broken before.
“J-Jason,” Bruce breathed. “I… I heard you were back but… I didn’t expect you.”
“Good,” Jason said.
Jason couldn’t help but stare at the fading bruises on Bruce’s face, wondering who had gotten so many good hits in.
“Guy Gardner,” Bruce grunted, answering Jason’s unspoken question when he noticed the direction of Jason’s gaze.
That… was not what Jason had been expecting.
He shouldered his way in and Bruce stumbled after him.
“I… You… What brings you here?” Bruce asked.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Jason said.
He looked back at Bruce and Jason didn’t feel how he thought he’d feel.
He didn’t feel angry at Bruce, or satisfied by Bruce’s clear misery.
But he also didn’t feel sorry for Bruce, or like he wanted to give him another chance to be his father.
All Jason felt was indifference.
And it was wonderful.
It was better than hate, or heartbreak, or pity.
It was freedom.
It was knowing that Bruce held no power over him anymore.
It was knowing that Jason didn’t owe Bruce anything. That Bruce would never consume Jason’s thoughts again. That he didn’t need Bruce’s hot and cold ‘fatherhood’ anymore, because his life was so much better without it.
It was knowing that Jason could let it go— forgive Bruce— with the assurance that he would never be close to Bruce again. That he would never let Bruce in again like he did before. That he would never want to. But that maybe they could still, in the far future, have some kind of cordial distant relationship. If that was something Jason wanted.
“I heard…” Jason began.
…That you were upset by my destruction?
…That you went nuts?
…That you killed the Joker?
“…That you won’t be Batman anymore,” Jason said.
That he couldn’t be Batman anymore.
“That… That is correct,” Bruce said. “I can’t be the hero Gotham needs anymore. Not after… everything.”
“No,” Jason disagreed. “You can’t be Batman anymore. But you can still be something better than Batman.”
Bruce gave Jason a searching look, not understanding.
“You can be Bruce Wayne ,” Jason said.
Bruce’s face twitched with something like disappointment.
Jason sighed. He held out a hand to Bruce.
“There’s someone I want you to meet,” Jason said. “Take my hand.”
The Bruce of Jason’s recent past would not have taken Jason’s hand.
But this Bruce did.
Jason whisked them away to another universe.
That day Bruce met another version of his long dead mother. And that other Martha Wayne told Bruce all about her life, and her Gotham, and no vigilantes, and curses, and curse breaking, and community outreach, and all the ways she helped. And Bruce arrived home in a daze.
Jason had done his job, so he left Bruce to his new mission.
When Bruce stopped Jason at the door to ask if Jason and the others would come around for dinner, Jason told him, “Fuck no.” Because that ship had sailed, and if Bruce really had changed, then he’d have to spend a long time proving it before Jason would consider allowing more than the bare minimum contact. “Also, get a fucking therapist.”
After returning from his trip to the manor, Jason knew what he had to do next. He took out his multiversal phone and stared at it for a moment.
Should he call ahead?
No, that wasn’t really his style.
A split second later, Jason appeared in Nice-Bruce’s manor kitchen, where Nice-Bruce and his family were having breakfast.
“Jay!” Robin-Jason exclaimed, jumping to his feet and running over. “You’re alive!”
He dove at Jason for a hug, which bewildered Jason for a second before he caught up and hugged back.
“Hey,” Jason said. “Yeah, Kyle went and fetched me from nonexistence.”
“We know,” (Hyperbolic-)Baby-Tim said. “We all helped him tether to you. But when he didn’t return, we thought neither of you would be coming back.”
“Not me,” Robin-Jason said, squeezing tighter. “I knew Big-Jason would be back. We Jasons are like cockroaches that way.”
“Don’t compare yourself to a cockroach,” Nice-Bruce said, ready to defend Robin-Jason’s honour even from himself.
Robin-Jason bounced away to laugh at Nice-Bruce. “It’s true though. We are.”
Nice-Bruce just sighed, and at a much slower pace than Robin-Jason, got up to envelop Jason in a hug as well. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Um… so am I,” Jason said. “Did the others make it back to their home universes okay?”
“Yes, I dropped them off with my machine after you… After.”
“That’s good,” Jason said, awkwardly.
No one said anything for a moment.
“Do you want to join us for breakfast?” Nice-Bruce asked.
“No, I’m not staying long. I just wanted to tell you I was alright and also…”
Nice-Bruce waited patiently for Jason to gather his thoughts.
“I wanted to say thank you,” Jason continued. “You were right about my Bruce. About all of it really. It wasn’t just me he hurt and I wasn’t the problem. He was. And I guess I’ve always known in theory that abuse is about the abuser and not anyone else, but you really helped me internalise that. So um… thanks. Because of you, I was able to protect my siblings… and myself.”
Nice-Bruce gave him an achingly warm smile.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” he said. “You deserved so much better than him . I’m sorry you didn’t get it.”
“I did,” Jason said. “Maybe not in a father figure— or a mother figure really— but in friends and siblings and partners. And in you.”
Nice-Bruce’s eyes misted slightly. Holy shit. This Bruce was getting like… proficient at expressing his emotions. Jason didn’t even know that was possible for a Bruce to do.
“I know you have your own universe with your own people, but we’ll always be here for you too,” Nice-Bruce pledged, “Whenever you need us.”
“I know.” Jason smiled, a slightly cheeky edge to it. “I do need you for something actually. That’s part of why I’m here.”
“What do you need?”
Jason pulled out his multiversal phone and handed it to Nice-Bruce.
“This is…” Nice-Bruce murmured, clearly understanding.
Jason nodded. “I need you and your Justice League to look after the multiverse for me. Help those who ask for it, or send someone from another universe for them. Apparently I’ll piss off Fate if I keep messing around with the multiverse too much. I’ll still be around to help if you need me—” Just like Kyle would always be ready to teleport into space and be the White Lantern— “and my number is in there if you ever need— no, want — to reach me, but I… I want to focus on college for the moment. On having a life aside from the vigilante stuff, you know?”
Nice-Bruce took the phone from him with the utmost care.
“I understand,” he said, “and I’m happy for you. Thank you for trusting me with this. I won’t let you down.”
“I don’t think you will,” Jason agreed.
And then he looked around at Nice-Bruce and his sons, all staring at him with warmth. He had his own family, with his own brothers and sisters, but… Jason supposed you could never have too much family.
“You know what,” he said. “Maybe I will stay for breakfast.”
Nice-Bruce beamed at him, and Jason knew he’d made the right decision.
Jason and his classmate Lola stood outside the lecture hall chatting about their homework. Jason was hanging around waiting for Kyle to pick him up. Of course, Kyle couldn’t drive, so really Jason was waiting for Kyle to walk to the campus so Jason could give them both a ride home on his motorcycle. Jason wasn’t entirely sure why Kyle liked ‘picking him’ up from college so much. It seemed pretty redundant, especially since they could both teleport. Still, Kyle liked to insist on it every so often.
Actually, was Jason supposed to be picking Duke up from school?
The kid seemed to like the bus just fine but maybe Jason should ask him again.
The back of Jason’s neck prickled as he felt eyes on him. He glanced around, looking for danger.
Oh.
Kyle was sitting on the ground not too far away, nose buried in his sketchbook and an intense look on his face. Jason couldn’t help but snort in amusement. God, Kyle was ridiculous sometimes. He loved that idiot.
“What?” Lola asked in response to Jason’s abrupt snort.
“My boyfriend is here,” Jason explained. “And instead of coming over to say ‘hi’ like a normal person, he decided to stealth-draw me from a distance like a creeper. He does that sometimes.”
Lola looked around and giggled as she spotted Kyle. “That’s so cute.”
“It is,” Jason agreed, “but don’t tell him I said that.”
Lola and Jason said their goodbyes, and the next time Kyle glanced up to study his muse, he found Jason looming over him.
Kyle grinned at him. “Hello, Gorgeous.”
Jason felt his face warming despite himself.
“Glow Stick,” Jason greeted.
Kyle lit up like Jason had called him something flattering. He got to his feet, brushing off his pants as he went.
“Ready to go home?” Kyle asked, as if he hadn’t been the one holding them up.
“Yeah,” Jason said. “We just need to stop by the supermarket so I can pick up something for tonight’s dinner.”
“Cumin, chicken breasts, rice and coconut milk, right?” Kyle asked. “I found your shopping list. So I got it while you were in class.”
“Oh,” Jason said, feeling something happy and affectionate settle in his gut.
He still wasn’t used to people doing things like that for him.
“Did you get the good chicken?” Jason asked.
“I got all the brands you usually buy,” Kyle assured him.
“Right… Well, thanks.”
He was never quite sure how to get across how unnecessarily touched he was when Kyle did shit like this for him. Kyle seemed to get it anyway.
“You’re welcome,” Kyle said, beaming. “And this way, we have a little extra time before Duke gets home from school and the rest of your family shows up.”
“Ugh, who’s idea was my entire family showing up again?
“Weekly family dinner? Dick’s.”
“Of course,” Jasons sighed. “That bastard would come up with something that sadistic.”
“But it was your idea to do it at our place.”
“That’s just because no one else can cook a halfway decent meal.”
Kyle laughed. “Yeah, yeah, do all your regular sarcasm and grumbling. We all know you love it really.”
Jason sighed. Yeah he kind of did.