Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Two years, Jason was gone, and in that time period, his own father replaced him. How could he? It was such a short period of time, and he just... forgot his own son!

As much as he wanted his dad to hold and comfort him, he knew he wasn't welcome at the manor anymore, and that Bruce probably never cared about him in the first place.

He absolutely couldn't believe it. One night, he seriously considered hiring a prostitute to just hug him- he didn't, though, because that'd be sad.

Well, sadder than what he was willing to do, at least. His life up to that point had been pretty sad.

Anyway- the situation with Bruce completely destroyed his already horrible mental state, so he made some decisions he was now realizing were bad as he held a gun to his brother's head.

"Nightwing. Give- stop-" he started to yell, but his voice cracked, destroying the illusion he was attempting to make.

"I'll kill- I'll kill you!" Jason screamed, placing the gun on the temple of Dick's head, his finger going on the trigger. He wanted this.

He wanted to kill Dick. Then Batman's new Robin, then Batman himself. He wanted revenge- for the world to remember his name.

"Jason?" Dick realized, his shoulders dropping, "You... Jason... I... I love- what, how- why are you-"

"No! Stop! I'll kill you if you don't listen to me!" Jason shut him up, slapping his cheek. He instantly regret it, but he couldn't apologize or Dick would know how weak he really was.

He wished he never went to Ethiopia. God, he wished he just went to Dick when he came back instead of wanting to kill him!

Jason nearly pulled the trigger, but he couldn't. There was something in his mind stopping him. He didn't know why- he wanted this, right?

He pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

It was empty.

Jason felt like he couldn't breathe.

He fell to the ground and gripped Dick's legs, sobbing into them, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry- Dickie- I'm sorry- please- I'm so so sorry-"

His older brother didn't say anything for a few moments. He then said, "Untie me. Now."

His voice was strong willed and demanding, so Jason immediately did it. He mentally prepared himself for Dick to hit him.

He wasn't hit. Instead, Dick hugged him tightly, just like he did whenever he visited the manor back before Jason had died.

"Dick-" Jason sobbed, "'m sorry- please-"

"It's okay, it's okay... you're okay..." Nightwing comforted the boy, taking his mask off to run his fingers through his hair.

Dick was terrified himself, not to mention confused. His baby brother, who was definitely dead, was alive? How? When? Why?

He couldn't ask or show his emotions, though. Not when Jason was already in a clearly fragile state. Not when he just got him back.

"Dickie-" 

Dick continued to rock Jason and say sweet things to his formerly dead brother, hoping he'd calm down, all though he still didn't quite believe this was real himself.

Dick grabbed his hand and led the teen to his motorcycle, "Hang onto me, okay? I'm taking you to my apartment. You can get some sleep there."

Dick tossed him a helmet and Jason put it on, noticing how Dick didn't put one on himself but didn't say anything.

Jason sat behind him and grabbed tightly to his waist. If he had better control of himself, he wouldn't have held onto Dick less tightly, but he just wanted to be as close to his brother as he could be.

It was a long, cold, and quiet ten minute drive, but in the apartment, Jason saw a three legged dog. It was really cute. He wanted to pet it, but-

Before he could finish his thoughts, it pounced on him and licked his leg.

"Down, girl, down!" Dick laughed, smiling as Jason sat down to pet her. He was glad to see his brother smile again, he wasn't sure if he'd ever do it again.

"What's her name?" Jason inquired.

"Haley."

"Good girl, good Haley," the teen praised with a new look in his eyes. Maybe all he needed was a puppy to make him happy and less murderous, Dick thought to himself.

Jason let her climb on his lap and slap his stomach with her tail and looked up at Dick with a massive smile and wide eyes.

"Can- can I live with you?" he half-joked, sniffling from his previous tears, "If not, I'll steal her."

"Well, we can't have that happening. Guess I'm stuck with you forever. Woe is me!" Jason's brother dramatically exclaimed. 

Jason tightly hugged the dog, shoving his head into it's back. It licked him, which, stupidly, made him break down again. 

"Hey, hey, hey," Dick murmured, hugging his back. Jason turned around and let go of Haley who whimpered and got off his lap, unsure of how to help.

"What's wrong, hun?" Dick asked, rubbing circles into Jason's back. Jason tightened his grip on his brothers' shirt and took a moment to respond.

"I missed you- so much- and- Bruce- and Alfred- I'm sorry-" he revealed, hating himself for trying to kill the man who was comforting him.

He didn't understand why Dick was comforting him, he genuinely tried to shoot him! If Jason's gun didn't turn out to be empty, he would be dead.

"It's okay. Take a deep breathe, honey, okay? With me- in... and out... in... and out," Dick told him, taking deep, dramaticized breaths for a few moments until Jason's own breathing was in control.

"Jason. I'm not mad at you- well, I am. You tried to kill me. But I love you. You're my brother, and I want to help and understand you," he continued, running his fingers through Jason's hair.

"I don't expect you to tell me everything tonight, hell, I don't expect you to tell me anything tonight, but... I want you to know you can trust me, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now, do you wanna watch a movie?"

Jason eagerly nodded.

"I've got Dead Poet Society, if that's still your favourite," Dick offered, leading Jason to sit on the couch, his dog following with a wagging tail.

Before Dick could even put a blanket over Jason, Haley jumped on his lap again, making herself comfy. Both the boys laughed, and Dick put down the blanket next to Jason in case he still wanted it or if Haley ever left (very unlikely).

Jason instinctively rested his head on Dick's shoulder, who wrapped an arm around Jason while picking up a remote and turning on the movie.

Before Mr. Keating even told the boys about the club, Jason was asleep and Haley had transferred to her favourite spot on the floor.

Dick smiled and slowly placed the blanket on top of Jason. He didn't move away in case that it would wake Jason up. 

He continued to run his fingers through the boy's hair, finding the motion to be soothing. He was still processing the fact that his brother was alive again.

Around the time that Mr. Keating got fired, Dick found himself getting sleepy. As terrified as he was to fall asleep then wake up to find that this was a hallucination or dream or even worse, Jason was dead again, he knew he had to, so Dick let himself fall asleep, wrapping his arms tightly around Jason.

Chapter Text

Dick woke up at 4 AM. The first thing he did was look to make sure his brother was still there. He was. Shit, Dick was so scared that he wouldn't be, that Dick just hallucinated getting taken and his baby brother being back.

Jason looked like he was happy in his sleep. That was good. Dick didn't think his heart would be able to handle Jason being as sad as he was last night again.

He turned his phone on and saw the time, wincing. 7 AM, which wasn't that early, but Jason definitely needed a lot more sleep than Dick did.

He couldn't get up because the kid would wake up, but he didn't want to go back to sleep. He supposed he would just sit there in boredom until Jason woke up.

He scrolled through his phone, squeezing it tightly when he saw an article with the title, 'Red Hood- What Jail Does he Belong In?'

Usually, when he saw hate articles about Red Hood, he would think nothing of it, he would even laugh, but now...

Now, they just filled Dick with rage. He knew they didn't know the full story, hell, Dick probably- definitely- didn't, but he couldn't help it.

That was his baby brother. He didn't deserve the hate he always got, he was just a lost and confused teenager, which didn't excuse everything he did, but surely it meant something.

The hero began to feel insanely guilty for all his plots, although they all failed, to capture the Red Hood, who wasn't just his hurt brother, he was a kid.

Dick had been trying to hurt a literal child. The thought made him feel nauseous- how hadn't he noticed sooner?

Red Hood and Jason had similar mannerisms, and had Jason lived to grow taller and stronger, he would look exactly the same.

There really was no excuse. Sure, his mind blocked out so many memories that he refused to talk about in therapy, but in the end, his baby brother was hurt at the fault of Dick and Bruce.

Bruce, god! How was Dick supposed to explain this to Bruce?!

Was it safe to tell Bruce? It had to be, right? No matter how... emotionally constipated the man was, he wouldn't hurt his kid.

Right?

Bruce had always talked about how much he despised the so-called villain, reminding Dick of the time he was 15 and was caught using a bong.

Bruce grounded him for three months (which, mind you, did not stop him from smoking weed), and killing was a lot more serious than a little bit of pot.

Dick tightened his grip on Jason protectively and thought about what the best course of action would be.

Jason adjusted his position in his sleep so he was holding onto Dick. 

He couldn't risk it. He'd keep Jason a secret while warming Bruce up to the idea of Red Hood not being a bad guy.

He ran his fingers through Jason's hair before cautiouslly getting off the couch, readjusting the blanket to cover his brother more.

He put in his headphones and turned on Linkin Park at full volume, 'Numb' began to absolutely bless his ears as he took out a pan and the few necessary ingredients for challah french toast.

He usually didn't eat breakfast unless he had a big day, which he had been having less of lately, but he distinctly remembered Jason loving the challah french toast Bruce would on occasion make.

He decided that he had enough eggs that he could make Jason an omelette as well.

Eventually, everything was done. He decided to get Jason water instead of a soda like the boy would probably prefer, since who knew how dehydrated he was?

He made his way back to the couch and tapped Jason's shoulder. Jason grabbed his wrist, breathing heavily, "...Dickie?"

Dick smiled uneasily, "Yeah, it's just me. I, uh, made breakfast. An omelette and challah french toast, if you still like that."

Jason smiled and hugged him. The hug was... awkward to say the least. It made Dick sad, Jason didn't even remember how to hug properly, "I love you so much, Jason."

"Love you too. And thank you," Jason responded, going to the kitchen and grabbing a plate, grabbing just a small bit of the french toast and the omelette.

"Hey, take more. God knows you need it," Dick instructed. His brother gladly did, taking around half of dish.

Dick smiled at the sight, grabbing some for himself. He led Jason to a table and started to eat, "How'd you sleep?"

"Better than I have in... a while," Jason said quietly. He seemed upset, which he absolutely had the right to be, Dick knew he would be miserable as well if he was in Jason's situation.

"Are you okay?" Dick asked, furrowing his eyebrows, the realization that he had no idea how to help a traumatized teen setting in.

"Mhm," Jason responded. So helpful, Dick thought but didn't say. Jason had always been a sarcastic fucker on field, but Dick knew the sarcasm wouldn't be well received in that particular moment.

Jason began to blink a lot while sniffling.

"Hey, hey..." Dick rushed out of his chair to go to his brother's side, grabbing his shoulder, "What's wrong, Jason?"

"I'm sorry- I just- I missed this- so much- all- all I've eaten for so long- is- ramen and- chips- everything else was too expensive-"

That absolutely shattered Dick's heart. He knew how awful it was to never know if you'd be able to afford your next meal, luckily, he was now in a better financial situation, but Jason shouldn't relate to that.

"No... you'll never not have food again, okay? Whatever's in my fridge is yours," Dick hugged him tightly, his own hands shaking.

Jason made him want to sob violently. It wasn't right, what he went to. Dick didn't understand why Jason didn't come to him sooner.

Did he not feel comfortable?

Dick shushed him gently, rocking him. Once again, he had no idea how to comfort a traumatized teenager.

It helped. He thought. Jason's crying began to quiet down. That was good, right? "Jason, I love you so much. I'll always be here for you."

Jason didn't respond, but he untensed. He tried to squiggle out of Dick's tight grip so Dick let go and watched Jason, trying to figure out the best course of action.

He was looking down like he was ashamed and embarassed, so Dick decided to sit back down in his seat and eat as if nothing happened, "So, seen any good movies lately?"

Jason nodded, "Yeah. Um. I- I really liked Donnie Darko."

"Interesting!" Dick responded. He had seen the movie, of course, both cuts, and it was a good movie, but it was a bit concerning that it was Jason's favourite movie. Specifically Jason's.

"It was good," Dick validated, "Frank was... really creepy, in my opinion. His rabbit suit was really bad."

"Your skin suit is bad!" Jason referenced with a smile. Dick laughed.

"Fair point, kid. Fair point," Dick sighed as if he'd been defeated. The rabbit man's teeth always freaked out Dick.

Jason finished the entire plate, "That was so good. Thank you so much."

"Of course!" Dick smiled. He never thought he'd see Red Hood smile and thank him and be so emotional, but it was a good thing.

Chapter Text

Dick's apartment only had one room and Jason needed privacy. He had an abnormally large linen closet. It wasn't the best, but it was really their only option.

He cleared it out while Jason was taking a nap on the couch, relocating everything in it to his bedroom to deal with it later.

Maybe the closet was actually always a small bedroom and Dick had just been misusing it for a while, because it was massive for a closet.

Hesitantly, he woke up Jason, who looked really comfy on the couch "Hey, Jason. Do you wanna go shopping for your room?"

"My room?" Jason asked, sitting up straight.

"Yeah. Your room."

"I didn't know I would have one."

"Of course you're gonna have a room, kiddo. It's not as big as I'd like it to be, but you need your own space."

Jason hugged him again. Dick didn't remember him being so physically affection, but he hugged Jason back, rubbing his back.

"Where do you wanna go first? Goodwill is cheapest so we'd be able to get a lot more stuff or we can check out the mall and at least get you a bed and maybe some posters."

"Uh... Goodwill," Jason instantly decided. Either he was a hardcore thrifter or he didn't want to bother Dick's wallet.

"Are you sure? If it's because of money, I'm absolutely fine going to the mall. We just wouldn't be able to get so many things."

"Yeah! I love Goodwill," Jason assured, standing up and wiping his eyes, yawning.

"Awesome! We can go now or you can eat really quick," the elder brother offered, ruffling Jason's messy hair.

"Uh... now, if that's okay?"

"Of course," they walked down the stairs, since the elevator broke, "Hey, you're good on motorcycles, right? I know you use them as Red Hood-" 

"Yeah! Motorcycles are awesome."

"Great! Hop on," Jason sat behind Dick, holding onto his brother's stomach as they drove to Goodwill. It was basically empty, luckily. Jason hated large crowds.

"This one usually has some pretty good furniture! Let's take a look," Dick led Jason to the furniture section. There was... a lot.

"Well, I'll let you look around! I'll be looking around in the mens section, over there, just call me over whenever you're done," Dick left.

The first thing Jason looked at were the price tags, before even glancing at the actual pieces. Luckily, they were all cheap.

His shoulder was tapped and he tensed, instantly turning around. It was only Dick and that stupid grin of his. He was holding up a small bowl that had the words, 'Shark Treats'.

"Should I get this for Haley? It's only a dollar and it is so accurate. I'm scared of what she was like when she was teething," Jason laughed.

"You have to get it, then."

"Awesome. Have you found anything for yourself? Beds, dressers, desks?" Dick began to look at the furniture.

"Oh, this shelf will look perfect in your room! What do you think about it?" Dick pointed at a shelf that was a bit taller than Jason. The shelves were glass and had ceramic vine leaves flowing around it, but the vines also had spikes.

Jason nodded, "Yeah, that's awesome. Um, let me see the price- Jesus, it's twelve dollars."

"Don't pay attention to the price, buddy. Just get what you want," his brother begged. Jason sighed and relented.

They looked through the furniture together and ended up getting the shelf, a twin sized bed frame, and a desk.

"Oh, shit," Dick realized after they checked out, "Uh, Jason, buddy, I'm gonna call a truck to get this stuff delivered."

Jason nodded. It wouldn't be particularly easy to bring three large pieces of furniture to an apartment on a motorcycle.

They waited outside for the truck to arrive and Jason took out a cigarette. He used to only smoke when he was upset, but that changed quickly.

"Hey," Dick snatched it out of his fingers before he could even grab the lighter, "Throw that pack out, Jason. Now."

Jason stared at him. He wanted to yell at Dick, but he had just been taken in after holding the man at gunpoint.

"I'm not gonna do that, man," the teen responded, putting his hands in his pockets and looking away, pretending- and probably failing to- look like he wasn't pissed off.

Dick sighed, "I'm sorry, Jason. I didn't mean to get mad, but as long as you live with me, you can't smoke. It's awful for you, and I know you know that.

If you quit, I'll help you- I won't make you stop cold turkey, but I won't enable this," Jason looked back at him.

He wasn't mad anymore, he just didn't know what to say. He didn't want to quit. He started because he doubted he'd live anywhere near long enough to suffer consequences.

"I can tell you're mad at me, Jason, but I'm not going to change my mind on this," Dick knew he sounded exactly like Bruce. He remembered trying vodka one time and got caught, Bruce gave him a very similar speech.

The truck arrived, "Can you pretend to love me and help me load the stuff into the trunk, Jason?"

"...I... do love you, Dick," that was the worst thing Jason had ever said, "Just pissed off that you threw out a perfectly good cig."

"You'll understand if you ever take care of someone yourself, buddy," Dick guarranteed, helping Jason put the bed frame in the trunk.

"Whatever," he mumbled. They put the other pieces of furniture in the trunk silently, the air full of tension.

The truck door was shut, Dick thanked the driver, and led Jason back to the motorcycle, giving him the helmet.

Dick thought about how much Jason had changed. Before Red Hood, he was the sweetest kid ever, he never would have even thought about touching a cigarette.

He knew Jason was traumatized and couldn't be expected to be the same as he was before

He just wished he could help more, but he was just a guy in his late twenties, not a therapist. He should get Jason one, he thought to himself.

What would a therapist really be able to do, though? Jason couldn't talk to a professional about his hero life and the numerous crimes he had commited, even if they managed to find one he trusted.

"Hey, Buddy?" Dick yelled over the sound of the motor.

"Yeah?!" Jason yelled back.

"Do you wanna see a psychiatrist?!"

"Hell no!"

"Just making sure!"

The short exchange seemed to ease Jason up a bit, luckily. Dick decided to call Bruce and pretend it was himself who was having troubles, to see if he had any advice.

Maybe a therapist specifically for vigilantes or something. At the very least, Dick thought that meds might help Jason.

A stable home environment too, which he had previously been lacking in. Other than small things, all Dick could do was offer support and pray.

He began to think about the fact that he didn't know how to hide Jason from Bruce. Was it even moral to hide him?

Bruce would be overjoyed that Jason was alive, but that would inevitably lead to him finding out Jason was Red Hood.

He couldn't imagine that conversation going well- all that wasn't to mention Jason's current hatred for their father.

With all that in mind, Dick made the decision to hide Jason for as long as he could. He was raised by Batman, surely it wouldn't be that difficult to hide a singular teen, right?

They arrived at their complex before the truck driver and waited outside. They said nothing to each other, though Dick glanced occasionally at Jason's hardened expression.

Did he always have that scar on his forehead? Dick thought back and realized he didn't. Obviously, Jason had lots of scars.

This one wat just so... long and straight. It looked like it was done intentionally. Obviously, Jason had been through a lot, but he couldn't imagine how he got that scar.

Dick wrapped an arm around Jason and pulled him closer, rubbing his shoulder, moreso to comfort himself than the teen.

"I'm gonna keep you safe, Jason, okay?" Dick's voice cracked as he made the promise, bringing the boy into a hug.

"Okay," Jason awkwardly pat his brother's back, but the truck pulled in, giving him the perfect excuse to pull out.

Dick paid the driver and helped get the truck driver. It was Blüdhaven, so he refused the offer to bring everything up for them.

After around an hour, they got everything in their apartment and set in Jason's room, leaving them extremely exhausted.

"Go get some rest, buddy," Dick left the room to go sit down for a few minutes before doing the dishes while listening to music.