#Danny and Jason both have a habit of running away from their problems

[mokulule]

The Number You Have Called Cannot Be Reached 5

Part 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4

So I've been having a week and I decided I needed a pick-me-up in the form of unleashing some angst on you all, so sorry to those who wanted me not to skip ahead a bit, you'll get the full story on AO3.

Ship: Dead on Main (Danny/Jason) Warnings: angst/depression and canon typical violence

For a bit of context since I'm skipping a small part, this is the second day after the first chapter, Jason is still feeling good and having another good pit-less day.

Danny breathed a sigh of relief as he exited the W-Mart unmolested. His backpack was heavy with its load of stolen protein bars and trail mix. He’d so far not had to return to the same store twice, but this one was in the roughest neighborhood he’d visited so far and he’d felt sure even if nobody saw him steal anything that he’d be stopped. There had definitely been some suspicious looks directed towards him from the staff.

Now he just had to find a nice hidden nook to disappear from so he didn’t alert anyone. Couldn’t have people start talking about someone disappearing into thin air. Pulling his hood up he started walking along the sidewalk in a random direction eyes lowered so he hopefully wouldn’t piss anyone off by making eye contact. This did not seem like a part of the city he wanted to make eye contact with anyone in. With his rotten luck any thugs would find his face just as offensive as Dash always seemed to do.

His breath caught cold in his throat and he froze mid step. His head snapped up instantly locking on the other ghost, no the not-ghost, the man, the one with red helmet, except he wasn’t wearing a helmet now. He stood there, still like Danny in the sea of moving people, black hair except for a white streak at the front, strong jawline, his eyes were blue - wide in recognition. Shit! He had to leave!

Friend, his core sang insistently. He completed the step forward. That red T-shirt under the open leather jacket looked so soft. No stiff body armor today, just soft cotton, he could just curl up there-

Danny gasped, eyes blown wide. He shook his head, he needed, he needed to get away. Now. Now body! He wasn’t moving. He wanted, he wanted so badly to move forward, his core promised him friend and safety and connection. He just had to go to the other ghost. He was so tired of being alone, he couldn’t last like this. But he was wrong. His core was wrong. That wasn’t a ghost. That was a man, a man of flesh and bone and warmth and touch and- STOP!

His fingers gripped into his hair painfully. Good, grounding. Breathe in, two, three, out… slow and steady, he could do that.

A hand entered his field of vision.

“Hey…” the voice was soft, softer than the voice that had come out of the helmet, but Danny knew, knew in his core, this was the man, the ghost, not-ghost- the hand came closer.

He bolted.

“Hey!”

Danny didn’t look back, he just ran. He weaved between protesting people. His broken ribs hurt with every deep breath, with every jolt of his shoes hitting the pavement; a reminder that this was not a friend, just another one of the vigilantes.

Something grabbed his backpack and he came to a dead stop, hanging from the worn straps for one heart stopping second as he was pulled backwards off balance.

“Will you stop for a moment!” The voice growled.

Danny met the other’s angry eyes and for just a fraction of a second, he could have sworn they were green not blue, then his instincts kicked in and he turned intangible, sinking through his backpack straps and into the ground.

Danny shivered, holding on to himself, staying just under the pavement. Boots pounded restlessly above him as the other man paced. He could not hear the curses he was spilling, but the tone of voice came through even muffled.

This was for the best. He dared not contemplate what would happen to him should he actually get captured.

Even so he couldn’t help the mournful call of his core. A call that wouldn’t be answered.

Because that man was not a ghost.

Oo o oO

Jason paced angrily, cursing up a storm. He’d had him right there. And still he’d slipped away. Frustration crawled under his skin like bugs. He snarled and looked at the worn purple backpack in his arms. It was old, and bore the evidence of multiple more or less successful repair jobs. Parts of the fabric were singe, and there were dark stains in places that could have been from any number sources, Jason suspected blood was one of them.

The thought set off another round of pacing and cursing. It didn’t help any that he felt sure the Ghost was still close. As if he could just reach out and grab him and stop that bone chilling sadness he felt. He had been so close.

A growl of frustration rose in his chest. He stopped and took a deep breath. Anger wasn’t helping him. He had to think. There could be some identifying information in the backpack. Juggling it up into his arms he unzipped it so he could look inside.

He froze.

He had noticed it was full, but this was not what he expected to find.

Jason slammed the backpack down on the console in front of Bruce - he wasn’t sure how he got to the cave, it didn’t matter. Bruce, dressed like he’d just been sneaking some work in before having to go golfing or something similarly inane, looked from the veritable mountain of protein bars spilling out of the worn bag to Jason looming above him. He leaned back in the chair and raised an eyebrow in question, unfazed always so unfazed.

“He’s not a villain, Bruce, he needs help,” he growled, his helmet darkened his voice, but also masked the way it shook. The Ghost haunted him; hollow eyed, shaking and panicked, with clothes that hung loose on his thin frame and this, now this. Jason paced. If this was all he ate…

Bruce leaned over examining the backpack, he was frowning. Jason hated when he frowned like that: disapproval. Always disapproving, never good enough. His fists clenched.

“This belongs to the thief?”

Of course it belonged to the thief! Was he being willfully stupid? Some Worlds Greatest Detective.

“He needs help,” Jason insisted.

Bruce carefully turned the chair to face him, calculating, judging. Jason forced himself to stand still.

“It’s very possible,” Batman finally spoke, “but we can’t dismiss the idea that he’s working for someone.”

Dismissal. It felt like a slap. Why was he always like that? Why couldn’t he trust him for once? No Batman always knew best, always had to be right. Always so goddamn rightful.

“Jay-“ the voice was soft, worried.

Jason blinked, and suddenly noticed the green reflected on the inside of his helmet. In another blink it was gone, and he saw his hands gripped in Bruce’s soft creme sweater where he’d pulled him to his feet, to do what? He didn’t know. He’d just… He’d just been so angry.

“Jaylad, are you okay?” Bruce’s hands were raised in surrender, not touching, not defending.

Jason looked from Bruce’s worried face, to his hands still holding on. He gasped and let go, took a step back. No- the pits, he hadn’t even noticed they’d creeped back in. He’d lost time. He didn’t know how he’d gotten here. Had he done more than pull at Bruce? He desperately searched Bruce’s concerned face for more signs of violence.

He’s not actually worried, he’s manipulating you, the voices whispered at him. He slammed them down, but it was hard. He felt drained. He couldn’t be there, he couldn’t trust himself. He stumbled backwards, avoiding Bruce’s hands. Turning he saw his bike; at least that was one question answered, he thought hysterically.

Bruce didn’t stop him when he fled. Why would he? Disappointment, always a disappointment.

Next

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[gunebuggieswriting]

̶Good Bad Habits Run In The Family: Chapter Nine

DPxDC Crossover, Jason Adopts Danny AU

[AO3] [FF.net] [Wattpad]

First Chapter || << Last Chapter || Next Chapter >>

Danny stuttered a look of shock on his face, staring at Jason with his mouth agape for several seconds before abruptly blurting, “What the hell? You can’t just do that! Holy shit, oh my goodness, you just-” He cut himself off, rubbing his face with both of his hands.

Jason knew that Danny would most likely be shocked by the news, but he was surprised by how strongly the teen reacted. It almost made him waver, to want to reverse revealing himself, which was very personal for him. He knew he couldn’t do that though, and he probably wouldn’t if he could, he wanted Danny to know who he was. Who he really was.

“What? Didn’t expect such a handsome face?” Jason easily teased, putting the domino mask on the counter beside his helmet before leaning an arm on it, trying to appear casual while his head fought with itself. A nagging voice in the back of his head told him that he had made a grave mistake, reminding him of what B had always said about their double lives. Another voice, one that grew much louder as time passed from the part of his life he spent with Bruce, telling him that he was allowed to make exceptions when he felt it necessary. Right now, he found it important that Danny knew who he was, as he wanted the kid to trust him. It would make the helping process a lot easier. Jason really wished he knew how to actually help Danny other than the necessities, but he decided he could figure that out.

Danny sighed, slouching back into the chair he almost felt out of when Jason revealed himself. “I’m sorry,” He said, looking down at the ground, sounding genuinely apologetic. “It’s just that, I can’t believe you trust somebody like me enough to put yourself in such a risk by outing yourself. It’s not something you can do lightly.”

Jason thought how much it sounded like Danny was chidding him, much like one of his family members would. He kept that to himself as his lips pulled down into a frown. “What do you mean by ‘somebody like you’?” Jason asked, and without his helmet, Danny could hear the slight confusion and concern lacing the man’s voice. It was odd how much he could now gather without the voice modulation getting in the way, perhaps it was the main reason the man had it in the first place.

Danny looked Jason in the eye, his own eyes shifting a bit to look at each one of Jason’s. Then he seemed to find what he wanted and looked away again biting his lip. “I’m not entirely normal.”

Jason snorted, and Danny’s gaze snapped up at the man to glare at him. Jason ignored it as he spoke, amusement tracing his words. “Yeah, no shit. I didn’t think you were trying to hide it with the glowing eyes and fangs you had going on.”

“I don’t do that on purpose.” Danny huffed, crossing over his arms, going back to scowling at the counter as red reached his cheeks. Danny was embarrassed to not to have only gotten caught by not one, not two, not even three, but four bats in the month he’s been in Gotham.

“Can you not control it?” Jason asked, his earlier humor not as present as he became more serious. After all, if Danny couldn’t control his powers, it could possibly create a problem. He didn’t believe that the teen would ever do any harm on purpose, but that didn’t mean the teen couldn’t have accidents or make mistakes. It could very well be a factor that Jason would have to account for and possibly form a plan to help with, because Danny couldn’t go around with an unknown power set that he didn’t even know how to use.

Danny thought for a second, before nodding. “Yeah, if I thought about it hard enough. Though, sometimes a few inhuman things leak either due to my emotional state or other factors I can’t actually control.” Jason still felt a little apprehensive, as he didn’t know the extent to what Danny’s powers would do if they could act up according to his emotion. Danny looked at Jason for a second before somehow understanding what the man felt without having to say anything. “Don’t worry, all of that usually only affects my appearance, like the glowing eyes. Though the sharp teeth, which I really do dislike, is a byproduct of my nonhuman part.”

Jason nodded, taking in all of that information with stride, already immune to this kind of bullshit in his daily life. What he did think about was what Danny said at the end. “You said that the longer canines are part of the ‘nonhuman part’ of you. Does that mean you’re also part human?”

Danny winced somewhat, an internal battle waging inside him as he struggled on how to answer that or how much he should let Jason know. Sure, the older boy just showed him something incredibly personal that could let Danny seriously hurt him if he wanted, but that didn’t mean that Danny had to do the same, as he didn’t know how much he should trust Jason. He wanted to trust Jason, but he didn’t know him, he only knew Red Hood. Maybe he could get to know Jason now too.

Realizing that he was taking a bit to answer, Danny suddenly cleared his throat, but instead of speaking simply nodded his head. Jason was glad to be confirmed, as now he knew what he was dealing with. He felt like there was more to it, but he didn’t want to push Danny more than he already has. He felt like it was a miracle that the teen didn’t already run, maybe showing his identity was the right decision after all. “Anything else you’d like me to know?”

Danny frowned, but this time it was thoughtful, and he studied the wall as he racked his brain as to what to say. “Um, I don’t know. You already know what I am, my name, and that I’m not from here. I don’t really think I feel comfortable saying more.”

“That’s alright kid, you don’t have to tell me anything else unless you wanna.” Jason hoped that Danny would become comfortable enough with him that he would tell him more, but right now he couldn’t ask for much. He had a lot he wasn’t going to tell either, so it would be hypocritical of him. “Now, are you gonna take me up on my offer?”

Danny looked back at Jason’s carefree smile, and felt himself relax a bit, he was somewhat surprised to see some hope in the man’s eyes. Now that he could see the man’s eyes he could tell that Jason was actually quite expressive, much more than the helmet or domino allowed. “I don’t think you truly understand what you’re asking.”

“I’m asking you if you want to stay with me in this crummy apartment. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I will find something for you, as you cannot stay on those streets.” Jason sternly said, daring Danny to argue, who couldn’t help but sigh.

“It’s not that, it’s that, I-” Danny’s voice wavered and he took a deep breath to try and open up his throat that was quickly closing. He didn’t know how to explain this without revealing too much, but he wanted to make sure Jason actually wanted to allow him in his life. That Jason wouldn’t regret it. That he himself wouldn’t regret it. “I come with a lot, and it’s not good. I don’t want to put you in any danger.”

Jason snorted, and once again Danny scowled at him. “You mean more danger than I put myself in when I put on a helmet and go out each night kicking ass? I’m used to danger, kid. Don’t worry, I can handle myself.” Danny wanted to argue, say how this was a lot different. This was with an actual government branch funded by taxes and shit. He wanted to warn Jason, to make him see his way, but he didn’t want to tell everything. It was selfish, wasn’t it? He was going to have another person killed because he was arrogant, secretive, scared.

He guesses he will have to tell the man something though. “I’m not worth it, okay? It’s a lot of extra trouble that I can’t put you through. You don’t have to do this, really. I won’t be upset if you can’t take on more baggage.”

Jason was silent for a few seconds, and Danny was too nervous to look back up in fear that what he would see was something he never wanted to see. He didn’t want to see the pity, or the underlying disgusted look he would receive. He had already seen it too much, again would be too much, he couldn’t handle it right now, he didn’t want to.

“Listen to me Danny,” Jason said slowly, his serious but soft tone filling the otherwise silent room. “I’m not doing this because I feel like I have to, I want to. I really do care about you Danny, even if you’re a bit stubborn to realize that sometimes.” Jason teased a little, trying and succeeding in making Danny smile a bit, however small. The man may not be the best at feelings or talking in general, but he understood where Danny was coming from. Afterall, he’s felt it all before.

Danny finally looked at Jason once more, and he was taken back from what he saw. Jason’s eyes looked so genuine, and the smile seemed so kind, it reminded Danny of Jazz somebody he used to know. His eyes watered, and he lifted his hands to wipe at them furiously, he didn’t want to cry right now. Especially in front of Jason, he already had his meltdown of the day earlier. All of his inner thoughts and restraints didn’t help him though, as he broke as soon as Jason pulled him into a hug.

When was the last time he had been hugged, or touched in general without somebody meaning harm? It felt like forever ago, though a lot of his memories were buried so deep they began to feel like they never happened. This touch was warm, and it had a feeling of safety wrapping around him. His brain forced a memory of the last time his father hugged him. His long bulky arms and large stature easily held Danny too, making him feel safe and cared for. He felt an ache in his chest, and he sobbed, hugging Jason back, all of the longing he so desperately pushed down and pretended wasn’t there resurged with a newfound vengeance.

He wanted his a family. He wanted to go back to living in his a home. He wanted to be safe.

Danny knew he must have been filthy, as he’s been on the nasty streets for a week without a shower, and that his tears and snot must be covering the shoulder he buried his face into, but Jason held him regardless. Danny kept crying, and Jason never let go, allowing the poor boy to get it out of his system. He didn’t know what the younger boy went through, but he had a feeling that it was something nobody should ever have to go through, let alone a child. It hurt to see the boy sob uncontrollably, so broken and tired in his arms. He would take care of Danny, to hopefully help put back the pieces that were what made Danny. He knew that even if he did manage to help Danny, he would never be the same, as there would always be a few missing pieces that would have to be remade with something new. He would have to make sure that those new pieces were good.

Danny slowly quit crying, his loud unrestrained sobs dulling to a quiet sniffle as the man released his hold on the boy. Danny seemed so much smaller and tired now, more like a kid than Jason has ever seen him, and he frowned deeply at the sight.

“Can I get a shower?” Danny asked eventually, still swiping at his nose that refused to quit running. “I feel pretty gross right now.”

Jason chuckled a little, standing up and popping his back. “Yeah, you can get a shower. I think I might have some clothes that’ll fit you. Let me grab them for you and you can get a shower.”

Danny nodded, grimacing a bit when he looked at the wet spot on Jason’s shoulder. Jason noticed what he was looking at and peered down himself, turning his head back up to Danny with a shrug. “Don’t worry about it kid, I don’t care.”

Jason left after that, digging through several piles of old clothes he had made to donate to some charities, glad he hadn’t got rid of them yet. He pulled out a pair that he deemed reasonable enough that may or may not fit the teen and walked back to the counter where Danny was now awkwardly standing next to.

Jason threw the clothes, Danny clumsily catching them, clearly caught off guard by the lack of warning. “Here you go, hope they fit you well enough. Though I bet they’ll still be pretty big on a stick like you. I should probably get you some actual clothes and shit tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Danny echoed with surprise, not expecting for Jason to make plans so quickly like that. He hadn’t even said he was staying or not, which at this point, he already knew that answer for himself.

“Yep, unless you somehow have plans for tomorrow.” Jason said, shifting his weight on one leg as he crossed his arms. “Which I know you don’t so you better not argue with me, because I am getting you some damn clothing.”

Without knowing how to reply, part of him confused and the other part of him still disoriented from his earlier crying session, Danny only nodded his head. Jason, pleased with the answer, grinned. “Alright, glad that was so easily settled. The bathroom is just down that hall, the last door on the left. The towels and rags are in the closet, and you can use my soap and shit until we can get your own tomorrow.”

Again, Danny numbly nodded, already becoming more exhausted by the second to properly try to argue with Jason that all of this was unnecessary. That he didn’t need all these things for himself. That he was still planning to leave as soon as he could, or as soon as danger presented itself. After a few more seconds, Danny turned on his heels, slowly as to not unbalance and trip over his own feet, and walked to the bathroom.

He flipped on the lightswitch, placing the bundle of clothes on the sink counter. He shut the door and glanced up, taken back by his own appearance in the mirror that sat on the wall in front of him. His eyes seemed sunken in and dark, his cheeks more hollow then he remembered, his skin paler then when he last cared enough to look at. He looked worse for wear, actually, probably worse than that.

Reaching out a shaky hand he softly touched the mirror, as if he could feel the mere imposter of himself through the cold glass. He jerked his hand back and brought it to his actual face, tracing the light freckles that had become more prominent on his fading skin. His face felt sticky and his hands greasy, but he couldn’t stop himself from peeling back his lip and looking at his teeth. He noticed how the sharp points he loathed had grown, becoming that much more of an annoyance. He feared what they implied.

Resting his hand back to his side and facing away from the mirror he went to the closet and grabbed a very fluffy red towel from inside, with a matching red rag to match. There weren't many options to choose from, as all of them were red. Well, it did make sense, as the Red Hood did own them. Danny couldn’t help but smile a bit from thought, knowing he would probably use this to make fun of the man later.

Putting the towel on the sink next to the clothes, he breathed out heavily, refusing to look at his reflection again. He took the grime covered clothes off, putting them messily in a pile in a corner of the small bathroom. Sliding open the glass door, he slipped into the shower, shutting the door right back. He slowly turned on the faucet handle, though was immediately blasted with cold water anyways, causing him to flinch backwards before ducking under the freezing stream of water and closer to the wall with the handle. He adjusted the water until it was warm enough that he could stand under it without his breath being forced into his lungs but cool enough that his own internal body temperature wasn’t changed too much.

It turned out that being part ghost meant that he was more sensitive to drastic temperature changes. Although, it was odd that he appeared to be more resistant to heat than the cold, which did make more sense when he learned that his new normal body temperature was below that of a normal human. Being a halfa really did have its fair amount of mystery and struggle.

After sitting under the water for a few minutes, savoring the feeling of the constant water dripping soothingly onto his skin, he began to actually wash his body and his hair. As refreshing as it was to clean off all the collected dirt and grime off of him, he stepped out as soon as he felt like he had gotten it all off. He didn’t want to stay in the shower and use the water more than he had to, feeling like he would be wasting it at that point.

Using the towel to dry himself and his hair, he ran his hand through his hair, satisfied at how it felt fluffy once again, even with the dampness of it. Putting on the borrowed clothes, he did take notice of how they were about two sizes too big, causing him to have to tie the strings on the sweatpants as tight as they would go. The shirt, which was a deep blue, almost seemed to swallow him, reaching his knees. Maybe he would need clothes after all.

He wished he could have packed before he left.

It didn’t matter for right now though, as he hugged his small frame and snuggled into himself, smiling from how the air remained warm in the bathroom. He took a large inhale, his lungs becoming filled with the air as he had a wave of calmness pass over him. The smell of soap and lavender wafted into the hall as he eventually gathered himself to leave the comforts of the small bathroom. Walking back down the hall, he noticed that Jason was in one of the rooms to the right at the end of the short hallway.

Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he peaked in from the crack of the door, finding that Jason was currently setting blankets on a blown up air mattress. The same one he used when he stayed at the warehouse.

“You going to come in or stare creepily from the crack of the door?” Jason asked, glancing back for only a second before standing up back on his feet from where he was fixing the makeshift bed. Danny opened the door more, stepping slightly into the room, barely passing the threshold. “I know this isn’t really a bed, but I think it should be fine for now, until I can get you an actual mattress anyways. Sound good?”

“It’s more than enough. Thank you.” Danny said quietly, mumbling the last part as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He was never good at knowing what to do or say when others did something nice for him. It was almost overwhelming at times, and with him so tired right now it wasn’t helping.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just get some sleep. You look like you’ll fall over dead any second.” Jason joked, and Danny grinned from the small inside joke that the man didn’t know he just made. It was something that Sam and Tucker joked about all the time.

“Okay, Mister ‘I stay up all night fighting crime with a red bucket’.” Danny teased back, going to the blow up mattress and flopping unceremoniously on it. He lazily lifted one hand and waved dismissively. “Make sure you turn off the light when you leave.”

“Seems like somebody is becoming comfortable already.” Jason playfully jabbed, walking to the door before turning around, placing a hand on the light switch. He hesitated for a second, making Danny somewhat worried about what he may say, before the man made up his mind and spoke. “Goodnight brat, get some fucking sleep so you’ll be ready for the shopping trip tomorrow.”

Oh yeah, Jason was dragging him shopping the next day, Danny was a little anxious about that. He tried not to show it as he titled his head to look at Jason. “Goodnight old man.”

There was a small offended scoff before the light was off. “I am not old.” Jason gruffly huffed, and before Danny could come up with a smart retort to that the man shut the door. A small laugh, which was more of a huff of air than anything escaped Danny and he pulled the covers over him the rest of the way. He curled into the bundle of blankets and wrapped his arms around himself, soon becoming comfortable.

He had missed sleeping on something other than whatever random abandoned spot he could find, usually being the dirty floor of some collapsing building. He was warm and safe and for the moment everything really did feel like it would be okay. He wanted to stay like this forever, but he knew he couldn’t, so he may as well enjoy it now.

Danny slept the best he had in weeks that night, without the fear of somebody finding him for once. Jason let him sleep for however long the poor teen wanted, as he knew how exhausted the other must have been. Life on the streets was not easy, even for somebody with superpowers. He wished he could have done something sooner, took the teen with him instead of letting him go into the dark streets of Gotham. Maybe he should have, but he couldn’t go back and change it, so he would only have to help Danny however he can now. Starting with getting the boy some clothing that fits and other essentials. It was all he knew what to do at that moment, as he’s never taken care of another person before, let alone a teenager. He didn’t even know if he was responsible and old enough to take care of a kid, as he still had plenty of problems himself.

This would be a learning process indeed, hopefully Danny was willing to learn along with him.

Jason was sitting in the living room at the moment, trying to read a book, but was struggling as thoughts plagued his mind. He put the book down when he heard the door creak open, watching Danny slowly creep into the living room rubbing his eyes. Jason never thought about Danny’s eyes too much, but a quick fleeting thought about how he was taking after the old man and his habit of adopting children with black hair and blue eyes. He mentally chased that thought away, not wanting to be compared to Bruce in any way.

“Good morning walking zombie, what do you want for breakfast?” Jason asked, noticing how Danny stopped midway of a yawn and lazily looked at Jason.

“Obviously brains if I’m a zombie.” Danny responded, watching Jason as he headed towards the kitchen.

“Har har, very funny brat.” He said, playfully nudging the teen’s shoulder as he passed. “So, do eggs and toast sound good?”

“Do I have to eat toast?” Danny asked, somewhat quietly, becoming shy once more.

“Nah I’m just going to shove it down your throat.” Jason answered sarcastically, before softening his features. “Of course you don’t have to eat anything you don’t want to. I’m not going to force you to do anything. How about an egg and a bowl oatmeal? That sound better?”

Danny hummed with a nod of his head, and Jason began getting the oats out along with a pan. It took around half an hour but soon breakfast was done and they were both sitting back down at the counter eating. Danny mumbled another appreciative word before eating his own food, shoving it into his mouth much slower than he did the night before.

As they sat there in comfortable silence, Jason believed that he could probably get used to this. It wasn’t bad, having somebody else in his apartment. He realized he liked having Danny around, that he truly got attached to the kid those weeks ago, which he had already figured out way earlier.

After breakfast Jason got dressed into his usual civilian clothes, consisting of a t-shirt with a leather jacket thrown over top, jeans, and combat boots. Danny couldn’t change and instead went out like he was, not minding the oversized clothes as he had been wearing them for most of the time he was on the streets, having kept the man’s clothes then. He only hoped that nobody he had talked to during that time would recognize him, as they would probably question why he was tailing behind Jason. Which he doubted anybody would, as he hardly talked at all during his time on the streets alone.

Jason ended up dragging Danny through a multitude of stores, allowing Danny to pick out whatever he liked. When the man realized that the teen was having trouble even looking at the clothing, Jason had begun picking some out and telling Danny to not worry about the price and just how much he liked it. When Danny tried to argue, Jason quickly brought up how he was well off, being a crime lord and all. That seemed to work as the teen had started picking out clothing after that, trying out a lot of it and showing it off to Jason who put his own input.

It soon spiraled into more of a dress-up game where Jason would make an outfit for Danny to wear. Then the teen would walk out like in the pageants and both of them would rate the outfit out of ten. It resulted in quite a few laughs from the more ridiculous outfits and some new clothes for Danny to wear. Which was a win-win in Jason’s book.

After gathering several bags of clothes they grabbed the rest of what Danny would need for the time he was going to stay with Jason. Danny once again tried to argue, to tell the man that he wasn’t planning on being around for long, but Jason was quick to silence all of the boy’s worries. In the end they got Danny his own soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, a comb for his wild hair, and other things he needed. They took it back and sorted the items out, putting the clothes in Danny’s closet in his new room. When Danny heard that he was going to have his own room, he almost cried again, but stopped himself before he could, holding back his emotions tears.

Done dealing with all of that, it was close to lunchtime, Jason deciding that he would take Danny to a diner for lunch instead of staying home. He ended up bringing him to one of his favorite diners, a small old style restaurant with the red booths and round tables. He didn’t expect Danny to stand at the door and look around with a glaze of something unidentifiable in his eyes, which seemed to be quickly turning into tears.

Jason immediately tried to ask what was wrong but then Danny shook his head and gave the man a watery smile, reassuring that he would be fine. The man didn’t know what could have caused the reaction, but he didn’t press any further and instead guided the teen to a table for the two.

Being a regular at the diner, the waitress walked up with a friendly smile, asking how Jason was doing before realizing he didn’t come alone.

“Aw! Who’s this cute kiddy?” The girl, Amy, asked, grinning and cooed a bit when Danny bashfully tried to cover his reddening face.

Jason laughed and Danny had glared at the man through his hands, causing more laughter. “Meet Danny, he’s staying with me.” He explained, taking the single menu the girl had grabbed, laying it in front of Danny as he already knew what he wanted. “Don’t be fooled by his shy act, he’s actually pretty snarky when you get to know him.”

“This kid? Snarky? He looks too adorable to be mean.” Amy continued to tease, before straightening up, holding out her notepad and pen. “So, what would you two gentlemen like to drink?”

“I’ll just take a sweet tea, without the lemon.” Jason easily ordered, the girl nodding as she wrote it down.

Amy turned her attention back to Danny, smiling more gently. “And what about you kiddo?”

Danny finally mustered up the courage to look the waitress in the eye. “I’d also like a sweet tea, though I would like a lemon with. Please.” Danny added the last part hurriedly, going back to glaring at the menu on the table with rising embarrassment.

Amy giggled a bit, before waving at Jason and leaving to go get their drinks. When she came back Jason and Danny ordered their food. Both of them enjoyed the greasy food with laughs and easy conversation. Jason was pleased to see how much Danny was beginning to open up and be himself around him, even if he was still wary around others. It was a step forward.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door jingle, which wasn’t anything unusual as people walked in and out quite regularly from the diner, but Danny had stopped mid sentence and perked up. He twisted his head with a surprising amount of speed to the door, which was a few tables behind him, and Jason followed his movement. Jason was surprised to see Dick and Tim there, the older of the two looking around while the younger one scrolled aimlessly on his phone.

Jason groaned and slid in his seat, a hand over his face. Why were they here? Actually, the more important question. Why the hell did Danny act like that? He didn’t do that for everybody else who entered and left, but as soon as Dick and Tim did he turned around like he knew they were coming. The teen could apparently sense others from Duke’s report, so maybe he had recognized one of their auras or some shit? Dick hadn’t been in Gotham for a while though, so that must mean he had already met Tim, and he had a feeling that it wasn’t when the teen was in his civilian clothes.

Great, now he had to try and explain to the bats that the superhuman teen they were tracking knows their identities and also try to make sure Danny doesn’t run away simultaneously.

Dick spotted Jason and called out the man, making said man slink further into his seat while rubbing his face. Just as soon as he thought his outing with Danny was going so well too. The teen looked like he was about to bounce any second, watching Tim with rapt attention, like the teen was going to pounce at him at any moment. Jason wondered if Tim already did, because if so, he was going to kick his ass.

“Jaybird, I knew you would be here-” He cut himself off as he finally saw the other boy sitting with him, who was on the edge of his seat still watching Tim. Tim was now also staring at Danny with wide eyes, seeming to already recognize the teen. Jason narrowed his eyes at Tim, becoming suspicious of how much he already knew. Did he somehow slip up and didn’t catch Tim following him around again? He was for sure going to kick the teen’s ass, no matter how much Dick would try to hold him back.

“Oh, who’s this?” Dick said, slipping a charming smile directed to Danny. Danny didn’t respond though, still in an intense staring match with Tim. The air grew awkward as the two others sat there like outsiders to whatever was happening between the two teens.

Jason cleared his throat, Dick’s attention going to him. “This is Danny.” His eyes flickered to Tim, watching as Tim tried not to flinch. “He’s going to be staying with me.”

Dick, not oblivious to the tension hanging between the three others, nodded before stepping back. “Well, we’ll get out of your hair now. Just wanted to let you know that Alfred is expecting you this weekend for supper, and he said that he already made preparations for another person, I guess this is him?”

“Yeah, I don’t know if he’ll want to come though.” Jason answered even though he knew he never told Alfred about Danny, still glaring at Tim who was shuffling uncomfortably from the two pairs of eyes on him.

Dick only nodded, not wanting to address what was going on in fear it would cause a fight of some sort. “I’ll make sure to tell Alfred that.” With that Dick left, dragging Tim with him, who scurried right behind not wanting to be in the diner any longer.

As soon as they left Danny’s head whipped around to Jason, a disbelieving look on his face. “You’re related to Red Robin?” He said harshly in a whispered tone, and Jason groaned again, knowing he had a lot to explain now. On both parties. This should be fun.