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Jason fucked up. He fucked up bad.
The man woke up late in the morning, a bad headache hammering right in between his eyebrows. It had been one of those tough nights - too much shit around the city. And as hard as he tried to keep at bay, sometimes it was impossible not to get involved.
For the most part, he did his best to be a better man. He really liked his ordinary job in the mechanic shop, had an actual apartment and a partner who loved him unconditionally. Someone who cursed him for being a dumbass but still stitched up his wounds when he came back home in the middle of the night, bleeding on the floor.
It's why they had given up on having a decent carpet and retorted to the bare wood flooring.
And Jason loved her so fucking much. She wasn't necessarily the only person with the balls to talk some sense into him, but she definitely was the only one who made him listen. And as she partnered up with Dick, it was almost game over for him; it was ok, though. She made him better, and being forcefully pulled into family nights wasn't really the worst thing in the world.
She was also much more organized than him.
So when Jason didn't find any of his painkillers around the house, he didn't have a single doubt that he would find some on her nightstand.
Big mistake.
Well, sure. He did find three different pill blister packs there, but upon further inspection, he also found a fucking pregnancy test. It was poorly hidden on the far corner of the drawer, behind small stack of paper and a tube of hand moisturizer. Perhaps it wasn't even that bad of a camouflage, but the white strip of plastic caught his eyes like there was a neon sign pointing at it.
Jason's entire body went cold the second he realized what that was. He knew the result would be positive - why else would she keep a negative test? But he checked anyways; and there were two pink lines on it. Of course he had no idea of what that shit meant, but a quick investigation on Google was explanatory enough.
It was positive.
Jason didn't even know how to feel about it. He never once considered having kids - but he also never considered a romantic, comfortable and perfectly ordinary life with a woman, yet here he was.
They were going to have a baby.
A baby.
They would put a new human on earth and they'd be responsible for it. They'd have to take care, teach and provide for a whole new person - provide! Her job was much more stable than his, but the pay wasn't exactly wonderful. And Jason made enough to money to pay for the bills and to live comfortably, but they would need a lot more than that now. Jason would need to work a lot harder and to start saving a lot more than usual.
His work schedule was pretty flexible, considering how often he got out of it to go about his vigilante affairs.
That would have to stop. He was working full time from now on.
Their new apartment had two bedrooms, so maybe they could adapt the other one to a nursery. But how much would that even cost? How expensive were cribs? And they'd need a health insurance plan for the baby, that'd cost some. His girlfriend's health insurance came from her job, while his was whatever Alfred could do from the Wayne mansion. The baby had to get much better than that.
He'd also have to save some for when the baby started to go to school, so they could always be some months ahead - it was the smart and responsible thing to do. But shit! What about college? They'd have to start a fucking college fund. Or maybe they could push the baby into being such a nerd, they'd get a paid scholarship - but if the baby got his genes, they would definitely need a college fund.
"It's impossible to save." Jason exhales to himself, eyes wide.
At that point, Jason had forgotten about the fucking painkillers, but the headache was definitely still going. His mind was full.
They were going to have a baby. A tiny person they made together. And Jason imagined their small family: their small human, their small apartment - and he smiled at it.
Maybe he wanted a baby.
But he also needed to work. Fuck, he needed to go to work. He hadn't been planning to, but now there was no way he wasn't opening the shop today.
Jason tucks the test back to where it was hidden, popping two pills on his mouth and swallowing them dry.
He'd see her for dinner.
Did he? Technically, yes. But did he say anything? Absolutely not.
The vigilante hadn't pronounced more than 10 words from the moment he came home to the very second they went to bed. She assumed that he was just having one of those days and didn't pressure him into anything, but god, he wished she had. Then, he might have asked, but nothing happened.
He couldn't even fall asleep. For a full hour, Jason just watched her sleeping form and kept marvelling at the fact that she was growing a whole human inside her body. Their baby.
And he also wondered how long it would take for her to tell him. Why hadn't she already? When did she even take the test? This morning? Last week? Last month? When was the baby due? Did she need anything? Is she scared? Is she secretly planning a reveal and he unknowingly ruined it? Maybe she didn't say anything because she doesn't even want the baby? Did he get ahead of himself?
Maybe after all the planning he did today, they won't even get to keep it.
Jason didn't sleep too well that night. Or, to be honest, at all during the rest of the week.
"Are you opening the shop everyday?"
Her voice almost made him jump.
Jason was quietly trying to fix something for himself in the kitchen. Besides early, it was also a saturday, so she was supposed to stay home and to sleep in.
"Uh, yeah." He shrugged, taking a frying pan from the cabinet. He didn't have a reason to lie about this, right? "Eggs?"
"Oh, no." She's cringing at him like the idea is ridiculous.
Like she's sick.
Shit. Is this morning sickness? Nausea? Is this why she hasn't been eating right in the morning? For how long has this been going on?
"You're alright?" He lowers the pan, watching out for any reactions from her.
"Yes. Of course!" She smiled and Jason almost shook as he detected the lie on her voice. "And how about you? You've been working nonstop. Is everything alright?"
Jason had been opening the shop everyday since he found the test on her drawer. Starting at 8am to 7pm and taking every single emergency call he got. In the meantime, the Red Hood suit hadn't even been looked at. And it had a nice result: working full time, Jason had been making a lot more money than usual.
He went as far as doing research and organizing a mental shopping list: the remodeling materials for the nursery, the crib, the dresser, some shelves… And what if she ended up needing a c-section? What if the baby was born with some condition? They'd have to be ready for that. Hospital bills could be cruel.
"Sure." He shrugged again, placing the pan on the stove.
"Hm. Are you hiding something from me, Todd?" She leaned into the counter seductively, giving him that look that made his nerves catch fire.
Jason finally gave up on breakfast and circled the counter to get to her - she turned around to face him with a challenge and he pressed her body in between his and the gray marble.
"I don't know, are you?"
He can't be too sure, but that might have sounded like a threat. Maybe it was.
She was smarter than him, though. And much more cold blooded. Although her methods were nowhere near criminal or violent, his girlfriend was awfully articulated and dangerously sly. So when Jason felt her hand palming him through his pants, he knew that it was a distraction.
Did he stand up for himself?
Fuck no.
They had barely kissed each other since he found out about the pregnancy, let alone have sex. Jason got so tense every time she came around, he didn't even think about it. Maybe that's why he had been so stressed out lately: the need was catching up to him.
And she had her needs too. He had been shying away for too long.
When Jason slid his hand through the waistband of her shorts, he confirmed his theory: the poor thing was so wet for him, he wanted to slap himself in the face. A small touch was enough to draw a gasp from her, and Jason felt himself getting harder every time he moved his fingers on her pussy.
Making her wet was a fatal strike for him.
"Do you need help, baby?"
Jason kissed her before she could say something; they both knew her answer already. She unbuckled his belt and pushed down his jeans and his underwear - his dick was starting to ache. They moved together to get her to sit on the counter and to take off her shorts as well.
"Inside." She commanded him, parting her legs to accommodate his hips in between them. "Please."
"I'm not done y..."
"Jason, now!"
He knows better than to go against her wishes.
Jason hisses when he pushes his dick by her folds, taking in her heat. She tightened around him first, then used her legs to pull him even deeper inside. For how starved and frustrated he felt, Jason wanted to fuck her hard and senseless. Some sort of punishment for keeping secrets, but he also couldn't force himself be too hard on her.
She was pregnant. And besides… He was also secretly happy with her because of it.
So he set a slow pace. Slow enough so that they could feel each other's bodies lovingly, but fast enough to be pleasing. He knew how to get around her body - they've always known how to treat each other, sex never falling anywhere less than incredible.
She started panting a lot faster than usual. Jason wondered if that had anything to do with being pregnant; if it increased sensibility or altered her durability.
It would make sense. Right? Jason had done so much reading into pregnancy the last few days. He's sure that he had seen somewhere something about how pregnancy would increase the blood flow to her sexual organs and breasts, but he's just not sure if it meant they were going to be more sensitive.
Or maybe this could be a particular occasion. Maybe he was unknowingly fucking her just right.
She came untouched first. Jason barely saw it coming, it's precedents being nothing but the contentment on her face and the small noises she made. Then, her body tensed hard around him and he could tell by the way her legs kicked that it was an orgasm.
And he was nowhere near finished.
Jason ended up leaving without breakfast. They spent too much time on the kitchen and than some more on the shower.
He forced himself to leave - against her complaints, that is. Technically, he didn't have to leave, but he had about a hundred plans on how to provide for that child perfectly and all of it required so much fucking money.
He didn't know how to explain to her that he became a master of economy after catching a glimpse of her pregnancy test. And he still got up everyday wondering if it had been a mistake or a misunderstanding.
Two weeks. Jason can feel himself going grey.
His nervous system is so infected by anxiety, he could feel electric waves snapping around his body. What was she waiting for? Why hadn't she said anything about it? His thoughts circled around this topics relentlessly, exhaustion catching up to him my mental fields rather than physical. Jason had braced worse hits that made him feel better than this.
"Ok, start speaking." She cornered him after dinner, closing the fridge angrily. "What is wrong with you?"
Jason wouldn't get a better chance than this, so he went for it. The anxiety was starting to become too much pain to nurture on his own.
"Are you pregnant?"
Of all reactions Jason expected from her, desperate and desolate crying wasn't one of them.
His girlfriend burst into tears immediately and for a few seconds, Jason was so shocked he didn't even move. He had never seen her like this, and that's considering all the things they went through on the beginning of their relationship.
She had had a harder grip of herself in life threatening situations.
"Please don't cry." Jason moves to hold her with a tight chest, feeling as if he's seconds away from crying too. "Don't cry, baby."
"You hate it." She weeps sorrowfully with a small choked sound that breaks his heart.
She backed off when he tried to hug her the first time, but she didn't pull away when he came forward a second. He held her tight, as if the pressure could make it all stop. The crying was terrifying - seeing her like this was awful and not knowing how to fix it was even more agonizing.
"What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong. Please. " Jason almost implored, trying to rock her into consciousness. "Talk to me."
"I knew you wouldn't like it." She sobbed, tightening her arms around him. "And I didn't know how to tell you bec…"
" Oh no, stop. Please, stop. Stop . You got it wrong. I don't hate it!" Jason shakes his head, unsure if these words are any good to make a point. "Why would I hate you? Why would I hate our baby?"
No, no, no. Jason hadn't spent the majority of a month preparing to be a father for this. He had a written down a chart of forbidden names neither of you would ever choose for the baby and a list of all the songs he'd make the baby listen before it was even born - google said babies can listen from the uterus, which is how they recognize their mother's voice.
Jason wanted their baby to also recognize the voices of David Bowie, Gerard Way and Britney Spears. The timeless classics.
There is no way in hell he didn't want this baby. No way he didn't fucking love it already and no way he hated his girlfriend for it. Even the thought of it was offensive and he hated that you would ever feel like that.
"You said you didn't want to be a father." She pushes her face from his chest, looking up to him. Her face was fucking soaked with tears. "When we talked about it…"
"I know I said that, but I didn't think you'd actually get pregnant. And now you are." Jason eases his hold of her, bringing his hands up to cradle her face. "I love it, I fucking love it. I'm going insane. I want to have this baby so bad. You're pregnant, right? I need you to say that out loud. For how long? We're going to have a baby?"
But she just went back to crying. It didn't sound pained now, so Jason gave up talking and retorted to quietly holding her instead.
Shit. Hormones! Of fucking course. This was all because of the motherfucking hormones.
"You're better now?" He tried again, once the shivering stopped. How long did that even take? 10 minutes? "Hm?"
She nodded positively, eyes low. She muttered an apology, but Jason dismissed it and kissed the top of her head.
"It's ok, everything's ok. But you have to listen to me: I'm not angry. I'm really happy. I didn't know I'd like a baby, but now I really want it. We're having the baby, right?"
She nodded again with a smile, though he could swear there were new tears falling down her face - it was fucking terrifying. Jason had met lunatics on the streets with more control of their emotions than this.
"I'm six weeks." She whispers nervously, holding her hands.
"Six weeks? What's that? A month and a half?"
Jason doubt was honest, which was good enough to draw a laugh from her. The positive sound renovated his spirits a little. He wanted more of it.
"Yeah. I didn't know how to tell you." She repeated, using her hands to rub the tears away from her face. "I thought about everything already. I've been freaking out."
"Fuck, me too." Jason breathed out tightening his arms around her again. "We're having the baby? Tell me we're having the baby, please."
"We are." She nodded against his chest, finally releasing the hold of the anxiety on her own. The crippling fear that he'd hate it, ask for her to get an abortion or to just leave. Potentially both. "We're having a baby."
Jason knew there were tears falling down his face as he rested his head on top of hers.
This was the strangest feeling in the world; getting something he never even knew that he wanted.
"That's great, because I've been thinking about the nursery. I want to get it done with quick, so we're not out of money when the baby is due." Jason breathes out, making her laugh again. And his concern was so genuine. "I'm serious. And we need to get you checked in a gynecologist. You'll need prenatal care."
"Jason, slow down." She smiled to herself, still shivering because of all that crying. "I know. We'll deal with all of this. Just…"
"What?"
"How did you… How did you know I was pregnant?"
Oh.
"Ah… Ha. Ha ha. It's, uh..."Jason felt himself freeze, thinking back to how the dismembered her secret accidentally.
"So?"
God, he loved her. He loved her so much. And their baby. He would do everything in the world for that baby. He just loved them so much.
"Funny story."