Chapter Text
Ten years went by in a flash.
In the early days, after little-Jason woke up in Bruce’s home with no memory of how he got there, Bruce had thought of future-Jason often. Every day, even. He wondered how future-Jason made out, what he was doing, and if little-Jason was on the path to turn out just like him. Did future-Jason do the same things little-Jason did? Did he have the same thought processes? The same interests? Or had this Jason’s life been drastically changed, just by being taken in at nine?
Bruce had been convinced everything was changed, when little-Jason didn’t even seem phased that he’d been suddenly placed with Bruce. Sure, when the lad woke up, he’d been outright terrified, and put that fact on full display for Bruce when he ‘checked his concussion.’ But then he’d spent a few hours in his bedroom alone, and everything had seemed to change. He didn’t seem scared anymore.
And sure, he was shy. It took coaxing to get him to talk beyond answering questions. He was unsure of himself, and often uncomfortable with the people around him, but it was clear to Bruce he was no longer scared. It almost seemed like he took Bruce at his word, and actually believed them when they told him things.
Which was the exact opposite of how future-Jason said the first little while would play out. He’d been absolutely sure it would be a steep, uphill battle to convince little-Jason to stay with them.
It hadn’t been until years later had Bruce’s Jason even explained his thought process, why he had shifted so drastically during that first day.
“It was my notebook,” he’d said, “the pros and cons list. I had it nicely laid out why living here was the best option. Obviously I’d thought it over pretty good before I got hurt. Plus, since you were literally a superhero, I knew you couldn’t be that bad.”
Bruce was grateful to future-Jason for many things, but he was eternally grateful that the boy had known exactly what to do, to make his past-self feel safe.
As the years passed, Bruce held his breath for the day Jason would ask to be Robin. Dick had eventually moved on to his new vigilante persona, Nightwing, and had made it clear to Bruce he’d be okay with Robin being passed down, just as future-Jason had said happened, but their-Jason never expressed any interest.
Instead, he kept himself busy with school. The boy crammed his schedule with every single club and activity he could, and often lamented to Bruce about how he couldn’t fit in another thing. It was amusing. It also made Bruce’s heart clench, a little, just thinking that future-Jason hadn’t been allowed to explore his many interests. Why on earth had he done that, the first time around? The only reason he could come up with was a poor-attempt at making Jason quit Robin, voluntarily.
If only he could have spoken with future-him.
Jason still sometimes came downstairs, though. Bruce often walked downstairs to find Jason sitting at the Batcomputer, going over case details with Dick, offering his theories or simply acting as a sounding board for Dick. Bruce enjoyed it when Jason did that with him, too. But every time he got nervous it was just the first step.
Then Jason graduated high school, valedictorian. Because he passed right by the age fifteen without even a close call with anything. Bruce would be a liar if he said he didn’t spend that entire year nervous something would go wrong.
But he’d sat Jason down at the age of ten and told him about Catherine and Shelia. Jason had been distraught, at first, and locked himself in his bedroom, but once he’d calmed down he demanded a visit with his father, at the Federal Penitentiary the man was being held in for life, so he could, as Jason said, “ask him what the fuck.”
To this day, Bruce doesn’t know what Jason and Willis talked about that afternoon. The meeting had lasted hours, from the start of visiting hours until the end of them, and Bruce had spent the entire time across the room, just waiting. When Jason walked back out to the car with him, the only comment he had was “I missed him.”
That was the start of Jason’s monthly visits to his dad. At least, monthly until Willis was murdered in his jail cell when Jason was thirteen. It wasn’t until that happened was Bruce allowed to adopt Jason. Bruce still felt bad how his first thought, when finding out Willis had died, was finally he’d be able to adopt Jason. Especially since Jason was devastated, when Bruce had to tell him.
It had taken another six months before Bruce even broached the topic of adoption. Jason mourned his father pretty hard, after all. But Jason had smiled wide and instantly hugged Bruce tight when offered, and smiled even brighter the day they stood before the judge.
Now, it was Jason’s nineteenth birthday. He was finally nineteen, the same age future-Jason had been, and Bruce had to admit, the young man right in front of him was vastly different from the young man he’d met all those years ago.
Most notably, this Jason was in his second year at Princeton. Bruce was dreading sending Jason back to school, just a week later, but he couldn’t be prouder of his boy and how well he was doing at Princeton, studying Literature and education.
Bruce had pushed for Yale, since that was his alma mater, but Jason had insisted on Princeton. It wasn’t until he got accepted did Jason even share why. “Willis told me I should go to Princeton,” he’d said, as he held back tears while re-reading his acceptance letter, “He told me that had always been his dream for me. Princeton.”
“I know he’d be insanely proud of you,” Bruce had responded, wrapping an arm around Jason to pull him into his side, “I definitely am.”
Princeton was still a good school, so Bruce gladly wrote the check for tuition. Not that he would have withheld that, no matter where he wanted to go. Even if he’d chosen Harvard.
Thankfully Princeton was only two hours away from Bristol, so Bruce was able to see Jason frequently throughout the semester, but still. He missed Jason when he was away. Texts throughout the day and the occasional phone call wasn’t the same as seeing Jason every day.
So Bruce was thankful for the opportunity to sit on the patio with his boy, just the two of them all evening on that beautiful August 16th.
He did have something he wanted to tell Jason. Ten years, and they had never actually told him how he ended up at Wayne Manor.
Jason had invented a very plausible story all on his own, and had asked a few months after he admitted he knew Bruce was Batman, “Did you catch me stealing as Batman? Is that why I knew?”
“Yes,” Bruce said said immediately, because it made sense, “And you agreed to come with me when I promised to help you out. No nine-year-old should be homeless. But we told Social Services the lunch story.”
The then-ten-year-old had nodded absently a few times before he smiled wide and said, “I’m glad you caught me, then.”
Bruce had wanted to tell Jason many times over the years, but the moment never felt right. And, quite frankly, Bruce was a coward.
Future-Jason had called it gas-lighting, and Bruce was nervous telling Jason they’d been lying to him the entire time would permanently damage their relationship.
But. On the other hand. Jason deserved to know.
So as Bruce sat in one of the patio chairs next to Jason and sipped at the fresh lemonade Alfred had served them a few minutes prior, Bruce finally worked up the courage to say, “Jay, I have a confession to make.”
Jason smirked and said, “You’re madly in love with Selina, we know. You should just propose already.”
“What?” Bruce sputtered, turning to look at his son. He and Selina weren’t even dating. And why would Bruce even bring that up to his son? Also, “Who is we?”
“Everyone,” Jason said, his smirk now an outright grin. Because he was just making fun of Bruce, at that point.
Bruce rolled his eyes fondly, and felt a touch of his anxiety ease. It was so easy, talking to Jason. “That wasn’t what I was going to say.”
“Okay, sure,” Jason replied easily, “Then what?”
“I haven’t been honest with you,” he admitted.
Jason frowned slightly and asked, “About?”
“About how we met.”
“What do you mean?” Jason asked, as his face sobered the rest of the way. It killed Bruce, a little, to see.
He hoped Jason would take the news well, but the doubt was back. Bruce had been lying to Jason for a decade, now.
Bruce took a deep breath, then looked right at Jason and said, “We told you we met when you tried to steal from me.”
“Right,” Jason said slowly, “but then you admitted that Batman caught me stealing from someone else.”
“That was a story you came up with yourself,” Bruce said, carefully, “and I went along with it to not invite further questioning.”
“Okay,” Jason said, as he sat back in his seat and looked straight ahead, out toward the Manor grounds. He took a sip of his lemonade then said, “I’m listening.”
“Our meeting involved time travel.”
Bruce wasn’t entirely sure what he expected Jason’s reaction to be, but bursting out into laughter was not it.
Jason turned back toward him and his face instantly sobered again as he asked, “Wait, you’re serious?” When Bruce nodded, Jason said, “Okay, lay it on me. What’s the story then.”
With a breath, Bruce launched into the story. “Nineteen-year-old you from what is now another timeline got caught up with a super villain who got his hands on some Kumirai technology.”
“So what,” Jason cut in, “I was like you guys? Actually out in the field?”
“Yes, in a way,” Bruce said. He never did fully know what Jason did, after he’d quit being Robin, but clearly he was still acting as a vigilante if he was able to stop a villain from acquiring kryptonite. Bruce had kept his eye on Roman Sionis, but for whatever reason he never did become Black Mask, in this timeline. So Bruce hadn’t needed to keep an eye out for the kryptonite purchase, or whatever else Black Mask did in Jason’s timeline.
“Interesting,” Jason said thoughtfully.
“The device worked so it would send the consciousness of the person back to a specific point in time set on the device for ten earth days,” Bruce continued, “So nineteen-year-old you got sent back ten years into nine-year-old you’s body.”
“So,” Jason said, furrowing his brow, “I lost ten days of memory because of that, not because of a concussion?”
“Yes,” Bruce said, nodding, “That was part of the lie. We had Leslie stamp off on that, so Social Services wouldn’t question it either. Future-you had the initial meeting with Paige for you, so we could get the placement finalized before you woke up, and we had to explain away why you wouldn’t remember that meeting.”
Jason nodded and turned back toward the grounds again. “Okay,” he said, “So what happened exactly?”
“The villain wanted to go back in time to kill you specifically, because you really screwed up his evil plans.”
Despite everything, Jason snorted at that and said, “Clearly he did an excellent job.”
“Yeah,” Bruce agreed with a small smile, “He probably didn’t realize what ten years in the past meant for you. He definitely had no clue how to find you, and never got near you while he was still back in time. But nineteen-year-old you didn’t know for sure he’d never find you, and being that he was in his homeless nine-year-old body, he came here for help.”
“So did I know you in the future,” Jason asked, “I mean, I guess I probably did if I was a vigilante.”
“Yes,” Bruce responded, “I took you in at twelve in that timeline.”
“Okay.”
“He said we met when he stole the wheels off the Batmobile, and I caught him. I ended up taking him home and adopting him after that, and he became Robin.”
“That’s weird,” Jason said, furrowing his brow again, “Like. Instead of Tim?”
Bruce shrugged. “He was very difficult to get details out of, but from what I could tell, you were Robin between Dick and Tim. He kept mentioning a kid named Drake, and did finally tell Alfred about Tim before he returned to his time.”
“Huh, okay,” Jason said again. He was starting to sound like a broken record, but at least he didn’t seem angry about anything. Bruce still felt like a ball of nerves.
That is, until Jason said, “So you liked him so much you kept me.”
Bruce couldn’t help his fond smile. “I got a glimpse of my future son, and couldn’t in good conscious just turn you out onto the street to hopefully meet you ‘naturally.’ Once I knew I had a son, I couldn’t wait to meet him.”
Jason smiled himself, and Bruce felt the final knot inside himself untangle at the sight.
“Did I turn out like him?” Jason asked.
Bruce considered him for a long moment, then said, “I can see a lot of him in you. He was funny. Clever and quick with a comeback, and so funny in how he sniped back. Sarcastic to an extreme—”
“Sounds like me,” Jason cut in, grinning wide.
Nodding, Bruce continued, “And I could tell he was brilliant. You’re a lot like him in those regards, just with different life experiences now. But, because of his experiences, he was so… jaded.” And out of everything he’d been able to do for Jason this time around, Bruce was most thankful that his Jason hadn’t ended up jaded at all.
Jason frowned, but didn’t say anything so Bruce explained, “He spent three years on the streets fending for himself, and then I made a lot of mistakes with him in his timeline. A lot. And he was rightly bitter about a lot of things, and very angry with me.
But,” Bruce said, pausing for a moment to look over at his Jason, “He told it to me straight. He showed me how poorly I was doing as a parent to Dick, and how badly I’d done with him, and it let me figure out how to do it better.”
Dick had never run off, in this timeline. He’d gone off to college, sure, but Bruce saw him on breaks and eventually, when Dick had dropped out, he moved right back in with Bruce. They argued sometimes, sure, but never did they have nasty fights, and never did they have a falling out.
“You’re the best dad I’ve had,” Jason said.
Bruce smiled, but held back a comment about how it wasn’t too difficult to be better than a man who used to beat Jason when he was in a bad mood.
Jason’s relationship with Willis Todd was complicated, and Bruce didn’t like disparaging the man straight to Jason’s face. Especially since he’d been able to have a couple good years with Willis, there in the end. When Willis was quite literally unable to become violent. Although Bruce suspected alcohol or drugs often had a say in whether Willis reacted violently to things.
After a moment, Jason said, “So you met a kid who said you’re his dad in the future but he hates you, and you decided to keep him anyway?”
“In ten short days with that spitfire, sarcastic child,” Bruce said with a fond smile, “I realized I wanted to know him. At nine, and ten, and fifteen, nineteen, forty, I wanted him in my life, and I’m so glad you are.”
Bruce didn’t want to rush time, but he did look forward to seeing the man Jason became. He was already a wonderful young man who had done so much good already.
He’d convinced Bruce nearly five years ago to found a new charter school in Crime Alley, and they’d had their first graduating class the year before, filled with kids who had attended all four years of high school there. More than 70% of the graduates had gone on to college with full ride scholarships. A drastic difference from the failing public schools in Crime Alley, which saw less than 15% of kids go on to college.
Park Row Academy, the school was called, an academy for 3rd-12th grade. Only children with addresses within Park Row could attend, and it was completely free to them. Wayne Foundation kept the school afloat with generous donations given at the annual Park Row Academy Gala, that Jason spoke at every year.
Already it was one of the best schools in Gotham, rivaled only by a handful of the elite private-schools.
Jason’s goal with college was to get a teaching degree and go teach at the school, once he returned to Gotham, to inspire the children from his old neighborhood to love literature as much as he did.
“What made you decide to lie to me,” Jason asked, “That could have backfired majorly.”
“I know,” Bruce said solemnly. He’d worried for years what sort of damage it would do, if Jason found out they’d been lying to him. “But nineteen-year-old you warned us how untrusting you would be. We figured you’d be more likely to stay if we told you the story we did than if we just told you the truth. I mean, would you have listened if we told you you’d come to us on your own, because future you was in control of your body?”
“No,” Jason said with a laugh, “You should insane.”
“What do you think,” Bruce asked, “Was it worth me lying to you?”
Jason looked away, back out into the yard as he sipped the last bit of his lemonade. After a long moment, he said, “You gave me the best childhood I could have ever asked for. I’m going to Princeton. I didn’t think I’d even get to finish high school when I was a child. Hell, I nearly dropped out in fourth grade never to return again, had I stayed out on the street.”
“Which would have been a tragedy,” Bruce said, “because you’re so smart and have so much potential in you.” He did hope future-Jason took his advice and got his GED in his time, so he could go on to college, too. Every Jason in every timeline deserved to fulfill that one greatest desire of his.
“See,” Jason said, smiling softly, “Yeah, it was worth it. Thanks for lying to me, Dad.”
Bruce looked over at Jason, and couldn’t find the words to say anything for a solid minute. Jason didn’t call him that often, but when he did…
It might have made Bruce feel like a mess inside. A happy mess, but a mess nonetheless.
The sound of the patio door swinging open snapped Bruce out of it, so he blinked back the wetness in his eyes and turned to see Tim skipping out to where they were.
“Bruce, there you are,” he exclaimed, “I’ve been looking everywhere.”
“What’s up, Tim?” Bruce said, as he leaned back in his chair and finished off his lemonade, too.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, “but Gordon is trying to get in touch with you.”
“Ask him what he wants,” Bruce said dismissively. His biggest mistake in life was giving Jim Gordon a cell phone number to contact Batman.
Jason snorted, but Tim frowned hard and said, “I did, and he said ‘no offense kid but I need to talk to Batman.’”
With a heavy sigh, Bruce pushed himself to his feet and paused next to Jason for a moment. He placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder and squeezed. “Good talk, Jay, and happy birthday. I’m so grateful to have another year with you.”
Jason clapped a hand over Bruce’s and said, “Thanks, Dad. Tell Gordon I said ‘hi.’”
“I will not,” Bruce shot back, as he freed his hand and started toward the door. It’d been a long running joke, Jason telling Bruce to tell his villains or his allies he said hi.
As far as almost anyone was concerned in Batman’s life, he had no sons. So there was no reason to do that. The last thing Bruce wanted was for Jason to become a target. Or Dick or Tim, anymore than they were, as protégés of Batman’s.
“You should,” Jason called after him.
As Bruce paused at the door to set his glass down and slip his shoes back on, from where he’d kicked them off near the door, he heard Tim ask Jason, nervously, “Did I ruin a moment?”
“Nah,” Jason said, with a laugh, “Moment was over before you got here.”
“Oh.”
Jason stood and slung an arm around Tim’s shoulders and said, “So. Tell me what case you’re working on tonight.”
Bruce could hear the wide smile in Tim’s voice as the two of them followed Bruce to the cave, as Tim said, “Okay, so there’s this lady who went missing…”
Tim had only been living with him for about a year at that point, but he’d been the absolute perfect addition to their little family, and it always made Bruce smile to see his boys get along so well. Jason always knew exactly what to say to cut through Tim’s anxiety and make him feel welcome and loved, and Bruce would never tire of it.
There was so much Bruce was grateful to future-Jason for, but the list of things he was thankful to his-Jason for was growing longer and longer.
Ten years had flown by in a flash, and he was already looking forward to the next ten.