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Jason clutched Damian's little hand in his as a rat crossed the sidewalk in front of them. He grimaced as Damian made a quiet, disgusted sound.
He really didn't like walking the city at night for a number of reasons. The main reason was they lived in crime alley, which was dirty, dark, and, unsurprisingly, crime-ridden.
The second reason was because walking outside anywhere in Gotham after sundown was just asking to run into a bat. He'd been carefully avoiding them since coming back to Gotham.
The third was that he didn't want Damian exposed to more violence like that. He was a kid, Jason wanted him to be a kid.
But Parent-Teacher conferences warranted a night out. There wasn't much to discuss that Jason hadn't already talked to the teacher about.
Damian was smart, way above second grade level, but he wasn't socially at the same level as his peers. He didn't talk much, just kept his nose in a book or drew on his paper.
And yeah, he was talkative at home, but no one else knew Damian like Jason did. No one let Damian be himself like Jason did.
"Baby, I have a question," Jason said as he glanced both ways before tugging Damian across the quiet street. "Ms. Keets told me that you don't play with the other kids at recess."
"Is that a question?" Damian asked, reaching up his other arm until Jason lifted him to carry him on his hip.
"I'm getting to it," Jason rolled his eyes. "Why don't you play with the other kids?"
Damian shrugged, leaning his tired head against Jason's shoulder. Maybe it was a bit late to have that conversation, Damian was already pretty tired.
"Tired, sweetheart?" He asked running a hand down Damian's back. The boy nodded against his shoulder. "We're almost home, just a few more blocks-"
He froze when he turned a corner and saw a group of guys at the mouth of an alleyway across the street. He could hear crying, it sounded like a girl, desperately pleading with them to leave her alone.
"Ahki?"
"Uh, baby, I need you to do something for me," he said, glancing to his left where lights shone out onto the street from the corner diner. "I need you to go inside here, and tell someone to call 911. Tell them there's a mugging in progress and to bring an ambulance. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes," Damian nodded, and Jason set him down with a kiss to the forehead and a muttered 'love you'
Damian hurried off into the building while Jason crossed the street. He was a bit rusty, but not so rusty that he couldn't take out a few scummy guys.
"Hey, guys, we having a party over here?" Jason asked as he approached, hands up in apparent surrender. Really though, having his hands up and visible gave him the best chance at a surprise attack and defense.
"Get lost," one of the guys said.
"Help me, please," the girl pleaded, and Jason was certain she wasn't older than 18, clutching her purse to her chest. She had tears streaming down her face, and she looked like she didn't belong in crime alley with her sparkly top and black skirt. No one wore anything flashy here, it drew too much attention.
"Now, come on guys, let the lady go," Jason said, keeping the attention on himself. Another one of the guys growled and swung at him with a tire iron, of course. Jason grabbed it easily in his palm and yanked it into his control, spinning it a few times to get a feel for the weight.
Well, he was always a sucker for symbolism.
"Alright, you want to play it that way?" Jason asked getting a good grip on the tire iron and swinging it at the guy who swung at him. Jason was pretty sure he was high based on his red, bloodshot eyes, so he didn't move out of the way nearly fast enough. He was out cold with one hit.
"You fucker," the first guy growled, and Jason noticed the knife in his hand. Three guys left, and they were stalking towards him with his goading. Once they were out of the alley, the girl could make a break for it.
"Quite the charmer, aren't ya?" Jason asked as he took a step back. Another of the guys had a set of brass knuckles. "C'mon guys, give me a challenge."
The guy with the brass knuckles lunged at him next, and Jason ducked under his fist before lunging up into his core, using his shoulder to shove him off. Once the guy was staggering back, Jason lifted his boot and gave him a good kick to the chest. It gave him enough of a jump to flip backwards in a showy way he perfected, bringing the bend of the tire iron up to catch the guy in the jaw. He slumped back against the wall, also out cold.
Following him, the guy with an unknown weapon came at him. Jason didn't even bother seeing what he had, just ducked under his swinging arm and popped back up to hit him across the face, blood spurting from his nose as he fell back. These guys really were amateurs.
The last guy came at him with the knife, and the grappled for a moment until they were out of the alley and onto the sidewalk.
"Go to the diner across the street," Jason said as he slid between the guys legs to strike him across the back, then kick him in the side to knock him to the ground. The girl hesitated for a second, then ran out of the alley and across the street.
"Take this as a lesson and a warning," Jason said as the guy struggled to his feet. He grabbed him by the hair and grinned at him. "Don't mess with girls in my hood."
Then he gave the guy a good, solid punch to knock him out.
Once he was satisfied that the guys were all out cold, he walked back across the street to the diner, twirling the tire iron.
Sometimes he missed the vigilante life. Especially protecting his home here.
He'd been trying to lay low since they moved back, but he wanted this neighborhood to be safe for Damian. Maybe picking up a shift here and there wouldn't be the worst thing ever. But he could think about that later.
Right now, Damian was sitting at the bar of the diner next to the woman.
The other patrons in the diner stared at him as he walked in with a tire iron and bloody knuckles.
Then they started clapping.
"Ahki!" Damian exclaimed, climbing off of the bar stool and running towards Jason at full speed.
"Hi, Dames," Jason said, hefting Damian up into his arms as he walked towards the bar.
"The police are on their way like you requested," Damian told him, his face serious.
"You did a good job, Baby," Jason praised him, giving him a kiss on the temple. "Proud of you."
"Thank you so much for saving me," the girl said as Jason approached her. He could hear the sirens in the distance.
"It was nothing," he shrugged, and to him it was nothing. Just a thwarted mugging. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am," She nodded.
"You should get yourself some pepper spray or something," he said, nodding towards her purse. "Dangerous to walk alone out here at night."
"Well people like you make it a little less dangerous," she said with a small smile. "Uptown, it happens less because of the bats."
"Batmans never down here," the waitress behind the bar said, sliding a plate of eggs and toast across the counter towards the woman. "We're a big lost cause here."
"He only cares about those rich assholes uptown," another man said with a scowl. And Jason wanted to defend him, but he couldn't. Bruce didn't come to crime alley much. Jason used to patrol it alone.
"Well, we've got each other's backs here," Jason said, and other patrons in the diner nodded or gave their agreements.
The door finally opened and a single officer came striding in. Jason could see others across the street, as well as EMTs, loading the guys into two ambulances.
"You gave those guys a run for their money," the cop said, nodding at the tire iron still held in Jason's hand.
They exchanged information, and Jason promised to come down before work the next day to give his statement. Damian was falling asleep against him again, which gave him a good excuse to leave.
Once home, he got Damian changed into pajamas and tucked into bed safe and sound. Then he went to his room, spinning the tire iron in his hand again, thinking about how he could make crime alley safe for his baby.
Jason stared at himself in the mirror, the black t-shirt stretched over his chest with the red bat as a symbol of what this area was missing. What they needed.
He pulled on his red hoodie, then his leather jacket, and stared at himself more.
It would do. He had a strap over his chest for the tire iron, a holster for the handgun Talia gave him, and a strap for his crowbar.
Sucker for symbolism. Plus, he was working on letting go of his past for Damian's sake. Part of that was getting over his fucking aversion to crowbars.
"Ahki?"
Jason jumped because Damian was supposed to be in bed.
"Damian what are you doing up?" Jason asked, frantically zipping up his hoodie to try and hide the bat.
"I had to use the bathroom," Damian explained, like an adult and not an 8 year old.
"Well go back to sleep, okay? It's late, you have school tomorrow," Jason said, but Damian wasn't buying it. He walked into the room and stood beside Jason to stare in the mirror.
"Ahki, are you going somewhere?" He asked, tilting his head.
"No, baby, not tonight," Jason sighed. He wasn't, he wouldn't go out without talking to Damian first, he was just trying it on.
"Ahki, you are hiding something from me," Damian said, climbing into Jason's bed and sitting there. Waiting. Of course, he knew Jason. He knew when Jason was planning.
"Okay," Jason sighed, unzipping his hoodie and shedding his outer layers, leaving him in his t-shirt and jeans as he sat down beside him. "Baby, you remember last week? When I stopped those guys from hurting that girl?"
"Yeah."
"Well when I grew up here, that happened a lot," Jason explained. "And I don't want that for you. I want to keep everyone here safe, and make this a safer neighborhood for you."
"I can help-"
"No honey," Jason shook his head. "Not with this, you can't. It's too dangerous for you."
Damian looked dejected, scowling down at his lap. He leaned against Jason's side for a hug, which Jason happily gave.
"You will be safe," Damian insisted.
"Of course."
"And you will come home every night?"
Jason rolled his eyes. He was the adult here.
"Baby, I will always come home to you," Jason said, tilting Damians head up to look him in the eyes. "I love you, Dames."
"I love you too, Ahki," Damian whispered, burrowing into Jason's chest.
"Alright, bedtime, young man," Jason said, but Damian made no effort to move, and Jason didn't force him.
His first brush with the bat was after two weeks. He'd expected more time.
Jason was in an alleyway, stalking away from where he left a guy ziptied by the dumpster for police pick-up. The guy had been trying to sell drugs to a kid that wasn't much older than Damian.
Usually with drug-deals, Jason turned the other way, but these kids didn't know the lifetime of struggles they were getting themselves into.
He paused when he heard the whoosh of a cape. He didn't know if he was ready for this, but eventually Bruce was going to notice another vigilante in his city.
He had a mask, it was cheap, and he deepened his voice with a cheap voice changer from the costume store, so he wasn't recognizable, but he still hadn't seen Bruce in years.
"I've heard rumors of the Red Hood," Batman said. Batman, not Bruce. "I wanted to be sure you weren't causing trouble."
"Kind of the opposite," Jason shrugged as he turned around. "'M here to help people. Folks around here are feeling pretty ignored by the big bad bat."
"I can't be everywhere," Batman growled. "All of Gotham needs help."
"Yeah?" Jason asked, raising a brow. "Well Crime Alley is still Crime Alley, it ain't changed. And it ain't getting better. Someone has to care about this place and these people."
Batman hummed, and Jason could feel his glare like a weight in his chest. He knew how to get Bruce to back off, though, before he was crushed under that weight.
"I've got a kid," Jason finally said, and Batman's head lifted a minescule amount. "I just want this place to be safer for him."
Batman nodded and looked over his shoulder as police sirens started getting closer.
"If you're ever in over your head, use this," Batman said, tossing Jason a bat-shapped communicator thing.
"This got a tracker in it?"
Batman didn't say anything.
"Thanks but no thanks," Jason said, tossing it back. "Don't want anyone knowing where I live, I got a kid to think about. If I ever think I need you, you'll know. But I can handle myself."
"Then I'll be checking in from time," Batman said, tucking the device into his belt. "Keep up the good work."
And then he was gone. Grappling off into the city and leaving Jason with his heart pounding and his knees threatening to give out. He wasn't ready for any of that.
He usually stayed out another hour, but he had an overwhelming need to get home to Damian.
He took the few blocks home, climbed the fire escape, and slipped in through his bedroom window. He had installed a decent lock on it when he started doing this so he could get in and out through the window without compromising Damian's safety, but tonight he hated it. It took too long to open and he desperately needed to get inside.
Once inside, he locked the window again and tore off his voice changer mask, then his eye mask. He dropped his belt and weapons, tore off his leather jacket, and hurried out of his bedroom to Damian's.
Sound asleep.
Jason could feel tears in his eyes, though he didn't know if they were of relief or overwhelming distraught over seeing Batman.
He should have just left Damian to sleep, but Jason couldn't help himself. He walked over to the bed and watched Damian's little chest rise and fall, safe and sound.
A sob bubbled up despite his best efforts, and Jason pressed a hand to his mouth to try and keep quiet, but it was no use. Damian was a light sleeper, and he opened his eyes at the first whimper.
"Ahki?" He asked, groggy from sleep.
Jason took the opportunity to sweep Damian up into his arms, scooting him over so Jason could sit as well and started sobbing into Damian's shoulder.
"Ahki, what is wrong?" Damian asked, rubbing his back like Jason did for him.
Jason shook his head. Nothing was wrong, everything was fine. He just wasn't ready to see Bruce again. Not so soon.
Damian, being the observant, sweet kid he was, started rocking gently back and forth, humming a song that Jason didn't recognize. Just like Jason did for him. Something in his chest ached at the fact that Damian had learned about comfort and soothing someone from Jason.
When he finally calmed down enough to let go, he pulled back and dried his face with the back of his glove before ripping said gloves off and throwing them on the floor.
"Hi, Ahki," Damian said, grinning up at Jason's face. An exhausted laugh bubbled out of Jason as he finished wiping his face.
"Hi, baby," Jason said with a smile. "Sorry I woke you."
"It's alright," Damian shrugged. "Do you feel better?"
"Yeah, sweetheart, I feel better," Jason nodded. He still needed a shower, probably some water, and to get to bed, but he felt better just being around Damian. "Thank you."
Damian hummed in a horrible mirror of Bruce, playing with Jason's hoodie strings, before he seemingly made a decision.
"You need to shower," Damian said. "I will get some water and we can sleep in your room."
"Oh, is that so?" Jason chuckled.
"Yes, incase you need me still," Damian nodded, and Jason rolled his eyes and gave Damian a kiss on the forehead.
"I always need you," Jason said, and if was true. "I need you to be safe and I need you to get enough sleep before school."
"Then we should hurry," Damian said, untangling from Jason's arms and wiggling out to the floor. "It is past my bedtime."
Jason laughed as he chased Damian out of the room, the boy squealing with laughter.