Chapter Text
The diner was a dimly lit place with even dimmer people who seemed only capable of giving you flat looks when you walked in.
No matter of avoiding the tiles could keep your shoes from sticking harshly to the floor and outside a sign left children giggling over the strobing neon words that had been going out for a long time now. He almost understood how that sign felt.
Could almost see bits of his own brain blinking on and off again the longer he sat there with his plastic container, aware he should be leaving and yet still rooted to his seat by the sticky floors and the nearly gone beer in his hand he’d been harboring long enough his head never had the chance to fuzz over as he would have preferred. It was almost simple.
Plain and simple. Such a stupid saying.
There was nothing plain nor simple about the way his bones creaked with every movement, the way his eyes dragged across every space like the shadows planned to leap up and take him in. There was nothing plain about the house which keys sat heavy in his pocket, nothing simple about the woman sitting across from him appraising Jason with a look that spoke of what she thought of his appearance.
“If something could be alive after being ran over it would be you,” she said and he would have glared if he still felt it in him to do so, instead letting out a very long breath and rubbing his hands through his hair which he only belatedly realized was definitely greasy and had more than likely been greasy since he walked in here. Unlike Barbara’s own perfect wavy and shiny red hair that flowed brighter than the exit sign behind him.
“Can’t say the same for you,” he admitted with a tired smile.
“You having second thoughts about this?”
“Here we go again,” he sighed out as she frowned at him, already tired of the same dance and jig that seemed to be the only way they could talk with one another anymore.
“I’m just saying Jason,” she started and he didn’t think he could take her just saying anything.
That’s how it always started, she was just saying that it would be easier or perhaps he shouldn’t do this or maybe that was bad for him. He longed for the days he could go to her as a way to hide from everyone, the days she would accept him and hide along side him. Now all he could do was thunk his head into the table and hope that would work.
“Don’t avoid me.”
“Barbie, I’m sure about this,” he said, raising his head and looking at the well put together woman across from him. If he didn’t know what to look for he might’ve missed the smudged mascara, the wrinkled shirt, hands clinging to the hand rests of her chair, the way her eyes looked more bloodshot than the normal persons.
“It can’t keep sitting empty like this. My names on the mortgage and everything.” She pursed her lips, hands reaching to grip the mug of coffee in front of her tight enough he worried it might break. Then she let the tension fade from her shoulders.
“Fine.”
“Really?”
“Would you rather I yelled at you some more?” Despite himself Jason found his lips starting to tilt up into a smile, looking at her in what he hoped was appreciation and not exhaustion as he feared it was.
“You’ll take the kid till I’ve figured out what to do with it, right?” She nodded without hesitation.
“Of course. He can’t go back there. That much is obvious.”
“On that we agree,” he muttered thinking of the way Damian had stormed out this morning when Jason told him what was going on, screaming Jason’s tiny apartment can’t be all they have left, how he wouldn’t allow it. Jason felt a shiver go down his spine at the memory, wincing outwardly as she took in his movement.
“You fought again,” she guessed and his wince only worsened.
“You know how he is.” He knew she did, after all the time they’d both spent with the kid it was hard not to. It was even harder not to understand why he was acting out as he was. After all, losing his brother and dad in one go was hard enough on Jason as an adult. He wasn’t the one who found the bodies though, that was Damian. He shook the image from his head, lifting the beer and downing the last of it and freeing himself from any more obligation to stay here.
“I know you start fights just as well as he does.”
“What can I say,” he sighed and let the bottle clunk back to the table. “I’m a natural.” She glared heavily at him, reminding him once more how he hadn’t seen her smiling in months now. A breath escaped him before he could stop it, hands pressed to the folds of his face like it would alleviate the exhaustion running beneath his skin.
“You know you don’t have to do this,” she reminded in a voice so soft it left no fight in him, hands falling to the table again.
“I have to do this, Barbie.”
“Place is going to be covered in dust and I haven’t actually been checking the maintenance done in the last year. There might be leaks all over the place for all I know.” At that he found himself scoffing, already shaking his head by the time she’d said the first two words.
“Come on, you really think B would’ve left the place with a leaking roof that soon?”
“He didn’t exactly have a choice,” she snapped and his humor faded instantly to cold nothing once more.
“Yeah, well, when I was there last week there was no leaking.”
“You said there was something squeaking though, could be mice,” she tried again.
“No. Traps are all over the place and they haven’t caught anything. I have no clue what’s there. Maybe ghosts,” he jested. If the look on her face was anything to go by, Jason should really have thought of something else to claim it was. If he could think he would have. Unfortunately by the time the idea to deny it crossed his mind he’d already waited too long to answer and her face had gone slack and pitying.
“Jason,” she said like he was a child telling her about the creature under his bed.
“I didn’t say it was them,” he snapped before he could think better of it. Not like he regretted having said it after it was already out but even he could acknowledge there were better ways to have handled that. Lowering his voice again he let his hands stray to the plastic container full of his leftovers waiting to be brought back to that spooky place where he hoped the electricity people actually remembered to do their jobs.
“I don’t even believe in that crap you know that.” She gave him a look that clearly suggested otherwise and he leaned back in his seat, feeling the warmth of his jacket curl further around him with the movement. “Name one time I ever said I believed in that shit.”
“Before I do perhaps you should look down at your shirt.” Blinking, he did as she said to and found a little alien saucer supporting a smiling green man with the words ‘I believe’ in hippie font beneath it. Quietly he looked back up at Barbara’s smug face.
“Aliens are different.” She rolled her eyes at him, hands finally beginning to relax from her rapidly emptying cup into some semblance of a normal persons grip.
“How can you believe in aliens but not the paranormal.”
“You want me to go around the house shining a light into every room looking for a sheet?”
“Maybe you should look into professionals before doing that.”
“They have professionals for this shit?” She gave him a long withering look, reaching into her purse a second later and extracting what seemed to be a business card, confusing him until she handed it over and he read the print on it.
“Mystical bat brigade–Barbie. Tell me you’re joking.” Judging by her face, she was not.
“They have a youtube channel that’s really taken off.”
“They’re YouTubers–great. Cause that’s better than regular fake ghost hunters.”
“They have a psychic on their team who does good work.”
“How would you know?” At that her gaze pulled down, playing with the edge of her cup as Jason stared blankly at her.
“One of them was a student a while ago. She helped with a paper–”
“On sheet ghosts?”
“–on the subject of historical architecture and how it functions in modern society,” she said, raising her voice to be heard over Jason’s sarcasm. He shoved the card in his pocket, leveling her with a look.
“I’m not going to the house to contact some spirits.”
“No you’re just going to wallow in the past and get drunk,” she snapped and quiet fell over their table.
“Well. Think this is enough arguing for me,” he said and started to stand, the legs of the chairs screeching painfully against the sticky tile as though screaming at him in the way she wouldn’t. Barbara sighed as he started to stand, reaching for his wrist and catching it though he tried to evade.
“Jason–”
“Just keep an eye on the brat for me. I’ll get him next Monday when I have this whole fucking thing figured out.” He pulled his wrist free again and made his way from the diner, thankful he’d already settled his bill though remembering only once he got outside that he forgot his leftovers. Briefly the thought to go back in and grab them crossed his mind before he dismissed it, tugging the leather of his jacket closer to his body and hoping those dark clouds would wait until he got to the house to try and drown him.
Halfway to the house his phone started chiming from his pocket, an obnoxious noise he only reserved for people he cared about ringing through the car as he fumbled for it.
“You there yet,” his best friend and confidant Roy called soon as Jason had clicked the accept button.
“Depends why you’re asking,” he growled back, the beginnings of rain starting to splash across his windshield as the car rolled faster down the highway hoping no cops were around to see him racing the rain.
“Obviously to see if it’s on fire yet.” It managed to get a laugh from his tired body, shoulders shaking heavily against the seat as he turned onto the secluded road he knew would lead to his destination.
“Matches ain’t coming in till next Friday,” he said, deciding to play along with the others game and receiving a mournful sigh that echoed around the car along with the distant noise of a child’s laughter.
“Bummer,” was all Roy said before the squealing got closer and he heard Roy duck away calling for Lian not to break anything on purpose before his voice started besides the phone again.
“Hey, take a picture of it going down while you can. It’ll be good for the Christmas card.”
“Of course. You and Kori’ll take the front page and open it up to see me standing in front of a burning house. Your family’ll love that.”
“You know they will.” He smiled, eyes watching as the road twisted all around him and the rain became heavier and heavier until it was making the road difficult to see. Had he never been here he might’ve gotten lost along the way.
Jason knew these roads though, knew them better than himself. He could trek up to the house in complete darkness and with no directions if need be. Fortunately it wasn’t completely dark and he still had his headlights to see what was left of the road as the hill climbed further and further upwards.
“How’d the dinner with family go.” Jason grunted, never more thankful for trading his bike in than when the rain worsened and he couldn’t see for a moment.
“That bad huh.” He hesitated, looking at the phone for a moment as though Roy could see him as he felt the weight of that tiny card in his pocket. He could say nothing to Roy but it wouldn’t do any good. Besides, a second voice telling him this was a bad idea couldn’t hurt anyone.
“She gave me a card for some psychics.” It was quiet for half a second before he heard Roy laughing on the other end. That’s all he heard though as the house suddenly became illuminated by his headlights.
Wayne manor stood in its full glory without a single light in the window, something he still couldn’t wrap his head around seeing. There was always a light on, at least there used to be. Bruce, ever the night owl, would leave his study light on for all of Gotham to see atop the hill shinning out at them wasting more energy than needed as he passed out at his desk.
Even when he remembered to turn that light off, Dick tended to leave the entrance light on as he practiced his ability to flip off the banister much to Jason’s horror when that meant most of the time he’d be walking in and Dick would just drop from the ceiling after eavesdropping on him.
“Hello? Helloooo?”
Blinking away from it Jason realized he’d been staring into nothing, the car stopped and Roy apparently having said something Jason had ignored. Cussing loudly he fumbled for the phone, hands shaking as Roy laughed from the other end.
“My voice lull you to sleep or something man.”
“No I just uh…what were you saying?”
“I asked who it was so I could look em up and give you reviews.”
“I can look them up myself,” he grumbled, pulling up the through the driveway and pressing the garage key hoping the batteries still worked. Thankfully they did.
“With the WiFi up there? Doubt it. Come on what are they.”
“Uh,” he trailed off, digging around in his pocket as he moved the car slowly into the dry area and stopped. “Mystic bat brigade,” he read out, regretting having even spoken the words with how ridiculous he felt.
“Oh I know them,” Roy called excitedly and Jason blinked, letting the car turn off as silence filled the space the engine roar had been.
“What.”
“Yeah, Lian loves them. They’re pretty legit man, she steered you right.” Lips twitching downwards, he started to climb from the car while shaking his head.
“Doesn’t matter what they are. Ghosts aren’t real.”
“Says the alien fanatic.”
“Why’s everyone keep bringing that up?”
“Because it’s contradictory,” his voice crackled through the speaker, the WiFi of the manor already working its magic to keep Jason from having a normal conversation.
“You gonna contact them?”
“What’s there to contact them over,” he called as he pulled his duffel free from the back and looped the heavy bag over his shoulder along with the grocery’s he could buy without going sour while he was in the diner with Barbara.
“House isn’t haunted.” Roy snorted at him as Jason moved through the door, sparing a moment to watch the garage door swing shut and secure itself back into place before moving into the front entryway. Soon as the lights were on Jason’s eyes were pulled upwards past the stairs and banisters to the upper landing, almost expecting a bright grin to be pointed down at him playfully calling for Jason to spot him despite knowing Dick had never needed a spotter before.
When his eyes met nothing he drew a shaky breath, hands tightening on the several bags still on him and taking his eyes from the scene to where the house would eventually lead into a kitchen. He couldn’t help but thank his lucky stars for Barbara taking Damian for the week. Jason already felt like he was shaky in the knees, he couldn’t begin to imagine how it would feel for the kid after the near comatose state Jason had first found him in. He’d only recently started talking to Jason again, albeit in crude words. Which, now that he thought about it, probably means he’s closer to normal than ever.
“You okay?” He shook his head, stopping himself last second from telling Roy about his thoughts.
“Just got in,” he settled on instead.
“Ah, any spooks yet?”
“Hardly.” Roy laughed in his ear as Jason started towards the back space, planning on putting the grocery’s away before figuring out where he’ll spend the night. Before he could go further than a few feet his eyes flickered up once more and he froze as something bolted from the upper landing into the hallway.
“Jay? You good?”
“Think I’ll have to call you back,” he muttered bleakly.
“Wifi already failing?”
“Something like that. Tell kori I love her.”
“Will do. Don’t let anything possess you without your consent!” Dropping his phone into his pocket Jason left the bags where he’d been standing in the entranceway and started towards the stairs.
“Whoever’s up there better come out,” he yelled as his feet first hit the stairs, nothing but giggling echoing back at him. The voice echoed in his head like they were standing directly besides him, hand coming up to swat at air before realizing what he was doing and continuing up the stairs.
When nothing responded he cussed and crossed to the upper landing, peering down where he saw them running only to once more catch nothing more than a glimpse of their form bolting full speed away from him.
For a moment he froze, thinking how he had hovered at the bottom of the stairs for a time, how they should have been further away if they didn’t want to be caught. His hand briefly felt at the card in his pocket before he scoffed at his own actions.
Ghosts weren’t real, he reminded himself. All that talk about this place being haunted just had him on edge was all. He was too used to having someone with him and his mind was playing tricks on him because of it.
“I’m warning you.” Again nothing responded as he continued and followed to where the figure had disappeared to, watching as once more it ducked back into the maze that was this house.
“Stop running,” he asked like it did any good, speeding his pace up hoping to catch the kid before he could cross around the corner and failing as once more it was a mere glimpse of the kid that rounded ahead of him.
In the back of his mind the question struck Jason that they seemed to wait for him every time, like they didn’t want to be seen but certainly wanted to be followed. If that’s what they wanted then Jason would just have to give it to them.
Grounding his teeth together he grasped walls and doorframes to launch himself around corners and through doors.
“Hold it,” he shouted as the kid went into the one room Jason was hoping to avoid for a while now. His heart thudded with adrenaline and trepidation as he slowed his approach to the open doors. They were closed last week when he first walked through the house, he knew they were. Hell, he’d closed them himself. Those doors shouldn’t have been open unless someone was actually in the room.
Pushing it open he ignored the anxiety in his stomach that left him staring into Bruce’s study, perfect and in place as he’d left it. There was a single light on the desk illumination the room in dim light that did nothing to help the long shadows against the wall.
That light hadn’t been on when he’d pulled up, he knew it wasn’t. If he was trying to hide from someone he wouldn’t turn on a light. He wouldn’t have run upstairs in the first place.
“I’m not gonna hurt you,” he called into the seemingly empty room, a small squeaking noise drawing his eyes towards the balcony doors where they swung outwards in the rain. Movement drew his eyes further outside to a figure sitting atop the railing dangerously teetering forwards and backwards with the rain pelting their form into becoming blurred.
“Hey hey! Get down from there.”
Moving as carefully as he could he ducked around the desk and slipped outside, hit upside the head at once by the feeling of wrong and the rain pelting at his face and clothes.
The figure didn’t react as though it heard Jason, though he should have, facing him with a cocky grin that could only belong on a child’s face.
“You need to get down from there. It’s not safe.”
The kid, as that’s what it had to be, looked up at Jason and its grin stretched wider, giggles falling from his lips as he leaned forwards and backwards rocking in motion again. Jason took a step further out onto the balcony, hands held out towards the kid as fear started to creep into his movements.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He took another step. The boy stopped swinging.
“I promise. I just want to get you down.” He took another step, going closer and closer to the kid who suddenly stopped smiling and instead frowned at Jason.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” He felt like he was calming a wild animal, talking in the softest voice he could manage despite knowing his figure didn’t exactly cut the cute and cuddly vibe he wanted it too.
The kid was almost within reaching distance, Jason could almost touch him. Then he giggled again, a soft laughter that Jason couldn’t help but stop at, recognizing the voice echoing around his head from all angles.
“Wha…” he went to ask what he was, or at least tried to.
All that came out was the first vowel before the kid leaned all the way backwards, gracefully falling from the railing as a shout ripped itself from Jason’s throat.
Jason threw himself to the railing, hands grasping at empty air and staring in horror for where the kid would have fallen, only to see nothing. His hand fell limp along with his jaw as he stared at nothing, eyes bugged out of his head in a way that he was sure Damian would have laughed at him for had he been here, but there was nothing there. Not a body, not a giggle, just rain and mud.
That fear that had only just started to dissipate suddenly spiked through him again as he stared, watching as more rain fell to the empty ground.
There was a kid. He knew there was. He wasn’t insane. He’d never seen anything like that before and the house passed inspection, there was no natural gas up here. Yet he had still seen that kid.
Straightening up he looked across the grounds hoping he could see a figure running or crawling or anything that would tell him what had just happened was real. There was nothing there though and Jason was left soaked in the rain chasing a gh–chasing nothing.
Letting the railing go he shook his head, going to rub at his face when he heard the doors slam shut behind him. Whirling about he stared at the space, looking for who closed them and seeing nothing. No kid, no adult, nothing. The curtains didn’t even shift inside.
There was no breeze, nothing strong enough to slam them and yet it had just shut Jason out of his own home. Breathing in shakily he looked around the small landing he found himself somewhat trapped on and felt ridiculous even as he called out.
“Who’s there.” Unsurprisingly nothing answered and he scoffed at himself.
“Of course no one’s there. This is stupid–”
Hands pressed to his chest, cold and cruel as he was pushed backwards over the railing, barely leaving him any time to shout before he was forced to catch himself on the railing, begging nothing for the railing to hold.
It creaked dangerously under his weight but held steady under his fingers. Never had he been so thankful Dick had taught him about flipping over railings before. Jason could feel his eyes widen as he struggled to get in the air he needed to think clearly, pulling himself up to the landing where nothing stood to have pushed him.
“Uh,” he mumbled, hands clutching at the thin rail and feet clinging to the wrong side of the landing.
“Okay.”
That card suddenly felt less like a joke and more like a curse, especially when he found the balcony door was locked and he had very few things with him to pick it.
“Just great,” he sighed, slamming his head into the door, sky thundering about him as though to laugh at Jason’s pure misfortune.