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Gotham always felt a little chilly at night, its darkness alive; as if unspeakable horrors were hiding in the shadows, just waiting for the perfect time to strike. It was especially true for Crime Alley.
No one was safe here, no matter the time of day.
Especially not a young, homeless pup who hadn't even presented yet.
Jason cursed, heart hammering in his throat but hands steady on the tire iron. His movements were fast and precise despite never attempting such a feat before. He had to give credit where it was due; the stupid protection systems would probably have scared off any other street rat daring enough to steal from The Bat, the first tire he'd managed to snag nearly electrocuting Jason as soon as he'd even tried loosening the first nut.
But Jason wasn't just any street rat.
Shit like that didn't scare Jason. He'd nearly died in a scuffle at least three times this month, the bruises he'd gotten from that annoying shop owner he'd stolen from sitting uncomfortably beneath his ribs. And, if every criminal knew something about Batman, then it was that he was far too chickenshit to kill. Sure, he'd dangle you off a building or maybe leave you with like, half of your bones broken, but that was if he could catch you. And Jason had gotten pretty good at pulling this off unseen, his nose better than that of any other pup. He could definitely smell any hostile alpha approaching.
Besides, parking in Crime Alley was practically asking to get your shit stolen.
It just took a little effort; learning how to disable the protective systems. Every so often Jason's eyes would dart around the massive car, scanning for every movement in the shadows as he bodily twisted the tire iron on the last lug nut of the third wheel, darkness stretching. It wasn't until he felt the last wheel give that he'd let himself relax a little.
And it was then when he'd felt the small hairs on the back of his head stand up, a huge, looming shadow falling over him as his hands deathly gripped his only weapon. Jason's mouth immediately ran dry, and this time it wasn't because he last drank some shitty tap water from the local diner that had yet to throw him out.
He couldn't smell him.
He- How the fuck had he not smelled him-
Shit-shit-shit-shit-shit-
A string of curses running in his mind and blood running cold Jason turned, carefully hiding a tire iron behind his back with one hand, instinct guiding him to make it look non threatening.
Batman.
It was the fucking Batman.
Of course Jason's shitty luck would run out eventually. He could feel his body shaking with fear and adrenaline as his eyes went up, and up, and up, - a shadow of a man with glowing white eyes staring down at him, and for the first time since hearing about this man Jason was well and truly terrified.
And Batman was just…
Standing there.
Staring.
Why couldn't Jason smell him..?
Fear ran down Jason's spine.
It was eerie.
“I-I didn't do nothing!” He sputtered, pathetically, stepping back, as panic clouded his brain. But Jason refused to back down, refused to give into it completely, even if this man- this alpha could beat him into a bloody pulp. He knew Batman's reputation. He was ruthless, and no way was he going to just let some street rat get away with this. So Jason did the only thing he could do. He stared up, challengingly, from under his hood, hoping to God, - if it even existed, - that he could get out of this somehow.
Batman's head tilted, Jason’s knees trembling as he swallowed down a scared sound.
Slowly, a hand reached out, the dark, shadowy cape parting, and Jason moved before he could even think about what he was doing, fueled on by the need to survive , because this was his only chance, and he wouldn't survive a beating, not now when he'd barely healed from his last fight, and not from Batman.
Fuck the tires.
He had to run.
So he did.
The hit landed, managing to surprise Batman , - holy shit, - and Jason bolted, as fast as he could, pulse thrumming in his ears and deafening the pained grunt Batman let out.
He didn't even make it far.
Before he could reach the end of the alley a hand grabbed him by the back of his hoodie and yanked , lifting him in the air with no way to escape, Jason yelping and starting to kick out wildly in the air, none of his hits landing, and the only weapon he had plucked from his hands like a child's toy in mere seconds.
Fuck- Fuck- Fuck-!!
“Let me go!!!” Jason screamed.
A clank of the tire iron falling on the ground sounded as Jason was turned around, held much like a kitten by the scruff, blue eyes meeting the white soulless lenses again. Jason couldn't suppress a shudder that ran through his body, his struggles dying down, mind racing for any and all ways he could get out of this, and maybe, just maybe, Jason wouldn't be beaten half to death for this and he can crawl back to his cardboard bed somehow without bleeding out in an alley- He shut his eyes, clenching his teeth tightly, refusing to let out a pathetic sound trying to escape his throat, readying himself to be beaten.
For a moment, he couldn't even hear anything, clutching his teeth so tightly that his ears rang.
With gentle, deliberate movements he was lowered to the ground, his feet weak enough that a hand had to steady him for a moment.
He didn't even register it at first.
Slowly, clawed hands were taken off Jason, his ears picking up only the near quiet glide of fabric and some barely audible tap.
“What's your name?”
Jason flinched.
He was clutching his eyes so tightly they were starting to hurt, but no more movements came. Batman didn't touch him.
He…
Batman didn't touch him.
It was hard to believe, his heart still hammering in his chest, panic subsiding just a little.
Jason cracked one eye open.
Before him, Batman was crouching down on one knee, clearly trying to appear less threatening, his long, inky black cape bunching up around him. He looked like a shadow had come to life, only a pale, sharp chin visible under the mask. And his voice seemed… raw . It wasn't the scary, inhuman rasp people had described, nor the cry of a nightstalking monster. It was a pleasant, low rumble, something soothing in Jason despite himself after hearing it.
For some reason, it reminded Jason of the way his mother used to speak to him, the boy flinching again at the memory.
His already wet from the fear eyes prickled with a new onslaught of tears.
Jason blinked rapidly, turning his head away and sniffing to cover for it. He didn't even notice when his own hands had fisted into the hem of his worn hoodie, and he slowly pried his fingers off it, Batman still patiently waiting for an answer.
“Jason. Jason Todd.”
It's not like the alpha couldn't learn this himself, anyway.
Even if Jason was a criminal he had once… He had once also admired the stories about Batman. When he was a kid. He knew that Gotham's Dark Knight was supposed to be the world's greatest detective or whatever.
“Where are your parents, Jason?” Batman rumbled, still in that same, soothing tone of his, Jason's fingers clutching on the hem of his shirt tightly again, in spite of his own volition.
Jason hated that he wanted to answer. He hated the way it- This made him feel, because why was Batman even doing this?
Jason just- Jason just hit him!
And he… He stole his tires.
This must have been some sort of trick or some shit.
“What do you care?” He bit out, a pang of fear going through him at talking like that to a man that could so easily overpower him, that did just so easily overpower him, the inability to smell the other still keeping him on edge.
It was like Batman was an actual shadow.
Maybe he really was a cryptid.
Jason couldn't at all tell what the point of this shitty talk was or what the other was feeling. And he knew without a doubt that his own traitorous scent was definitely giving all of what he himself was feeling away, the fear and the anger mixing into the milky, unpresented pup’s scent.
His eyes found the white lenses again, nearly level with him now that Batman was crouching and… It… It was actually a little comforting.
Batman quietly waited, no signs of aggression in his posture.
It was a bizarre sight.
Fine. Whatever. If he wanted his answers, he could get them.
“My father's probably drunk off his ass somewhere. Or in jail. Don't know. Haven't seen him in months.”
“And your mother?”
Jason's mouth twisted.
“Dead.”
Batman's face did not change. Not that Jason could tell with the stupid mask. Slowly, Batman rose to his full height, Jason trying and failing to not feel intimidated. There was a growl catching in his throat that he'd had to suppress.
“Do you…”
“I'm not going to an orphanage!” Jason snarled, stepping away and backing himself up into a wall. His heart was hammering in his chest again, the sheer idea making anxiety churn in his gut.
“I'll - I'll tell you where your stupid tires are, okay? Even put them back for you - Just- Just leave me alone!”
He knew he must have made a pathetic sight, but it was far too late, anyhow. He was not going to get fucking trafficed or beat by a foster family or other orphanage kids. He would probably land in jail, anyway, the first lesson that he'd learned when he tried getting help for his sick mom being that street trash would always remain street trash.
No one would fucking help Jason.
He knew perfectly well where kids like him ended up.
Batman didn't speak for a while, his still figure making Jason antsy.
But then, startlingly, his next words came out almost soft.
“Are you hungry?”
And, despite himself, Jason hesitated.
The mere idea of food made his mouth water and he- He didn't actually remember when he'd last gotten to eat something, stomach seizing painfully with the realisation.
And it seemed like Batman understood that. The man's eyes left Jason, but the boy could still feel the chilling weight of his attention. It was obvious what he was looking for.
“They're under the trash...” Jason mumbled, through gritted teeth, something in him screaming that this was his haul, but if Batman was letting him off easy then- Then at least he'd probably make it another day. Batman slowly turned back to him, his gloved hand hesitating before reaching over, Jason barely suppressing another flinch as it got close to his shoulder before slipping back under the dark cape, never connecting.
“Wait here.”
Another soothing rumble came, making Jason shiver.
Jason didn't know what compelled him to comply. He didn't know what compelled him to watch Batman quietly and efficiently put back the tires either, but he just told himself that Batman could easily force him to wait if Jason didn't.
And when Batman had quietly opened the Batmobile’s door, Jason didn't know what compelled him to enter, either, the cloying fear ever present, telling him of just how stupid he was for getting into a stranger's car, and that this is how people got shanked, but as Batman was gently buckling him in, careful not to actually touch Jason, he could feel his chest seizing with something else, a small spark of something that Jason hadn't felt in literal years making his hands tighten in his hoodie pocket. The tire iron Batman retrieved for him rested idly in his lap, a small reassurance.
And when Batman left, for just a moment, the Batmobile's door open so that Jason could see light pouring from the backdoor of some food place, the silhouettes of Batman and some other man quietly talking before the man had disappeared for a few minutes before reappearing with some bags, Jason didn't even think about escaping.
Soon, he was stuffing his face full of some burgers in the car, carefully hiding his teary eyes under his hoodie, consuming everything like a ravenous little animal, Batman sitting quietly and watchfully beside him.
He didn't say anything when Jason finished all the food, the two of them just sitting there, Jason staring quietly at an empty paper bag in his lap, stuffed with only a few cardboard boxes and dirtied napkins.
“No cops.”
Jason said, throwing a careful little glance at Batman.
His mind was still screaming at him to not trust the scentless alpha, but some other, deeper part of him had already relaxed, a tiredness settling deep in his bones, the need to rest, actually rest, and stop fretting over his meager little life constantly winning over his fear.
“No cops.”
Batman confirmed, quietly, his husky voice making Jason's limbs feel heavier.
“And no.. Child protective services.”
Jason said again, as gruffly as he could.
“Okay.”
Batman agreed, easily, his white, eery lenses carefully trained on Jason.
Somehow…
Somehow they didn't seem as scary anymore.
Jason sniffed.
“Take me back.”
It wasn't long before Jason found himself nodding off in the Batmobile, something childish in him marvelling at the cool car and all the numerous buttons and screens, stomach finally full after a few days of going completely without food. He felt a little dizzy, even. And he'd missed the questioning sound of his name and the car slowing, body inexplicably relaxing in the presence of the unfamiliar alpha despite every common sense he had still had.
Jason didn't see as the Batmobile veered off course, passing by Crime Alley, Batman's hands tightening on the wheel.
He woke up as strong hands gently lifted him out of the car. It didn't even register, at first; Jason had just been so tired. But then, as the memories came rushing back, he felt a familiar jolt of fear, Batman bringing him to a cave, his cave , and why would an alpha even bring a random pup to his lair-
“Let go of me!!!” Jason screamed, bucking as the lying bastard shifted him to be under his arm, ignoring his struggles and only grunting when a particularly hard kick landed.
“You said you wouldn't!- ” Jason cried, enraged.
“This is a kidnapping! You fucking liar- You kidnapping liar!!!”
As they ascended the stairs, Jason could smell another person, barely registering it in his fury and panic, an old man beta standing there, with a tray under his hand, his fancy, layered suit probably pricey as hell and matching all the rest of the expensive looking equipment.
Jason was starting to get really pissed off, growling and kicking with all his might, the feeling of betrayal winning over the fear, because how could Batman, how could he promise not to take him to cps, not to throw him and jail, how could he feed Jason, only to-
The old man standing a few ways away sighed, saying: “I'll prepare a room, Master Bruce”, his soft camomile and sandalwood scent permeated with quiet disapproval before he turned on his heel and left.
And - Ha! - Jason knew Batman's name now and if he ever got out of this alive he was going to march straight up to Two Face and- And Batman was putting him down, lightly, grunting at Jason's expert jab in the stomach, right over the place where the tire iron had landed earlier and hand immediately reaching for his cowl and-
Jason didn't even manage to scramble away, because he knew this face, and it was Bruce Wayne, - holy shit, Batman was Bruce Wayne, and he…
He almost didn't recognize the face that stared at him from the tv screens in shops he was trying to steal from, his hair sweaty and pupils dilated, dark circles under his eyes and the barest hint of a stubble on his face now that the alpha wasn't dressed up for the cameras. The scent patch from his gland was carelessly thrown on the floor.
Jason's eyes widened.
Heat.
He was in-
None of this made sense.
Jason was frozen there, Batm- Bruce Wayne awkwardly shuffling on his feet, his scent saying ‘ protect, protect, protect pup-’ and…
Jason sniffled.
Then he sniffled again.
The scent of omega parent that he hadn't smelled in more than a few years, now, and Batma- Bruce smelled tentative, and like he'd wanted to take care Jason and oh god he was an omega and-
Jason furiously wiped at his eyes, Bruce Wayne carefully stepping closer. Then, the man kneeled, just like he did back in Crime Alley, looking at him with concern and hesitation, and there was the offering of a parental link, a pack link Jason wanted to respond to, and why was he even out as Batman?.. Weren't omegas vulnerable during heats..? Why wasn't he in his nest, like- like Jason's mom had been when she had her heats and- and- And the tabloids definitely lied about Bruce Wayne being an alpha.
There were too many thoughts, questions swirling in Jason's head as the most comfortable, warm scent with the hints of rain covered him, and it smelled like-
It smelled like home and-
“Jason…”
The boy threw himself at him.
He cried.
He cried, and it only turned even harder when a pair of warm arms enveloped him, and Jason didn't even know what the hell he was doing but he was nuzzling into the omega's neck, wetting the heavy fabric of his cape and he couldn't stop crying. He just couldn't.
“Shh.” A hand ran through his hair, the Bruce's scent practically screaming ‘my pup, my pup now, safe.’ “You're okay now. You're going to be okay, Jason.”
You're safe.
It was as if the dam had broken.
Jason must have been mumbling, must have been getting all of his gross tears and snot on the suit, but Bruce still held him through it all, carefully lifting Jason up and relocating the two of them to a big, comfortable chair at some point, Jason's mind a little hazy from all the crying, but still registering it as good enough of a nest.
He couldn't stop crying.
And he knew he must have balled his eyes out for hours, because the other man with a nice, unobtrusive scent came back, before going away for a bit again and returning with a blanket, Bruce carefully bundling them in it after the boy's hesitant nod.
And he finally…
Wasn't alone anymore.
Later, much later, when he'd finally gotten used to the Manor, to Alfie, when Bruce had properly adopted him, and when he'd met his elusive and rebellious but cool older sort-of-not-really brother, Jason would bully his way into the Robin suit.
Jason just knew that he wanted to protect Bruce and his small, fragile new family. The man had clearly not known what was good for him, he was so smart to the point of being a little dumb, because, seriously; who goes out to fight criminals during heat? And Bruce never even made a nest, and Jason would always have to bully him into laying down with him during his heats, and he wasn't even sure if Bruce knew how to make a proper nest, but it was okay now, because Jason was there, and Jason could protect Bruce and his not-really-a-secret from the many rogues of Gotham and everyone else.