Chapter Text
Bruce Wayne is perhaps the weirdest person that Jason has ever met.
Six months ago, he found Jason trying to steal the tires off of his Batmobile whilst it was parked, and politely asked Jason to put them back on. Instead of complying, Jason had whacked the tire iron in the esteemed Batman’s face and ran back off to his shitty apartment to have a smoke - perks of having dead drug addicts as parents, he supposes.
Unfortunately, or fortunately , depending on the perspective, Bruce tracked Jason down, flicked the cigarette out of his fingers and whisked him away into the crime-fighting world, and practically kidnapped him into being his child.
Bruce would probably retell that story a lot differently, but Jason is certain that his version is more accurate.
That brings Jason to the present: he is standing in the corner of one of Bruce’s charity galas and surveying the stuffy rich people with distaste. Dick - and that name made Jason snicker a lot when he first met him - has been assigned to watch over him, whilst Bruce socialises, because apparently a twelve year-old can not be trusted to be left alone in a room full of people who will donate more money in a single night than Jason’s father and dead stepmother would have seen in ten lifetimes.
Jason likes his new family, although he had been awkward around them at first. Alfred is always kind to him, he cooks for Jason whatever he would like to eat (as long as it is not too unhealthy). Alfred had also made him promise to never smoke again, and Jason had upheld that, because he respects the old butler too much. He didn’t even like smoking - he just did it because everyone else around him did.
On long afternoons during the weekends, Alfred reads poetry and other forms of literature aloud to Jason - it is perhaps Jason’s favourite part of the day. As they have gotten to know each other longer, sometimes Jason will read aloud to Alfred and then they will discuss their opinions and analyse possible interpretations of the texts.
Occasionally, Bruce will come in and listen to Jason read when he is free, and he will silently nod along to whatever Alfred and Jason discuss, refraining from adding his own input. Bruce’s presence always makes Jason nervous: it is different to when they are out every night together as Batman and Robin. As Robin, Jason can fight, he can show his brawn, he can be fearless the way that Bruce likes. When Jason can not hide behind the mask, he finds himself wondering if Bruce likes who he truly is, or if he only values him for his fighting ability.
His relationship with Dick is an odd one, his supposed older brother (Bruce wants them to think of each other as siblings and Jason rolled his eyes at first, but he is always secretly pleased when Dick nudges him with a roll of his eyes to commiserate over something Bruce or Alfred have told told them to do). Dick is nineteen years-old, and he no longer lives at Wayne Manor. He tends to visit home whenever Bruce is not around, mainly to visit Alfred. He always greets Jason cheerfully whenever their paths coincide, but Jason does not delude himself into thinking that Dick is there to specially visit him.
Jason does not know the reason behind Bruce and Dick’s strained relationship, and why they exchange so few words. Whenever Bruce talks about Dick to anyone, it is like his entire face lights up, like he has never been more proud of anyone before (Jason always has to push down a faint prickle of jealousy at that).
Don’t get him wrong - Jason admires Dick, respects him, but he envies him too. After all, Dick was the first Robin, years before he became Nightwing, years before Jason came along. In Jason’s eyes, Dick is the favourite son, the shining example he can never live up to.
But he was the only other soul on Earth who knew what it was like to be Batman’s partner, to go out with him every night and face the unimaginable. Jason had trained extensively with Nightwing, prior to officially taking up the mantle of Robin, and this training is still ongoing.
Dick nudges Jason by the elbow as he stands with his hands in his pockets and slouches against the wall of the gigantic venue where the charity gala is being hosted tonight. “You could look happier about being here, you know?”
Jason slouches even more and Dick laughs loudly, a carefree sound that always attracts the attention of everyone who hears it. Dick is so tall and dark-haired and almost a carbon copy of Bruce with his chiselled jawline. He always gets mistaken for being biologically related to Bruce.
On the other hand, Jason is short for his twelve years of age from years of malnutrition and his skin is pale, compared to Dick’s perfect golden complexion. They both have blue eyes and dark hair but Dick’s slightly longer hair makes him look windswept and handsome, whereas Jason has also been trying to grow out his hair slightly but it just looks messy and unkempt.
Jason loves when they get mistaken for brothers, when people actually think the two of them look so alike, but he always pretends to whine and grumble about it. Going from being an only child to having an older brother is perhaps the favourite part about his new life.
Dick is tapping his shoe on the ground and looking around, and Jason immediately feels guilty. “You don’t have to babysit me,” he mumbles. “I’m not a kid.”
“I’m not babysitting you – I’m hanging out with my favourite brother.” Dick wraps an arm around Jason’s neck and practically wraps him in a headlock, messing Jason’s hair up that he had meticulously gelled and combed back.
“Ger’off!” Jason shoves him away, and Dick laughs again. He is always laughing about everything, like life is one big cosmic joke to him. Once Jason has rearranged his hair, he adds as an afterthought, “Unfortunately for me, I’m your only brother.”
“That we know of,” Dick winks, gesturing to Bruce across the hall and shrugging in a “what can you do” gesture.
Jason scrunches his nose up at the insinuation. “That’s disgusting.”
“Don’t shoot the messenger.” Dick goes back to tapping his feet again, and it is making Jason feel restless too. “Why don’t you ever talk to anyone at these things?” Dick looks like he wants to be doing exactly that, from the looks he is getting from a pretty blonde across the room.
“Everyone here is above the age of fifty,” Jason answers flatly, and maybe he is exaggerating again slightly.
“That is so not true, and I’m offended you would even think so.” Dick shakes his head. “I still have thirty good years left in me!”
Jason shoots him a sceptical look that he knows will get under Bruce’s golden boy’s skin. “Sure.”
Dick huffs, his eyes scanning the room for someone. Jason really hopes that he isn’t going to be dragged into a conversation with one of Dick’s friends, or he is going to hide out on the balcony until this dreadful event ends. He tugs at his collar slightly, and Dick slaps his hand away, almost absentmindedly. Jason glares at him. “Ow.” Jason kicks Dick in the shin, and he yelps. “Who are you looking for anyway?”
Even as Dick exaggeratedly hops on one leg, a mischievous glint surfaces in his blue eyes. “I’m trying to find you a friend.”
“What.”
“Come on!” Dick starts walking and Jason changes his mind about wanting to be left alone by his brother, so he reluctantly follows along. They head out into the foyer, where a bunch of kids are running around and some of the older kids are chatting and laughing. Jason immediately wrinkles his nose at the large group of kids all congregating together. Jason prefers smaller, tight-knit circles and he has very few friends at school too. He does not hang out with any of them during breaks and lunch.
Dick seems to notice Jason’s aversion to the large group of children, and he switches tactics, heading to a small girl who is sitting alone on the steps. She is wearing a frilly pink dress and she has long light brown curls that trail down her back. If Jason looks shorter than his age, then her case is a lot worse and she seems distraught sitting on those steps and looking down at the ground.
“Grayson, don’t even think about it - she looks like she’s eight years old!” Jason hisses to Dick, quietly so the girl can not hear him from this distance. Jason may be insensitive at times, but he is not a complete dick - that’s all his brother.
“Hey,” Dick greets softly, sitting down on the steps next to her and Jason has no choice but to hover awkwardly beside them because if he sits down with them, he will be blocking the stairway and his suit might get dirty and then Alfred will be disappointed. “You alright?”
The girl looks up at their approach and her big green eyes are shining with tears. She hums in response, the sound high-pitched and not at all believable. “Mhm!”
“Are you sure?” Dick asks, and Jason wants to drag him away by the arm and simultaneously smack him for making him come here in the first place. “Do you want me to find your parents or-”
“Haven’t got any,” the girl mumbles, her cheek resting against her knee as she faces Dick, who is sitting a couple inches away from her. Her accent is British, like Alfred’s, and it should not surprise Jason to hear it at this gala, considering people come here from all over the world. Rich people, he scoffs inwardly.
It has still not occurred to him fully that the Wayne associated with his name officially makes him one of them.
“Oh.” Dick seems like he is sincerely regretting coming over here now, before he suddenly perks up, remembering that they are orphans too. “Neither do we!” Bruce would not be pleased to hear that. “I’m Dick!”
The girl’s pale cheeks turn pink at the name, and she sits up slightly, looking between Jason who is standing in front of them and Dick sitting next to her. She fiddles with the ruffles of her dress. “Uhm, I’m Hattie. Not Harriet.” She tells them the last part very seriously, and Jason is almost certain that Hattie is abbreviated for Harriet.
Dick turns to Jason expectantly, and he grudgingly introduces himself. “I’m Jason, not-Harriet.” Dick looks at him warningly, silently instructing him not to be mean.
The girl smiles at Jason shyly, and he is not sure if he returns it, or if it comes across as more of a grimace.
“So…” Jason really wishes that Dick would stop talking. “How old are you, Hattie?”
Hattie keeps fidgeting with her dress and Jason wishes that Dick would slap her hand away, but that would be a little weird to do to a child he’s just met. “My Aunty said I’m not allowed to talk to grown-ups that I don’t know.”
Dick looks around, genuinely perplexed. “I don’t see any grown-ups around here.”
Hattie giggles at that, covering her mouth. “You’re the grown-up, silly!”
“Me?” Dick gasps theatrically, placing a hand on his chest. Jason finally realised this was all a ruse to cheer up the girl. “I’m not a grown up! Why does everyone keep thinking I’m old?”
Hattie giggles again, before finally answering, “I’m eleven.”
“That’s great!” Dick claps his hands together excitedly and Hattie flinches, before quickly masking it. Jason’s eyes narrow on her, specifically on the large bruise on her forearm. Dick seems to notice it too, but Hattie seems embarrassed by her action so he graciously says nothing of it. Just yet. “Jason’s twelve! You guys can be friends!”
There is a hopeful look as she glances towards Jason.
He has never tried to make a friend at one of these events before. If this goes terribly, at least he will have an excuse to fire back at Dick or Bruce the next time they try to get him to socialise.
So he nods.
“Perfect!” Dick is grinning proudly at Jason, like he does whenever Jason masters a new martial arts skill and Jason tries not to revel in it too much. “I’m just going to head back inside - have fun but don’t leave the venue, OK? And no talking to any real strangers.” Dick ruffles Jason’s hair again as he leaves and Jason scowls as he watches him retreat. He is going to get Dick back for that one.
He turns back and the girl is still watching him with those big green doe eyes. “Wanna go up on the rooftop?” he offers. He knows that this venue has an awesome rooftop balcony, because he had witnessed Alfred oversee the planning of this entire event.
Hattie shifts in her seat upon the step. “...I thought we’re not allowed to leave?”
Jason grins. “Technically, we wouldn’t be leaving. We’d still be at the venue - just on top of it. But we don’t have to if you’re scared.”
A frown forms on her face and Jason would never say it aloud, but she kind of looks adorable. He quickly pushes that thought down, because he is a boy and she is a girl and boys only think that about girls that they like -like, which is still absolutely gross to him. She gathers her poofy pink dress around her to stand up, tossing some of her long curls back. “I’m not scared of anything.”
Once they arrive at the dimly lit, cosy rooftop, she stares at the black sky in confusion. The area is mostly secluded, save for a couple making out in the corner, whom Jason stares at in disgust before looking away. Why did people feel the need to dry-hump their partner in public? He notices that Hattie has still not taken a seat at the bench with him. “Hattie?”
She turns to him quickly, his voice pulling her out of her reverie. Hattie plops herself down on the plush bench next to him, and personal space must be a foreign concept to her because there is barely an inch between them. She sits cross-legged and facing him, whilst Jason sits on the bench like a normal person. “Sorry, I got distracted. The sky is weird here compared to at home.”
Jason frowns in bewilderment, having never been anywhere but Gotham City before. “What do you mean?” He turns his head to face her.
“At home, there are so, so many stars in the sky,” she tells him animatedly, “My Uncle Sirius knows all their names too - everyone in his family is named after a star! How come there aren’t any stars in the sky here?” She tilts her head, like he might know the answer.
Jason is smart when it comes to literature, but he must admit that his astronomy knowledge is slightly lacking. He focuses on the first part of her statement. “Is this your first time in Gotham then?”
“Nope.” She shakes her head, and her long curls bounce too. “I’ve lived here for more than a year since…” She goes silent .
Jason feels the need to fill the silence, his curiosity getting the better of him as always, but he does not press in the direction where she clearly does not want to go. “How come you didn’t notice earlier that there aren’t any stars here?”
“I don’t go outside when it’s dark. And there aren’t any windows in my cu- er, bedroom.”
“Oh.” Jason can empathise with that: he didn’t used to have a window in his old bedroom either and he knows all about the unsafe conditions in Gotham at any time of day, let alone the night.
“So what school do you go to?”
Jason is nearly sent off-kilter by the change in subject. “Gotham City Middle School.”
“Really?” Hattie perks up. “I go there as well! I’ve never even seen you there before!”
“Well, I’m in the grade above you, aren’t I?”
“Oh yeah… Do you wanna maybe–” Hattie is watching him closely, and he grows uncomfortable with the scrutiny, pulling the sleeves of his suit down– “sit together at lunch?”
Oh. Nobody has ever asked Jason that before. Not when he was the son of a druggie convict, and not now that he is the adoptive son of a billionaire. “Sure,” slips past his lips before he can stop it. Usually, he just sits by himself on the field, eating the lunch that Alfred pre-packs for him.
“Brilliant!” she beams, and it is the biggest smile that Jason has ever seen on a person, and he knows Dick Grayson.
She has to leave a little while after that - saying something about going home with an aunt and uncle who are probably waiting for her downstairs - and he watches her skip away from him in that ridiculous pink dress that practically dwarfs her.
Forget everything he said earlier: Not-Harriet is the weirdest person that Jason has ever met.