Chapter Text
Wayne Manor, Gotham City
August 14, 2012
6:21 PM
His brother had been staying with them for a few days now, and personally, Jason was treasuring every moment like his life depended on it.
Thinking you lost your older brother for 7 years and going through your own crazy amount of trauma does that to you, he supposed. Still, just because he was enjoying their time together doesn’t mean he wasn’t busy as Red Hood.
Crime in Gotham didn’t rest for anybody- no matter how much they wanted it to.
He’d been patrolling his usual places in Crime Alley, and it seemed like everyone in Gotham was there, trying to make his life harder. Once, he’d been dealing with a mugger, and after beating the daylight savings out of him, he looked down the street and noticed his buddy there, pissing his pants.
Jason didn’t even bother chasing him.
Every patrol got longer and longer, and each time he had to slip away from his time with Percy earlier and earlier.
It was killing him. He was getting reckless during shifts, too. Swinging harder, missing details that cost him even more time, letting the hours pass by and time blur around him. He began to dread putting on his stupid mask every night. He threw it in the trashcan, and then had to grab it because he had a shift in 10 minutes.
Perce seemed to notice he was busy- he had a knack for knowing Jason was stressed or unfocused before he could even say anything (another reason why he was his favorite brother; he didn’t ask questions).
Each time, whenever he had to leave extra early or not be able to make it to dinner, he dreaded the look of sadness and silent disappointment on his older brother’s face, dreaded feeling like he’d let down his hero. But every time, the man looked at him with a fond, understanding smile, and said, “It’s okay, Jay. Go.” It made him nearly cry with relief.
His other siblings were more used to his disappearances. They knew he was Red Hood, knew he was a vigilante just like them, and at some point, they stopped asking where he was going as he slipped out of the front door or during ‘forced’ family-bonding dinners. Never imploring, just…used to his habits by now.
That never stopped the slight sting he felt whenever they moved on without him.
Percy wasn’t like them, though.
His brother was so much more different than the typical Wayne family he found himself dealing with. Jason wasn’t sure if he knew his identity, or the real reason why he was slipping away from the manor so often, but he suspected that he at least knew he was a vigilante.
He was never okay with it- Bruce raising them to be ‘heroes’. It was something that always bothered him, and why he so strongly refused to take the mantle of Robin. The only times he ever patrolled with Bruce was when either Dick or Jason couldn’t make it for some reason.
Even then, he got the job done quickly and stealthily. More than once, he heard Percy and the old bat arguing about the younger two’s roles as vigilantes. One time, their fight escalated so badly that Perce refused to speak to Bruce for a week. The Bat had been extra moody on patrols, rarely letting Jason or Dick go with him.
His older brother was more important to their family than he thought.
Yesterday, when Cass and Babs came to visit…he still shuddered at how loud the red-haired woman had yelled when she found out they’d all known he was there. Safe and alive after 7 years away from them. She’d hugged him tightly, before punching his arm hard enough to leave a bruise the next day, and Cass had sent him a look of very strong disapproval before holding his hand tightly- something she rarely did for any of them.
Was he a little jealous that Perce had spent the whole day with them, not being able to talk, be near, or hug him once?
No.
Not at all.
,,,
Anyways, his point was, all this crime and responsibility was piling up on him, and while he would never, EVER admit it… he wanted his brother. Wanted to be around him more often, make him laugh. Wanted Percy to hold him, make him feel safe. Wanted him to reassure him he wasn’t leaving, because he wasn’t leaving.
He was staying with them for a lot longer. Jason would make sure of it.
Was he being clingy? Maybe. But still, being a vigilante was not fun, nor was it easy, and all his time out at night was making him extra grumpy. He couldn’t even be in the same room as ‘B’ anymore, or he might shoot him after he claims his sour expression is ‘throwing off the rest of the family’ for the eightieth time.
There’d been multiple close calls.
So, currently, he found himself trudging to Percy’s old room, where his brother had been staying, and knocked a bit roughly on the dark oak door. His older brother opened the door, and, noticing no one else inside (Tim especially had been staying with Perce for hours in his room recently, talking about who knows what), quickly stepped in.
Percy seemed a little surprised, before shutting the door and looking at Jason with a smirk.
“Great to see you too. Yes, I’m fine, thanks for asking.” he sarcastically began.
He blushed slightly at how he’d basically barged in, but he needed to talk to Perce. For important reasons, of course.
“Sorry, but this is important. I…”
The words were stuck in his throat. ‘Perce, patrols are becoming unbearably lonely, even for me, and I want you to come with me?’ ‘I miss you, please hang out with me more?’ Yeah, no.
“Relax, Jay. What’s up?” Perce lightly said. For a moment, everything went back to normal.
“Look, you know how I was Robin? Back when Dick-Wing and I used to patrol with ‘B’?” the other man, though faintly amused at the nickname, nodded, “Well, I’m still a vigilante, just…not Robin.”
Percy seemed to take the information in for half a second, and then said-
“Red Hood, right?”
He froze.
Well that cleared things up.
“You knew?”
“Jason. You live in Crime Alley, right where Hood’s territory is,” he blushed slightly, “ You’re very well equipped with and know your guns, just like Hood. You act all tough and scary to the average person, but when you meet someone who appears even the slightest bit kind, you melt like a popsicle in Cabin 9,” he blushed even harder,” And, if that didn’t already convince me, you always use the same excuse of ‘I have to work late tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow’, before slipping out of the house at 7:00, sharp, right when people say Hood appears.”
Damn. He’d thought it’d be a little harder for Percy to figure out his identity- maybe even mix him up with Nightwing, but realizing his identity based on a few parts of his day-to-day lifestyle and habits? Now that was diabolical.
“I-you-wha” he spluttered, dignity long gone.
His brother began to laugh at his embarrassed expression, before choosing to take mercy on him.
“You should-” he chuckled out, “You should see your face right now. Oh, haha, no, that-that wasn’t how I figured out your identity. Tim told me the day after I got back.”
Traitor.
“Stupid ‘Replacement’. Should’ve known he’d spill everything to you.” he grumbled (no, he was not pouting!).
Perce’s smile grew at his (not) pouting, before waiting for him to continue.
“It’s just- Crime Alley pretty much hosts Gotham’s crime, y’know? And, lately, I’ve been biting off a little more than I can chew as Red Hood. I’ve been out there until morning now, at least until 8-” his brother frowned at that, unhappy about his growing lack of sleep, “and well, I was wondering, since you’re older and have…experience, if you’d want to patrol with me?”
The last part was more of a whisper, but before Percy could say no, he hurriedly began to explain himself.
“You don’t even have to do much! Maybe hang around a bit,”
“Jay” he tried, but Jason was on a roll
“-talk on a few rooftops with me or help out with a few robberies!”
“Jay, it’s-”
“Or, if you really don’t want to, we can just head to my place, talk before I leave! Or even-”
“Jason” he said, and his mouth clicked shut.
“Jay, why didn’t you tell me things were getting worse out there? Or even Dick or Tim?” Perce asked, tone worried yet not upset.
“I just- I didn’t want to be a bother. They’re busy, you just got back, and I don’t want to-”
“Jason.. You will never be a bother to me. Ever. You’re my brother, and I’ll always be here to help you. Always.” he reaffirmed.
He could feel his eyes growing increasingly more watery. Perce wrapped him in a hug, and he strongly returned it, burrowing his head into the calming smell of the ocean and overwhelming Percy as small tears slipped from his eyes.
Only Percy could get through to him like this.
Not letting go, though he most likely knew Jason wasn’t letting go anytime soon, he answered his question from earlier.
“So, you want me to start patrolling with you? Do I get a nickname? Oh oh, a costume? Can I be your sidekick?” he joked. It easily lightened the mood, and Jason tightened his already-tight grip on the older man.
“Bit much, don’t you think? But still, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I can just-”
“Jay. It’s okay. You’re not bothering me with this. I’d love to go out on patrol with you. I need to get out more anyways. This whole family reunion thing is making me soft.”
They both chuckled at that, and after tight squeezes from both brothers, let go. Percy ruffled Jason’s hair playfully, and in return, he scowled back. The lack of bite almost graduated it to a not-smile.
Almost.
Afterwards, they agreed to head back to Jason’s apartment, but not before stuffing their faces with food and telling Replacement (who’d been on his way to Percy’s room, obviously) that they were heading out for the night. Perce called it ‘brotherly bonding time’, he called it ‘a vacation away from you all’. Basically the same.
At his apartment, they hung out for a bit. The two had some sort of silent agreement; Percy didn’t mention the absolute hoarder Jason had become, and in return, Jason wouldn’t mention anything at the way Percy had jumped and reached for his pocket when a car a few blocks away had backfired.
When his usual time for patrol came, he almost expected Percy to apologize and say he had other places to be, but instead of leaving, he did the opposite- asked him, “Hey, you got any extra masks? I didn’t bring one.” He smiled and handed him one from out of nowhere.
Jason donned his typical ‘Red Hood uniform’ in less than 2 minutes, and, after waiting on the rooftop, Percy landed next to him, wearing one of his old hoodies with the hood pulled up (navy blue- of course), his typical pair of faded converse, old-looking jeans, and the borrowed domino mask, covering his eyes.
“Ready for duty, sir!” he playfully said, adding a little salute to complete the act.
“Alright, sidekick. Let’s go” he joked back.
This was going to be fun.
He immediately sprinted across the rooftop, footsteps running across the roof with barely heard falls as he made his way to his usual look-out spot. Wind rushing past him, leaping from roof to roof, this was what he loved. Gotham when she wasn’t trying to kill him. Just the old buildings and gloomy weather.
Looking back, he searched for Perce, hoping he hadn’t tripped and fell or gotten hurt already, but just as he stopped to call for him, a figure flew above him, landing on the small fire escape above him.
“Looking for someone?” he asked playfully.
“Wha- I didn’t know you could fly!” he cried out indignantly.
“That’s because I can’t. Demigod, Jason! Keep up!” he said, before leaping up into the air with inhuman strength and finesse, disappearing into the night once again.
Like Spooky, like son. Of course.
Laughing at the thrill of it, he raced Percy’s dark figure across the rooftops, swinging off street lamps, landing on small awnings, and once he even landed on a flower pot. He still had dirt all over his shoe from that, and in front of him, he could see Percy’s dark shadow shaking with laughter.
“Not funny!” he called out. Percy still laughed.
Quieting down, the two made their way across his territory, before finally landing on the tall, old brick building that stood in the middle of town. It looked out over everything; every shop, apartment, back alley, and street where suspicious people and criminals were always lurking.
He noticed Percy standing next to him, sitting on the ledge and swinging his legs like a toddler. Damian would’ve pushed him over. He sat next to him and did the same (not before checking no one was outside; couldn’t have people calling him soft).
“So? Not too bad?” he joked, but underneath his sarcasm, his uncertainty could be easily picked up on.
“Nah. It’s nice to be out and about, y’know? Besides, I didn’t know you loved flowers so much.” Percy easily replied. Jason scowled underneath the mask at his flower joke.
“Just wait ‘til the usuals get out here. Then the real fun starts.”
“You make it sound like we’re dealing with rush hour at a restaurant. I like it.” he replied playfully.
Even now, his take on dealing with criminals made Jason want to do this every night. Having someone by his side to joke around, to talk- he’d always thought this was lonely, but this really made him see just how alone he’d been.
Perce’s jokes and easy-going personality just made things…easier. To bear. The tensing in his shoulders that he’d thought would never leave, had disappeared sometime while they were running along the rooftops, and he found himself smiling (genuinely!) under the mask a lot more than usual.
This was what he’d been longing for.
Seriously, it wasn’t fair that Dick, Tim, Bruce, and the girls got to spend all their time with Percy, and he got a few hours a day max! This was the most time he’d spent with his brother in a loooong time. It was only fair that, if the rest of his family got to spend all day with Perce, then he got the nighttime.
God, he sounded like a divorced parent taking custody of his children. When it came to his family, though, he wouldn’t be surprised at how dysfunctional they acted.
The two sat up on the rooftop, smelling Gotham’s polluted (yet familiar) air, the clouds extra gloomy with all the junk from the city’s endless factories, when he spotted a bunch of goons headed to a random abandoned warehouse, with others trailing behind them.
Whatever this was, it was big. If he’d come alone, he likely would’ve had to awkwardly (desperately?) call in for backup, but with Perce, a powerful demigod and war veteran, he figured they’d get things done pretty fast.
Jason looked over, ready to tell Percy what he’d seen and where they were most likely headed next, when a shop’s alarms rang out from behind them.
Three, maybe four, large men with black ski masks had busted the window to the shop’s door open, unlocked it from the inside, and were making their way inside to rob the place.
Typical.
Then he realized in a brief panic that he couldn’t be in both places at once, and that the two would have to split up. Which, while he knew they were both more than capable at handling these kinds of situations, still didn’t stop the overwhelming worry taking over him.
What if they got separated? What if things got too out of hand for him or Perce? What if this was all some big plot to get him alone? What if Perce got hurt? What if-
A warm hand on his shoulder grounded him, and he looked over to see gentle green eyes already looking at him. Of course his brother realized what was going on. He probably already had a plan, too.
That was Perce, though. Always ahead.
“Don’t worry, Red. I’ll take the warehouse weirdos, and you can take the muscle-man robbers. Alright? We’ll meet back here, real fast, okay?” he explained. His eyes were focused on his face, never glancing away and firm.
He took a deep breath, then nodded. With a squeeze on his shoulder, the older man leapt towards the warehouse, and he headed towards the shop, where the guys had begun piling money into their bags from the register.
He sighed, already headed over with his gun loaded and in-hand.
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Jason’s Apartment, Crime Alley, Gotham City
August 15, 2012
5:25 AM
Surprisingly, they’d gotten things under control a lot faster than he’d been trying to for the past few weeks.
When he’d finished up with the robbers (while they were big, they sucked at self defense), he heard what sounded like a massive wave by the warehouse. The faint cries and panicked shouts of goons followed soon after, before a large crash filled the air as it melted back into the harbor.
He’d practically flown back to his and Percy’s agreed lookout spot, ready to go after his brother, when lo and behold, there he was, hoodie having fallen down to reveal messy black hair that was tousled from having run around and a beaming smile.
He froze; every ounce of panic faded away as he saw Percy laughing at his shell-shocked face. Perce explained that the guys were relatively easy to deal with, that there’d only been about 50 of them total, and that after intercepting their weapons trade ‘meetup’, he’d launched them into Gotham Bay, where the GCPD was currently picking them up.
Jason’s jaw had dropped open far enough to reach the floor.
He’d seen the giant wave that had taken care of those goons- he guessed Perce had control over whether he wanted to be dry or not as well. Still, what would ‘B’ think? Or Dick, once they found out his brother had taken on 50 men singlehandedly and came back with no injuries or signs of a struggle.
Percy made it sound so easy too- only 50? That would’ve taken him at least half an hour- more like 2- to fully deescalate and put an end to. Percy had just done it in ten minutes.
The rest of the night was a lot like that. Crime would be popping up all over town, and instead of Red Hood having to be in 30 places at once, he had backup that could get things done in 5 minutes (12 and a half if he was feeling lazy).
He felt that thrill of excitement and relief rushing through him the entire time they were out there. Everything felt so much more enjoyable with his older brother around.
Jason didn’t feel like he was absolute dead meat when he got home either. No dark and nasty bruises covering his entire ribcage, no black eyes and bloody noses, just a sore back like he was some old man.
Perce looked like he’d just ran a light jog- hair tussled yet messy, face slightly red from the cool night air, domino mask gone and revealing bright green eyes, and his hood back down, making him look like your average civilian.
His brother bumped his shoulder.
“Not bad after all, eh? Y’know, I could get used to this. It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to get out, fight your average joe, and call it a day.”
Not bad after all was an understatement. As for the rest, Jason understood more than Percy thought he did. After he came back from the Pit and had dealt with the Al Ghul’s, he’d been on edge constantly, always looking for the fight or end of the world battle that he’d have to face next.
But, once he’d gotten the hang of its influence, he finally started slowing down. Calming down, really.
His fight with Tim after he’d come back to the manor, thirsting on revenge and pure rage, still haunted him. He’d been about to deliver the final blow, knife poised right over his throat and already drawing blood, when he heard Perce’s voice flash in his mind. ‘I’m here, Jay. I’ve got you’. When the Pit wore off, and he realized what he was about to do, he immediately backed away, the rest of the family already there and ready to fight, when he collapsed like a puppet and broke down. Everything after that was a blur. Forgotten.
“I get what you mean. It was…nice, with you around. If you really want to keep coming, I-I’d like that.” he quietly said, waiting for the rejection on the inside.
Instead, he got a, “ I’d love to”, an easy-going smile, and a warm hug (which he happily returned), before they both collapsed onto the couch.
Percy clicked the remote to the tv, already going on his Disney account and turning on Star Wars. Jason was confused for a moment, before he remembered telling his brother the other day that he’d never gotten to watch the franchise.
His heart got all warm and gooey when Jason realized Percy had actually remembered that. Settling next to him, he savored the warmth of his older brother sitting next to him, before listening to the iconic Star-Wars theme song playing in the background.