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The bus drove in silence, carrying two passengers in the dark of night. The driver glanced back at the tall figure sitting in the far back, hood up and head down. A baby swaddled up nice and snug, hidden from the artificial lights, rested protectively in the arms of the mysterious man. Or woman. But posture and clothes suggested the passenger was male.
The man in question, actually a mere boy, hugged the infant close to his chest as he watched buildings, cars, and lampposts pass outside the vehicle. He shifted in discomforted causing the baby made a whine of a noise, not quite waking up but hinting that they would soon. It was quickly pressed tighter against the chest to provide warmth and comfort to prevent waking up. Whispers of comfort were given as an extra aid.
The driver pulled up to the stop, ready to rid herself of the stragglers and retire for the night; heading home to rest before starting the whole process over in the morning. She watched with curious eyes as the boy rose, shifting the bundled babe to be held in one arm and using the other to gather a single duffle bag. He handed her a few crumpled up bills with a quiet 'thank you' and exited the bus, disappearing into the dead of night.
The bus stop was a decent distance from his destination, so the figure adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder, held the sleeping baby against his chest, and began walking. The air was cool, but still, not even a slight breeze could be felt. No sound could be heard, save for the bus driving away.
Several miles away from where he was let off, the figure came to a stop in front of a house. He glanced down at the journey worn paper in his hands and matched the address written to the building in front of him. It was nice to look at. A good, traditional, two-story family home with brick and siding and beautiful landscaping. He followed a stone path, up some stairs, and stared at the double doors in front of him. A doorbell of to the side caught his eye. He took a deep breath and reached over to press it.
xXx
The sun was setting outside, painting a very lovely picture for Violet who gazed outside the window from within the kitchen. Moving around them, Artemis placed the finishing touches on the dinner dishes she had made. She gave a nudge to the daydreaming teenager and handed them three glasses. The teen took them and walked over to the table to place them next to the dishes Dick had just finished setting. He gave a smile and leaned down to pet the grey and white pitbull walking between his legs. The whole thing was extremely domestic, yet comforting to all members.
"Is the table all set?" The long-haired blonde called out the question from where she stood by the food.
"All set and ready to go," the blue-eyed man replied with a smile. Violet moved back into the kitchen, opening the fridge and peering in.
"What do you guys want to drink?" They asked, gazing at the various beverages to choose from. It had been orange juice that morning with breakfast, so they were hoping for some soda with the meal this time.
"Coke is fine," Artemis suggested.
"Cherry Coke, though," Dick added in. It was no secret that he thought plain coke was boring, so it had to be cherry or nothing.
"Of course," the young hero rolled their eyes and reached for the two-litre of the chosen drink. They brought it to the dining table, where they poured the soda into the three glasses.
All three sat down in their usual seats. There wasn't assigned seating but after the first week, they all just seemed to sit in the same places every time.
"Did you do your homework already, or are you doing it after dinner?" Dick asked, the question directed to Violet, as they all served themselves casserole, veggies, and rolls.
"I did most of it when I came home, but I am having difficulty with my math. It is a lot harder to grasp than the other subjects." Violet forked dinner in their mouth, chewing carefully before they let themselves respond.
"Oh, well Dick can help you there. He used to be a mathlete." Artemis laughed, nudging the dark-haired man. He flashed a smile at her and nodded.
"Yeah, I was pretty good. I can give you a hand if you'd like," Dick offered, passing the salt to his old friend.
"I would, thank you." Violet agreed to the offer of assistance as they snuck a piece of chicken underneath the table to Brucely, who was waiting patiently for any scraps.
"And if you ever need help with an essay or English in general, Artemis is your girl." The suggestion was given through a mouthful of food. No matter how hard Alfred tried, Dick was still estranged from table manners.
"I shall keep that in mind."
The conversation stayed casual, went on throughout dinner. Back and forth between the three, they were relaxed; both with each other and whatever they discussed. It was all almost normal at this point, which in itself was a little weird.
Before anyone knew, supper was over and Dick was clearing away the dishes, heading to the kitchen. Violet jumped out of their seat to run after him, yelling "I want to help!".
Artemis gave a soft chuckle at her housemates and cleaned the table free of food debris. She went to grab her teenage ward's school bag and placed it on the now food-free surface. All ready for the two dark-haired dishwashers to finish and return.
xXx
By ten in the evening, the sun was long gone and all the homework has been completed. Like any other school night, Violet was to be in bed at eleven, eleven-thirty at the latest, so they spent the hour before bed in front of the tv. Dick and Artemis, mostly Dick though, had created a list of movies and shows that just 'had' to be seen. Since the teen was pretty much new to everything, they enjoyed the two adults trying to introduce them to everything they liked. Today was Spongebob. Tomorrow would be Archie comics, loaned to the teen by the blonde archer who, surprisingly, was really into comics. Violet was trying a little of everything just to find what they liked. So far, everything was interesting, but nothing really stuck.
Artemis and Dick were working, since both tended to bring their work back with them. Being a lawyer and detective, their cases always seemed to find their way home. The blonde was hyper-focused on the documents in front of her. The raven-haired man was a little less focused, glancing up from his file to watch the cartoons' antics on the screen. Spongebob was probably more interesting than whatever homicide he was working on this week.
When eleven o'clock rolled around, Violet turned off the television without a complaint. The young hero was probably the most well-behaved teenager on the planet. Well, at the least, they were the most well-behaved teenager Dick and Artemis ever knew. Violet bid them a 'goodnight' and gave Brucely a head rub before walking upstairs. Both adults fought the urge to remind the teen to brush their teeth, knowing they would remember on their own.
A half an hour of silence later, the two left in the living room put away their work ready to go out as Tigress and Nightwing for a patrol. Their plan was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.
"Now who could that be at this hour?" Artemis wondered aloud as Dick made his way through the house to the front door. She followed behind swiftly, reaching him just as he opened the door to a figure whose face she couldn't make out.
"Hey Goldie," the late-night guest greeted, removing his hood. Both vigilantes froze in shock as they immediately placed the face of their visitor.
"Jason?" Dick whispered, blue eyes wide in disbelief and hope.
"I am so confused right now. Did you fake your death or something?" Artemis ran a hand through her hair and scrunching her face up in confusion, a habit she's had since her youth. "And is that a baby?!"
"I'll explain everything I know, I promise. Just, can I, can I come in?" So-called-Jason, Artemis wasn't convinced and Dick was just shocked silent, was allowed in and ushered to the dining room. He sat down and uncovered the baby's face. The boy took a deep breath before explaining everything he could.
xXx
Jason took a long sip of water from the glass he was given halfway through talking as Dick and Artemis just stared at him silently, processing everything he just said. There had been so much to explain. From waking up after dying, to being trained, to remembering. The League of Shadows were involved, which meant Talia was involved. That always meant trouble for Bruce and by proxy, Dick.
"So, you stole a baby from the leader of the Shadows, ran away, and what, you need our help?" Artemis was the first to break the silence. Her hesitance to trust people easily made her a little skeptical of the whole situation. "How do we know you aren't still working for the Shadows and are going to infiltrate and destroy us? And how did you find us?" That was the most important question. Nobody but Conner, M'gann, and Roy knew the location of Dick, Artemis, and Violet, and they were trying to keep it that way.
"I'm not still working for them. I would never willingly work for them in the first place, but my memory had been gone. As soon as I got it back, I worked hard to find you, Dick. I didn't want to go to Bruce for personal reasons, so I searched for you. My brother. Once I found you, which was very difficult by the way. Your house, car, and job are all under a fake name, which I will ask about later. I won't tell you how I found you, but I did delete everything that could possibly lead anyone to you. I swear. And, technically I did steal a baby, but it was for the best! You can't even begin to believe all the horrible plans in store for little Damian. Talia was planning on turning him into a killing machine. As soon as he can walk and hold a weapon! I knew when I was leaving that I had to take him with me. I couldn't just leave him there in that horrible place. It would be-"
Jason was cut off by Dick grabbing the boy and pulling him into a tight hug. The teen tensed for a slight moment before hugging back just as tight. Snug in the arms of his older brother, whom he had missed terribly, Jason felt tears fall from his eyes. Dick's own eyes started watering, and before Artemis knew it, the two dark-haired boys were sobbing in each other's arms. One happy to be home, and the other happy to have him home. She looked up to the ceiling in order to prevent herself from joining in and crying her heart out with the boys. She didn't get spared when the shorter of the brothers reached out and pulled her into the embrace.
Both adults had been close to Jason. Dick had latched onto the idea of being a big brother so quickly, it had been almost intimidating. Artemis had had a lot in common with the new Robin and became a sort of teen mentor, friend, and confidant to the boy, almost a sister. When he died, both had been absolutely devastated at the loss. Especially since he had been killed at the tender age of fourteen.
The baby, Damian, had been placed on the table still all swaddled up, seemed to sense the distress of his rescuer and began crying himself. The three removed themselves from each other and covered their ears to block out the wailing. Eyes all red, Jason looked between the adults;
"Do either of you know how to take care of a baby?"