Work Text:
THEN:
It was a cold winter night, one where Jason normally would’ve been freezing his ass out on the street. But this night was different. He had been taken in Bruce Wayne and instead of being out in the cold, he was warm inside a loving home.
He had settled himself in front of the fire in the living room and was scrolling through the programs on the television. Bruce wasn’t scheduled to be home from work for a while, tonight was going to be a late one. And since it was winter break, Jason decided to stay up and take advantage of being in a rich guy’s house.
Alfred had left Jason some hot cocoa and for at least two hours, Jason just watched Friends aimlessly. There was absolutely nothing good on TV (And Jason refused to watch Rachel and Ross argue for what had to be the millionth time this episode!)
Jason was getting bored and was collecting his things to go to his room to turn in. When he turned off the television he turned around to find Bruce standing at the exit. Jason jumped, Bruce always managed to find a way to scare him.
“Jeez Bruce, give a guy a little warning.” Bruce smirked.
“Turning in already? I was going to see if you wanted to watch a Disney movie.” Jason wouldn’t have minded that, but he didn’t want to seem like a little kid.
“I guess I could stick around a little longer.” Bruce smiled and went over to the case that held DVDs.
“Which one do you want to watch?” Jason was intrigued, he hadn’t seen many Disney movies. He would watch old black and white movies with his mom.
“What do you have?”
“I have Treasure Island, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Dumbo, Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh, The Rescuers, Oliver & Company-,” Jason intervened.
“Can we watch that one?”
“Oliver & Company? Yeah sure.” Jason loved that movie, his favorite song was ‘Why Should I Worry’ because he felt like that song described his life when he was on the streets. Bruce started the movie up and sat next to Jason on the couch.
Bruce could tell that Jason was enjoying the movie when he kept trying to stay awake halfway through. Jason had rested his head on Bruce’s chest and kept fluttering his eyes.
Eventually Jason drifted off and his soft snores filled the room. Bruce turned off the TV and tried to get up, but Jason gripped Bruce’s arm and prevented him from leaving. Bruce laughed, Jason was stubborn even while asleep. So Bruce stayed and waited patiently until he found himself asleep.
Alfred found the father and son tangled together on the couch and covered them with a blanket.
“Sweet dreams, sirs.” And with that he left them to their own minds and dreams.
***
NOW:
Jason had been on patrol and he could swear that he had nearly frozen solid. He hadn’t had time to fix the heating systems in his suit yet, and it was only the first week of December, he didn’t think it would be that cold. He was definitely wrong. And to make matters worse, he wasn’t even close to any of his safehouses; he was near the Manor of all places.
He would’ve normally just suffered through it and gone home, but he was shivering so hard that he thought he might fall off his motorcycle. He and the Big Bad Bat were on better terms these days, but Jason was hoping that he’d already be gone once he arrived inside.
Jason drove his motorcycle into the cave and saw Bruce in his not yet in his Batman uniform, but getting ready to go out. Jason’s vision was all of the sudden swimming, and when he got off of his motorcycle, he stumbled. Jason’s tumble landed him right on the floor. This earned Bruce’s attention, which is exactly what he was hoping to avoid.
“Jason?” Bruce rushed over, pulling Jason into a sitting position.
“I’m fine, ’m fine, old man!” Jason pushed Bruce’s hand away, and stood up to prove that he was indeed fine. But to Jason’s chagrin, before he could walk anywhere, he found himself looking at the ceiling. Alfred rushed downstairs after hearing Bruce yell.
“My word, what is going on down here?” Bruce pulled Jason’s arm over his shoulder and helped him over to the med bay. Only after Jason was safely deposited in a seat did Bruce address Alfred’s question.
“Jason, he collapsed by the hangar.” Jason barely managed to take his helmet off before Alfred and Bruce were both up in his face. Everything felt blurred all of the sudden and he couldn’t really feel his fingers. That probably wasn’t good.
“Sir, what has happened?” Was Alfred talking to him?
“I feel fuzzy and my hands hurt.” Bruce immediately starts pulling at his gloves and his hands feel stiff when exposed to the air. Alfred took his hands with the utmost care and Jason saw his brows crease in worry. Alfred placed a hand on the side of Jason’s face and Jason couldn’t help but lean into it, his hand was so much warmer than Jason’s whole body.
“I believe he has a mild case of hypothermia, Master Bruce. We must warm him up. It would be most efficient if you would wrap him in a few blankets while I gather some warm compresses. Perhaps ask Master Richard and Master Timothy to turn up the heat and start a fire upstairs.” Bruce pulled Jason’s arm back over his shoulder and helped him upstairs, simultaneously calling for Dick and Tim.
Tim found them first, bringing Cass with him. Tim looked up, seeing Jason, and went into action mode.
“What do you need?”
“Tim, can you turn up the heat? Cassie, will you find Dick for me?” Tim and Cass hummed in response, going to do as Bruce asked. Bruce and Jason kept on walking until they reached the family room. Bruce helped Jason sit down on the couch, pulling blankets from seemingly out of nowhere to place over his son. Once Jason was settled, Bruce started making a fire.
Dick came in nearly seconds later, his eyes immediately going to Jason’s form on the couch. Opting not to annoy Jason with his usual ‘big-brother’ antics, Dick moved towards Bruce and helped him with the fire.
“Is he okay, Bruce? Cass didn’t say much when she came to get me.” Bruce looked over his shoulder to make sure that Jason wasn’t listening in.
“Alfred said he has a mild case of hypothermia, so it could be worse.” Right about then is when Tim chose to enter, along with Cass and Damian. None of them said much, they just dispersed themselves throughout the room. Tim found a place on another couch across the room, Cass not far behind him. Damian sat in the armchair near Jason’s head and Dick found his way over to the edge of the couch Jason was lying on. Once everyone got settled, Bruce walked over to the DVD case.
“What do you think about a Disney movie, chum?” Jason was brought out of his daze and nodded with the same look he had worn all those years ago.
“Which one?” Tim chuckled as Bruce shrugged, but had a feeling he knew which one would be chosen.
“I don’t believe I have ever seen one of these ‘ Disney movies’ . What is their significance?” Everybody gaped at Damian, even Cass had watched Disney movies before, and her childhood was less than fortunate.
“How have you never seen a Disney movie! What kind of childhood did you have?” Oh, Dick.
“One filled with swords and learning ways to kill you with only a paperclip.” Everyone collectively sighed at Damian’s blunt and violent threats. Which prompted Bruce to bring the focus back to his original question.
“What do you guys want to watch?” Jason poked his heads a little further out of his blankets and confirmed what Bruce had thought he would say.
“Let’s watch Oliver & Company.” So Bruce popped it in the DVD player and grabbed a seat in between Dick and Jason.
Dick proceeded to sing every single song in a strange falsetto to make his siblings laugh. And if Jason had gradually drifted closer and closer to Bruce during the course of the movie, nobody chose to say anything about it. The kids fell asleep one by one, and eventually Jason was the only one still awake.
Jason leaned his head against Bruce’s arm, but it didn’t take long for Bruce to coax Jason’s head onto a pillow that he had in his lap instead. As Jason’s soft snores echoed through the room, Bruce began to drift off. He fell asleep to the realization that Jason finally got to see the end of the movie.
Alfred found his way to the family room not long later and found all of the children and Bruce asleep. Alfred smirked to himself as he recalled a scene much like this one, but many years earlier. He made sure each child was tucked under a blanket and turned off the TV. He took one last glance at the scene before retreating and leaving the family to their much needed rest.
"Sleep tight..."