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Jason is swinging toward home after a routine patrol when he spots a familiar figure smoking on a rooftop just three blocks away from his apartment. He curses lowly, but he lands on the roof, anyways. Robin turns his head, scowling at him—probably thinking he’s either Batman or Nightwing there to scold him. He freezes at the unfamiliar figure standing a few feet away. Before Robin can leap up and attack, Jason peels the domino off his own face.
“Hey little Jay,” he says, holding his hands up in surrender. “Everything okay?” He mentally checks the date and sighs. “Garzonas?”
Robin’s jaw drops open. He stammers unintelligibly for a moment, thrown off by the familiar face, but he quickly regains his composure. His shoulders slump as he nods. Jason slowly steps forward, until he can sit down on the ledge next to his younger, alternate self. Robin looks skittish, with good reason.
“Why do you look like me?” Robin asks. Jason snorts, a crooked grin making its way onto his face.
“Multiverse bullshit is why,” he says. When Robin still looks skeptical, he raises a brow and continues, “Name’s Jason Todd, tried to steal the Batmobile’s tires and wound up adopted instead. Sound familiar?” Robin nods, and Jason knocks a gentle elbow against his ribs. “Used to be Robin, just like you are now, but I go by Red Hood, these days.”
“After B fired you?” Robin asks bitterly. He takes another long drag from his cigarette. Jason shakes his head, wanting to help but also wanting to escape the questions he knows are coming. Robin scoffs. “What, did he throw you out? Back on the streets where we belong?” Again, Jason shakes his head. His heart rattles around in his throat, but the words still escape.
“I ran off to find my birth mom,” Jason says. “And I died.”
“Bullshit,” Robin snaps, glaring at him from behind his mask. “You look alive enough to me.”
“The world’s gotta sick sense of humor,” Jason replies. “I’ll spare you the details, but Joker murdered me. I came back, got dunked in a Lazarus Pit, and now I’m here. Trust me; you don’t wanna run away, like I know you’re thinking of doing right now.”
“So what,” Robin asks, looking smaller and more frightened than Jason ever remembers being at that age before Ethiopia. “I just stay put and let B think I’m a killer?”
“He’ll find the evidence in a week or two, give a weak as fuck apology, and then you get to go back to being the Boy Wonder. No sweat, kiddo. You’re innocent, and B’s gonna figure it out.”
Jason hesitates for a moment. He remembers how it felt, back then, when he thought just one mistake would get him tossed out. He doesn’t want to tip Bruce off to an alternate version of his kid just yet, because seeing an older, murderous Jason Todd is going to just fuel his paranoia about baby Jay, but he does want to help the lost, desperately sad kid sitting next to him.
“Promise me you won’t go running off on B,” Jason says. He waits until Robin nods at him before he keeps speaking. “Alright then kid, if you ever need anything, swing by my place, okay? If you need some air or someone to rant at, my door’s open. Now c’mon, I can get you something to eat and send you home. My little brother’ll be excited to meet you, too. Sound good?”
Jason stands and offers a hand to Robin. He looks uncertain for a moment, but finally, he takes the outstretched hand. Jason leads the way back to his apartment, slipping in through the unlocked window of his living room. Tim is asleep on the couch, but he wakes up once he hears Jason’s footsteps land on the carpet. He blinks sleepily but brightens when he spots the familiar uniform of his hero.
“Jason!” Tim nearly shouts. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing company!” He leaps up but gets tangled in the blanket around his legs, tumbling to the floor in a heap.
“You okay there, Timbit?” Jason asks, barely muffling his laughter. Robin, on the other hand, has already moved toward the couch to help Tim to his feet. Tim manages to keep his expression composed, but the starstruck look in his eyes gives him away. Jason decides to tease him, just a little bit. “Aw c’mon, what am I? Chopped liver?”
“Of course not! But he’s Robin!” Tim says heatedly. He pouts at Jason, who merely laughs in response. “Jay,” Tim whines.
“What? Want me to take a photo of the two of you?” Jason asks, grinning wickedly at his little brother, who turns scarlet. Robin’s eyes widen behind the domino, and he looks at Tim with a more scrutinizing expression. After a moment, his face lights up in recognition.
“You’re the baby stalker!” He says brightly. Tim groans and puts his face in his hands. “I thought I recognized you.”
“Hi again, Robin,” Tim mutters, voice muffled behind his fingers.
“Fallen off any more fire escapes lately?” Robin asks, slinging an arm around Tim’s tiny shoulders. Tim shakes his head, and Robin grins. “Good. So, are you from the multiverse, too?” Tim shakes his head and finally lifts his face to look up at Robin.
“No, I’m just kind of a stray Jason picked up. I think he’s planning on adopting all of Bruce’s other kids before he can get to them himself.” Tim freezes, processing his own words. “Oh heck, I...yeah, I know your identities. I figured it out a while ago.”
Robin looks stunned for a moment, but then he pulls his mask off, laughing a little. He shakes his head incredulously, but he’s still smiling. Jason moves to the kitchen while the two boys begin chattering. Tim gets over his initial shyness pretty quickly, and soon enough, he’s back to his usual, animated self, gesturing wildly as he talks at a rapid-fire pace. Little Jay seems both amused and a bit baffled by the situation. Tim’s hero-worship of Robin is in full-force, and Jason thinks his younger self is probably unused to such an excitable, happy response to him.
Jason whips up a meal for three and has the boys set the table for them. Dinner passes by in a blur, but by the end of it, Little Jay seems more relaxed and happy than he was when Jason first found him on that roof. He’s joking with Tim and telling exaggerated versions of his favorite Robin stories. When Tim’s eyes begin to droop, Jason is quick to usher him off to bed, despite Robin’s company and Tim’s protests.
Bruce used to let Jason have a few hours of space, when he disabled his trackers and escaped to the rooftops of Gotham for a little while. But eventually, he’d always come looking for his wayward bird. Jason wants to get Robin on his way before Bruce can track him to this apartment, but he makes sure his counterpart knows the address and his phone number by heart before he leaves.
He watches Robin grapple out into the clear Gotham night with an odd melancholy sitting in his chest. Tim emerges from his bedroom a few minutes later, having ignored Jason’s instructions—typical—and sensed his brother’s mood. Two tiny arms wrap around Jason’s torso, and Jason turns to pull the kid into a proper hug.
“He’s going to be okay,” Tim says, full of faith in him, as always.
“Yeah, he will be,” Jason replies. It’s not a statement of faith, but it is a promise—one he intends to keep.