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“Mister Wayne?” Jason looks up to see his new assistant- Jason can hardly believe he even has or needs an assistant- standing in the doorway of Jason’s office, holding a stack of files with professional smile.
The professional distance normally wouldn’t bother Jason, but he hand-picked this kid himself specifically because he thinks he could actually be competent and experienced with the main body of charity work The Wayne Foundation does. Jason didn’t want any Ivy League brat that just wanted something to put on his transcripts and applications to appear charitable then turn around and smack around the Sex Workers in the Alley. So he chose Luis Rodriguez- current Gotham U Sociology student from Crime Alley.
“Yeah, Luis?” Jason replies casually. He wishes the Luis would just call him Jason, but he’s insistent on keeping professional.
“We’ve gotten a lot of requests about Gotham’s annual Pride, sir,” Luis says, laying half of the files he’s carrying in front of Jason, “Many from corporations hoping to sponsor the event along-side the Wayne Foundation,”
Jason carefully looks over the list- seeing several he doesn’t want near Gotham’s Pride. While he can’t stop them from making floats with their own employees taking part and purchasing a Float spot- since they can actually afford the Wayne LGBTQ+ Youth Outreach Float ticket price- he will not let them sponsor any of the day time events.
It’s mostly the alcohol companies that Jason would rather avoid sponsoring the daytime events, really. He’s open for them sponsoring the night events, but the parade and day carnivals they’ll have to pay for event boothing and floats that go toward the charity, instead of getting sponsor boothing and float space.
He relays this to Luis, passing the Alcohol and Canabis sponsors’ files back to Luis after making a note on the files.
The Tech brands are next- Jason would rather keep Tweeter and Facepad out of sponsoring too, but knows it wouldn’t be financially feasible to do so- Jason’s only glad Wayne Foundation is the one that supports LGBTQ+ youth all year round and usually is the one that sponsors the rent out of the fair grounds for the parties and carnivals, otherwise he’d never get to put a kibosh on peddling alcohol to oppressed kids looking for coping mechanisms to the extent he can.
He’s been to Metropolis Pride- it’s mostly sponsored by Luthor trying to look charitable and a veritable slew of alcohol manufacturers- Coast City’s is even worse.
He marks down the folders that he’s willing to work with of the files Luis provides him, before handing them back, “What else do we have, Luis?”
“Well, Mister Wayne, there’s the matter of the Wayne Enterprises Float…” Luis seems hesitant for some reason, which puts Jason on edge.
“Yeah? I looked over the plans myself- it should be up to code,”
“That’s not the problem, sir,” Luis shifts, “It’s a matter of some of the news outlets taking issue with your family never being in the parade,”
Oh. Is that all? Jason sees how the greater world would have a problem with The Wayne’s not having big visibility during an event that they’re the biggest major sponsor of, but he’d never really considered that an issue because they go every year- sitting along the parade route and night events in ‘costume’ after opening ceremonies. And it’s not like none of his family wouldn’t have a personal stake in Pride- every single member of his family is LGBTQ+. He’s a gay man, his father is the most dramatic bisexual on the planet, his older brother is a chaotic pansexual, his sister is a buff lesbian, Tim’s asexual biromantic, Duke’s a bisexual, Damian is identifying as Demi, and Jason is pretty sure Alfred was in a polycule with his grandparents.
But visibility is an issue he’ll solve- he knows his family doesn’t owe the media anything, but he’s not going to let them sully his family’s work to make Gotham a safe place for the disenfranchised just because they’re fishing for controversy.
He’ll work something out about keeping Bats visible along the parade route to scare off the bigots, but his family is going to be on the fucking float this year.
“I can see the issue- we go every year, we’re just not in the public eye. Pops’ always been pretty nervous about what could happen to us being big targets like that as a single father with lots of money, but now that there’s so many of us- and now that most of us are adults- it should be fine. Duke and Damian won’t be able to go without a pair of safe eyes on them,” Jason says, hoping to put Luis at ease, “I’ll talk to Dad about it and see how he feels about it, but he’ll see sense. I know my Dad’s always comes off as some laidback idiot, but when it comes to us he’s pretty protective,”
“I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting your father, Mister Wayne, but he seems like a good man,” Luis says, still a little wary. Jason wonders if Luis remembers he’s also a Crime Alley kid.
“He’s got his moments where he can be a jerk, but that’s mostly because he’s thick-headed and overprotective to the point of nearly overbearing,” Jason snorts.
“I can see why though, sir,” Luis says earnestly, “He thought he lost you,”
Jason sighs, heartfelt, “I guess, but it’s still a little annoying,”
Luis chuckles, “I would imagine. Shall we get back to work, sir? There’s a lot to be done for the event, not to mention the other projects you’ve got planned- The affordable housing you’ve got planned has run into a snag since many of the landlords are refusing to sell- holding out for more money most likely. We can’t get renovations done on the buildings for the tenants until they sell,”
Jason lets his head fall against the desk- of course it’s the landlords; God damn leeches that they are.
Jason prepares himself for the next two hours until lunch to be a very long.
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Jason brings up riding the float with Bruce at dinner before patrol that night.
“I see the problem, Jay, but there’s a reason we watch over the event in uniform,” Bruce says, his brows furrowed, “There’s also the matter of if we do attend the parade out of uniform, how many people will connect the lack of Bats to the appearance of the Wayne’s? I would love to stand proudly with my family at Pride, but I have the power to protect those that want to feel proud too,”
Jason lets his head thump down onto the table with a groan (“Master Jason, please remove your face from the table,”), his dad makes entirely valid points. Why do bigots have to ruin everything? Not even The Joker fucks around at Pride. Though, Jason suspects he knows he’d be making a permanent enemy of other rogues doing so- especially, Harley, Ivy, Penguin, and Dent.
“It sucks that a lot of heroes have to work during Pride because of bigots, but at least the Supers get to be part of Metropolis Pride as icons. We’re too ‘Shadow & Cowl’ even when you dump gallons of red paint on the religious protestors every year,” Tim grins.
The Supers!
That’s it!
“Hey, Pops, how would you feel about Clark donning the cowl for Gotham Pride? Just for show to keep the bigots in line like usual,” Jason says.
Bruce taps his chin, contemplating. He never likes anyone outside Dick, Cass, or (very rarely) Jason donning the cowl. Bruce gets nervous about anyone not overly familiar with Gotham and how she operates even stepping foot in their city in uniform- too little experience and exposure to the chemicals their rogues produce combined with meta-human/alien abilities is always bad news- but Gotham Pride’s main issue has always been bigots, never rogues. Hell, last year Jason saw Harley beat a transphobe bloody at Pride.
“I could ask him, I suppose…but what about the rest of you? Finding doubles for some of you would be very tricky,” Bruce frowns.
“I’ll ask Roy, duh,” Jason waves his hand, “We’re similar enough in build and height and with my hood no one would notice a difference- especially since he knows me well enough to do a convincing impression,”
Bruce stares at him for a moment, his eye-brows doing that confused little dance they do when he’s working something out pertaining to them, before his face smooths back out and he nods, “Okay, but what about Dick? Duke?”
Jason pauses to think. His other siblings don’t make themselves as visible as the four of them have been or will be. Bruce, Dick, and Jason make themselves purposefully visible during the Pride event. Duke, new enough that he’s not experienced Pride with the family quite yet, is already the visible daytime vigilante of Gotham- it would be unusual for the daytime vigilante of Gotham to not be out and about during pride, “Could we ask J’onn to cover for Dickie? He’s the only one I could see pulling it off believably as long as he doesn’t talk to civilians. Plus, the guy likes experiencing these kinds of human events and he’s never been to Gotham’s Pride before,”
Bruce nods, agreeing with him, “I’ll ask him if he’s busy that day. And Duke?”
“I could ask Jaime? If we switch out Duke’s mask to his old Signal one and Jaime remains at a distance it should be fine,” Tim pipes up.
“I agree,” Damian says, “Reyes would be ideal for it considering his similar height and weight to Thomas as well as his field experience,”
“I’ve never met Jaime before. I’ve heard Tim and Dames talk about him, but I’ve not really left Gotham much,” Duke tilts his head, “He’s the Blue Beetle guy right?” Everyone at the table nods, “Cool. Introduce me to him? I need to know if his hands are rated E for Everyone before he’s allowed to don my costume,” Duke says mischievously. Jason places a hand on his heart- so proud of the absolute feralness displayed by his little brother.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll have trusted friends and allies cover for the four more visible bats for Pride,” Bruce nods, looking pleased, “I’m actually looking forward to getting to participate this year outside of scaring violent objectors,”
Jason grins, pleased that he was able to solve this problem.
When Bruce said he wanted to make Jason head of The Wayne Foundations, Jason was understandably a little skeptical and annoyed- He’d thought his Father was just trying to steer him away from being Red Hood- but once Bruce had properly explained why he wanted Jason to head it, it made him feel very…fulfilled would be the best word to describe his feelings. He felt like where he’d come from finally had use outside of fighting crime for the first time. He could finally fix the problems he grew up with that he couldn’t fix as Robin or even Red Hood.
Duke may have some ideas too, but he’s young and has school and Jason doesn’t want to put that kind of pressure on him.
They all continue chatting as they eat dinner, Dick facetiming in during the meal and learning the plan for Pride- He seems pretty enthusiastic about it. Dick’s almost always worked during Gotham Pride, first as Robin and then as Nightwing- The only time he didn’t work during Pride was when he was injured.
As is newly usual for their family, they start telling each other about their current ongoing cases while Dick facetimes. It was a compromise Bruce had made when he started therapy- a good one that prevents major fights in the family as well as keeping any backup informed ahead of time.
“Sir, the Bat Signal has been lit,” Alfred informs them just after Dick hangs up, sending Bruce and Damian scurrying to the cave and cutting the family short.
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Jason is busy for two months with the Wayne Foundations after that conversation with his family.
Between the affordable housing plans, the renovation and opening of a new Community Pool, and working with the Pride teams, Jason feels like he’s barely had time for much of anything else. He actually wonders how Wayne Enterprises and Wayne Foundations were as efficient as they were when it was just Bruce and Lucius running it. He knows that he could delegate more, but this early in his appointment to head he wants to be as hands on as possible with some of the major events and projects.
Jason knows he’ll probably always be hands on with the biggest ones and more personal charities to him and his family and delate smaller projects later after he builds a trusted group of employees and volunteers- but for now Jason’s throwing himself heavily into every project.
It’s a week before Pride and the Wayne Foundation float is completed- He’s talking to Luis about the boothing along the route as he goes over the safety of the float, “How are we on volunteers and supplies for the route safety booths? We solve the issue of ice?”
“Yes sir. We’ve contacted several suppliers of ice for the day carnival and parade. They’ve agreed to provide for the safety booths as donation and selling the carnival bags at discount for verified charity and small business booths, and full price for corporate booths. The Wayne Foundation reputation really gives incentive for other businesses to give a charitable boost,” Luis says, looking over the clipboard in his hands, “We’ve also confirmed the sponsorship and donations from Gatorade to stock the booths. Bottled water and shade tents have been purchased, and the folding tables have been removed from event storage and are being cleaned,”
“Thanks, Luis- I couldn’t have managed all this without you,” Jason claps Luis on the shoulder, flashing him a genuine smile.
“Thank you, Mister Wayne,” Luis says, a little stiff- the guy’s not loosened up at all over the last two months. Jason’s beginning to suspect that Luis’ previous jobs have not been good to him.
“And the volunteers? We have enough?”
The discussion of the projects continues from there. They cover lots of ground that morning- confirming the parade marching order and route, checking on the merchandise orders, and scanning through the parade security details backgrounds.
Around eleven, Jason gets a message from Tim asking him to lunch with Bruce. Jason’s always down to eat, so he replies an affirmative.
Jason swaggers into the restaurant, earning stares from people who are still surprised to see him among the living, to sit with his father and brother around noon.
Tim no longer holds the CEO title- for now at least. Since he dropped out of school, and doesn’t wish to go back at the moment, he’s learning under Lucius and Bruce first hand for now. As brilliant as Tim is, he’s not got the education or experience to keep the position outside of the emergency situation he had it in. There’s that and his age; Tim’s much too young to hold such a stressful position. It nearly broke the kid when he did hold it. He has told Jason that he’s considering GED and then a business degree but is up in the air about it.
Bruce has been teaching Jason as well- though he admits Jason has a better idea of what could help certain causes better than he can, Jason doesn’t have the experience of working with a more formal structure and advertising events for causes without being confrontational. Bruce has made an art form of subtly guilting fellow socialites and the wealthy into funding causes.
They talk about how their days are going so far- sometimes speaking in code when cases come up- but otherwise it’s a pleasant and normal lunch with his family.
He pictures what it was like even just last year when Bruce laughs, making himself look 10 years younger when he does so- there was no way Jason would even be here this time last year. Not even the matter he was still legally dead then, he was still distant with the family to an small extent- not even allowing himself to think himself part of it while he sorted out his own feelings.
When Bruce came back from the time stream things were tense and awkward. Jason wasn’t even in Gotham when Bruce returned- ignoring Dick’s phone calls and staying buried in Red Hood cases outside of his hometown.
Then Bruce came to him six months later, dressed as Batman with his cowl down.
At the time, Jason couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen his father without the cowl- Bruce had looked so…worn down and sad that Jason couldn’t even find it in himself not to hear the man out.
It was a tear filled and emotional conversation. Jason remembers yelling- still hurt and raw.
But Bruce had finally given him a real and much more…understandable? reason for why he wouldn’t and couldn’t kill the Joker. Had explained in his own practiced words that Tim wasn’t his replacement- why Tim couldn’t replace him and why no one could replace Tim. That the memorial in the cave was a symbol of what he should never have become, not what he was- a monument for Jason’s Robin but not Jason himself.
Jason was angry- Jason was Robin. He couldn’t separate like Bruce could- He was a child. Bruce apologized- sorry that he couldn’t see that not everyone coped like him.
When Jason had asked why Bruce had tried to stop him from killing the Joker, Bruce looked confused- Genuinely confused. Bruce said he hadn’t tried to. Said he was walking away so he could claim plausible deniability to his own mind- So he wouldn’t be active party to the killing of the Joker, but Jason had turned his gun on Bruce and Bruce didn’t want his son to regret shooting him- so he stopped him.
Jason tried to recall that night- that faithful confrontation- and finds it a blurry and hazy green and only tinged with the hurt of betrayal. Jason knows a lot of what he did back then was a choice- that his hurt was valid and his actions understandable in the face of that. Hell, he even still believes a lot of the problems in their city and the world could be solved if certain people were dead and had never been one for Bruce’s code- but during that conversation he’d started to wonder how much of his memory of Bruce as a man was altered and warped by the pit, how much of how he felt was amplified and twisted by a snubbed Talia and her father’s cursed waters.
He’d told Bruce as much during that conversation- saying he needed time to sort that out, but he was willing to give Bruce one final chance.
Bruce agreed and they had built their relationship back up slowly- Bruce starting therapy, working on his communication and coping methods, and Jason taking the time to confirm how much of his memory was real and how much was warped.
Bruce still wasn’t perfect- no one ever is; Jason certainly isn’t- but he’s started to see the Dad he’d had as a boy again. The dad that took him in and loved him wasn’t gone- just buried deep with the loss of his child.
And now- Two years later- here they are, sitting together in a restaurant as a Father and two sons.
Jason never thought he’d be a part of a family again when he rose from those green waters, but he’s glad he is.
------------🦇🌈------------
The day before Pride- Clark, J’onn, Roy, and Jaime arrive in the cave through Zeta.
“Jaybird!” Roy sing-songs as he throws an arm around Jason’s shoulder- Jason snorts - as Roy jostles him back-and-forth, “Glad to see you haven’t forgotten about me! I’ve been so lonely!”
“Shut up,” Jason laughs, “You’re too annoying to forget,”
Roy gasps, dramatically putting his hand on his chest, “Jay!”
Jason flings his own arm around Roy, looking to where Clark and his dad are having a wordless conversation that Jason can’t understand. Clark looks comically disbelieving while Bruce looks dramatically melancholy as Clark waves his arm wildly in Roy and Jason’s direction. Whatever- Jason rarely got their wordless conversations. It was usually about dad stuff anyway. Speaking of-
“Where’s Lian?” Jasons asks- he was hoping to see her. He absolutely adores Roy’s little girl.
“With Ollie and Dinah,” Roy responds, “She and Dinah are going to have a girl’s day tomorrow while I get sweaty in your uniform,” Roy winks and Jason smacks him. Clark is back to wildly flapping his arms with wide eyes at them; Bruce only sighs, shaking his head.
“Hey!” Dick calls as he enters the cave, “Roy! How have you been, man?”
“Pretty good, Dickiebird. You?” Jason’s lost Roy’s attention to his brother for the moment, so Jason moves over to Jaime and the leaguers.
“Hello Jason,” Clark smiles, “Thanks for lettin’ me interview you for your public return. You been good, son?”
“Good but busy,” Jason replies awkwardly- he’s always been pretty awkward around Clark. It’s not that he dislikes the man- Jason just never knows how to handle his friendly Southern-Midwestern personality as someone who spent formative years in Crime Alley. Plus Jason has a clear bias for the other two members of the Trinity- His dad and Wonder Woman.
“So I’ve heard. Your Pa’s been braggin’ ‘bout you non-stop since you accepted the post as head of the Wayne Foundation,” The embarrassed punch to the ribs he receives from Jason’s father doesn’t even make him blink but does make him look smug.
Jason feels his whole face flush and attempts to fight off the smile that’s twitching at his lips.
It’s still always such a pleasant surprise to hear the Bruce is proud of him- whether it’s from someone else or his father himself- that Jason never knows how to react outwardly with other people around. He’s always torn between disbelieving and bashful- based on his father’s reaction, Bruce is much the same when people tell his kids he’s been bragging.
“I knew you were the favorite!” Dick calls from his spot next to Roy. Dick doesn’t look like he really means it.
“Dick,” Bruce’s tone is full of warning however, “I don’t have favorites,”
“He really doesn’t” Clark says, his voice full of amusement, “He brags on the rest of you just as much. Jay and Tim are just in the middle of huge projects right now that Bruce won’t stop bragging about it. Just last week, Bruce wouldn’t shut up that you’d started to teach tumbling at a community center in Blüdhaven,”
“Clark,” Bruce snaps, “They know I’m very proud of them- you know they know. Stop trying to embarrass me because you think Jaime’s reaction is amusing,”
Sure enough; Jaime is looking at them all wide-eyed his eyes snapping back and forth when someone speaks. Kid’s obviously never seen Batman as anything but professional and distant. Tim probably never informed the kid and Damian wouldn’t share anything about the family with outsiders unless it was pertinent to a mission- the only exception being Jon, who knows the family’s secrets through his own Father.
J’onn is obviously also very amused by the conversation and Jaime’s reaction- even with a face as hard to read as J’onn’s is.
“The reason you’re here is to brief all of you on our behaviors during past Pride events- so it will be consistent and not suspect,” Bruce says, trying to draw attention away from poor Jaime and himself, “I imagine Roy will have an easier time embodying Red Hood than Clark and J’onn will as Batman and Nightwing. Roy why don’t you stick close to J’onn tomorrow, if you can, as you know Dick and Jason the best,”
Roy gives a salute, “I’ll try not to convince J’onn to ruin Dickie’s rep- OW! I’m kidding!”
“Clark, you’ll be fine so long as you keep visual to a minimum- expose yourself only if you feel there’s trouble that your presence alone can prevent,” Bruce turns to Jaime, “If you wouldn’t mind waiting, Duke will be home from school soon and we can introduce you to him,”
“Sure thing! He’s, like, the only Wayne kid I’ve never met so I’m pretty stoked to meet him,” Jaime replies, slowly beginning to relax now that Bruce is back to professional, “Tim says he’s cool,”
“Don’t let his warm disposition fool you- our kid brother is as chaotic as the rest of us,” Jason grins, all teeth, as he leans against a table, “The kid jumped off one of the main bridges before he was even properly trained up and is the only one that does regular day time patrols- Last week he gave a ‘Chad’ harassing a girl on the street a wedgie by hanging him from a lamp post,”
“His friends had to get him down while he cried for his mom,” Dick laughs, “At least according to Duke,”
“I like the guy already,” Jaime laughs as well.
The rest of the time while the four fill-ins are there is spent introducing Jaime to Duke, guiding them through their basic equipment, informing them of their previous behavior patterns at Pride, and trying Duke’s costume on Jaime. Jaime I taller and lankier than Duke, but overall the uniform fit fairly well, which is a relief considering they would have only a day to make alterations if it didn’t fit.
They see their guests off at the Zeta- Roy embracing Jason tightly with a playfully dramatic wail which sets Clark off again with his own silent histrionics in Bruce’s direction.
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The entire family wakes up early the next day.
Jason wakes up earlier than his family- he’ll be the first to leave the house today before the sun is even up- to get dressed and presentable for opening ceremonies. Jason’s made sure he’s got everything he needs on him when he makes his way downstairs for breakfast.
Alfred, the absolute saint that he is, has a plate and a cup of tea ready for Jason at the table.
He’s enjoying his breakfast when Alfred comes up behind him, holding a drawing bag for his grandson, “Master Jason, I’ve taken the liberty of packing you a bag of essentials to have with you today. The heat and humidity will be quite high today after all,”
“Thanks Alfie,” Jason says after swallowing a mouthful of eggs, “I’d planned on packing a bag before leavin’ this morning but, as always, you’re perfect,”
Alfred smiles wryly at him, patting his curls, “Thank you for the praise, Master Jason. I’ve packed some for your siblings and father as well and I shall be here to welcome Mister Kent and the others when they arrive to don your uniforms,”
“You’re the best Alfie,” Jason leans into the affectionate patting.
Jason quickly finishes his breakfast- taking the time to carry his dishes to the sink- before heading out. He’s a bit glad he’ll get preferred parking being a major sponsor; traffic is already going to be a nightmare without the parking issue added to it.
Luis is already waiting for him at the fairgrounds- this is probably the first time Jason’s seen him dressed casually- clipboard in hand. They’ve got to make sure security is ready and that the Wayne Enterprises booths are good to go. The main Wayne Foundation booth is set up already, thanks to some very gung-ho volunteers, and its ready to receive donations and provide services and aid to those in need that come to the day carnival.
There’s a variety of other booths already ready to go from other organizations and businesses as well. There’s even a small business booth that’s selling Pride themed Bat Family merchandise- Jason will be sure to drop by after his inspections done.
Jason is just finishing up with the child-friendly area when he spots a group of older men setting up a booth a ways off. They’re being helped by some younger folk- possibly their children- and all of them are decked out in rainbows. It’s a booth dedicated to support for those that come out when they’re much older- An educational booth that validates older generations and educates younger ones. Jason had made sure these sorts of booths were given placement priority.
Once his inspections were done, Jason does swing back around to the Bat Pride booth. The young man running it flaps his mouth like a fish when Jason approaches making Jason snort as he looks through this person’s hand-made bat family merchandise. They’ve got everything from T-shirts to Bags. Jason opts for a rainbow bat patterned headband to keep his bangs out his eyes. The bat pattern on the headband isn’t specifically shaped like any of his family’s symbols so it feels safer than any of the Red Hood merch that he’s tempted to get- Good old Bat caution keeps him from buying any of the Red Hood items. Tim would be the only member of the family that it wouldn’t be out of character purchasing specific hero merch.
Jason heads to the stage, after donning his new headband, to meet up with Luis. The young man is directing stage hands and volunteers around to get ready for opening ceremonies and day shows.
Everything is going well and on time.
His family shows up shortly before crowds start arriving. Bruce is wearing a fanny pack which delights Jason to no end.
Jason takes the opportunity to introduce Tim and Bruce to Luis, who is so nervous he defaults to an even more professional demeanor. Bruce and Tim take it in stride- Bruce donning his ‘empty-headed single dad’ Brucie persona and Tim going for his brilliant but weak teen behaviors. Luis no longer feels threatened, but clearly can’t relax around two very rich and powerful people.
The fairgrounds are getting more full by the second now, and the scheduled start time for the event is fast approaching, so Jason and his family move to the stage.
Jason looks out at the sea of people from his spot on the stage and sees a handful of familiar faces amongst the crowd. He sees Alan Scott and his son Todd decked out in rainbows and Jennie-Lynn- Alan’s daughter- wearing a ‘Proud Daughter/Sister’ shirt as she stands between her father and brother. Jason sees Kate and Montoya standing together arm-in-arm throwing him thumbs-up. Helena Bertinelli is there too and so are Steph, Barbara, and her dad- Jim wisely not wearing his badge. There’s Bette hanging with a group of friends and the Fox family near the front with the sponsors. He sees the Row siblings with a group of their friends
Bruce pats him on the back as he steps forward to start the opening ceremonies with the Mayor.
“Welcome everyone to Gotham Pride 20XX!” The Mayor says, clapping along with the crowd, “Every year our fair city has celebrated this even with a style of fervor no other city can pull off. I’m proud to say that this city is one of the few that has this event rain, shine, and through near apocalyptic events. Gotham is strong. Gotham is proud. On this great day many citizens of Gotham stand together and celebrate our diversity and strength with open hearts,”
The crowd cheers, clapping and whistling, “This event wouldn’t be possible without all of you- so let’s make this year’s Pride better than the last once again!” There’s more cheering, and the Mayor gestures to The Wayne’s, “This would also not be possible if not for the charitable acts of the Wayne family. Through the efforts of Jason Wayne and his team an event of this size wouldn’t be possible. Give him a hand folks!”
Jason steps up to the mic, shaking the Mayor’s hand.
“Thank you,” Jasons clears his throat, “I’d like to thank everyone for coming. My family and I may have paid for and organized much of this event for the last two decades, but this isn’t just for us. This is for every one of you- You who make this city alive. You, who make this city worth fighting for and make me proud to be a Gothamite. Let’s have a great Pride!”
The crowd cheers when the music takes its cue to start, signaling the start of the event.
The MC steps up, announcing the first stage act of the day, while Jason and his family exit the stage. Jason very firmly tells Luis to take time and enjoy the event for himself- he worked very hard and deserves it after all.
“Everything looks wonderful, Jaylad, I’m so proud of you,” Bruce says, hugging Jason with one arm.
“Thanks Dad,” He mutters in reply.
Dick takes Damian’s hand- earning himself an indignant squawk from their baby brother- and saying cheerfully, “C’mon! I wanna see the carnival from the ground for once!”
And then the family is off to enjoy the carnival before they have to head over to the parade route and board the Wayne Foundation float.
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Their first stops are the merchandise booths- paying special attention to the hand-crafted artist booths and the small business booths. Dick picks up a cheesy black tank-top declaring him ‘Pantastic’ while Tim browses through the booth Jason had gotten his headband from and selects five asexual vinyl stickers- all of which are based on Robin uniforms. Duke grabs a bisexual snapback cap with a melting aesthetic while Cass goes for a lesbian flag to hang around her shoulders like a cape. Damian carefully selects a small Demi pin to attach to his bag while Bruce gets a bisexual wrist band.
All of them get their faces painted.
They play a handful of games, careful not to play too well in public, and stop by the petting zoo- Jason made sure to vet this one extensively for their animal care lest Damian rain holy hell down upon the staff and the Manor winds up with a dozen new residents.
The also stop by some of the educational booths- Damian and Duke in particular find them fascinating.
The family also chats with a few of the familiar faces he’d seen earlier. Alan Scott is a little emotional, as this is his first Pride since coming out, when they chat with him and his kids. Cass, Babs, Harper, Cullen, and Steph run off together for a bit, making Bruce call out to Cass that she should keep track of the time to meet up at the float mid-conversation with Jim Gordon. Kate bullies Bruce a bit as usual when they meet up with her and Montoya- Bruce bullies her back, embarrassing his little cousin in front of her partner.
Eventually, it’s time to move on to meet their float for the parade.
Jason and Luis had poured over several designs for the float- some of their own and others made by volunteers- and with some careful ingenuity and planning they’ve designed a large and beautiful float.
The base of the float is a large rainbow hand facing palm up making it appear to be holding up ad supporting the two story trailer that is modified to look like Gotham’s Gothic architecture but sporting rainbows and Pride flags all over it as well as a Black Lives Matter banner and numbers for Wayne Foundation services; The hand symbolizes community supporting Gotham together. The bottom half of the float’s main structure holds a DJ booth and speakers that are connected to more speakers on the open top half of the float. On board the float are boxes of T-shirts, sunglasses, and miniature pride flags to handout to Parade viewers. There’re also at least 3 massive coolers with ice and drinks.
The float itself will be behind are Wayne Foundation banner carried by Foundation LGBTQ+ volunteers and Wayne Enterprises LGBTQ+ employees and allies that will march ahead of the float- The disabled employees/volunteers that wish to do so will ride the float with the Wayne’s but there is a safety weight limit to the structure. Jason figures his own family will be marching part of the way anyway, so as many people as they can fit on the float when they’re not on it can and should be done.
The family immediately meets up with those assigned to the Foundation banner when they arrive at the start of the parade route; opting to walk the first part of the Parade with the banner.
Tim is applying sunscreen to his arms while Damian whines about not needing application, “Father, I grew up in and around a desert. I do not need as much sunscreen as Timothy,”
Bruce steadfastly ignores Jason’s baby brother, applying SPF 70 to Damian’s cheeks and forehead.
Jason and Dick are laughing at Damian’s put out expression, leaning on each other and trying to get their breath back. The ever proud Damian’s face is scrunched up in the most annoyed and disgusted expression they’ve ever seen- he actually looks like a child. It only gets worse when Bruce bodily turns Damian around to get the back of his neck, “Father! I am not a child!”
“Damian, you’re thirteen,” Bruce sighs, “Yes, you could probably get your neck by yourself, but just let me be a dad, okay?”
Jason stops laughing, looking to his older brother who has also ceased his laughter. Dick meets his eyes, understanding his unspoken question, with a nod. Jason casually pushes Tim in Bruce’s direction after their father has finished with Damian, and before Tim can finish applying his sunscreen himself, while Dick does the same with Duke. When Bruce looks up from finishing Damian, he’s got a partially sunscreened Tim staring back at his brothers with understanding and wordlessly begins to apply sunscreen to Tim’s face and neck. Duke is having his turn with ‘Sunscreen-Man’ when Cassandra meets back up with them.
Their only sister takes one look at the scene before understand what is happening- applying sunscreen to her arms, but not her face and neck, like her brother’s had done.
Each of them has their turn having sunscreen applied by their father. Jason approaches last, not meeting Bruce’s eyes at first until Bruce tilts his face toward him to apply the sunscreen.
Bruce’s expression is so warm and soft that it squeezes something in Jason’s chest. This is his Dad- the one that took him in and held him after nightmares, the one that tossed him on his shoulders and swung him around until he was laughing himself sick; The Dad he’d convinced himself wasn’t real. Jason can feel his eyes start to burn- tears trying to choke him here in public- and fights it down. It’s such a stupid thing to cry over- He’s not even sad!
Bruce doesn’t mention it but does drop a kiss to the top of his head before turning him around to get the back of his neck. He doesn’t think the rest of his siblings notice either, but maybe they’re trying to save his dignity for once.
When Jason composes himself enough to turn around he sees Dick is applying sunscreen to the back of Bruce’s neck as their father had done for them, “Thanks, Chum,” Bruce smiles, bumping shoulders with the eldest Wayne child. Bruce applies sunscreen to his own face before heading into the float to get some of the favors to hand out to attendees.
They line up behind the banner together when they heard the starting cheers and revving motorcycles far ahead of them.
Gotham Pride is underway.
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Walking the sea of rainbows from the ground is now one of Jason’s favorite experiences.
Jason can even see a few silt-walkers ahead of them as they march, letting out woops and hollers.
Most of his family abandons the banner fairly quickly.
Dick at some point gets his hands on a large pansexual flag and has started doing acrobatic stunts in time with the music playing from their float’s speakers earning himself insane amounts of cheering as they pass. Cass does some dancing with her lesbian flag cape- looking graceful as she spins down one of Gotham’s now colorful streets.
Duke is running back and forth, passing out miniature flags and high-fives.
“Happy Pride!” Dick shouts as he does a flip, spinning the flag as he flies.
“Woo! Yeah!”
“I am not broken! I am not broken! I am not broken!” is chanted from behind them- Tim’s voice joining in as it’s an Ace pride group.
A few of the volunteers and employees are in their group clapping fans in unison, many are dancing, and others are handing out the favors along the route. Jason’s dancing too- not gracefully or with great skill like his sister- but just enjoying the beat of the music as he waves and high-fives people.
There’s an extra loud group of shouts pretty far ahead of them, but Jason pays it no mind- Clark would get there if it was a problem.
Bruce is handing out hugs to people there alone- tight squeezes to everyone with even a hint of tears in their eyes.
Jason looks around and spots Damian throwing candy and whistles in the air for people to catch- mostly those that have children with them.
About halfway through the parade the family boards the float, drinking water and reapplying sweated off sunscreen. Jason and his family throws candy and sunglasses, fires t-shirts, and wave from the top of their double-decker float. Dick, Cass, and Duke are practically hanging off the thing- waving flags and cheering, “Happy Pride!” and “We love you Gotham!”
Once they reach the closest point to the Narrows, Duke begins hollering in earnest- “Narrows Represent!” earning himself several calls in return every time he shouts it.
As they come up on one of the usual spots for religious biggest to protest they get to see one of the usual funniest sights from the ground for the first time- Red Hood (Roy) pour multicolored paint over the top of protestors with using the grapple-line. This action earns massive cheers and chants of “Hood! Hood! Hood! Hood!” as the protestors shriek and holler when the paint comes down on them. The bigots scurry away to the cheering of spectators as Red Hood passes right over their float.
Bruce puts an arm around him as they watch the aftermath of Jason’s usual antics performed by Roy Harper. They can all see firsthand the effect of sending the bigots running totally off. There’s visible relief and joy on the faces of spectators close by, “You do good work, Jaylad,” Bruce says softly in Jason’s ear.
“Thanks, Pops,”
The route gets as close as it’s going to Crime Alley now, so it’s Jason’s turn to do the call and response Duke was doing, “Crime Alley Kids! Make some noise!”
“Woo!”
The family disembarks the float before the parade ends- dancing in the streets, passing out hugs, hotline cards, candy, and flags. There are several more ‘bigot camps’ that are splattered with paint and they manage to catch sight of Clark, J’onn, and Jaime on the rooftops near the end of the parade route- Clark disappearing quickly in the other direction.
Once they reach the end of the parade viewing route they bid farewell to employees and volunteers before Jason splits off from his family to return to his duties as the major sponsor and organizer of the event.
He returns to the fairgrounds as the sun begins to set- making sure everything for the night festival is up and running; which includes paying or tipping any hired day services and increasing security. He’s also got a really annoying interview to attend for the Gotham Gazette- He’s not looking forward to their annoying personal questions that he’s going to have to blatantly ignore to keep focus on the event and the Foundation.
The moment the Night Carnival is in full swing at around 10 pm Jason wants to just lay face first in a tub of aloe and drown in lemonade. He’s been up since 4:30 this morning and he’s still got to change into Red Hood to keep an eye on the night events.
Jason already feels exhausted and he hopes nothing too serious goes down in Gotham tonight because he doesn’t think anyone in his family is going to have the energy to deal with major incidents. Every Gotham vigilante was at this event since this morning, and while Gotham’s Rogues Gallery is never active during Pride, for whatever reason, there’s still regular crime and an uptick in Hate Crimes after the parade and during the night events.
God, Jason wishes he could just shoot the bigots on site- save him and his family lots of trouble. He doesn’t even have to stand up to pull a trigger.
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Jason gets back to the Manor at 11:45 pm.
The moment he begins to make his way to the Cave he is waylaid by Alfred, who prods him into eating dinner while saying, “Master Bruce was very explicit in his order to keep you home tonight, Master Jason. You have worked very hard on this event and all day in the sun- It is time to rest, dear boy,”
“Alfie-“ Jason begins- ready to argue.
“No, Master Jason, you are to relax. Your father and siblings- who woke up hours later than you did- will handle it. Their presence will be deterrent enough for most and I do believe Mister Kent has offered to stick around part of the night to help where possible. Off to the shower and bed with you now, Master Jason,” Alfred says in a stern tone that not even Bruce would argue with.
“Fine…But I want to be woken up if anything major happens,” Jason sulks as he finishes off his dinner.
“As you wish, Master Jason,” Alfred says, clearing away Jason’s dishes, “Off you pop,”
Jason sulks all the way up to his room and all through his shower. He wants to be out there helping- keeping people safe and doling out justice with the rest of his family, but Grandpa says ‘No’ and no one disobeys Alfred.
As Jason exits his ensuite bathroom, he sees that his bedding is fresh and already turned down for him- Alfred really wants him in bed.
With a sigh, Jason crawls under the blankets, sends a quick text to Roy to thank him, and let’s himself fall asleep.
It’s still dark when Jason wakes to the sound of someone coming into his room. Instantly on alert, he grabs the only weapon he’s allowed upstairs- a bowie knife- and tries to figure out by ear who’s walked into his bedroom. The way the intruder is walking they’re taking steps to be heard and known in case he’s awake but soft enough to not to wake him if he’s deeply asleep. The cant of the steps is familiar and safe- Bruce.
Now that Jason’s a little more aware, and knows it’s his dad, he relaxes and let’s go of the knife so it lays safely under his pillow again. Jason cracks open his eyes to peer at his father in the darkness, making Bruce stall his approach.
“Sorry for waking you, Jaylad,” Bruce says softly.
“What’s up? Shit- There an emergency?” The fact it isn’t Alfred that woke him and that Bruce hadn’t actually tried to wake him doesn’t register right away- he’s nearly entirely sitting up when it occurs to him.
“No, no. No emergency,” Bruce says, sitting on the edge of Jason’s bed, “I just-”
Jason waits impatiently for his father to answer- whatever had Bruce sneaking into his room better be worth waking him up for. Bruce, however, look a little embarrassed but there’s a loose anxiety around his eyes when he clears his throat, “I always check in on you kids when you’re home. I’ve not been caught before, but knowing you’re all safe in your beds and within reach- where I can protect you and comfort you- puts me at ease,”
Jason blinks at him, surprised, “And none of us have ever woken up before? How did you pull that off?”
Bruce swallows, “I normally only peek in through the door, with your siblings I still did, but- I don’t know- Maybe it’s seeing you work so hard, maybe it was seeing the good you’ve been doing with the foundation up close, or maybe it was seeing you smile in the sunshine and be called Jason Wayne- but I was having a hard time believing you’re real and that it’s not a dream…and you’re home that I couldn’t help but come closer,” Bruce’s voice is steady, but in the dim moonlight coming through Jason’s window, Bruce’s eyes look soft.
Jason takes a deep breath, “I’m real, Dad,” He whispers.
Bruce pulls him into his arms, petting his hair, “And I am so grateful you are, Sweetheart,” his dad whispers into his curls, “I’m proud of you,”
Jason feels fourteen again, wrapped up in his dad’s arms- safe and loved- after he’d just come out to Bruce.
Bruce just holds him for a bit before Jason begins to doze back off. He’s only vaguely aware of when Bruce pushes him back into his pillows and brings his blanket back up around him with a kiss to his forehead, “Goodnight, Jaylad,” is the last thing Jason’s aware of- he’s asleep before his father is even standing from his bed.
Pride is over in Gotham, but in the Wayne house it’s an everyday kind of thing.