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Jason had warned him. Though, Roy would be absolutely willing to admit that he didn’t at all think that this was what he’d meant. Jason’s life, death, past… it was all a tangled mess, and Roy was in no position to judge. And he didn’t care either, that Jason has had to do what he has to survive, that he’s ready and happy to go to extremes to make sure he is safe, to keep himself alive. Roy’s hands are plenty bloody, maybe nothing like Jason’s, but he was never going to hold it against him.
Roy knew Jason, and he could confidently say that because Jason has opened up so much to him. After everything they’d been through, he was ready to think that he could trust Jason anyway, but once they got together and Roy mentioned them moving in together, it would be better for them both, and Lian absolutely loved Jason… well things took a turn.
Because Jason knew Lian trusted him, and he knew Roy trusted him with his daughter. So, Jason had sat Roy down and told him everything. And there was a lot, and it was clear there were things Jason wanted to forget, it was clear that Jason didn’t see himself as anything but a horrible person. But Roy couldn’t look past the fact that this was a man who had his life ripped from him when he was just a kid, in every definition, and had to rebuild himself.
And when Jason had told him that he was still in with the league, Roy wasn’t surprised, nor could he blame him. For everything that Ra’s was, Talia loved Jason and did care about him. She treated him like her son. And as much as Roy would rather keep himself as far away from being tangled up in the League’s shit, again, he can’t blame Jason for looking to Talia as a mother. He knows that Jade isn’t going to use the excuse to try and get to Lian, Roy knows that she loves their daughter too much, and will keep to her word. He’s not worried about Lian, and he knows he shouldn’t be worried about Jason because this is his life.
He hadn’t thought for a second that maybe he’d have to worry about himself. Especially after how many years it’s been since he and Jason got together.
Surely Talia knew that Jason was with him, and his foggy brain takes maybe a little too long to realise, that was why this was happening. Because he might be familiar with the League of Assassins, but they were still the League of Assassins. No one is really ever prepared or familiar enough with them. He’s sure they could even catch Jason off guard if they wanted to.
So, the fact that he was captured by them shouldn’t be a surprise, even if it is alarming. And he did put up a fight, but it was clear they weren’t trying to kill him. No weapons, no blood was drawn from him, though he was sedated, so who knows what happened to him while he was out. His body feels heavy, but he doesn’t ache from head to toe. And his head is foggy, but that’s to be expected.
His eyes focus to see Talia standing before him, hip cocked and that usual sly smile on her face. Roy exhales and allows his eyes to fall shut as he tries to figure out what’s going on. He’s not restrained, but he can only assume that there are at least a dozen people with their eyes on him and that if he does anything stupid, they may decide that they want to kill him.
Roy tips his head back with a groan, his hips sliding forward on the chair as his legs sprawl out. His head was spinning and he was sweating. He flexes his fingers because it feels like he’s not getting enough blood flow to them. He has to swallow a few times before he even attempts to use his voice.
“So… if you’re not going to kill me, what do you want from me?” He asks, his head still flopped back over the back of the chair.
“Just to talk, that’s all.” Talia’s voice shows nothing but indifference, like he was the one who showed up to bother her.
Roy hums a little and tips his head forward again, still slouched in his chair because it’s too much effort to use his spine to keep himself sat up right now. “Why do I feel like a kid getting into trouble?”
“Should you be in trouble?” Talia raises an eyebrow and takes a step closer to him. Roy quickly glances down her body. If she’s carrying any weapons, he can’t see them. Even the holster on her thigh doesn’t have anything in it.
“I’m assuming this has something to do with Jason.”
“People always say that you’re smarter than you look.”
Roy scoffs and rolls his eyes. He straightens his shoulders a little and finally sits up a bit more, only because Talia is standing a lot closer now, and he doesn’t like how she towers over him.
“I have my moments.”
Talia hums herself like even she knows he’s undermining himself. Roy can’t figure out what she actually thinks of him. Most people just assume he’s an idiot, which is still a problem to this day. Roy’s long given up caring. Plus, it can be fun watching them realise that Roy Harper isn’t stupid in ways that leave them embarrassed beyond belief.
“Okay so… why am I here?” Roy asks, shrugging his shoulders. Talia reaches out and tucks a strand of his hair back behind his ear.
“As you said, it has to do with Jason.”
“Okay… but Jason’s fine. I haven’t done anything, and I know you know that. You wouldn’t even get a chance to touch me if I hurt Jason, because he’d already have me dead.” Roy points out. Talia makes a face.
“I don’t know if it would be that simple. He loves Lian, he treasures her. He wouldn’t want her to be without you.” Talia keeps that indifference to her tone, which is making it really hard for Roy to figure out her game plan.
“Even more reason for you to not kill me then. Because he’d be pissed at you.”
“Exactly,” Talia smiles, and suddenly Roy doesn’t feel as safe as he had.
“I haven’t done anything. I wouldn’t. I love Jason, with every fibre of my body. I’m not going to hurt him, if that’s what your concern is?” He sounds unsure because he is. What was Talia’s game plan? She’s never been hostile toward him, but they’ve also only ever been in passing, it’s not like they really talk.
“Jason’s safety and happiness will always be my concern. You need to understand that Jason’s wrath would be nothing compared to my own if you ever hurt my son.” Talia trails her finger down Roy’s jaw and he can’t help but roll his eyes. She’s trying to scare him and make him uncomfortable. Trying to make him squirm and squeal. But he isn’t scared, he has no reason to be. Talia won’t touch him, because Jason would never forgive her, and he really has done nothing wrong in the first place.
Talia isn’t her father, as much as Ra’s wants her to be.
“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m going to just have to take your word on it. Jason’s my world, and even if you weren’t standing here threatening me, I would tell you the same thing; I’m never going to hurt him, I swear my life on it.” Roy raises his own eyebrows like he’s waiting for her to continue to try standing on his throat.
Talia makes another noise and Roy really can’t tell if she’s unimpressed or pleased with what he’s saying. He has no idea what she wants from him, he has no idea if he’s helping his case or not. Because he’s not actually trapped here, and yet he feels like if he tries to leave, she’ll have his head.
“You realise that I have to deal with Bruce on a semi-regular basis, right? I don’t need to have you down my throat too.” Because Bruce acts like it was just yesterday that he was hooked on heroin and not almost eight years ago.
“Bruce is… troubled.” And the way Talia says it, that almost makes Roy feel pity for her. Because it’s clear there was something there at some point, enough for them to have Damian for Christ's sake, but even he knows that’s the past too.
“Yeah, no shit. You gonna threaten him too for what he did to Jason?” Roy knows he’s pushing it by being snarky. But if Talia thinks that she can stand here and act like he’s in the wrong for loving Jason, then surely Bruce has to be in deep shit for almost killing him.
“Bruce has suffered already for that. I assure you.” And her tone is a little cruel, and Roy never really noticed anything that damaging to Bruce, it’s not like she took an eye or anything, but he’s sure whatever she did to him, Bruce more than deserved it and a hell of a lot more pain.
“Good, he’s lucky I didn’t put an arrow through him. Though… I know Jason wouldn’t want me to.”
“Jason may hate Bruce, but there will always be a part of him longing for the father Bruce was before his death.” Talia’s voice finally shows some emotion, and Roy almost hates that it's sorrow and misery. But he gets it because Jason has suffered so much, but losing Bruce, that’s probably been the hardest thing for him.
“Yeah, I know. He still has nightmares.” Roy murmurs.
“I don’t know if he’ll ever be free of them.” And Roy could agree with that. He still had nightmares that have haunted him since he was a kid. He still had nightmares brought on from being high on drugs, from when he first got Lian in his custody, from a number of things. He can’t imagine the horrors that plague Jason.
“I’ve never been able to thank you, for saving Jason.” Talia’s voice is a lot lower than it had been, almost like she doesn’t actually want Roy to hear the words. But her tone is grateful.
“You don’t have to. I didn’t do it for anyone’s praise or thanks. And I didn’t do it because it was Jason. I did it because it’s what I do, I save people, I protect them. I’ve been doing that my whole fucking life.” Roy murmurs. Yes, if it wasn’t Jason, he would have gotten whoever it was to a hospital as soon as he was able and it would have been up to the doctors to save their life. But because it was Jason, and because he said there was no one to help, he was the one who stitched Jason’s throat up.
“I know. But if Jason had died that night… I wouldn’t have had to destroy Bruce. He would have destroyed himself. It does… matter to him. And it more than matters to me.” Talia sighs, crossing her arms over her chest tight. Roy lowers his gaze and toys with his own fingers.
“Didn’t matter to him that night though.” He mutters under his breath. Bruce left Jason there, and Roy can only assume it was because he wanted him to die. He chose to keep the Joker alive over his own son. Jason may never be able to forgive Bruce, and Roy will never be able to understand it. How do you choose a crazed manic, the one person who already took your son's life over that son? Bruce wasn’t just troubled, he was deranged, he was fucked up.
“I know.” Talia keeps her own gaze averted. Surely, she didn’t bring him here just to thank him for that? That didn’t feel right, nor practical. She wants something from him still, but Roy can’t figure it out. Roy takes in a slow breath and glances around the room again. The fact that she isn’t holding a weapon to his throat is more unsettling than it would be if she was claiming that she would take his life.
“You know you could have just… sent a message, or called,” Roy states, shrugging his shoulders a little. He leans back in the chair he’s been placed in again, rolling his shoulders a little as his leg starts to bob with his ever-growing nerves. He clicks his tongue a little and raises his eyebrow expectantly for whatever excuse that Talia may have for her actions.
“It’s easier to judge someone’s character when you put them in an uncontrolled environment.” She states, her arms crossing tight over her chest. Not in a defensive action, she’s not intimidated by him. And that’s both understandable and a little insulting. He can be dangerous too.
“That’s comforting. Listen, as much fun as this was, I’d really like to go home to my husband now. Maybe you didn’t notice when you rudely kidnapped me, but I was meant to be cooking dinner tonight.” Roy states, tilting his head a little, only just now realising that he has no damn idea what happened to the groceries he’d gotten. Talia was going to owe him for that, he wasn’t scared of her enough to allow her to get away with that.
Talia averts her gaze a little, clicking her tongue loudly in the way that Damian does when he’s annoyed, or just around other people. So that’s where he got it from. Roy frowns though because Talia’s reaction isn’t what he expected. Not that she’s showing much, but the fact that she looks away from him has him tense.
“Is that what this is about? Because we eloped, no one knew about it for months, there was no wedding.” He states. Because if Talia was about to go full ‘monster-in-law’ on him, he was about to lose his shit. She might be the closest thing to a mother that Jason has, but she did not have any say in his love life, or in his relationships, and Roy definitely didn’t need to ask her for Jason’s damn hand in marriage. It was bad enough having Bruce look down on him like he was filth when he’s the reason Jason’s even still here.
“I’m aware, that’s not what this is about,” Talia states, readjusting her stance like she hadn’t thought she’d be caught. And Roy’s back to having no idea what is going on. And of course, Talia knew, Jason probably told her eventually. He supposes, they’ve been married long enough by now, that if Talia wanted to slap him around for it, she would have a lot earlier.
“Are you going to tell me anything or what? I’m sure Jason’s going to be worried as hell about me and a little pissed at you for taking off with me when he finds out you’re the reason that I vanished.” Roy throws his hands up a little. And maybe he should just try and leave, but he knows how the league works, he knows how Talia thinks. She will let him leave when she is ready to be done with him.
“You assume he doesn’t know where you are. You should really give him more credit than that. I did train him, after all.” Talia responds, smugly. Roy blinks slowly, taking a moment too long to realise; that Talia has told Jason where he is and what is going on. Jason knows everything, of course.
“He’s not far, relax,” Talia adds when she sees the pieces falling into place from the look on Roy’s face. She smiles a little more devilishly. “He just needed to get someone to watch Lian.”
“Wouldn’t have been a problem if you hadn’t snatched me off the street,” Roy murmurs under his breath as he slouches more in his chair. He doesn’t want to give too much away by being visibly nervous. Jason should be home, and Roy should be cooking dinner for his family. But it’s not like he could do anything about it now. And if Jason was on his way here, there definitely was no point in Roy trying to get out of here.
He knows he’s getting caught up in his own head, but he does that really well all the damn time. He closes his eyes and rests his head in his hands, taking in another slow breath. “You can’t ever do things the easy way can you?”
“As I said, it’s easier to judge someone’s character like this.” Talia rolls her shoulders back, straightening up as she turns away from Roy. He rubs his temples, feeling like he’s about to keel over from a stress-induced migraine.
“Are you at least going to tell me why I’m here now?” Roy asks, his voice a little strained. But Talia waves him off, and he can see the corner of her mouth turned up in a fond smile. He averts his gaze, trying to follow her line of sight, which is when he sees Jason coming into the warehouse.
Roy almost instinctively goes to stand up, but he manages to keep himself in his chair for just a little longer, just in case Talia decides that he isn’t allowed to go anywhere. He doesn’t need to suddenly have a knife to his throat or anything like that.
“You know, if you want to contact me, there are easier ways,” Jason murmurs as he crosses his arms over his chest. His gaze lingers on Roy for a moment before he looks at Talia, clearly making sure that he is okay first.
“That’s what I said,” Roy scoffs, making sure that he gives Jason a reassuring smile. Because he is okay, the grogginess has left his system, and while maybe he has a few bruises from the scuffle, he’s not hurt.
“I just wanted to make sure you were in good hands, sparrow,” Talia says as she steps closer to Jason. His arms drop to his sides, and Roy notices the way that his shoulders relax. And despite everything, Roy would never want to change the fact that his husband felt safe around the woman, enough to completely calm around her.
“Don’t trust me to make the right choices?” Jason asks, his lip curling up a little.
“You have been idolising him since you were a child. Your judgement could have been clouded.” Talia states it so factually. And while Roy would like to be able to argue with her on that, she’s not exactly wrong. Jason’s always looked up to him, and it’s no secret that when he was Robin, Jason did have a crush on him. He can understand how this may look.
“Was it?” Jason asks, and his eyes haven’t left Talia’s for a moment, which says more about their relationship than anything else. Jason isn’t looking for a way out, he isn’t trying to watch his own back. He knows that she won’t hurt him.
Talia lifts her hand and Jason leans into the contact before it’s even there. She pushes his fringe back from his face, her fingertips trailing around the edge of his face and lightly down his jaw. “Not at all, darling.”
That is more than a relief for Roy to hear, and he lets out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. Talia trusted him, without needing to trust Jason that he was in fact making the right choice. Roy stands slowly, which draws Jason’s attention to him. He offers Roy a fond smile and Talia turns to look back at him.
And the smile on her face… Roy’s not sure he’s ever seen her with that kind of love and affection in her gaze. Jason meant a lot to her, he knew that, but enough for her to show it to him. That was surprising.
“So, I passed the test? You’re not going to tell me to stay away from him?” Roy’s teasing, and it has Jason shaking his head a little, but his smile doesn’t fall for even a moment. He wants to be closer, but he also doesn’t want to actually get in the way of Jason and Talia. Because he isn’t around often, and Roy knows that.
“Just look after him, Roy. Look after them both.” Talia hums as her hand comes down from Jason’s face and rests against his stomach. Roy freezes up a little, glancing at Jason for a moment, not exactly knowing how to react, if he should act like he has no idea what she’s talking about.
Jason shrugs his shoulder slightly and Roy takes in a slow breath, trying to get his brain back in working order. “You told her?”
“He didn’t have to,” Talia states, like she could just know everything. Roy doesn’t buy it for a damn second. There’s no way she came to Gotham to capture him on a hunch that maybe Jason was pregnant.
“Wait, is this why you wanted to test me?” Roy asks because there was nothing that she said or did that even had him thinking for a moment that she knew about this. Though, maybe that would have given the game up too easily. Perhaps Roy should have figured it out sooner, the timing was too on the nose.
“I’m looking out for my child, and my grandchild.” There’s no heat to her tone, and yet Roy can’t help but get defensive. He hasn’t done anything to hurt Jason, and he would never even dream of it now because Jason was pregnant with his child. That thought… yeah that fucks with his head too much, and it sits in his chest as an ugly feeling that he hates.
“I don’t have to remind you that it was Jade that fucked off on me and kept my daughter from me, do I?” Roy asks, his tone a lot sharper than he knows it needs to be. Talia turns to face him fully, and her expression is calm and at the least a little understanding. She isn’t trying to make him out to be the bad guy here.
“This has nothing to do with your relationship with Jade.”
“Good, because I’m not going anywhere. The only way I’m going to leave is if you physically take me from him.” And Roy finally takes the chance to move closer to them. Jason reaches out for him, and Roy takes his hand without any hesitation.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Talia states as she looks back to Jason, that fondness returning to her eyes. “It’s clear that he needs you, and you make him happy.”
“He does.” Jason agrees, squeezing Roy’s hand, his thumb stroking over Roy’s knuckles. He lifts his gaze to Talia again when she moves closer to him. She lifts her hand to cup his face as she leans in to kiss his cheek. Jason’s eyes flutter shut as he leans into the contact.
“I love you, my sparrow.” And Roy only hears it because he’s within arm’s length of them. He chews the inside of his lip and loosens his hold on Jason’s hand so that he can pull away. But Jason squeezes a little harder, clearly not wanting him to move away.
“Love you too,” Jason murmurs softly as Talia pulls away. She offers him another fond smile before she moves away completely and turns to head out of the warehouse. Roy and Jason watch her go, and Roy finds it a little easier to breathe now that he doesn’t feel like he’s having his every move watched.
He runs his hand through his hair and exhales a deep breath. He looks back up at Jason and raises an eyebrow a little sceptically. “…Did you tell her?”
“Yeah.” Jason chuckles slightly and turns his body into Roy’s own. Roy’s hands almost instinctively come to rest on Jason’s hips, his thumbs rubbing against Jason’s stomach slightly, something he’s always done, but a habit that has become more common now that Jason is pregnant. Jason is noticeably not looking Roy in the eye though, which Roy knows he won’t do when he’s nervous.
“Hey, that’s fine. She’s… your mother or… whatever you see her as. Just… a heads up would have been nice so that I didn’t have to worry about her castrating me if I had slipped up.” Roy chuckles softly as he leans in and kisses the corner of Jason’s mouth. He keeps his forehead rested against Jason’s own as he continues to stroke his thumbs over Jason’s stomach, even if he couldn’t properly do so with how he was holding onto his husband.
“Sorry, I didn’t realise she was going to… do that.” Jason rubs the back of his neck, his gaze still averted a little. Roy scoffs and softly pinches Jason’s side, his lip turning up into a slight smirk when Jason looks up at him with a whine for it.
“You are the worst liar, Jason. You fully expected her to do something like that.” Roy can tell, because he knows Talia well enough to know that she would of course interrogate him, in her own way, once she found out that Jason was pregnant with his child. There’s no way at all that Jason didn’t see that coming.
“Okay but not so soon, I only told her today. I fully planned on giving you some forewarning.” Jason shrugs and finally relaxes a little. “I mean… I knew she wasn’t going to hurt you or do anything stupid, she’s just worried about me.”
“She loves you, Jason, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I just… wish she would trust me.”
“She does, she just… she worries,” Jason murmurs with another slight shrug. “But she knows how much you mean to me, and how much I want to have a family with you.”
Roy smiles fondly and leans in to kiss Jason without any thought. Because he loves Jason so damn much, and knowing that he wanted to carry their child, that was a mind-blowing thing to find out when they first spoke about it. And to have it now, to know that they were going to have a baby, that Jason was pregnant… it was still just as mind-blowing.
“I’m so lucky that I get to have this with you. I’m so excited for our baby.” Roy kisses Jason again, his arms coming around Jason’s waist fully as he hugs him tight against his body. Jason cradles the back of his head in his hand, pressing his face into the crook of his neck. And Roy knows that Jason is still in a lot of disbelief that this is happening, that they are going to be having a kid. It still overwhelms him some, so Roy doesn’t comment at all when he feels Jason’s shoulders shake a little from holding back on crying.
“I love you, Roy,” Jason murmurs, his voice muffled in Roy’s shoulder. And he can hear the hitch to his voice, but he knows it’s okay. Jason isn’t upset, he’s happy.
“I love you too, Jason,” Roy whispers as he gives Jason’s body a slight squeeze. “C’mon, let's get home, I still owe you and bubs dinner, after all.”
Jason chuckles again and nods, but he still doesn’t move for a moment, hugging Roy tight still. And Roy doesn’t try to move him, allowing Jason to have this moment. He was fine with Jason taking the time he needed.