Work Text:
Bruce reviewed the bi-monthly reports of Wayne Tech, writing down notes and questions for the developers. It had been a slow morning, his only appointment had been canceled, leaving him free for the rest of the day.
His phone beeped, an incoming call from his secretary. Bruce took the phone, fishing for a clip on his drawer, securing his notes to the carpet of the report. He held the phone between his shoulder and ear, deciding to do a second read of the report.
"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Wayne, I got an incoming call from Gotham Academy."
Bruce just sighed, asking his secretary to pass the call. Line one beeped, and Bruce was connected to Gotham Academy's principal's secretary.
"Good morning Mr. Wayne." The secretary sounded bored, Bruce could hear typing in the background. "Could you pick Jason? He is in the principal's office."
"What happened?"
Bruce heard the secretary sigh, he could imagine her rolling her eyes. "Boys being boys, nothing to fuss about, Mr. Wayne."
She hung up, and Bruce wondered what had happened to Jason. The boy hadn't told him about problems he had in school, he always talked wonders about the school's library, some of his professors, and how great Gotham Academy was. But he didn't trust Bruce, not when it mattered, he still had a runaway backpack hidden in his room, he didn't like to tell Bruce if he was injured during training, and, if he had problems in school, Bruce was going to be the last person Jason would confide in.
He arrived at the school, marching towards the principal’s office, the secretary gave him an unimpressed look, phoning to the office and telling Bruce to go inside. Jason and three boys were sitting next to the door, Jason didn’t look good, he held a bag of ice against his left eye, his lip was busted, and an ugly bruising was already blooming in his nose, a little crooked, dried blood on his lips and smeared over his cheek, his shirt, crisp white this morning, was dirty with green patches and stiff, Jason’s hair was sticky with, Bruce hopped, glue, and had glitter all over his face. The other three boys looked bad, one still had a bleeding nose, Bruce felt a little proud, knowing Jason could take three boys taller than him.
Jason looked scared when Bruce walked in, he looked at the floor and dragged his feet to the principal’s office behind Bruce. There, the man looked bored, pointing at the chairs in front of his desk. Bruce sat and pulled Jason to sit next to him, staring at the principal.
“Your boy here got into a fight,” the principal started, looking down at Jason, the boy squirmed under the attention. “He punched a few of our best students, and we don't take that kind of behavior lightly.” Jason scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “He will be suspended the rest of the week, and will have to apologize.”
Bruce looked at the door, knowing the three other kids were listening, they didn’t look bad, apart from a few bruises and a bloody nose, while Jason looked beaten down.
“Takes two for a fight to start,” Bruce said, putting his hand over Jason’s shoulders, “and I hope there is an investigation about this, from where I’m seeing it, Jason is covered in paint and glue, while the other kids just have some bruises.”
“I don’t think you want to go there, with Jason’s background things aren’t in his favor.”
Bruce stood up, pulling Jason with him, the kid looked up at him, scared. “I don’t think so, all of Jason’s old teachers had said he is a delightful child to have around, a stellar student, and a kind kid. I hope you notify me about the investigation of the incident, you don’t want this thing taken to the next instance, if you forgive me, Jason needs a bath and a change of clothes.”
Bruce didn’t give the man a moment to answer, he put his arms over Jason’s shoulder and dragged him away. Jason gave Bruce a wary look, walking past the boys and into the halls of Gotham Academy.
Bruce bought a milkshake for Jason, and he drove to the Manor, knowing Alfred had already prepped a bath for the boy, he had tried his best to help Jason, using wipes to clean the blood, paint, and glue as best as he could. He carried Jason to his room, a thing the kid only let him do when he was injured and high on painkillers. Jason was tiny, despite his age, clinging to Bruce and resting his cheek on Bruce’s shoulder. Bruce rubbed circles on his back, trying to soothe Jason.
“Alfred prepped a bubble bath, you can use a bath bomb if you want.”
“Can you help with my hair?”
Bruce nodded, carrying Jason to his bathroom and towards the big tub he had there. He helped Jason undress, carefully peeling the dirty shirt, stuck to Jason’s skin thanks to the paint. He started to hum, just to fill the silence, helping Jason into the tub, picking some rubber ducks he had bought for Dick when the kid first moved in. Jason started to play with the ducks, making them squirt water and move them in the tub.
“Can you talk about your day?” Jason asked, voice small and unsure. He looked tiny, knees tucked against his chest, squeezing the ducks to splash water.
“It was boring,” Bruce started, picking a scrub to help with the dry paint. “I was supposed to have a meeting with some investors, but they canceled at the last minute, and I had nothing to do, so I reviewed the reports of Wayne Tech. There are some new patents that could help Batman and Robin.”
Bruce kept talking, telling Jason about the reports, about the small talk he had with his secretary and Lucius, he talked about gossip in the office, seeing Jason get quieter, and sleepy, letting Bruce scrub his skin and wash his hair, gentle hands rubbing his scalp and easing the knots created by the glue. Bruce talked until his voice was hoarse, and then a little more, changing the water a few times, seeing the paint, glue, and glitter go down the drain.
“Come on, Jaylad,” Bruce said, bringing a fluffy towel for Jason to dry. “Let’s get you some clothes and watch a movie, okay?”
Jason nodded, lifting his arms and making grabby hands towards Bruce. He chuckled, pulling Jason up and wrapping the towel around him. Alfred had left a pair of pajamas for Jason, fresh and straight from the drier, warm and soft. Bruce helped Jason dress, and carried him to the movie theater, holding him close, letting the boy cuddle him and falling asleep on his lap.