Work Text:
Fleeing Gotham after Jason died had always felt like running away, no matter how much you tried to convince yourself otherwise. There was an itch under your skin and an aching guilt in your heart that crept up whenever you thought about it - about your partner's grave, the one you'd never even seen. About the fights you'd gotten in with him before he died… about the fights you'd had when he took on the Robin mantle in the first place. You're going to die, you'd told him. One day this will kill you . The night Bruce told you that Jason had been killed, you'd wished so desperately that you were wrong.
You can't tell, even now, if Bruce had deserved the way you lashed out at him. He led Jason into that life, yes, but he'd been just as broken by it as you. Your scathing words and shoves about how he killed Jason and why didn't he save him surely didn't help. Most days you can't find it in you to care. Every now and then, though, you wonder if this would be easier if you kept the Waynes close - if you hadn't forced yourself to grieve alone.
There was no home left there , you keep reminding yourself, there is nothing for me there .
But then, suddenly, there is. Redhood shows up on your TV - you still keep up with Gotham news every now and then, against your better judgment. And you recognize him instantly . You would know him anywhere - the way he moves, the way he fights. It's Jason.
So, you do the only thing you can think of - you call Bruce. He's shocked to hear from you - you went radio silent when you moved out of Gotham and told him never to contact you. You splutter out a question that resembles an enquiry about Jason and Redhood and Bruce confirms.
Yes, Jason Todd is alive.
Yes, he is the vigilante Redhood.
Yes, we've… done as much reconciling as we can.
Yes, Jason Todd is alive.
Alive. Alive. Alive.
Bruce is… kind. Kinder than he normally is. He asks how you're doing. You don't answer. He asks if you'll come back - everyone misses you, not just Jason. He'd been asking about you, apparently. Searching for you was the first thing he did, even before confronting Batman. He was heartbroken to find out that you'd disappeared. He found you, of course - you weren't hiding, just running away. But he didn't know what to do - didn't know how to show up and tell you he wasn't dead anymore.
"So," Bruce says again. "Are you coming back?" You stand up from your spot on your couch, walking slowly to your bathroom and flicking on the lights so you can stare at your reflection.
"I'm not the same me I was, Bruce. Are you sure Jason's not looking for someone that doesn't exist anymore?"
"He's not the same Jason anymore, either. He's Redhood now." Your eyes squeeze shut and you rub a hand against your forehead in a futile effort to ward off your oncoming headache.
"I… I miss Gotham," you say quietly. "I miss home. With… with or without Jason."
"Come home then."
And so you do. You get a sleek, top-floor apartment - god knows that with how much you work, you can afford it. And you just… keep living. Bruce has apparently passed on word that you're back. Dick comes to visit. Bruce comes to visit. Even Tim comes by to see your new place.
But Jason doesn't.
You know he's there; you can feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you're out, the feeling of being watched crawling up your spine. You know it's him. But what… what were you supposed to do?
Nothing, turns out. The world would do it for you, turns out.