Chapter Text
June 1
Bruce Wayne was a world class detective. He was highly trained in multiple forms of martial arts and espionage. He was confident in his ability to sneak into Jim Gordon’s house and pluck his eyebrows without waking him up, if such a situation arose.
All of these things were indisputably true and yet, Bruce could not leave his own home without someone knowing about it. If it wasn’t his own kids in the Cave, it was Alfred in the Manor. And Bruce could only take credit for training the kids, Alfred’s capabilities remained outside Bruce’s area of understanding, and not for lack of trying.
And so, with the Cave always occupied and the Manor haunted by a seemingly (hopefully) immortal butler, Bruce took a page out of Jason’s book — he climbed out the window.
He reached Bat Burger around four in the morning and slid into a booth with a large diet coke. A few minutes later his contact dropped into the seat across the table. She pulled a large notebook from her purse and placed it delicately on the table between them.
They both cast their eyes around the empty restaurant suspiciously before Bruce reached for the book.
“Okay,” Crystal said, leaning forward excitedly. “I was thinking a backyard party with buffet-style food.”
She flipped forward several pages until the book showed a collage of magazine clippings. Flower pairings and table setups and recipes.
“Sounds lovely,” Bruce murmured. “If Gotham had a reliable climate.”
Crystal grunted. “Gotham does have reliable weather. Reliable to rain.” She flipped the page. “If that’s the case, we move it inside. There’s plenty of room.”
Bruce pulled out his own notebook and scribbled some notes. “Alfred has come up with a possible menu —“ he flipped a few pages back “— a caprese salad, polenta gnocchi with speck and mushrooms, and a seafood stew.”
“Do we know about any allergies?”
Bruce frowned, flipped through his notebook. “I’ll find out for sure.”
“Perfect,” Crystal grinned. “Let’s talk color schemes.”
Steph tiptoed into the library. Jason was asleep on the couch, hand hanging off the side, fingertips brushing a book on the floor. Stephanie the cat was perched on his shoulder, her tail flicking in content. Their faces were close together, nuzzled happily.
The two Stephanies stared at each other, for a moment. Sized each other up. At least, that’s what human Stephanie was doing. She assumed the cat was doing the same.
Steph launched herself at the couch and two things happened in close succession. First, the cat vaulted three feet in the air. Second, Jason bolted upright. The result of these two things was a beautiful piece of physical comedy in which Stephanie the cat landed on Jason’s head and the two of them ricocheted off each other.
“What the fuck,” Jason breathed, now on the floor.
Steph would have responded, if she wasn’t busy laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe.
Jason snagged a pillow off the couch and hucked hucked it at her head. Steph would have dodged it, if she wasn’t so busy laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe.
"Anyway," she panted, flopping onto her back and expertly ignoring the look Jason was giving her.
"I didn't know you were coming over."
"I wasn't," she said, gazing at the library ceiling. "And then I learned something interesting."
When Steph didn't continue, Jason flicked her in the forehead. "Stop speaking in riddles."
Steph sighed and shifted to sit in the corner of the couch, grabbing a pillow for comfort.
“I think Bruce and my mom are,” Steph paused, mostly for dramatic effect, “hanging out.”
Jason’s eyebrows shot up towards the stratosphere. “What do you mean hanging out?”
“I mean, Tammy Stevens saw my mom at Bat Burger in the wee hours of the morning with a man matching Bruce’s civilan description like three times last week.”
They stared at each other for a good, long while.
“You don’t think —“
“Oh my god no… unless —“
“No way.”
“You should ask Bruce.”
“What!” Jason’s voice cracked, shooting up three octaves.
Steph buried her face in the pillow. “I don’t wanna ask my mom!”
“I’ve known Bruce for like, not even a year. You’ve known Crystal your whole life. Suck it up!”
“Oh my god fine,” she practically wailed into the pillow. They sat in silence for several more minutes before Steph shot to her feet and announced, “I’m going home!”
“This could have been a text!” Jason yelled at her back.
The next day, Steph plotted and schemed and cornered her mother in the kitchen when she was unloading groceries.
Steph leaned awkwardly against the counter and Crystal shot her a look. “What?”
“Nothing,” Steph said, forcing a smile.
“Uh huh.”
When Crystal finally turned back to the groceries, Steph blurted, “Are you fucking Bruce Wayne?”
Crystal’s head snapped up, but she didn’t turn toward Stephanie. She just stared wide-eyed at the cupboard a few inches from her nose.
“Because,” Steph continued, “I get that dad has been in prison for a while and also that he sucked, but like, there are soo many people in Gotham that aren’t my best friend’s new dad so I feel like we could find someone else and —“
“Stephanie!” Crystal shouted and Steph snapped her mouth shut. Crystal turned her entire body very slowly towards her daughter. “We’re planning a surprise graduation party for you and Jason.”
Steph sagged heavily against the counter, a relieved, slightly hysterical laugh escaping her lips. “Oh thank fuck,” she said, grinning, “also Jason’s gonna hate that.”
June 5
As a general rule, Jason trusted Stephanie Brown without question. This, typically, was a good thing. It was also, occassionally, an exercise in patience.
Three days prior, Stephanie had speculated about Bruce and Crystal. She had yet to report back with any information, and Jason refused to ask. Mostly because he didn’t want to know.
Finally, after three days of waiting, of Steph acting like everything was business as usual, Jason slammed his locker closed and said, “Did you talk to your mom?”
Steph, who was typing on her phone at the speed of light, said, “About what?”
Jason stared at her until she looked up. “Seriously?”
“What — Ohhhhh, okay, yeah, I did.” She stopped, paling slightly and Jason braced himself for the worst. “It wasn’t Bruce at Bat Burger, it was some other guy, just a guy my mom met at work. She was trying to keep it lowkey or whatever. Anyway, I have to go to my biology final, bye!”
And then she was gone.
As a general rule, Jason trusted Stephanie Brown without question. As a general rule, Jason trusted his gut instinct. Those two rules, generally, did not clash. At that moment, however, they were bashing their skulls together.
Except Jason had one more final before he was done with high school. One more final before he was free, one more until he could say he’d made it. So he decided to ignore the wave of unease building in his belly.
When he stepped out of Morgan High School that afternoon, Jason tipped his face toward the sky and took a moment to appreciate the feeling of the sun on his skin. He took a moment to appreciate the feeling of being alive.
Jason spent most of the ten days between the last day of finals and commencement alternating between sleeping and kicking Tim's ass at Super Smash Bros. That, and trying not to think about how strange Steph was acting. And Bruce. And, probably, Crystal.
June 15
Suits were typically worn under the gown for commencement ceremonies. Jason knew this. Jason also did not particularly enjoy wearing a suit.
He ditched the jacket and tie at the last minute and was relieved when no one mentioned it. They just piled into the Range Rover — Bruce and Dick and Tim and Alfred — and drove to Morgan High for the last time.
It was surreal, finding Steph in the small crowd — which was easy, considering the bright purple dress. Taking pictures with classmates and with Bruce, Dick, and Tim.
He'd made it through high school, he was following Steph into the school to pick up their caps and gowns, he was wearing pants that probably cost more than a year's worth of rent in his family's shitty old apartment.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Steph said, bumping him with her shoulder.
"They're going for at least a buck, these days," he said.
Steph blew a raspberry in the air. "Nevermind, then. I can't afford you."
Jason shrugged, trying to repress the smile tugging at his lips. "Inflation, what can ya do."
"What about the Best Friend Discount?" She asked, shuffling forward in line.
Jason hummed, considering, then said, "For you? A quarter."
"Wow," Steph whispere, feigning shock. "That's a really good discount."
"One coupon per customer per day."
"Okay," she laughed and Jason's serious facade crumbled. They giggled like real, carefree teenagers until Steph asked, "What's on your mind?"
Jason sighed, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Didn't think I'd make it this far."
Steph's expression sobered, a little bit. Her smile, though, shifted to be ten degrees warmer. "I knew you could do it."
Jason didn't say that he hadn't meant graduating high school. He didn't say that he'd expected to be dead in an alley, somewhere, before his eighteenth birthday. He didn't say that there was still time.
Steph watched the smile drop from Jason's face, watched as he tried to put it back in place.
She was trying to think of something to say, to fix the good vibes she had expertly annihilated, when someone elbowed their way in front of her.
"There's a line, jackass," Steph snapped, when she recognized who it was. There weren't many people that showed up to their graduation ceremony in jeans and a flannel button up — she was honestly impressed he owned anything with a collar.
"Stephanie," he greeted, making no move to go to the back of the line.
"Cade," she said.
"Didn't you flunk out last semester?" Jason asked, and Cade narrowed his eyes. They matched each other's posture, Cade and Jason, and Steph rolled her eyes.
"I know a guy," Cade said with a sharp smile. Steph had no doubt that was true. Cade Williams was the kind of guy born into gang activity. He'd never really had the choice to say no.
He was also a Grade A Jackass.
"You know a guy." Jason nodded and there was a condescending smile dancing across his lips. Steph was torn between amusement and disdain. Chaos and practicality.
"I heard you know a guy, too," Cade sneered and Jason raised an eyebrow. He really was a phenomenal liar, when he wanted to be. “Who’d you have to fuck to get that sweet deal, huh? Bruce fucking Wayne? Honestly, I'm impressed.”
And it was there in an instant, that dangerous thing that lived in Jason. It was in the way he smiled, shark-like. It was in the way he moved, the drop of his shoulders and the slow step forward.
Cade saw it too, most people did. There was a reason no one at school had ever really fucked with Jason. He was sweet and soft most of the time. Until the moment he wasn't.
"Jason," Steph said tightly and he stopped. It was too late for Cade, though. He'd taken a step backwards, had retreated a few inches, played his hand and whiffed on the follow through.
"You're not any better than the rest of us," Cade said, trying to regain his ground. Jason, though, did not appear to be listening. His head was craned back, like he was inspecting the ceiling. "You're Alley trash, through and through."
"Go to the back of the fuckin' line, Cade," Jason said.
And, to Steph's surprise, he did.
Commencement, it turned out, was incredibly boring. It was ninety percent waiting in line, eight percent sitting, and two percent trying not to trip and fall in front of the entire graduating class.
Still, Jason was grinning when Bruce crushed him in a hug. He was grinning the entire time they took even more pictures. He was grinning, even, as they waited in line to return the caps and gowns.
"I'm fuckin' starving," Steph whined, as they made their way to where their families huddled in the parking lot.
"Fuck, me too."
"Hey moooooom," Steph yelled.
"Whaaaaaat?" Crystal called back.
"Can we get pizzaaaaaaaa?"
"That's a great idea," Bruce chimed in. "Jay?"
"I could go for some pizza," Jason grinned.
Honestly, he should've seen it coming. He should've noticed the ease with which everything fell into place. It was just that Jason was so used to looking for signs that everything was about to go to shit, that he hadn't thought to look for good things.
So, Jason was surprised, when he walked into the Alley slice and found the entirety of his heart inside.
Dani was on him first, and she nearly knocked him clean off his feet. She would have, if it had been anyone but Bruce behind him. But it was Bruce and he was as steady as a brick wall and Jason didn't so much as stumble.
Jason floated around the restaurant, Dani sitting on his shoulders. The lookout, she'd said.
He started with the Singh's. If Bruce was a brick wall, the Singh's were the foundation. There was no Jason as he was without the Singh's.
When he extracted himself from one group, he was immediately enveloped by another. After the Singh's it was Ella and some of the other girls.
"I think you broke him," Ella said, and Jason blinked at her, terribly confused until he realized she was talking to Steph, who had snuck up behind him.
"This is the toned down version, if you can believe it," Steph grinned. "You alright there, buddy?"
"Yeah," Jason said. He was too happy to really care that his voice was hoarse, thick with emotion.
Steph didn't have time to make fun of him even if she'd wanted to, in the next instant a mix of kids from the hideout and Saint Monica's were upon him.
When the children started scaling Jason like a tree, Steph excused herself before they decided to similarily latch onto her.
Across the room, Veronica, Jessica, and Tammy huddled around a table.
Steph dropped into the remaining seat. "What're you talkin' about?"
She could guess, with the way they watched Jason extract himself from the small children. One of the older kids, Steph recognized him as Jason's roommate from Saint Monica's, Jason fist bumped and then tossed a little kid into his arms.
They were laughing. Dani most of all, from her triumphant perch.
"Speculating," Jessica said, gesturing at Jason with a piece of pizza.
"You're the perfect source. What's up with that?" Veronica asked, tilting her head to get a better look.
"He knows a lot of the homeless kids in the Alley, helped figure out living situations for them," Steph said fondly. Across the room, Jason stood in front of Hubie and his foster parents, arms crossed, scowling. Hubie was grinning.
Jessica pursed her lips, "Why?"
"Why not?" Steph said, a bit sharply.
"How does he even know them?" Jessica rolled her eyes at the look Steph shot her. "Obviously I think kids shouldn't be homeless."
"He's like Robin Hood," Tammy sighed.
Jessica made a face. "No, sweetheart, Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor."
"He didn't help kids?" Tammy frowned, eyebrows pulled together.
Steph patted her on the shoulder consolingly.
"He's more like...Batman," Jessica said, sounding unconvinced.
Steph snorted. "Why?"
"He cares about kids, doesn't he?"
"Batman? Not, like, more than other people."
"He's nice," Veronica said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You guys can just say you think Jason's nice."
"A total softie," Steph said lowly, conspiratorially.
Veronica snorted and grabbed another slice of pizza. "So, Steph, what’re you up to this summer?"
"Honestly, didn't think that far ahead."
"Oh my god," Tammy chirped, bouncing a little in her seat. "You should totally come with us to New York!"
"Yeah!" Jessica perked up, "we're going to New York City in July, for like two weeks. Total girls trip. It would be so much more fun with four instead of three."
Steph blinked at them for a moment. "Really?" She asked, eventually.
"Yeah, man," Veronica laughed. "You're like, the only other cool person in the whole school. You're just always busy with the Alley's most adorable disaster."
"So." Tammy clapped her hands together once and the other three girls jumped. "Wanna come to New York with us?"
Steph grinned into her fist. "Hell yeah," she whispered. The girls cheered.
"I'll send you the details," Jessica said, and there was genuine excitement in her voice. They liked her. They liked her. They liked her.
Steph was startled out of her pure bliss when Dick leaned dramatically across their table.
"What?" Steph asked. "We're busy."
Dick pointed a finger in Jason's general direction. He'd moved on from Hubie to another set of foster parents and another beaming child. "Is he interrogating them?"
"Oh yeah," Steph laughed.
"Should we...stop him?" Dick asked.
Steph squinted, watched Jason stare down a perfectly nice looking family. She was pretty sure he wouldn't start anything, partially because Dani was still on his shoulders. Mostly because the families were good. And who could blame him, for wanting to make sure?
"Nah," Steph said, after a minute. "Let him have his fun."