Chapter Text
Blood oozed from the shallow bullet wound from Jason’s arm, dripping down onto the garbage-covered ground of the alley, letting out a small grunt Jason settled down next to a pair of piss-smelling metal trashcans decorated in different types of multicolored gang signs and graffiti. He gently rubbed his helmet feeling the wet droplets of the rain catching through his gloved fingers, Jason should have known better than to head straight into the warehouse. Still, once he learned those wannabe drug dealers were selling drops to kids all rational thoughts jumped through the window, which ironically is how he broke into the warehouse in the first place.
He lets out another groan as he tries to stand up but his legs turn to jello, exhaustion starts to settle in from the night before as he spent hours late into the night trying to figure out where these dipshits were hiding before he could try again he hears a small whine behind the trashcan, planning to ignore it he tries one more time but it was useless, Jason once again hears the whine. Using the last couple of ounces of strength he gently moves the trashcan to the side, big gray eyes stare up at him in fear, white and black spotted fur soggy, and covered in mud. The puppy backs up a few inches bearing its small fangs at him, fur standing on edge.
Jason rolls his eyes at the dog's dramatics, “Look, I’m not gonna hurt you,” he takes off one of his black gloves setting them in his lap as he shows the puppy his hand.
The animal gently steps forward, cautious with every step until the puppy vigorously sniffs then gently licks his hand, “See, not so scary now am I?”
The puppy nuzzles Jason’s hand, just as he was about to pet the dog he heard a loud yell, “Where the fuck is that stupid dog!?”
A man with a beer belly, a balding head, and a face closer to a pig than a man comes crashing out of the side door to what smells like a pigsty of a home, he comes clumping over to the puppy completely missing Jason he roughly grabs the puppy by the scruff making the dog yelp out in pain, “God, such worthless little thing. Wouldn’t have bought you if the wife wasn’t nagging all the time,”
He holds the dog closer to his face, his crooked smile showing off his chipped yellow teeth, “Now that she’s gone the harbor’s looking pretty nice right now-”
A burst of strength and energy shoots up through Jason as he quietly stands up and swiftly holds a gun stiff against the back of his head, cutting the man off, “Let the dog go before I put a bullet in the back of your skull.” Jason deeply growled out, anger coming off him in waves.
The man dropped the puppy onto the hard concrete floor, it yelped recovering fast and hiding behind the trash cans once again, suddenly Jason got a strong whiff of pee, he looked down to see the man had pissed his blue striped boxers, Jason let out a disgusted noise kicking the man in the back, “Now fuck off and go change your boxers you fugly motherfucker.”
The man quickly nods running off to his shit home, sighing Jason bends down reaching his hand out again for the puppy to smell but this time the dog runs up to his hand nuzzling it. For the first time in a long time, Jason felt at ease, when he looked into those big gray eyes he knew this puppy was just like him unwanted by family and swallowed up by the streets of Gotham, he gently picked up the puppy, who he found out was a girl.
“Let’s go,” He quietly said as the dog licked and pawed his helmet.
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Jason grunted enduring the pain with each stitch in his arm, he looked over to see the puppy playing with a roll of gauze like it was the funniest thing in the world, she gnawed on it little teeth marks already forming on the medical supplies, “Hey, knock it off.” Jason warned.
The puppy let out a small bark, her tail wagging a mile a minute, she playful bowed letting out another playful bark, Jason snorted trying to take the gauze away but the puppy was just not having it, she kept on dodging every time Jason reached for it, “C’mon girl, I’m pretty sure dog’s shouldn't be playing with gauze,”
The puppy ran out of the bathroom tracking rainwater and mud into Jason’s apartment, Jason got up with a moan of pain as he got off the toilet and walked after the dog, the puppy playfully bounds around the apartment still holding onto the medical supplies. Having enough of this Jason used his long legs to cut off the puppy as she circled the couch, picking her up Jason gently yanked the gauze out of her mouth throwing it on his black couch and making a mental note to get toys tomorrow, he looked down to see his white wife beater now a dirty color.
“Alright, time for a bath,” the puppy let out a small whine as if she knew the word, “I know but you stink and you're getting mud literally everywhere,” Jason held the puppy out to take a look at all the mud and water tracks she spread everywhere on his hardwood floors.
The puppy lets out a small bark as if she is arguing her case but Jason lets out a small laugh, “Can’t fight me on this one, you know I’m right,” he walks into the bathroom, turning on the tub, warm water soon starts to fill the tub, feeling like that was a good amount, Jason gently puts the puppy in.
“See not so bad right?” Jason rhetorically asks as the puppy side eyes him displeased with her circumstances. Jason delicately scrubs and washes away the mud and cold water, soon a fresh-looking Dalmatian puppy stares up at him, Jason takes her out of the bath wrapping her in one of his only good non-blood-stained towels.
He walks over settling down on his couch, looking down Jason thought she would be wiggler but turns out she had fallen asleep instead. Jason let out an easy sigh turning on the TV, blurry footage of Nightwing taking down some bad guys while the news’s anchor gushes makes Jason's face contort into disgust and a bit of hatred as he quickly switches the channel to a random game show, his eyes start to feel heavy with every question the host as the contestants until he can no longer keep them open. For the first time coming back, Jason sleeps without so much as a nightmare.