Work Text:
It had been so hard to convince Bruce to let him go out solo, but Dick had finally done it. Dick really hoped that Bruce had finally started seeing him as an adult, since he was almost fifteen, which was basically like being an adult already, but if he was being totally honest with himself, Bruce was probably tired of Dick’s nagging. Either way, Robin was going on his first solo patrol. No Batman to bother him!
He’d promised to check in with Bruce every hour, and agreed to not fight any major bad guys on his own. No Scarecrow or Ivy or Joker or other criminal from B’s rogues’ gallery, but he could take out purse snatchers and muggers, as long as he wasn’t outnumbered. If he was outnumbered, he was to call for backup immediately. Knowing Bruce, though, he would probably be lurking in the shadows the whole night, giving Dick an illusion of independence with a nice, invisible safety net to catch him if he fell.
Dick wanted to say he didn’t need the safety net, but he knew how scary it could be to fall without one.
So, he was fine with Bruce probably stalking him all night if he got to work mostly solo.
The night was pretty boring, honestly. He helped an old woman cross the street with her groceries, and she gave him a bag of toffee to say thank you. He ended up taking it to the local homeless shelter, sharing it with the kids there and asking the staff what else Batman and Robin could bring them. They asked for more blankets for the winter, which Dick made a mental note to pass onto Bruce (who probably already knew on account of the probable stalking, but hey, it was the thought that counted).
When the darkness of evening really set in, there were a few more crimes to respond to, spread sporadically throughout the night, but it was nothing Dick couldn’t handle.
Then, a woman came up to him, obviously high out of her mind, and holding the hand of a small boy, maybe eight or nine years old. “You’re Robin, ain’tcha?” she said, gesturing at him with her free hand.
“Yes?” Dick said hesitantly, cringing silently at the stench of something on her breath. A smoker too? Maybe she wanted information for addiction counselling or a doctor; he and Bruce gave out that info sometimes, when people needed it.
He was startled when the woman let go of the boy’s hand, shoving him towards Dick. “Alright. You can watch my Jay for me, can’t you, Robin? For an hour or two?”
Before Dick had gotten over the shock of basically being handed an actual, whole-ass child, the woman was already gone. That was… shockingly reckless behaviour. You couldn’t just hand your kid off to some random teenager! Sure, Dick was one of the good guys, but what if he hadn’t been? Jay could have been put in a really bad situation.
Allowing himself one moment to be furious with the stranger, Dick smoothed it over into something more cheerful, looking down at the kid with a wide smile on his face. “Jay, was it?”
“… call m’ Jason.”
“Alrighty!”
Dick wasn’t going to let this ruin his first solo patrol. He could come back from this. The night wasn’t over yet. He could-
His thoughts were interrupted by Jason’s stomach grumbling.
Jason flushed bright red. “Sorry…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Dick said, looking around to see if there was anywhere still open. “Wanna go buy some snacks?”
“Don’t have any money…”
“That’s fine. B gives me an allowance.” Dick fished out some of the dollar bills he kept in his Robin suit, for emergencies. This was sorta starting to feel like one. “Let me treat ya.”
“... ‘kay.”
It turned out, Jason’s favorite snack was Takis, which were rolled tortilla chips, and he picked out the Outlaw flavor . They must have been a weird sight, Robin and some random kid standing in the snack aisle of a 24/7 convenience store, agonising over chips, but Dick was kinda beyond caring.
The guy behind the counter shot Jason a sympathetic look. “Having a rough night? Robin will look after ya, I swear.”
Jason was so short he had to stand on his tip-toes to reach the bag of chips on the counter, after Dick paid. “I’m okay,” he said. “Thank you, though.”
“Anytime, kid!”
Which was how they ended up on a rooftop - they climbed the fire escape, since Dick did not trust Jason with his grapple - eating chips and looking out over the city. The awkward silence was kinda getting to Dick, though, so he asked, “Was that your mom? That you were with?”
“Yeah,” Jason said, picking another chip from the bag.
“Is she always like that?”
Jason shrugged.
“Jason… I don’t think your mom’s very well.”
Jason scrunched up his hand, crumpling up the bag. “I know, but it’s not like she’s gonna get better…”
“I guess not.”
“... I love her,” Jason said, though the way he said it made it sound like he was trying to convince himself too.
Dick’s heart was breaking on Jason’s behalf. This was why Bruce was always better at this sorta thing; he knew how to turn off the sensitive part of his heart. Dick had never really learned how to do that. “I know you do, kid.”
“... I wanna go home,” Jason mumbled, pulling his knees up to his chest. “It’s dark and I want my mom.”
Sometimes, the hardest part of the job was admitting that there wasn’t always anything you could do.
Dick stood up, stretching a little. Holding out his hand, he said, “Alright, let’s get you home.”
Jason took his hand, pulling himself to his feet, “Thank you.”
The lights in the apartment were off, which should have put Dick on edge. Maybe it would have, if he weren’t so tired. Honestly, at that point in the night, Dick wanted to get Jason back home safe, so he could call Bruce over the comms to ask to go home.
Going solo was no joke.
Jason didn’t have a key, so Dick took Jason in through the window next to the fire escape, opening it with the lock pick he kept in his uniform, just in case. “Alright, kid, home safe and sound. I gotta go, but if your mom ever wants help, just find me and Batman.”
Jason nodded, glancing over to Dick one final time before moving deeper into the apartment.
Dick pointedly didn’t watch him go, because he had already gotten too attached, and Jason wasn’t really his problem. He had a mom, who probably loved him, and-
“ROBIN!”
Fuck it.
Dick climbed back in through the window, racing into the apartment towards Jason’s voice. Distantly, he realised that he was probably running head-first into danger. He really should have let Batman know where he was going.
Too late now.
Too late because now Jason’s mom was dead. Her pulse was completely gone, and her skin was cold; she had probably been dead for some time. Dick was standing in a cramped bathroom with a crying kid and a dead body.
Ears ringing, Dick scrambled for his comms.
Bruce’s low voice was a relief. “Robin, report.”
“D-Dead body.”
Bruce didn’t even hesitate. “I’m on my way. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to move them.”
“I won’t.” Dick could feel his heart rate accelerating. “Batman, I don’t-”
“Don’t panic,” Bruce said calmly. “Panicking won’t help. Is there anyone with you?”
Dick took a breath, looking over at Jason, who was still sobbing, crouching next to his mom’s body. “Her son, Jason. He’s maybe nine?”
He and Bruce had been about the same age…
“Can you distract him?” Bruce asked. “I’ll be there in less than ten minutes. Closer to five.”
“I can try.”
“Thank you.” Bruce was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry your first patrol ended like this.”
“... just get here soon? Please?”
“I will.”
With that, Bruce was gone.
True to his word, seven minutes later, Batman entered through the window of the apartment. He took a moment to take in the scene - deceased woman, sobbing child, terrified Robin - and allowed himself to be broken-hearted momentarily before stepping into action.
Crouching down next to the boy - Jason - Batman removed his hands from his mother’s shirt. “I need you to be very brave for me, Lad.”
“I didn’t know she was gonna die…” Jason mumbled, as Batman guided him away from his mother. “I swear, I didn’t know.”
Batman nodded. “I believe you. I promise. Can you sit at the table with Robin for a moment? I need to take a look at your mom.”
“... ‘kay.”
Even the most preliminary examinations made it obvious on how precisely the woman had died. The frothed fluid around her nose and mouth was coterminous with an opioid overdose, and when Batman rolled up her sleeve, he found tell-tale needle tracks from intravenous drug use.
At least her death hadn’t been due to foul play.
No… it had been something far more commonplace and worrisome.
“An overdose,” Batman said, shooting a meaningful look at Dick.
Jason crumpled. “I’m sorry…”
“It’s hardly your fault,” Batman continued, moving the woman’s hands to cross over her chest. “What could you have done?”
Jason sniffed. “Coulda been better. Then she wouldn’t have needed ‘em. If she loved me more…”
That was a dangerous way to think.
“What was her name?” Batman asked.
“Catherine.”
Catherine… knowing their names always made things more painful, but Batman didn’t want to forget the human side of his work.
“Am I gonna go to prison?” Jason whispered.
“Why would you go to prison?!” Robin exclaimed. “You didn’t do anything wrong!”
Jason frowned, his fingers bunched up in his t-shirt. “I didn’t stop her doin’ it. It’s my fault. I killed my mom…”
Watching Jason break down into cruel, chest-shuddering sobs made something crack open in Batman - Bruce’s - chest. How often had he thought the exact same thing? How often had he combed that fateful night for something - anything - he could have done differently?
“Would a hug be comforting?” Bruce asked. At Jason’s hesitant nod, Bruce reached out to hold the kid, allowing Jason to sob into his cape. “This is not your fault, and you will not be going to prison. I will not let that happen.”
Once Bruce had made a promise, he never broke it.
Especially not with children.
Batman and Robin got Jason in contact with a social worker - one that Batman could place his full trust in - and three weeks later, Jason was introduced to his new foster father, Bruce Wayne, who had recently decided to take in another child.
A week after that, Jason found out that Bruce and Dick were Batman and Robin, and he hadn’t even been surprised.
Bruce and Batman gave the same comforting hugs, and Dick miraculously knew Jason’s favourite Takis flavour, without Jason even telling him that he liked them.
It was obvious, really.
Jason was glad that Batman had kept his word, though.