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Bruce tried to kill him.
His dad tried to kill him.
His dad tried to kill him to save the Joker.
The best parent he ever had tried to kill him to save the man who murdered him.
The insane murderer who beat him to death with a crowbar. Who beat him to death, and then set off a bomb to make sure he was dead.
He's bleeding out, because his dad thought the lesser evil was to kill him than to kill the Joker.
Him killing bad people -rapists, murders, pedophiles, drug dealers, crime lords -is a greater sin apparently than beating and killing children.
Bruce isn't willing to break his 'code' to kill the Joker, but he's willing to break it to kill his son.
He's bleeding to death, right now, because his father slit his throat.
And to top it all off… Bruce rescued the Joker. He dragged the Joker out of the rubble, out of the flames, out of the burning remnants, without even looking for him.
The Joker killed Jason, and that was okay. But Jason killing the Joker isn't. And now Jason's bleeding from a slit throat in what's left of a shitty East End apartment.
Fuck it. He's not going to bleed out here. Not after everything. Not after all the planning and the effort, and the work he's put into this.
Not after the people he's saved. All the people he's saved, that Bruce would've let die, because his stupid moral code says it's wrong to kill.
Except when it comes to Jason. He's the only exception, apparently. Because killing criminals and scumbags to save innocents isn't acceptable, but killing innocents is. Apparently.
He hauls himself to his feet, weak and numb hands grasping for the first aid supplies he keeps in the pocket of his cargo pants. They're not great, and won't hold for long, but he's gotta stop the bleeding.
Bruce is the one who taught him that. Triage: the most important thing to do in any life-threatening situation is to stop the bleeding until proper medical attention can be applied.
The sticky gel from the League isn't great. But it will seal up the wound hopefully well enough that it, plus the bandage he slaps on it, will keep him from bleeding out before he can get back to his safehouse.
His legs feel just as weak and unsteady as his hands. But he puts one foot in front of the other, inch by inch, step by step. He hauls himself out of the burning debris, and into an alley, prying his domino off as he goes.
He's not entirely sure how he gets the half mile back to his safehouse. Whether that's the bloodloss, shock from his other injuries, or just plain shock, he can't tell. But somehow, he makes it back.
In the bathroom, he finally takes the bandage off, and gets a good look at the cut. The gel is still holding it together -admittedly not well -which gives him a few seconds to take a look at the neat, almost sharp edges of the cut. So that's what a batarang does. Usually, Bruce just aims for knees or hands, so Jason's pretty sure he's never seen a cut from a batarang this big before.
Or this exposed.
Bruce just tried to kill him. This isn't a 'incapacitating' wound; if Jason hadn't jerked at the last second, it would've lodged itself straight into his larynx, possibly his trachea. He would've bled out almost instantly. As it is, even this glancing hit to the side of the throat has Jason dizzy and lightheaded, and he'll be recovering from it for a while.
A low, quiet whine escapes without his meaning it to. He'd planned everything. He'd thought it out, planned for every eventuality, all to make Bruce prove how much he loved Jason. How much Jason was worth to him.
Jason had planned for three conceivable outcomes. He'd had contingencies and backups based around those three outcomes.
Outcome one. The best possible outcome. Bruce realizes how much Jason means to him, how much the Joker stole from him, and kills the Joker. Jason explains everything that's happened -coming back in his coffin, digging himself out, wandering Gotham with brain damage, Talia, the Pit, the training, coming back -and then Bruce takes him home.
Outcome two. The most realistic outcome. Bruce refuses to kill the Joker, but refuses to stop Jason from doing so. Or maybe refuses to believe Jason actually will. Either way, Jason kills the Joker. Bruce is mad at first, but realizes that this is the best possible outcome for everyone. The Joker can't hurt anyone else, Jason gets his revenge, and Bruce gets to keep his hands clean.
Option three. The worst option. Bruce turns, leaves, walks away, leaving Jason to whatever happens. Proving just how little he ever cared, how little Jason ever meant to him. He walks away, and leaves.
Jason had planned through possible long-term outcomes for each of the three. He'd planned how he would explain himself, how he would address the situation, the arguments he'd use to prove he was in the right, for each scenario.
He just hadn't been prepared for Bruce to try and kill him. Out of every possible scenario, every possible outcome… Jason hadn't been prepared for Bruce to kill Jason, to save Jason's murderer.
That keeps going through Jason's head, as he stitches up his sliced throat.
Bruce tried to kill Jason, to save Jason's murderer.
As Jason cleans up the blood, droplets from the window to the kitchen into the bathroom, practically coating the bathroom sink.
Bruce tried to kill Jason, to save Jason's murderer.
As Jason puts a bandage over his slit throat, and tapes down the edges.
Bruce tried to kill Jason, to save Jason's murderer.
As Jason throws out all the wrappers and thread and needles, all the paper and bloodsoaked towels.
Bruce tried to kill Jason, to save Jason's murderer.
As Jason crawls his way into his little bedroom, and onto the bed.
Bruce tried to kill Jason, to save Jason's murderer.
As he pulls the blankets up over his head, and finally, finally lets himself cry.
His dad tried to kill him. His dad tried to slit his throat. All to save his murderer.