Chapter Text
Jason bit his lip and hunched down to get closer to his helmet. The rule always was that you had to do your own basic uniform repair down in the cave, and even though Jason knew why it was a thing, it was kinda… a lot harder to do all of that now that he was eight instead of twelve.
He kept not noticing some things, and his fingers weren’t always strong enough to scrub the really big scuffs out. Bruce had had to fix something each and every time he’d checked Jason’s uniform, and it especially sucked because Jason had kinda thought this was something he’d be okay at this time around.
He probably should have known better by now. Being a kid meant there was a million things he couldn’t do as well as he used to: school stuff and keeping his room clean and even just reaching up high. Mostly, he was okay with asking for help when he needed it, but this thing with the uniform had him kinda worried. Would Bruce decide this meant Jason was too young to go out after all? Would he get sick of fixing all of the little mistakes Jason couldn’t seem to stop making?
It meant that today, Jason was working super hard to check every little thing over a million times, plus taking extra time to scrub down his boots and his helmet and every other part of his uniform that Alfred didn’t put in the wash. But when he heard people talking by the Batcomputer, he got a sort of idea.
It was Tim and Damian down there, and they were looking at some kind of map. Jason couldn’t see the details from his spot just above them, but… it didn’t look too intense. They weren’t mad at each other or totally sucked into a case or something. That probably meant they’d be okay taking a little time to help Jason with his uniform, right?
He’d still do all the work! He wasn’t gonna dump it on them. He just… needed someone older to look it over and tell him if he missed something. That wasn’t cheating or anything, was it?
Well, either way, it was worth asking. Jason grabbed everything that he could hold in his arms: helmet, boots, knee pads. He slung his utility belt over his shoulder, so that was easy at least. Then, with his hands full, he snuck down the stairs and crept closer to the Batcomputer.
“Having an evening stop is a waste, especially considering your limited free time.”
“Yeah, well, I’m gonna be the one doing most of the driving so I get to decide. And the whole reason why we’re doing this is to have fun, remember?”
Damian scoffed. “I fail to see what is ‘fun’ about spending the night in a cheap roadside motel—”
“One that’s just twenty minutes from the World’s Largest Zesti Can! C’mon, aren’t you at least a little curious?”
“I— Oh, Jason. Hello.”
Shit, so much for being sneaky. Jason blamed all the stuff he was carrying. With a sigh, he came the rest of the way up onto the platform and dropped his things there.
“Hi, Dami. What are you guys doing?”
“Planning a trip out to Smallville,” Tim said. He left the computer and went right over to Jason’s pile of stuff, like he already knew what Jason was gonna ask. That’s why he was such a good big brother.
But Jason was already thinking about something besides his uniform. “You guys are going to Smallville?”
“Yes.” Damian scowled at the map that was on the screen. Now that Jason was closer, he could see that it went all the way from New Jersey to Kansas. “Kon-El is spending more time out there this summer, as is Jon. We decided a joint visit would do us both good.”
“And we’re making it a road trip because we could both do with a bonding activity,” Tim said with a grin as he started checking the laces on Jason’s boots.
“That’s cool,” Jason said. The Kent farm was awesome. And it’d be fun for them to drive out together, too. Road trips were great! Jason loved how you got to live off gas station snacks and watch the open road and decide last minute how you were going to change things up. He’d always loved road trips, actually, right from the very first time he’d been on one.
Bruce drove them to a ‘mission’ in Washington once, which was basically a big excuse for Jason to get to go to a bunch of really cool museums. Jason had also gone on some trips just by himself when he’d been older, and those were always really peaceful and interesting. Plus, any time he and Roy had worked together, there always seemed to be a road trip somewhere.
“Can I come, too?” he asked his brothers.
That’s when, suddenly, things changed. Tim and Damian shared this weird kind of look, and then no one said anything for a couple seconds. Jason’s stomach flipped.
Then, finally, Tim talked. “Well, I’m sure Martha and Jonathan would love for you to visit again. But why doesn’t Clark fly you like last time? It’ll get you there way faster.”
“Well, yeah, duh! But— You guys are doing a road trip! Why can’t I come for that part, too?”
It was stupid, wasn’t it? They were all brothers. Why should Jason miss out on that part of the fun?
“I’m on summer break just like Dami is! It’s not like I’m missing school!”
“We know,” Tim said. He left the helmet and came closer to Jason. “Look, it’s just—”
“Wait. Is it cause… you guys don’t want me to come with you?” A heavy lump pushed into Jason’s chest. Fuck. He hadn’t really thought… But they hadn’t even asked him if he’d wanted to come with them when they first thought of this. They’d been planning it all separate and then he’d just popped right up and elbowed his way in…
“Jason. Of course we want your company,” Damian said. He put his hand on Jason’s shoulder and… it felt like he was telling the truth. He shared another look with Tim before he said, “As long as Father allows it—”
“He’s not gonna care about me missing time as Sparrow! He keeps saying I need to do normal kid stuff, too.” And what was more normal than a fun trip with family?
An uncomfortable sort of look came onto Tim’s face. “Yeah, it’s more just… You know, if he thinks it’s okay for you to be away from home like that. With just me and Damian.”
“I…” Finally, things clicked, and Jason felt is face heat up. He should have figured this out way earlier. He was an eight year old kid; he needed his dad’s permission to go on a trip like this. And with Bruce always hovering over every single little move he made… Even though Jason kinda liked the hovering. Sometimes.
Besides, he wasn’t the only person Bruce did that with!
“He already said you can go, Dami.”
“Yes, well… I am older than you.”
Jason grimaced. Yeah, he fucking knew that. He felt it every single second he spent with Damian. It just sometimes really sucked to have to remember what that all meant.
“I’ll talk to him,” Tim offered. “Between the three of us, I bet we can convince him.”
“Right. Okay…” That should work, right? Because Tim was super responsible and Damian was a good big brother and Jason could handle it!
And, actually, that whole thing ended up being true.
It took just a couple days before Bruce decided that Jason could come on the road trip with Tim and Damian. Jason did his very best job of looking all cute and stuff whenever he talked about how much he wanted to go with his brothers while still reminding Bruce that he barely had nightmares anymore when he was away from home. Damian helped, too, by reminding Bruce that he was really good at helping Jason at night if he ever did need someone. And then Tim did a lot of stuff to convince Bruce that everything was gonna go totally fine on the trip and that there was a plan for literally every little thing that could go wrong.
So, that Friday morning, Jason bounced down the stairs with his duffel bag bumping behind him. He’d packed everything he needed for the road trip plus the visit to the farm. Bruce had already checked the bag and said it was all good, and they’d had breakfast just an hour ago, so that meant they were basically ready to go!
He took his bag to the entryway, ready to throw it in the back of Tim’s car, but that’s when things started to be different.
Tim’s car wasn’t parked by the entrance. It was one of Bruce’s big SUVs that he used to get around Gotham, especially back when he’d been driving Jason and Duke to school at the same time. The back hatch was wide open, and there were already two big bags stashed in there, plus the giant cooler that Alfred was pushing into place.
“Ah, Master Jason. Allow me to take your bag.”
“Uh… okay. Thanks, Alfie.” Jason stared for a second longer. “Why are—”
“Jay! Good, you’re here. Which side do you want your booster seat on?”
Jason frowned at the little black and grey seat that Tim was holding up. He knew the booster seat was gonna be a thing on this trip since it was a thing literally any time Jason got into a car that wasn’t the Batmobile, but… still. That didn’t mean he had to like it.
“Jay?” Tim shifted his weight and pushed his hair off of his face. “Which side?”
“The, uh, the right side.”
Tim tilted his head. “Passenger side?”
“Yeah. Uh, that one.” Jason always sat on that side because it made it easier to see and talk to Bruce. But… this trip was gonna be different wasn’t it? Because there was always gonna be Tim and Damian in the front seat while Jason was stuck in the back. They couldn’t ever switch it up because Jason wasn’t allowed in the front seat yet.
Tim had already gone around to put the booster seat in the right spot, and it wasn’t worth getting all upset about it. This was how it always was.
“What’s the cooler for?” he asked instead.
“Well,” Alfred said, “although I’m sure your itinerary will include many roadside stops, I felt it best to provide you boys with at least some proper food at the start of your journey.”
“Oh. Okay.” That made sense. Alfred was always so good that way.
“And perhaps, Master Jason, you could keep a small supply in the car with you in case you become hungry on the road.”
“Uh, sure. And for Tim and Dami, too, right?”
“Of course. If they’d like.”
So… it wasn’t as big of a deal for them. And Jason knew that! Even now that Leslie said his nutrition was really good, he still got hungry way faster than before. Plus, he really kinda needed snacks. When it was school, he got a morning snack at Pathways, then an after school snack at home, and then he almost always ate something just before bedtime…
His body was still used to that and maybe he could try to train himself out of it, but he always got so cranky when he was hungry and no way was he gonna do that when he was with Tim and Dami.
So, it was a good thing that Alfred thought to pack stuff. Even if it was a whole-ass cooler mostly just for Jason.
“Jason.”
He turned around when he heard Damian’s voice and saw that his brother was holding a tablet that was trapped inside a bulky case. It was one of the upstairs ones, though, not a downstairs one.
“What’s that for?”
“For you,” Damian answered like it was supposed to be obvious. “I downloaded a selection of TV shows that you enjoy, as well as several quality audiobooks. If there’s anything in particular you want for entertainment, there’s still time to—”
“No! I don’t—” Since when did Jason need something to entertain him on the road? He wasn’t some kind of stupid iPad kid. Whenever he’d gone places with Roy, it’d been enough just to enjoy the view and talk about dumb stuff and concentrate on driving—
Well. Obviously, Jason wasn’t gonna do any of the driving for this trip. And, actually, he kinda had a hard time when it was just people hanging out and talking for forever, especially if he had to sit in one place the whole time. If there wasn’t something to do then…
Fuck.
“I don’t… need anything special,” Jason finally said. His face felt hot as he took the tablet.
Damian nodded, like none of this was a big deal at all. “Very well. We’ve scheduled several breaks throughout the trip, but if you find it’s becoming difficult—”
“I’ll be fine!” Jason hugged the tablet tight to his chest and tried to keep himself under control. He wasn’t gonna complain; he wasn’t gonna whine. He wasn’t gonna be a dumb kid about this. “I like road trips.”
That’s why he’d wanted to come in the first place! And even though he was different now, this wouldn’t have changed that much. Right?
“I think we’re about ready,” Tim said as he came over to them again. “Jay, your bag’s in the car, right?”
“Yeah, um, Alfred put it in…”
“Great! So—”
“Why are we taking one of Dad’s cars?” Jason asked. “I thought it was gonna be yours.”
“Oh, well, it’s just… More space, you know? Better with the three of us.”
The three of them plus the giant ass cooler Alfred put in. And Jason’s bag and his booster seat and the stupid tablet that was supposed to keep him from getting bored. Even if Jason was small now, he was gonna take up a ton of space with all the shit people thought he needed.
And it meant that Tim didn’t get to drive his car, which had definitely been the plan before Jason had pushed his way into this trip. So now…
“Everyone done their bathroom break?” Tim said. “It’s two hours before our first stop.”
The heat on Jason’s face got even worse. He fucking knew Tim was talking to him, even if he didn’t come right out and say it. A really stupid part about being a kid was that when Jason needed to go, he needed to go. He’d got a handle on it a long time ago, so it wasn’t like it was a big problem but… There was no fucking way he was gonna be the reason why they had to make an extra bathroom stop.
He stashed the tablet in the back seat of the car and then went inside to the bathroom. Once he was alone, he took a second to get himself back under control.
So, this trip wasn’t gonna be exactly how he’d pictured it. Things were gonna be different because he was different.
But that didn’t mean it was going to be bad. So what if Tim and Damian had to take a different car and add in way more stops than they’d planned? So what if they thought he needed TV shows and special snacks and bathroom reminders? They were doing all that because they were good brothers and nice and… and everything. And they could still do some of the same stuff. Go see that soda can or whatever the fuck it was.
Plus, they already knew all the stupid stuff that Jason needed, so it wasn’t that bad. Tim had been way worse than Jason with the bathroom stuff when he’d been little, so even that didn’t need to be super embarrassing. The main thing was that Jason got to spend some time with his brothers and then be at the Kent farm, which he already knew he loved.
He just needed to remember all the good stuff.
He finished up and went back outside to where the car was. Bruce was out there, too, and he pulled Jason into a really big hug.
“Have fun, Jaylad. And remember to call me if you need anything.”
“I know.” Jason squeezed his arms around his dad. It helped him get rid of some of those uncomfortable feelings from before.
“Or call me just because,” Bruce said. “I’m going to miss you boys.”
“I’m gonna miss you, too.” He was but… But he also wasn’t a baby. He’d be fine without his dad for a few days, especially cause he had two big brothers with him.
Two brothers who got stuck looking after a kid the whole time…
Fuck, he wasn’t gonna think about it! It was gonna be fine.
He gave Alfred a goodbye hug, too, and then climbed into the back of the car and buckled himself into his booster seat. He could do all that himself, and he already had everything he needed back here: water bottle, extra snacks, that stupid fucking tablet.
Tim and Damian climbed into the front seat and closed their doors at the exact same time. Then Tim started the engine.
“Okay! Next stop: Choco Universe.”
“Wait, what? I thought we were gonna do your soda can thing.”
Tim looked back at Jason through the rearview mirror as he turned onto the road. “Oh, no, that one’s not until Ohio. And it doesn’t really fit in the itinerary anymore now that it’s a three day trip.”
“Why is it three days?” As soon as he asked, he knew the answer. It was because of him. Somehow. And it he hadn’t even been paying enough attention to all those special plans Tim had made with Bruce to know that.
“It’ll just be a better flow. More breaks, more time for some fun activities along the way.”
And, weirdly, Damian was nodding along to that, too. “It will be safer considering that Tim is the only driver.”
“No, that’s… You were gonna drive a bit, too, Dami! Because you have your learners’ license, so—”
“Another time,” Damian said with a shrug.
Oh, shit, this was because of Jason, too, wasn’t it? He knew Bruce was all weird about people driving Jason around. Duke still wasn’t allowed to, and so it had to be the same with Damian, right? Even though Damian had been driving since forever, just not with a regular car on regular roads at a regular time.
So now, this whole thing was way different from the way Tim and Damian had been planning it. They were taking a different car and had a totally different schedule. Damian wasn’t even allowed to drive anymore and…
And it was all of a sudden so obvious. This was the real reason why they hadn’t invited Jason at first. Because if they brought their kid brother along, it wouldn’t actually be the same trip; it’d be something else totally different. And then Jason had stuck his nose into it and asked to go and of course they couldn’t say no without feeling like they were being really mean, so…
He snuck a look towards the front seat. He could only see the back of Damian’s neck, and he could just see the side of Tim’s face. Neither of them looked pissed or disappointed or anything, but they had to be, even if it was just a little bit, right?
And now there was no going back. The manor was already totally out of sight and they’d already changed all the fucking plans for Jason, so it’d probably be even worse if they had to drive him all the way back home if he said he’d changed his mind.
The only option Jason had right now was to try his very best to not be a pain. To take care of himself so Tim and Damian didn’t get stuck doing it, and to be careful to not ruin any more of their plans because of some dumb little kid shit that took over everything.
He could do that, right? If he worked hard? There could still be lots of fun stuff on their road trip.
But, as he turned to look out of the backseat window, he couldn’t help feeling like he’d already wrecked everything.