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Jason knew this was a bad Idea, normally he preferred to take the tires off cars. Doing that in the dead of night was low risk. Well, as low risk as being homeless could get him. And he would have been doing that, but social services took his tire iron. He was still pissed about that.
Apparently, Gotham’s foster care decided that he shouldn’t stay in Gotham. Something about the familiarity encouraging him to run away. What they didn’t take into account was that Jason ran away because the streets were better than staying in the homes they put him in.
The familiarity doesn’t matter, not in Gotham, and not in Bludhaven. So here he was, waiting outside a popular bar for someone drunk enough not to notice him lifting their wallets. It was risky, but he managed to get $12 tonight. He was going to wait around for two more people to rob before calling it a night and finding someplace to sleep.
Unfortunately, things could never go right for Jason. One of the men he had robbed was back. And he was angry. Jason ran for cover in the alley before the man started yelling at the bouncer.
But the man was walking past the bar entrance, the red light of the sign casting a menacing shadow as the man walked towards the alley Jason was currently hiding in.
“Shit, shit, shit.” Jason whispers. The alley is empty besides an overflowing dumpster, Jason cringes internally about what could be in there, but he pushes the feeling aside. Hiding behind the full dumpster is better than waiting for the drunk man to beat him, or worse.
“Where are ya’, kid.” the man’s yelling causes Jason to flinch, “Ya’ think ‘m fuckin’ stupid. I saw ya’ down ‘ere.”
Jason is fully trembling now, shoving his fist into his mouth to muffle the sounds of his whimpers. He can hear the man throwing anything he can pick up. The man's yelling only got more belligerent, “Get out here an’ face me like a man, ya’ little bitch.”
The man threw a wooden crate directly at the dumpster. The sound of the crate breaking was not loud enough to cover the cry Jason let out.
“Oh,” The man is sounding less human and more predator by the minute, “I found ya’ now.”
Jason goes still, naively hoping that if he stays quiet for long enough that the man would go away. Until a shadow casts over the sliver of light shining on Jason. He looks up from his hiding place, seeing the man's face makes the gravity of his situation abundantly clear.
The man’s lips are curled in a sneer, what looks to be left over tobacco stuck to his teeth. His hair is probably blonde, but the dark light and amount of grease makes it hard to tell. His clothes look like they may have been nice once, but now they look about as put together as the man himself.
Seeing the man did not help Jason's current situation, his heart was beating so hard he was worried that it may break his ribs. Tears cloud his eyes, destroying any chance Jason has at seeing the situation anyway.
A large hand wraps around his wrist, pulling him up and out from his spot between the wall and the dumpster.
“Gotcha now, bitch.” the man shouts, “Ya think ‘m too stupid ta find ya’.”
Jason thinks he was whimpering “I’m sorry” but he was so panicked he can’t really tell. The only thing he can feel is the man dragging him out to the middle of the alley, away from his spot behind the dumpster.
“Where’s my fuckin’ money, huh”
Jason wants to answer, he would give the man all $12, even though Jason only got four from him. But before Jason can even open his mouth, the man shoves him into the dumpster. Jason’s vision white’s out, and his ears are ringing. He thinks he can still hear the man yelling, but he can’t make out what the man is saying.
Through his slowly clearing vision, Jason sees another man at the entrance of the alley. This guy is thinner than the man attacking Jason, but he looks stronger than the other man. He is also yelling, but he isn’t yelling at Jason.
This new guy appearing distracts Jason’s attacker. Both men start moving towards each other, the drunk man may be able to beat up a scrawny 10 year old, but Jason has a feeling he won’t stand a chance against the new man.
Jason’s head feels like it's burning, and he realizes that he should take this moment to run while both men are distracted. But the moment Jason stands up, his vision blacks out again, and he falls back to the ground. He doesn’t know how long he lays there, all of his focus is on staying awake.
~~~
Dick was working through his patrol route. So far it had been an uneventful night. He was working his way through the more popular streets. One bar in particular was recently growing faster than the owners could keep up with. Meaning bar fights were at an all time high.
It was also a good meeting place for bad guys to make deals. The crowds made it difficult to keep tabs on anyone. The rest of the street was dark, people coming and going. With all the commotion, it was hard to make sense of what yelling was aggressive and what was innocent.
“Gocha now, bitch. Ya’ think ‘m too stupid ta find ya’.”
Well that didn’t sound good. The yelling sounded like it came from the alley next to the bar. Dick soundlessly drops down to the ground. The man only grew more aggravated as he continued yelling. The alley itself was mostly empty, save for an overflowing dumpster.
What really caught Dick off guard was that the man was yelling at a kid. A really tiny, skinny kid. His hoodie was fraying and covered in dirt, and his jeans weren’t fairing any better. The man had the kid by the wrist, completely holding him up.
Just as he makes it into the alley, the man throws a kid into the dumpster. Dick held back a wince as he landed head first into the dumpster. It was unfortunately not suppressing that no one around was even questioning what was happening.
It seems that throwing a child headfirst into a dumpster wasn’t enough for this guy. While the kid was crumpled on the floor, most likely now sporting a concussion, the man had started walking towards him. His posture bleeding aggression.
“Back away from the kid.” Dick said.
The man stops in his tracks, turning towards Dick.
“Ya’ gon’ defend the little bitch.” the man shouts back. His movements were determined but loose. Hands in fists as he moves towards Dick, already gearing up for a wild swing.
Before the man can fully rear his arm back, Nightwing ducks and sends a sharp jab to the man’s right floating rib. Once the man is distracted by the pain, Dick steps around him and pulls his arm behind his back, hitting the man on the head with his Escrema stick.
The man falls to the ground. Dick is already tying the hands of this poor excuse of a person. The kid had been trying to get up, and promptly fell back down on his stomach. Dick really wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to choke to death on his own vomit.
As Dick runs over to the little boy, he can hear a faint groaning. “Hey buddy, can you hear me?”
The kid flinches back once he notices him. But as Dick’s words register he gives a small nod. The kid still looks a little dazed, but his eyes are starting to focus.
“What’s your name, bud?” Dick asks, helping the boy to sit up.
“J-, Jason.” He says. Jason looks past him, likely scanning the alley for his attacker. When he doesn’t see the man, Jason’s eyes fall back on Dick. Now that his brain has caught up with his eyes, Jason is looking for the next threat. And Dick is the only other person in the alley.
Jason pushes himself further away. Eyes blown wide and curling in on himself.
Dick knows Jason is probably scared out of his mind, even without a concussion adding to his confusion. “I know it’s scary, but I want to help you. I tied the bad man up, and the cops will be here soon”
Tears start streaming down the boy's face again, creating tracks down his dirty cheeks. Maybe Dick shouldn’t have mentioned cops. This kid could hardly trust him and he is a hero.
“Alright Jason, it’s nice to meet you. Do you know who I am?”
Jason nods again and whispers, “Nightwing.”
“Yeah, I’m Nightwing. I’m a hero and I will keep you safe, promise.” Dick slowly holds up his hand with his pinky extended.
Jason looks confused for a moment before bringing his hand up and wrapping his significantly smaller pinky around Dick’s. Dick thinks his heart may just melt on the spot.
“Why don’t I bring you back to your parents, huh. I’m sure they're worried.”
“No.” Jason screeched, bringing his hands to his mouth in terror. Dick tries his best to keep his emotions off his face. Either this kid’s home life is that terrible or he doesn’t have anywhere to go. “I can’t go back, please.” Now Jason is whispering again.
“Hey, hey. Remember what I said? I’ll protect you, but in order to do that I need you to talk to me.”
Jason sits there for a moment, considering all his options. He still seems a little lost. “How about this,” Dick said, “How old are you?”
“Um- ‘m ten” Jason said. Dick can’t believe it. He could tell the kid was tiny, but Dick assumed he’d be closer to seven than ten. This kid must have been caring for himself for far longer than Dick thought.
“Can you tell me why you don’t want to go back to your parents?” Dick internally scolds himself, so much for easing the kid into trusting him.
Jason’s eyes tear up again, and he pulls his hoodie sleeves over his hands to wipe his eyes. “My mama’s dead,” he chokes out, “Dad’s in jail.”
“I’m so sorry, Jason.” Dick said, hoping it comes off as sincere and not as pity. Dick takes a breath, “Where are you staying now?”
Jason shrugs, “CPS took me. I had to run away, you have to believe me.” Jason lunges forward, grabbing Dick’s hand.
“I do believe you,” Dick answers, and Jason relaxes. It’s not by a lot, but it’s enough for now. Dick can’t help but smile when Jason doesn’t let go of his hand.
“My social worker said I couldn’t stay in Gotham. She said it would encourage me to run away, again.”
Now Dick was livid. Instead of investigating what would cause a child to run from a place to live, they punish him by putting him in a completely different city.
“Thank you for trusting me, Jason.” Dick said. He wanted to offer Jason comfort, but given everything he’s been told, initiating contact with Jason would have the opposite effect. “Jason,” Dick waits until Jason is looking at him, “Can I hug you?”
Jason pauses, squeezing Dick’s hands as he thinks. After a few seconds, Jason gives a small nod.
Dick smiles, and slowly opens his arms, letting Jason come to him. He slowly leans forward, resting his head on Dick’s chest. Dick slowly wraps his arms around Jason, rubbing one hand up and down his back.
Jason lets out a deep sigh, and practically melts into the hug. Dick tries not to think about when the last time Jason was hugged.
“Jason,” Dick said, “I want to take you somewhere safe. Will you come with me?” Even though Dick phrases it like a question, he has no intention of leaving Jason on the streets.
Jason nods, and Dick gives a small squeeze as thanks. He shifts Jason up so his head rests on his shoulder and stands up. His apartment isn’t too far from here and the couch he thrifted is a pull out, meaning Jason will have a bed for tonight.
Dick has no idea how he is going to care for a child, but If Bruce can do it so can he. Dick suppresses a shudder as he thinks about how he’s Bruce's age when he was taken in.
Dick can just hear Alfred saying ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Master Dick.’