Chapter Text
Jason had always known the kids were weird. They all had their little quirks and stuff. Lian often had the habit of collecting shoes and wearing mismatched ones more often than not. PJ always systematically triple checked his technology and repairs, just in case something was at fault. Ezra liked to subconsciously grab onto other people’s hands or arms, and in stressful situations, squeezing so hard Jason thought he was going to lose circulation. Eugene would often pick at his skin, leading to a shake of the head and tsk from Jason as he cleaned up bloody hands and nailbeds. Jason, for one had his fair share of quirks and behaviours, from the way he would tackle his brothers to the floor or how he would oftentimes sneak a cigarette here and there.
So yeah, they all had their little quirks, Jason included too.
But Jett? That kid was another kind of mystery.
They were at one of Jasons safe houses near the docks, where the air is thick with the smell of the sea, and the usual must of Seattle. They’re all relatively uninjured, aside from the few scrapes and bruises that will bloom into something much uglier by morning, yet nothing worth worrying about.
Regardless, Jason is not in a good mood.
He unlocks the door, taking several minutes to bypass his high security system and all its checks before finally trudging inside. The door shuts behind him with a gentle slam as the teens follow behind, shuffling their feet like a line of ducklings.
The safehouse itself is nothing special. There’s a hallway from the door that leads into an open living room and kitchenette, with a singular bathroom, a bedroom and a “broom closet” that’s actually just his weaponry.
They spread out, Titans quick to integrate themselves into the cramped apartment, draping themselves around in a way that Jason could’ve accidentally mistaken them as one of the furniture. Jason himself makes a beeline to his weaponry, in need of a ammo restock.
“Jason. Come sit.” urges PJ from within his living room
“Yeah, don’t want to hurt your back anymore gramps!” teases Ezra, his voice carrying faintly to
Jason opens his mouth to disagree, before realising the weariness in his body. He can restock his bullets later he supposes. Sighing, he closes his mouth as he steps forward.
In the living room, Lian is sat on an armchair with her knees tucked up against her chest, PJ on the floor beneath her and squished up next to him is Ezra who looks almost as dead on his feet than Jason feels. Eugene is half on the coffee table and half on Ezra, and Jett is propped in an unimaginably weird position on the couch, his back and head on the seat cushion and legs hanging off the actual backrest.
Now, this is nothing out of the ordinary for the kid. He’s 100 percent ADHD, and sitting weirdly isn’t anything super unusual, except for maybe the bad posture and back pain he’ll acquire from it afterwards.
No, what happens next is unusual.
The kids are all scrolling on their phones of course, because they’re screenagers. Jason has decided to get up to grab some snacks from the kitchen however, when his phone goes off. Irritated, he shoves his hand into his pocket to dig out the offensive device.
To his surprise, It’s not his burner phone. it’s his personal one. Ergo, it’s probably important if they’re calling him. Five pairs of eyes snap towards him.
Sighing, he realises the ringtone is Bruce’s whom of which, he is still pettily angry at. He will not elaborate any further on why.
He signals to the kids with the flick of his thumb that he’s going to take the call, stepping out from the living room tense with sharp footsteps to the narrow hallway dividing the safehouse door and the living room.
Twenty minutes, an impressive amount of screaming into the phone, threatening to hang up, and guilt tripping later, Jason has finally ended his call with Bruce, somewhat pleased with how the conversation turned out.
It’s clear Bruce cares, and that he misses him, no matter how bad he sucks at showing it. But Jason is a stubborn man if anything, and if Bruce really wants Jason to swing back in Gotham for a little family dinner, he should probably deal with whatever dirt ass criminals are getting away with doing terrible things in Gotham properly first.
Like seriously, it doesn’t matter if Batman hands them over to the cops, they’ll probably be let off with a 12-month sentence at best, some sort of bail, or considering how corrupt Gotham’s police department is, nothing at all.
He frowns at the thought, pocketing his phone and re-entering the living room with a crease between his brows.
As he enters, five young faces turn to look at him. Correction, stare at him.
“Was that your dad? Batman?” starts Lian, eyebrows raised, and if Jason was a different person, he would’ve thought there was almost a look of concern on her face.
“Uh. Yeah.” he grunts out, confusion bubbling up.
Instead of elaborating, PJ starts talking too.
“That was an awful lot of yelling. Is it usually like that?” he says, face bunched up and failing to hide his worry.
Seriously, was he missing something?
“No, not always. Sometimes. We don’t always get along.” he shrugs amicably. It’s the truth, Bruce and him don’t always see eye to eye with things, but he’s still his dad regardless of blood relations (although he would rather die again than admit that).
At his words, the tension seems to release as the teens visibly relax, a majority of their concern wiping off their faces.
“I get it.” Lian speaks up, “For a good chunk of my life, I hated my mom. For leaving me, and my dad. But I also spent a good while looking for her. And now we get along. Sorta.” she shrugs, seemingly proud of herself
PJ nods, “Yeah, ever since I was dropped into my Dad’s life, we haven’t always agreed either. We’ve never really argued at a big extent, but I get how it feels.”
Various nods of agreements around the group. Jason feels his heart warm.
“My folks didn’t exactly like having a superpowered kid either, let alone one going out to fight crime.” Ezra contributes.
Eugene nods, adding in something about his not so good time in the foster system until he met his current foster parents.
“So yeah, some of the foster parents only cared about the money...” he finishes, and Jason’s pretty sure the whole room is about 5 seconds away from tearing up.
The group turns to Jett, who is yet to share any sort of experience with his home life.
His glasses have dropped down to cover his eyes, whether intentional or not Jason isn’t sure. He looks uncharacteristically nervous, making Jason unnerved about whatever he might share next.
Jett opens his mouth, fidgeting with the fur at the cuffs of his jacket.
“I-”
And is cut off by a sharp ring tone, startling all.
He looks down, opening his phone at the caller id in such a way that no one else can see the screen. Jett seems to deflate slightly.
Gesturing to the phone, he cringes awkwardly.
“I’ve got to take this.”
They all nod, letting the pink haired boy step out of the room to where Jason had been mere minutes ago.
Unlike Jason’s open yelling earlier, there is barely any indication that Jett is talking to anyone at all. The man has to strain his ears to catch in on harsh, hushed whispering. The kid is being intentionally quiet then, which must mean he doesn’t want them to overhear.
There’s a beep as he hangs up, and Jett steps back into the room with a sheepish grin. Jason immediately clocks something is off, but can’t quite put his finger on it.
“Sorry, guys. It’s getting kinda late and my parents want me home for dinner.” is what he tells them.
He scratches the back of his head uncomfortably, green glasses still covering majority of his eyes.
The other teens seem content with his answer though, Eugene getting up to do a handshake with him before he goes, Ezra reaching up from his seat for a quick fist bump, a light kick in the shin from Lian and a wave goodbye from PJ.
Jason gets up to lead him to the door, de-activating the security system so he can exit without alarms going off.
As the boy steps out, Jason puts a heavy hand onto his shoulder.
“Call me if you need anything, okay?” he says sincerely.
Jett turns in surprise, simply grinning up at him as he says
“Thanks. I knew you cared old man!” teases the pink haired boy.
Jason chuckles, shaking his head.
“Stay safe out there kid.” he adds
Jett nods, and then he’s off.