Titans: Rise of Talon

My Father's Sons

A/N: So there's totally a lot of angst ahead in the coming chapters, but first I thought I'd give you a little Daddybats fluff. I hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to leave a review!
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20:07 PDT
Titans Tower, Jump City
December 2nd
.....

Gee, thanks for the support, guys, Jason thought as Wally and Roy hurried out of the room, leaving him alone with Batman, Traitors.

     Batman turned around briefly to secure the door, locking them both inside. That wasn't a problem, in Jason's opinion. They hadn't made him take off the Red X suit, so he could leave any time he started hearing things he didn't like.

This was the first time the two of them had been alone since meeting on the Tower rooftop the night before, and things could go sideways very quickly. Jason mentally prepared himself for the interrogation to come.

    But to his surprise, Batman slid off the cowl, revealing the tired, red-rimmed eyes of Bruce Wayne. The stern glare softened into a look Jason couldn't interpret, and the teen could feel a nervous tightening in his chest.

   Like Dick, Jason knew the difference between Batman and Bruce—former mentor and father. But he didn't know what to do or how to react. It was the first time he had seen his adoptive father's eyes in over a year.

Bruce took a small step forward, and when Jason didn't move, he continued until he was standing right in front of the boy. Confused green eyes looked up at him, though he didn't have to tilt his head far. It was obvious he had grown since they last saw each other.

A gloved hand brushed the white bangs out of Jason's eyes, revealing a tiny white scar near his hairline. Now that Bruce saw it, he could pinpoint multiple similar scars scattered over his exposed skin. They were small and barely visible in the dim light unless he was actively looking. And he knew exactly how he got them.

Joker set a trap, and Jason fell into it.

Batman found out too late.

He tried to get there, but by the time he did...

the warehouse went up in a ball of fire,

and his son had been inside....

Those scars were what was left of the explosion, a constant reminder of Batman's greatest failure.

Bruce had never been a man of much emotion. He was always one to act first and lock away whatever he was feeling behind a mask, literally and figuratively. But seeing Jason standing before him alive, he could feel cracks being chipped into his impassiveness.

Oh, hang it all, he thought and pulled the thief into a tight hug, his long black cape covering both of them like a shadowy blanket and acting like a shield to the outside world.

Jason, for his part, felt like some part of his brain had short circuited. Batman didn't do hugs. He rarely even expressed more emotion beyond a glare or the occasional smirk. This much emotion coming from an emotionless man felt overwhelming to the resurrected teen.

"Forget this," he muttered under his breath and returned the hug, wrapping his arms around Bruce's middle and pressing his forehead into his shoulder. If the Batman could suck it up and release his emotions, then so could he. The feeling of the heavy cape closing around him brought on a wave of comfort. He was safe here.

Salty tears escaped before Jason could even realize he was crying, but once he felt them, he no longer cared. After several long moments of simply standing there, Jason pulled back, and Bruce did the same. A slightly hysteric chuckle passed through the teen's lips as he wiped his eyes, neither of them noticing the flecks of green in his tears.