The Boy king and The Dark Knights

XXIII

JASON TODD, the infamous Red Hood, the man who died and came back swinging, scared? Ha! Jason wasn’t even the slightest bit nervous, no way no how, and anyone who would tell you otherwise was a lying liar who lied.

Ok, maybe he was a bit nervous. But only a bit.

Really, being a little nervous was completely reasonable in this situation.

Jason had barely gotten any sleep, tossing and turning in a haze when he had tried to lay in his bed, plagued by half-baked nightmares

Jason had gone over what he planned to say dozens upon dozens of time, but nothing ever sounded right in his head.

And now he was watching his kid sleep.

Like a creep.

He had spent half the night in his bed, a fourth pacing his apartment, and the final fourth watching Danny’s face as he rested and praying to any listening deity that he wouldn’t completely fuck things up.

The talk with Alfred had helped calm Jason’s nerves some, and Jason knew deep in his heart that Danny was hopelessly good and trusting and wouldn’t judge Jason, not for protecting people.

Jason had seen Danny’s face when Red Hood and the other Gotham vigilantes had come up on the news, awe and respect and something deeper that Jason couldn’t quite identify lighting up his eyes.

Jason could never help the swell of pride at knowing his son admired him, even if he didn’t know the vigilante that fought against the darkness of the night was his father.

At the same time, maybe an ex-crime lord vigilante who frequently used murder as a problem solving method wasn’t the best role model for a seven year old.

Because Danny was eerily similar to the way he had been as a kid, and Jason would do everything in his power to keep Danny from turning out like him.

He may have been too late to stop the potentially fatal explosion part of their shared backstories, but Danny was still pure and clean and ever so good.

Jason would dirty his hands a thousand times over before he let anything happen that would change that.

Logically, Danny would be safer somewhere far away from Jason, far from the blood and gun powder and toxic green that stained his soul.

But Jason was already in too deep, and unlike his son, he was selfish.

So Jason would keep Danny by his side, shielding him the best he could from the darkness of the world.

And now that his son had brought him and his secrets into the light, and Jason would protect his son still, no matter what.

“Jason?” A tired and familiar voice probed, and Jason startled, watching as his son met his eyes, sitting up in bed.

“Morning Danny.” Jason felt a soft smile grow on his face, every single bone in his body overtaken with pure love for his son.

“What’re you doing?” He asked tiredly.

“I was just waiting for you to get up.” Jason said, walking over to where Danny was pushing himself to the edge of his bed.

Jason held his arms out in a question, and Danny nodded and held own arms out. Jason chuckled a bit as he scooped his son into his arms, feeling his son relax against him sleepily.

“Does waiting for me to get up include watching me like a weirdo stalker?” Danny asked into Jason’s neck.

“I wasn’t watching you for that long.” Jason protested.

“And just how much did you sleep last night?” Danny asked, and Jason could feel his smirk.

“Remind me again who is whose parent here?” Jason said, avoiding the question.

Danny laughed a bit, and as Jason made his way into the living room he set Danny down on the couch, kneeling to meet his sons eyes.

“So, do you want to talk or have breakfast first?” Jason asked, watching as his son weighed his options.

“Let’s talk. I’m not too hungry.” Danny said, and Jason rose to sit next to his son on their couch, turning his body so they faced each other, despite being side-by-side.

“All right.” Jason sighed, leaning against the couch. “As you figured out last night, Bruce is Batman.”

Jason paused as Danny nodded.

“The rest of my family is made up of vigilantes too, and it’s a family tradition I’d definitely prefer you not follow. Dick was the first Robin, and now he’s Nightwing, Tim is Red Robin, Cass is Black Bat, and Damian is Robin. And I’m Red Hood.” Jason finished, watching as Danny’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“You’re Red Hood?” He asked incredulously.

“Yes?” Jason’s voice was questioning as well. Danny hadn’t seemed too surprised at any of his siblings, so why was he so shocked for him?

“But I thought Roy was Red Hood!” Danny exclaimed, half to himself and half to Jason.

Jason’s brain blue-screened.

Whatever Jason had been expecting when he decided to come clean to Danny, it was definitely not… whatever this was.

“Out of all the- why is Roy Red Hood? Why not me?” Jason asked, trying not to let his voice crack.

“Because you’re a prostitute!” Danny responded.

“Because I’m a what?!”