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Gotham citizens were used to eat trashy food, when you ain't got the money to leave the city you sure don't have the money necessary to buy healthy food during all month. Jason himself had to eat a lot of hot dogs and McDonald's when a kid. It worked for him, chilli dogs still on his top 10 favorite foods.
The thing is, if you wanted to eat some authentic cuisine in Gotham you would have to go to a specific cultural food fair that happens every weekend. This week was Brazilian culinary turn. Jason happened to know a little homesick Brazilian brat who was currently the reason of Bruce's white hair.
Bingo.
Jason carefully adjusted his backpack and walked towards the fair, green and yellow all over the place. Going through a bunch of stalls selling churros and cheese breads.
Jason let himself enjoy the cheerful mood of the fair, when he spotted a little girl curled up on a bench, wearing yellow overalls that did the perfect job to make her figure very distinguished, considering Gotham was basically all grey and black. Eating an açai, Ophelia was angrily putting her messy hair behind her ear, but always falling as the white lock kept slipping to her eye.
Jason stopped to buy a cup of hot chocolate, then walked to the bench, leaning beside it, keeping his eyes locked on the colorful fair.
"I was looking for Bruce's debit card this morning and it strangely disappeared from it's usual place in the drawer right after the day I told you where the old man hides it."
She raise her gaze just long enough to look at her brother's face and then went back to staring at the old woman making churros in front of her.
Jason just sighed and sat beside his little sister.
"You know, I was planning to buy a giant tie to put on our friend Trex in the cave with that debt card."
She simply took it out of her pocket and pushed the card in Jason's general direction, still not saying a single word.
Oh no, no talking and now she didn't want to help him mess with Bruce. This was way more serious than Jason thought.
You see, Bruce absolutely sucked at emotions, for a kid who spent all her life speaking Portuguese? Hearing Someone struggling with emotional talks in English sounded like a perfect idiot.
But jason? As a kid he absolutely loved to ramble about the books he used to read while trying to bring all his feelings about the story to the conversation. He could handle this. He could do this for Ophelia.
"When my mom died I had to visit 6 different cemeteries until I found out that if the family doesn't pay they don't even bury the corpse." He began.
"Actually, I don't know what I would do if Catherine had a grave honestly, thought about bringing flowers or something, but you have to pay for a decent bouquet, so..."
Ophelia still wasn't looking at him but it seemed like she was listening, so Jason took it as his cue to keep talking.
"I never belonged anywhere, never had a true home, just... a person, and she was dead."
He moved his boots forwards and backwards, playing with the dirt under the bench.
"Then Bruce Wayne took me in and the manor was just-" he smiled at the memory of his first view of the Giant old house surrounded by all the green of the gardens, that almost shined under the sunlight. "Amazing. I knew it was maybe temporary so I enjoyed it as much as I could. Turns out Bruce decides to adopt me and... well the manor was my home now and I loved it with all my soul."
Ophelia stayed mute but shifted closer to Jason.
"Well, nothing good is meant to stay, right?. I died, came back and suddenly didn't have a home anymore. Except this time I used to belong somewhere, a place I kept in my heart, where all people I came to love lived. I lost the first home I ever had, and God I missed it so badly it hurt."
Jason eyed Ophelia, noticing the stubborn lock of hair still falling on her face. He leaned in her direction, tucking the white hair behind her ear.
She made eye contact,this time, sadness took place of that blank look.
"A mansão não é minha casa." She mumbled with her mouth purple from açai.
"Eu sei baby skunk."
"Why can't I go to Brazil?"
"You know why, Bruce is still involved in the legal process to be your legal guardian."
"You can take me." She gripped Jason's arm with tiny strong hands "você sempre ignora o Bruce anyways, just a day and I won't insist anymore. I promise!"
"Ophelia..."
"Por favorzinho??"
Jason stared at the child begging him to take her home, to take her out of this weird place where people kept their noses up and looked at her like she was worthless.
Jason placed his hand on top of hers.
"There's nothing I want more than to take you home, but I can't risk losing you to the asshole of your mother."
"You were supposed to be the best of this ridiculous family! I don't wanna be here! I don't want this Family!" She cried out,sliding to the other side of the bench and crossing her arms as angrily as a 10 years old could.
Jason said nothing more. Just opened his backpack, revealing a chicken poking his head out of the bag curiously staring at him. Ophelia turned to look at him, recognizing the skinny weird chicken.
"You stole Manuel from Alfred." She reached out for the animal as the bird walked towards her arms.
"Yeah, let's keep this a secret alright? Don't want Alfred forbidden me to enter his kitchen."
Ophelia held the skinny chicken against her chest, trying but failing to smooth some of the messy head feathers, while Manuel kept softly poking her hands with his beak.
Jason eyed her. Ophelia kept her silence but this kid was way too much like Jason himself, stubborn as fuck. So he just waited,drinking the rest of his Cocoa.
"You said your mom wasn't buried?" She asked tentatively
"Yep."
She looked at him " My grandma was, she's in my city, 2 kilometers from where our house was, you can even go walking if you want. there are little flower shops in the way."
The child seemed to relax a little bit, remembering her home.
"It's not home I'm worried about. Home..." She stopped to think a little bit, translating the words in her head "Home is my veinha, Where i could be with her, someone I loved. Sure, the house was nice, my place was cool, trees everywhere and stuff."
Jason noticed her eyes wheeling up a little bit " Like your mom, my grandma was my home. I do have a place to visit her, talk to her a little. But now, I can't walk 2 kilometers and be there whenever I feel like because I'm stuck nessa cidade de merda."
The older looked at her with empathy, a weird weight in his chest that he usually felt whenever he was triggered. Fuck, he remembered how hard it was for him to just lose everything he for some miracle once had. Realizing he didn't belong to this world anymore, that there wasn't anyone gently waking him up every morning to get ready for school. And he could go back but couldn't and still can't at the same time. Nothing would be the same as 5 years ago again because everyone moved on without him while he was stuck somewhere he couldn't leave. Shit.
"I know it hurts kid, believe me I fucking know, but I can't get you there right now, I'm sorry." Jason said softly.
Ophelia returned to her blank expression, but failed to hide the wet in her eyes and an occasional sniff.
Jason just scooted over the bench and leaned a bit on Ophelia. When she didn't complain he placed a hand on top of her head, the kid was way too small to place an arm around her shoulder in a comfortable way. "And I'm promising you, the moment Bruce gets over all this child custody shit I'm taking you into the first plane leaving for Brazil okay?"
She sighed, blank expression being replaced by a sad, pained one, while some tears finally rolled down her cheeks. Ophelia agreed with her head and buried her face on her brother's torso.
Okay, hugs. Jason could do hugs.
He embraced her with his arms the best way he could, keeping his hand on her hair slowly working her curls out.
"You're gonna visit your grandma, I promise. You'll buy her some nice flowers and you can tell her how big of a dork your father actually is." He whispered to her "Until then, will you let us try to be your new home? You don't need to forget about your old one, just let us be like your weird goth aunt's house. I know it's messy and weird but it will get better. "
She nodded, letting out a wet chuckle, still sobbing a bit but holding herself from breaking down. Way too stubborn. But Jason kept her in his arms, carefully stroking her hair, only letting go when Ophelia pushed him off first.
Brushing the tears out, she slid off the bench and got on her feet, Manuel tucked under her arm.
Jason got up right after, throwing the now empty paper cup on the trash next to the little bench.
"Now if you would like to join me, I have a giant bow tie to buy."
She evil smiled at him, taking his hand and dragging him out of the fair to the plaza.