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“He will forgive you, lad, in time.”
Jason jerks round, stares at Alfred. After a moment, he says, “Forgive me for what?”
“For being the Red Hood.”
…And that's what Alfred thinks?
That he needs forgiveness from B.
That being the Red Hood is something that needs forgiveness. Okay, actually, no, what he does as Red Hood, that's fair enough. But what he does as Hood, and Alfred clearly means that as well, to say that that needs forgiveness? Never.
And-. That B is the person who can give forgiveness for that.
Hood doesn't interact with B. He has not a goddamn thing to do with him.
It is not B’s place to forgive Jason for being Hood.
Jason looks at Alfred.
He thinks that perhaps B had told Alfred this, and it is being passed on.
How dare they. How dare they.
Jason doesn't believe in anything, not anymore. He believes in Death, but he no longer believes in God. But he still grew up Catholic. His mom and Dad took him to church every Sunday. And it's God's place to forgive sins that aren't against his person. Not Bruce's. It's ‘forgive my sins, as I forgive those who sin against me’. There's nothing in there that says ‘as I forgive those who sin against whoever I have chosen today to defend, like these fucking child traffickers for some reason’. How dare he?
That they would even imply that-. Alfred grew up Catholic too, he's pretty sure. And he thought it acceptable to pass that message on, with those words?
And even if it didn't offend Jason's now-diminished religious sensibilities, it would still offend him.
Hood has done nothing to B. Nothing to Alfred either. Forgiveness for fighting him? God, but B had hit first half the time. Forgiveness for begging him to kill the Joker? None of what Jason has done directly to B needs forgiveness. He'll stand by that.
For what he did peripherally-. What he did to establish himself as someone to be wary of-. Perhaps yes, but certainly not from Bruce Wayne.
And not from Alfred Pennyworth either.
He says, tone flat, “And has he forgiven you, Trooper Pennyworth?”
Alfred flinches back, then stares at him, eyes wide and startled, says, “For what?”
For what.
Jason's seen Alfred’s military personnel file. To say he's killed people is putting it lightly.
And yet, he lives in B’s house. B loves him as a father. B trusts him, unequivocally.
There's never been a question of B forgiving Alfred for what he's done, never been a question of Alfred needing forgiveness from Bruce, because it wasn't done to Bruce, and so it doesn't matter to him: it's not his to forgive.
If he's feeling generous, it might be that B has just never thought about it. Never realised what Alfred has done.
But Alfred knows.
–-Alfred knows that there is not a wide gulf of difference between what he has done, and what Hood has done. Alfred has never asked forgiveness from Bruce for those actions, never considered that he had to, -because he doesn't -, that much is now abundantly clear.
(Either you accept people as they are, with what they have done, or you don't. B has accepted Alfred, who he is, and what he has done. That he wouldn't accept Jason just because what, he's aware of what Jason's done? He could know what Alfred did too, with a little effort. That he doesn't care to just makes him a hypocrite.)
There's also not a huge difference between what Batman does, and what Red Hood does. It's just that everyone can see the obvious deadly consequences of what Red Hood does; and the bats don't accept that there are consequences to what they do. But Jason knows. All of Uptown does.--
But Alfred dares to come here and suggest that the reason Jason doesn't want to come to the Manor is because he's worried that Bruce hasn't forgiven him.
No.
The reason he doesn't want to go to the Manor is because he hasn't forgiven Bruce.
And he never will.
He doesn't want to have to explain this, because he shouldn't have to.
Alfred lives in a house of detectives. Jason's given him enough to put it together, if he chooses.
He just shakes his head at him, silently, as his reply.
…Alfred likely won't choose to know.
Why does Jason fucking bother.
He doesn't want to do this right now.
He leaves.