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Jason’s heart was pounding viciously in his chest. The intensity had the pulse rushing in his ears, making it hard for him to hear anything.
He didn’t run, he never ran from anything. Jason was a fighter; he had been his whole life and always took everything headfirst. He knew fear, but he never allowed himself to be scared. He always stood his ground, he always held his fists up and he never turned his back. It wasn’t who he was, it wasn’t how he’d been trained.
But he wasn’t stupid either.
He knew he had to run. He couldn’t win this fight. Not unless he was willing to kill them all, and he wasn’t. His feet carry him, and he feels frantic in ways he never has before. He knows he needs to focus, get his head back on straight and breathe to figure out what he needs to do. If they catch him, he’s as good as dead, knowing full well that they’re not going to kill him either. But they might as well because they want to take from him everything that he is.
Bruce never liked his power. He hated when Jason shifted, and always told him not to use his power in a fight, not until he could “control it”. But Jason has always had control. He’s of sane, full mind when he’s shifted. He isn’t a rabid animal, he’s still himself. But Bruce didn’t believe him and refused to accept that this was who Jason was, that he couldn’t just get rid of a part of himself. Bruce was always like that though, about a lot of things. Jason should have known before he died that Bruce would try to find a way to strip him of his power.
Apparently, he’s found one.
And apparently, he’s convinced everyone else that Jason needs his power taken from him.
Because a fight with Bruce he could win, and without killing him. He’s done it before, he can do it a hundred times over. But he cannot fight them all; not Dick, Tim, Damian, Cass, Kate, Steph… hell Selina and Duke were against him too. It was fucking bad, and Jason has no idea what Bruce has said to get them all to side with him, but Jason was outnumbered, and he knows this is a fight he won’t even want to win.
Say he does kill them all, that would cause repercussions on a scale Jason can’t fight. The Justice League, The Titans, basically every damn meta he could name, and any associate of his family would come for him. Jason couldn’t even be sure Roy would still be in his corner if he did something like that.
And Jason knows what he’s capable of, but even he knows that he probably wouldn’t get them all killed that easily in a single fight.
The biggest issue is that he doesn’t fucking want to kill them anyway. Sure, his relationship with his family is far from happy or good, but he doesn’t want them dead. Even his hate for Bruce has simmered into a festering loathing, rather than murderous intent.
Looks like none of the progress he’s made even matters anyway, they all want to take him down and have him stripped of essentially the only thing that makes him who he is.
So, Jason runs.
He’s faster than them in his wolf form, but at a disadvantage that he’s completely grounded. He knows that he has to think of some kind of strategy, and fast. He can’t lead them at all in the direction of his apartment, he’s been careful to make sure no one knows where it is as it stands, and he’s not about to give it away now.
His feet pound against asphalt, his claws thankfully able to grip enough when he makes sharp turns to keep his momentum. He’s not even worried about bystanders seeing him right now, doesn’t care that there will be word of a wolf running the streets of Gotham. Not right now anyway, that’s something he can worry about later when he’s not running for his life.
He needs a crowded area, he needs them to lose line of sight. It’s risky, and it’s going to cause him so many problems, but he can’t run forever. His chest already aches from his heavy breathing, his exhaustion will be catching up with him soon. He just needs to reach the heart of the city, even at this time of night it will be busy, it always is, and he’s so damn close, he just needs to hold out a little bit longer.
Jason knows they’re going to try and cut him off before he reaches it, that they’re trying desperately to stop him, but he’s too fast, and he might not be able to traverse the city like he could if he were human, but he’s still agile, enough so that he knows he’s got them beat. They can’t just barrage their way through a crowd, and Jason just needs a moment to be able to shift into something smaller and less alarming and he’ll disappear.
He rounds another corner and exhales a breath of relief, he just needs to make it to the end of the street unseen, the bright lights and masses will shield him. He glances over his shoulder and doesn’t immediately see anyone on his tail.
It’s exhausting shifting multiple times, but Jason focuses himself and forces another shift. Everything cracks and aches in a way that has him gritting his teeth, and shifting while running full speed is not easy, but he chances another glance over his shoulder and manages a sigh of relief as he fully shifts unseen.
Now as a rat, he’s low to the ground and can scuttle his way into a storm drain unnoticed. He sits in the corner of the opening, hunkering down and practically holding his breath. There’s a decent amount of people everywhere, and with none of them reacting to anything at all, he’s given himself the best chance to completely throw off where he could be heading.
He waits it out, but of course, doesn’t see anyone. There’s no point in them running out into the crowd to get swarmed by the public, even if the smarter ones would get the hell out of Batman’s way. He doesn’t pick up their voices at all either, and his senses aren’t as good as a rat, but that means they’re not close enough. Sticking his head out, Jason sniffs the air, but can’t catch anyone’s scent. They won’t be too far, they’ll be surrounding the area looking for him, waiting to pick up any sign of him.
They probably know he’s shifted again, and that a second shift would have worn him down further. And they would be correct, but he can’t let them catch him. He can’t stay here either though, if his exhaustion gets the better of him and he passes out, he’s fucked. He shifts back in his sleep, and there’s no way he’s letting that happen. And he’s also not desperate enough to take the sewers.
He climbs out of the drain entrance, keeping his movements as natural and animal-like as he can. Sniffing around, moving in shorter bursts rather than just constant movement. He hears the low mumbled “ew rat” as someone passes him, but that’s all he gets. It’s Gotham, at night, there’s fucking rats everywhere.
Jason moves along, trying to follow the scent patterns of other rats along the ground on the off chance he is being watched so that he doesn’t draw attention to himself. He can’t look up, he can’t look around, he can’t make it seem like he’s watching his back, the slightest wrong move would have him caught. And his stupid fringe would give him away if anyone got close enough, they’d know instantly it was him.
He corners a building into an alley and makes a somewhat hasty beeline under a dumpster. And despite being a rat, and having rat nature, even he’s a little bothered by how gross it is. He’s going to need a scalding shower and to disinfect his whole body.
Jason waits a while under the dumpster but doesn’t hear any movement in the alley, and doesn’t hear any voices besides the bustling noise of the city centre just a few feet away from him. He hopes that he’s clear, that he’s duped them. He still pokes his head out first, quickly glances around and deems it clear. Another shift is risky, he’s going to be fucked by the time he gets home, but there’s no way he’ll make it on these legs. He can’t go back to his wolf either; too big, too obvious.
Jason closes his eyes and grimaces as he forces another shift, a small noise of pain emitting from him as his new form takes place. He’s going to sleep well tonight, that's for damn sure.
It takes a lot of effort for Jason to be able to extend his raven wings and manage to take off. He feels like he weighs a tonne, but he manages to clear the buildings and he’s off. He does look back a final time, and he catches the silhouette of at least two of his family members still watching the crowd he’d successfully not vanished into. Good, he was clear.
The flight home drains Jason, and a couple of times he almost stops, but he fears if he rests for a moment too long that his body will attempt to shift back, and he definitely won’t make it home naked and this exhausted. He pushes on, and he continuously checks his six, making sure that he’s not being followed as he heads back to the apartment.
His landing on the fire escape is not pretty, but he doesn’t injure himself, so silver linings. He looks in through the window, peeking in the gap in the curtain and is relieved to see that Roy is still awake, sitting on the couch with the TV on, despite his attention being on his phone. Jason taps his beak against the window incessantly, until he sees Roy get up.
Jason closes his eyes and focuses on a final shift, though changing back to human is always easier, requiring less effort and thought, it still drains him. Especially after three other shifts.
His body is still morphing when Roy opens the window, feathers still sharply drawing into his skin, the final bones of his wings practically dissolving into his body. Jason groans pitifully as he lifts his head, and Roy’s already reaching for him, trying to help him through the window.
“Are you hurt?” Roy asks first, and Jason’s sure he’s trying to get a look at his body, but Jason can barely stand and has to lean most of his weight on Roy as he’s dragged inside. He could probably pass out, but he needs to catch Roy up to speed, and he needs a shower.
“No, just exhausted. Three shifts.” Jason murmurs as Roy gets him sat on the floor just inside the window before yanking it down and pulling the curtain closed again.
Jason doesn’t need to ask, and Roy doesn’t need confirmation, he knows what Jason needs when he’s like this. He makes sure Jason is steady before he drapes a blanket over his lap and heads for the kitchen. Jason tips his head back against the wall and takes in slow breaths. A moment later Roy’s returning with a bottle of electrolytes and a protein bar. Jason gulps down the bottle in one go, sighing exaggeratedly the moment it’s finished. He breathes heavily, chest heaving as he regains himself and passes the bottle back to Roy.
“Thanks, fuck.” Jason runs his fingers through his sweaty hair and stares at the bar in his hand. He needs a moment, so he takes one, and Roy doesn’t push or ask anything, just waits for Jason to regain some energy. He eats the bar calmer and doesn’t scoff the thing down like he’s dying. He feels better already but still gives himself ten minutes on the floor before he bothers getting up.
“What happened?” Roy finally asks as he follows Jason to his feet, his arms hovering at his sides like he’s waiting to catch Jason if he starts to lose his balance. He won’t, the drink and food are doing their job for now. He’s going to need to eat properly soon though, shifting works up a damn strong appetite.
Jason rubs his face as he starts walking toward the bedroom, intending just to grab fresh clothes for his shower. “Bruce came after me. He had everyone else with him.”
“…what do you mean by that?” Roy follows a couple of steps behind. Jason tugs open his underwear drawer, his mouth open to answer when there’s a slam from the living room.
Jason might be exhausted, but his reflexes are lightning-fast. He’s grabbing Roy’s arm instantly, pulling him, shoving to get himself between Roy and the source of the sound, in the same beat that he’s snatching his pistol from atop the dresser. The safety clicks off in the same second as his arm draws up, holding steady and aiming at the now open window, as none other than fucking Red Robin crawls inside like he owns the place.
Jason’s heart is thundering in his chest. His mind races. He wasn’t followed, he made sure of it, circled three different blocks to make sure of it on his way home. He would have noticed Tim on his ass, there’s no way he saw him. Anger flares in his gut and his grip on his pistol tightens. Sonofabitch.
“Get out!” Jason hollers, taking two long strides toward Tim, keeping the gun trained between his eyes. The white lenses of his mask do well to hide them, but Jason can see the shock on his face when he focuses on Jason. He’s sure they glance down at his naked body too, probably telling him Jason’s still freshly shifted, getting the idea that he’s still weakened in that case. Jason tries to keep the shake from his shoulders at bay.
Tim sighs and stands straight, rubbing his hands together as though he’s patting dust off of them. “You’re not going to shoot me, Jason.”
“Do you want to chance that?” Jason dares him, but Tim still doesn’t move. He grits his teeth and glances at the window, the curtains flapping lightly on the breeze. “The fuck are the others?”
“Not here. They don’t know I’m here. Let me take you in, this doesn’t have to be hard, Jason.” Tim’s pleading like he’s worried about him or cares at all. Jason scoffs. Whatever lies Bruce has told them is clearly doing the job right.
“You’d let him kill me, kill who I am.” Jason seethes, and he feels the heat at his side when Roy steps up to him, but he holds his arm out and keeps Roy back. Yeah, Tim’s not going to hurt Roy, there’s no need for him to protect him, but Jason’s always been protective of Roy. It’s habit, instinct even for him to keep himself between Roy and any threat. And while Tim’s only a threat to him, he’s still a threat.
“He won’t kill you. He just wants to help you.” Tim stresses, and Jason laughs. Help him? Bruce has never done anything to help him without it being for his own selfish gain. And trying to rip Jason of his powers is far from helping him with anything. But Jason knows it would make Bruce feel better about himself, it would make his own life easier. That’s the only reason he wants to do it. Bruce needs to have control, that’s how he’s always been.
“It would kill me!” Jason shouts, taking another step toward Tim. To Tim’s credit he barely flinches, even though Jason’s almost in range of him now. He’s not stupid enough to get within Tim’s reach. He doesn’t need to press a pistol to his head to get a perfect shot between his eyes. “Leave. Now.” He hisses before Tim can try coming up with any other excuse as to why Jason should go with him.
“Tim, please,” Roy murmurs, stepping close to Jason again. He can feel Roy’s arm coming up his side, but Jason isn’t focused on it. He’s staring Tim down, unblinking, unmoving, his breathing deep but steady.
“He won’t shoot me.” Tim continues to goad, like Jason doesn’t have his finger on the trigger, the slightest twitch and Tim would be dead. Something ugly curls up in Jason’s gut. He doesn’t fucking want to shoot Tim, he doesn’t want to kill him, but he might have to now. Tim knows where he lives, he’ll tell the others and he’s not safe here now.
“He will, you’ve given him reason to.” Roy tries to explain, but clearly, Tim doesn’t realise the gravity of the situation that he’s in. Because his head tips in a way that Jason knows is him rolling his eyes. And he moves, taking a single step forward and Jason’s whole body tenses.
It all happens in a second, Jason hears Roy shout “No!” and that arm that Jason felt against his chest was Roy intending to get in Jason’s way. There’s no way he could have moved that fast otherwise, his hand suddenly clasped around Jason’s wrist to wrestle the gun from his hold, in the same beat that the safety is flicked on and the clip is dislodged from the pistol. Jason could react, catch the clip, and get it back in the gun, but not without hurting Roy first, and he wasn’t about to do that.
Tim doesn’t even stop in his advance, clearly doesn’t even realise that Jason was one second away from actually killing him. Roy’s elbow is in Jason’s chest, winding him and shoving him back enough that Roy can step between him and Tim. And Roy must have grabbed an arrow when Jason shoved him back in their room, but the next thing he knows, Roy’s driving the head forcefully into Tim’s thigh. Tim didn’t think either of them were going to hurt him, Jason knows he could have put up a fight and prevented what just happened if he had been prepared for it.
The cry of pain he gives sounds surprised enough, and the look on his face shows that he’s shocked Roy followed through. Roy’s still gripping the arrow, holding it pressed into Tim’s thigh, even as Tim’s hands come down to try and grab hold of it, Roy shoves and Tim cries out again.
“You crossed a line Tim, you know that.” Roy growls and Jason just stands there almost dumbly. He could go for his gun, but Roy would probably kick his teeth in. Neither of them want Tim dead.
Tim’s gritting his teeth when he glances past Roy to Jason, he could fight Roy, he could punch him, or something but he’s holding himself back. Something is holding him back. Jason doesn’t know what, but he’s ready in case whatever it is doesn’t have enough strength to keep Tim subdued.
“He doesn’t want to kill you, but he will. You broke into our home; you’ve violated his trust. You know Jason. Trust doesn’t come easy, Tim.” Roy’s still snarling, and if the severity of this situation wasn’t so high, Jason might be enjoying seeing his boyfriend like this. It was hot seeing Roy get protective of him, but right now Jason’s worn too thin.
Roy twists his wrist and snaps the end off the arrow, leaving the head embedded in Tim’s thigh. He cries out again, but that doesn’t stop Roy from shoving him back. He can’t get the arrowhead out easily now, he’ll need to dig it out with surgical tools. Or his fingers if he’s dumb or desperate enough. Roy could have left the whole thing in and made it so he could pull it out that way, but he’s pissed, maybe not as pissed as Jason, but still angry all the same. “Fucking leave, now.”
Jason can see the argument on Tim’s face, he has a lot he wants to say, but he’s also not stupid. Stupid enough to break into Jason’s place, sure, but not stupid enough to stay when Roy still could stab the rest of that arrow through his gut. He’s strong enough and definitely worked up enough.
Tim backs up slowly, staring Jason down as he gets back to the window and starts to climb out, hissing at the pain in his leg. Jason watches the blood tickle down his leg onto the carpet, and he feels nothing. His heart hurts, and his chest aches with it. He feels betrayed because Roy was right. Tim knows him too well, they even got along for the most part. Not anymore, Jason would never forgive him for this.
“You can’t run from this. Not forever.” Tim spits, sounding like he’s the one who’s been deceived. Jason’s teeth grind together so hard that his jaw cracks, but he keeps his mouth shut. Roy strides up to the window and slams it shut the moment Tim’s out. And he watches him hobble up the fire escape stairs to the roof before he finally pulls the curtain closed again and exhales a heavy sigh.
“Are you okay?” He asks when he turns, and Jason hadn’t realised that he was on the verge of breaking down until Roy asked, and the overwhelming ache in his chest implodes.
Roy’s hugging him instantly, his arms tight around Jason’s body as he holds him firmly against his chest. Jason exhales a rough breath that turns into a wreck sob. He clings to Roy desperately, pressing his face firmly into the crook of Roy’s neck. His body shakes as he cries. He didn’t even know he was going to cry, he didn’t even feel it happening.
Tonight had broken him.
Jason cries until he has nothing left to give, and Roy holds him just as tightly through it all. When he’s finally able to catch his breath again, the reality of the situation properly sinks in. Tim was going to tell Bruce where he was, there was no doubt in his mind.
“We have to go,” He manages to say, taking in a shuddering breath as he lifts his head enough to rest his chin on Roy’s shoulder. Roy gives a small nod, and Jason’s heart feels like it sinks further into his gut.
“I’m sorry.” Roy murmurs, but Jason doesn’t see why he thinks he needs to be apologising. He didn’t do anything wrong, he wasn’t the reason Jason needed to run. He was just lucky that he had him, that Roy was willing to run with him. The thought makes Jason feel worse.
“You shouldn’t have been involved.” Jason pulls away and takes in another shuddering breath as he heads for the bedroom again. He needs to get himself in gear.
“Jason, you’re my partner. I will stand by you, always.” Roy’s tone is stern, and it makes Jason’s stupid chest flutter. He never in his life would have thought he’d be lucky enough to have someone love him as much as Roy does.
“I can’t ask you to put yourself at odds with them for me. Dick’s your best friend-”
“Stop,” Roy cuts him off, grabbing Jason’s wrist and forcing him to face him again. Jason stares at him, feeling that ugly coil in his gut. His defence is to push and push when things get hard until everyone leaves him alone. And right now, Roy didn’t deserve to be caught in the war his family had declared on him.
“He doesn’t mean shit to me if he’s siding with Bruce. This is who you are, Jason. I won’t let them hurt you.” Roy’s eyes are shining with tears that he’s refusing to let fall. He inhales sharply and brings his hands down to Jason’s waist. He pulls their bodies together as he looks down between them. “I love all of you, I always have. You’re not a monster, you’re not dangerous. I know none of them know you like I do, but I also know they’re not going to listen to me. I will fight by your side, even if it kills me.”
Jason wouldn’t let it happen; he’d die a thousand times over before he let anyone lay a finger on Roy. But it means worlds to him that Roy was willing to go through anything for him. He doesn’t have the words to say how grateful he is to have Roy, and he could say that he loved him and even that would feel like nothing compared to how he feels.
So, he doesn’t say anything, he surges forward and kisses Roy like he’s dying for it. It’s messy and rough and Jason tastes the tears on Roy’s lips that finally fall but he doesn’t care. Because he’s crying again too, and there was nothing he could say or do that would prove to Roy how much he meant to him.
- - -
They both pack their necessities as quickly as they can and take their leave. They don’t know that someone else won’t show up, or that Tim won’t return with the others tonight. Roy’s already talking through plans on when they’ll get the rest of their stuff, but Jason isn’t too worried. It’ll be there whenever they return, and he’ll search it all extensively for bugs, tracking devices, and anything like that, but that’s a later problem. Right now, he just needs to get away from this place.
It's not until they’re in the car that Roy starts calling hotels to find a room for at least the night, more if he can get it. They could risk a safe house, but none of them are fully anonymous. At least one person has crashed at every single one of his safehouses. The apartment was the only place Jason needed to be kept a secret. And Roy would usually bunk at Dick’s or Jason’s safe houses when he needed them before he moved in with Jason. After all, he had no intention of staying in Gotham in the beginning.
And once they’ve secured a place to stay, Jason timidly mentions food, because his gut is tight with hunger from all the strain his body has been under tonight. They stop at a cheap but semi-decent burger place Jason’s at least a little familiar with, and as Roy heads in to make their order, Jason checks over the car. No tracker, no wire, nothing. And he stays with the car and acts as a lookout, just in case they are being followed. He still desperately wants to know how Tim found his place.
He knows he wasn’t followed.
Roy returns pretty quickly, which isn’t a surprise for this hour, and they’re off for the hotel. Jason checks them in with his fake ID and they head for their room. Is there truly a chance that they’ll be found if he checked in under his real name? Well, there’s always a chance, regardless of how slim it is.
Once inside, Jason’s tearing open the bag of food and digging into his first burger without much hesitation. His stomach growls eagerly, and despite being mediocre food, he’s so hungry that it’s perfect.
Roy sits on the bed beside him. And when he doesn’t reach for the bag, Jason pauses and glances over to him. The sad smile on Roy’s face says a lot, but it’s not giving Jason everything. He lowers his burger and wipes at the corner of his mouth with his thumb, finishing his mouthful before he speaks.
“What’s on your mind? Don’t say nothing, because I can tell something’s bothering you.” Jason holds his finger up accusingly. Roy’s smile twitches slightly, but he lowers his gaze completely. He reaches for the bag and checks the remaining three burgers to find the one he ordered. He’s honestly not even sure that three will be enough for Jason after how much he’s exerted himself tonight, but Jason insisted he’d be fine.
“You didn’t get to tell me what happened. I mean… I can kind of put the pieces together, but… I wanna know what actually went down tonight.” Roy’s not looking at him, which is fair. They’re both worn too thin, one wrong word or look and either one of them could break down into pathetic sobbing again. Jason sighs and shoves some fries in his mouth before he takes another bite of his burger. Stalling, but also, he’s fucking ravenous.
“I met up with Bruce for,” he shakes his head and exhales a sort of laugh at himself, “I thought I was meeting up with Bruce for that bank job that happened a couple of days ago. He said he needed some extra hands to bring the guys in.”
Jason stares across the room, at the boring art on the wall that screams “you’re staying in a hotel”. He can feel the burn in his eyes again, his stupid body betraying him again. He snuffles and exhales another breath. “He fucking set me up.”
He can feel Roy’s gaze on him now as he shoves more food in his mouth, effectively scoffing down his first burger and tossing the wrapper back into the bag before he reaches for another one. “You said they were all there.”
Jason nods, chewing another mouthful slowly. Roy shifts on the bed and moves the bag out of the way so that he can rest his hand on Jason’s thigh, his food momentarily ignored. “And they all agreed with him?”
“Yeah, I guess. He said that he could help me, that he could rid me of this curse. I knew the only way I was getting out of there was in handcuffs, or if they were all fucking dead.” Of course, the third option was that he ran, and he did get away, but not after pushing his body to his limit. He’s never shifted so many times in such a short amount of time. Everything ached.
Roy’s silent for a long time, and Jason has nothing else to say on the matter. He stuffs his face, hoping that it will prevent him from crying again. Eventually, Roy eats too, and with three burgers and two packs of fries scoffed, a coke to wash it all down, Jason’s at least not feeling like his body is going to turn inside out with his hunger.
He ends up curled up on the bed, staring at the window, even though the curtains are closed. The one thing he wanted more than anything right now was to feel safe, was to crawl into his bed, in his home and rest. And that had been taken from him. Yeah, he had Roy with him, and for that he was lucky, but he needed to be grounded, it took him years to finally have peace, to have a place he could call home again. It was gone.
Roy’s hand on his hip brings him back to this room, rather than the ghost of where he wished he was. He turns his head, and Roy offers him another sad smile. He’s trying his best, and Jason appreciates it, but the hollow feeling in his chest will be there for a while.
“Let’s get you cleaned up so you can get some rest,” Roy says in a small voice. He’s not asking with his words, but his tone kind of is. The unspoken “if you want to” doesn’t go unheard by Jason. He knows Roy too well, just as Roy knows him.
He gives a swift nod and rises from the bed, following Roy into the bathroom. He’s not going to argue having Roy take care of him. They both need it right now.
- - -
It takes a couple of months before they’re finally free of that hotel room. Jason knew that it could take a while, but almost three months trapped in those walls was hell. Yeah, he wasn’t there the whole time, it’s not like they were on house arrest, but they had to be careful so that they weren’t spotted around the area a lot, or at all if possible.
Roy met up with Dick during that time, at Dick’s place and it went terribly. He came back shaking and angry, telling Jason that they were done. Dick didn’t want to listen to reason at all, believed wholeheartedly that Jason should be locked up, that his powers were too dangerous “for them all” and he was being selfish in using them. Roy didn’t knock his lights out, but he expressed to Jason that he wanted to, deeply.
Besides that, none of them had any contact with any of Jason’s family. It was rough, and Jason knows it will continue to be rough. He fucking missed them, but he knew that none of them were going to hear him out. They were set, Bruce had convinced them he needed to be stripped of his ability. Jason felt alone, he felt empty.
Roy did his best, and without him, Jason’s not sure he would have been able to handle this at all. Roy was all he had now. But Jason wasn’t all that Roy had, and despite how rocky his relationship with Oliver had been in the past, they were on far better terms these days. Jason isn’t jealous, he’s happy for Roy. Even if it hurts a little bit.
But, because of this, Roy suggests they get out of Gotham. Jason doesn’t disagree with the idea, even if there’s a part of him that feels the need to be in the city, to continue what he does here. But he can’t stay, Bruce won’t give up on this, and Jason can’t live his life running from the man. At first, they’re not set on where to go, but Jason suggests they head to Star City. Roy would be close to his family again, and they couldn’t be further from Gotham without literately leaving the country.
So, they pack up everything, Jason sorts out his assets in Gotham, and they’re off.
It took them a while to find a place, that was the real hold-up because, despite everything, Jason knew Roy wouldn’t be able to live under the same roof as Ollie again. He’s fairly certain that he wouldn’t be able to live with the man either. Jason had intended to just find them another apartment, something similar to what they had in Gotham, even though it was clear that Star was far nicer.
But Roy suggests they get a house and at first, Jason almost laughs, because why would they do that? Until he realises why Roy would even think of it. Because their relationship is serious, and they might only be boyfriends still, but they both know it is more than that for them. They were in this together.
And then when Roy almost sheepishly mentions a place at the city limits and mentions that Jason could have more freedom if they had the privacy of somewhere more rural, and that there’s a forest near this one place that’s available and it seems like a “good fit” for them. Jason wouldn’t have dreamt of saying no. Man did he love Roy.
Dinah was nice enough to view the house for them while on video call so that they could get a better idea of the house and area. It’s not a farmhouse, not really, but it’s isolated on a decent-sized property and Jason was smart enough to transfer his funds before Bruce tried to cut him off, if he even intended to. And hell, what was more fitting than Bruce paying for his place, willingly or not?
Seeing the house for the first time in person is different, it makes it a lot more real. Two bedrooms, one bath. It’s big enough that they could have the rest of Roy’s family over, but wouldn’t have housed Jason’s without being crowded. It’s fitting, it’s quaint, and it’s exactly something Jason never thought he’d have. He was happy, and he could tell that Roy was too.
Oliver definitely pulled some strings to get in a good word for them for work, because Jason couldn’t see any other way both of them got hired so quickly and easily into the fields they wanted to be in. Jason hasn’t verbally thanked him, but he knows that Oliver is aware it’s appreciated. Jason’s sure he’d deny it if the subject was brought up anyway.
And then there’s Jason’s ability. He’s still able to do what he feels he needs to help out, and no one is after his skin for it. Oliver looks the other way, and all the other masks in Star do too. He only kills when he has to, otherwise, it’s the usual Red Hood gig anyway. Gotham was his home, and will always be his roots, but he feels like he belongs here, in Star City. And here, he stands at Roy’s side, not Roy at his. This is Roy’s home, this is Roy’s family, his life. Jason is honoured to be part of it.
- - -
Jason tips his head back against the end of the bathtub, sighing contently as he flexes his toes under the water. His bones ached with the fading strain of his shift, but the warm water was easing that nicely. His belly was full, the wolf satisfied from his last hunt. He doesn’t need to hunt wildlife to survive, but it definitely does good for him. Roy was right about the area, it was perfect for him.
Jason hears the floor shifting under Roy’s weight as he leans in the doorway of the bathroom. “Knock knock,”
“Yeah?” Jason keeps his eyes closed, basking in the warmth seeping into his skin. The tub in his apartment back in Gotham was too small for him to properly enjoy. Boy, had he been missing out.
“I was thinking we could have dinner with a movie, but you’ve already eaten,” Roy drawls a little on some words in a teasing way. Jason’s lip curls up in a smirk and he gives a small snort as he turns his head and opens his eyes to look up at Roy.
“Sorry, next time I’ll drag the deer in.”
“God no, please don’t.” Roy chuckles and steps into the bathroom, nudging Jason’s arm off the side of the tub so that he can sit on it. And his smile was so damn pretty. Jason fell more in love with it every time that he saw it. “I’m gonna heat something up, but if you’re up to it, we could still watch something?”
Jason reaches up and cradles Roy’s cheek in his palm. Roy leans into it, despite Jason’s hand being wet. “I’m down for that.” Jason hums, pushing himself up from lying back in the tub to meet Roy halfway for a slow kiss. He could lose himself in Roy all too easily and does often do exactly that.
Roy pulls back though and presses a quick kiss to Jason’s forehead before he stands again. “Alright, no rush though, whenever you’re ready.”
“Mhmm, just rubbing out some aches,” Jason tips his head again, but Roy misses the double entendre as he leaves the room. Jason bites his bottom lip and sinks back into the bath again, only his head sticking out just above the bubbles.
His hand glides down his body, his fingers coming down over his cunt with the barest of touch before he retreats his hand. No, he’ll hold off. He’ll wait to get Roy in bed before he gives him a show that they’ll both enjoy. And Roy will take care of him once it’s all said and done, bundling him up in bed before they pass out for the night. Easy, calm, content.
Jason could get used to this side of life.