Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He’d been on this stakeout for eleven hours, and there was still no sign of a shipment. He was certain of the location, almost sure of the entry route. But apparently this particular drug ring had slightly more sense than the average criminal, and kept nothing like a regular schedule, so he kept missing the chance to actually bust a delivery and figure out their source.

“Oracle to Red Hood.”

“Red Hood here, put me out of my misery.”

“I know your phones are muted, but I’ve got a call coming in from Star City for you.”

“Patch it through. Thanks, Oracle.”

“Any time, Hood.”

“Jaybird?”

“You and the kid alive, Arsenal?”

“She’s fine, I’m alive.”

“But not fine.” Jason tensed.

“Might have gotten a little bit stabbed in the chest.”

Jason was already sprinting across the roof, grappling toward his bike. “Where-”

“I’m fine! I’m already patched up and home, but I’ve got a broken ankle too, so I can’t bring the kid to school. Was wondering if you had some free time this week.”

Jason slowed down, but not by much. “I’ll be there in an hour.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Jaybird.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll bring over stuff for dinner, since I know you don’t have anything but pizza rolls and Cheerios.”

“I’ll have you know there are three whole carrots in my fridge.”

“Christ, who let you have a child?”

“The righteous justice system of the United States of America, one nation under God-“

Jason hung up.

“Oracle, Arsenal fucked up his leg and got himself stabbed, I’ll be in Star City for a few days.”

“Don’t call you unless anyone but Bruce is actively dying, got it. Say hi to the kiddo for me.”

~

Objectively, Jason felt that seeing Roy injured shouldn’t bother him anymore. He’d seen his best friend in much worse condition, time and time again. Roy was already sprawled on the couch watching trash tv when Jason let himself in. He was going to be fine.

Jason still worried.

He tossed a packet of seaweed snacks into Roy’s lap. “I’m making borscht for dinner; you need anything before I get started?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

Jason filled a glass of water and set it by him anyway. Roy smirked, but didn’t comment. He shifted to pick it up and winced.

“The bastard lucky or actually good?”

“Lucky. Grapple arrow failed and I fell a couple stories. Messed my ankle up, got stuck, and he managed a couple hits while I was down.”

“Hmm.” He might have to go out hunting tonight, after Lian fell asleep.

“He’s already in jail; Ollie picked him up last night.”

“Hn.” More security, but still viable.

“You are not allowed to go kill him.”

“Who said anything about killing him?”

“Don’t try to play dumb with me, nerd boy. Lian’s over at Dinah’s right now, but she’ll be dropping her off before dinner.”

Jason headed for the kitchen. “I forgot to pick up flour, do you at least have that?”

“There’s half a bag of Blue Bird in the pantry. Today was supposed to be grocery day, so we’re out of a lot of fresh stuff. Baking supplies should be good to go, though.”

“I’ll make a run tomorrow after I drop Lian off. Start me a list of whatever you need.” He’d already spent the trip over planning out a list of meals that would freeze well, to make sure the Harpers would have some decent food next week. Roy made sure Lian got a balanced diet, but he wasn’t exactly a great cook. He shouldn’t have to run the kitchen for a while anyway, with his ankle out of commission.

“Hope I didn’t interrupt anything important.”

“Saved me from a stake-out. I was about ready to go in and pull a fire alarm just to see something happen.”

“Happy to be of service, then.” Roy waggled his eyebrows and settled back against the cushions, leaving Jason to his soup.

~

Dinah dropped Lian off around 5:00, just as Jason was pulling a pan of biscuits out of the oven. Lian shrieked with excitement when she saw him. “Jayjay!”

“Whoa, hang on a sec, dart!” he half-tossed the baking sheet on the stovetop before scooping her up.

She squeezed him tight. “Did you come to help Daddy?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna stay with you guys for a few days. Got to make sure you get some good food and a ride to school, at least until your dad can use a set of crutches properly. How’s that sound?”

“Good!”

“Alright, go clean yourself up and we’ll have some dinner. I made the red soup.”

Lian nodded her approval and ran off to her room.

Dinah was checking on Roy, who was waving her away.

“’m fine, Dinah. Promise. Nurse Todd here is keeping me stocked with water and iron. You staying for dinner?”

“I’d love to, it smells delicious, but I promised the girls I’d be right back. Anything you need me to run over tomorrow?”

“Nah, we’re good. Jay’s going shopping.”

She kissed his forehead. “Alright, you boys enjoy your night. Bye, Lian! Love you!”

Lian popped out of her room to wave. “Love you, Gramma!”

~

The Harpers practically inhaled the soup and biscuits, and Jason felt a little glow of satisfaction as he handed Roy a second helping. When dinner was cleaned up, he grabbed his laptop and collapsed in the armchair to Roy’s left. This trip would be long enough that he needed to update a few people back in Gotham, make sure everything would run smoothly in his absence. Lian sat cross-legged by the coffee table, filling out a worksheet.

“Whatcha working on, yazh ?”

“Flash facts.”

Jason glanced up. “Like the Flash your grandpa works with?”

Lian held up her worksheet, which did indeed have a little doodle of the OG Flash above a few rows of addition problems. “I told Mrs. Haan I’d rather have Red Hood facts, but she only had Flash.”

Jason felt his ears turn red. He could only imagine what Mrs. Haan had thought of a shrimpy first grader with big green puppy eyes, asking for her worksheet to be themed around a notorious crime lord from the other side of the country. “That’s real sweet of you, dart.”

“I don’t know what 5 and 3 is though.”

Jason set his laptop aside and slid onto the floor next to her. “Mrs. Haan tell you about the dots?”

“No?”

“Here.” He grabbed the grocery list Roy had started and flipped it over, writing out the numbers 1 through 9. He went back down the row, marking each joint and curve. “One has 1 point, so it’s worth one. 2 has a curve and a point, so it’s worth two.”

“That’s not a point, it’s a circle.”

“It’s a point on your worksheet, don’t pay attention to my messy handwriting.”

“Jayjay just has the handwriting of a Victorian poet.”

“And we no longer have a joint account for a reason.” Jason threw a spare pencil at Roy’s head without looking. “3 has two curves and a point, so it’s worth three, and we can count on it like this.” He tapped his pencil at each mark. “One, two, three.”

“4 has four points?”

“Right. Want to mark them?”

She made careful dots. “And 5 has five, like this.”

“Now the rest are a little tricky, because we have to double up, but it’s still easier to remember.” He dotted his way along the rest of the numerals, circling the places where he layered dots. “So we can count like this all the way up to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.”

“9 is weird.”

“Yeah, 9 is the hardest, but when I see the number, I can remember where the dots are supposed to go, even if I can’t remember what it’s called.”

“Did your teacher show you how to do that?”

“Nah, my mom did. I always had a hard time understanding math, but she helped me figure stuff out. Now, how do you think we can use this to figure out 5 + 3?”

“Five, six, seven, eight?”

Jason held up his hand. “Great job, dart! You catch on fast.”

Beaming, she high-fived him before scribbling down her answer.

When Jason glanced up, Roy was watching them with a crooked smile. He turned back to his show, tucking his good arm under his head. It had been a few months since he cut his hair, and it brushed his shoulders again. He had a new tattoo on his forearm, a lotus flower that was just visible behind his head. Lian’s namesake, right where he would see it while drawing his bow.

As Lian continued her worksheet, Jason moved his laptop to the coffee table and worked beside her, shooting off emails and double checking a spreadsheet that Max had sent him for approval.

“What’s that number?”

“Seventy-two thousand, eight hundred sixty-two.”

“Whoa. That’s a lot of dollars.”

Roy raised his eyebrows and Jason paused. The spreadsheet was written in code, but possibly he shouldn’t have the stats for his Crime Alley operations open in front of a six-year-old. “Sure is. You about finished with that worksheet?”

“I’m all done. It was fast with the dots.”

“Cool, got anything else to work on?”

She sighed. “Just a reading practice. I have to read all the lines out loud as fast as I can.”

“Alright, let’s see what you got.” He shut the laptop and skimmed through the spreadsheet she pulled out. “Reading’s always been my favorite. Want to take turns? You read once, then I read, and we see how fast you can get?”

“Mmm, sure.” She frowned down at the page and started sounding out the first phrase. Jason leaned back against the couch, only helping once or twice when she got stuck. Finally, she handed the sheet to him. “Okay, your turn.”

Using the same steady pace he used for bedtime stories, he went down the list. Lian sighed when he was done. “You’re faster than me.”

“Of course, because I’ve been reading for a lot longer than you have, squirt. That’s why you practice.”

“I wasn’t always good at archery,” Roy chimed in. “I had to practice that a lot, too. I missed all the time when I started, and I was really slow.”

“And now you know what it says, it’ll be easier. I bet you can go faster this time.”

Lian furrowed her brow and restarted the list. Sure enough, she picked up speed. They traded back and forth, and after a few rounds she was reading at talking speed, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

When she finally shoved the sheet back in her folder, Jason ruffled her hair. “Looks like all that practice paid off.”

She clambered to her feet. “I’m all done with my homework. Will you read to me?”

“Go pick a book while I finish up my emails.”

As she left, Roy tipped his head to catch Jason’s eye. “Thanks, Jaybird.”

Jason shrugged, flipping his laptop open. “No skin off my nose, I’ll always take an excuse to read. Lian’s a fun kid.”

“I know. Still nice of you.”

“Well, I can hardly ignore my one and only fan in Star City.” He waved a hand, skimming through the last few rows of Max’s spreadsheet.  

“Don’t be silly. You have two.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “That so?”

“Probably. I’m almost 70% sure Dinah thinks you’re cool.”

“Screw you.” Another pencil bounced off Roy’s thigh as the redhead started cackling. 

~

A couple hours later, Jason leaned over the couch, poking Roy in his uninjured shoulder. 

“Alright, Red Arse, time for bed.”

“Ughhhh. You take the bed, I’m not moving.”

“I’m not the one with two stab wounds, a dislocated shoulder, and a fractured fibula. Lian’s asleep, the apartment’s clean, and I haven’t slept in 20 hours, so you’re moving.”

“Fine.” Roy slowly sat up, ignoring his crutches in favor of draping his good arm over Jason’s shoulders. Jason wrapped an arm around his waist, careful to avoid any injuries, and helped him hobble to the bedroom.

Roy sank into bed with a groan, and gave Jason a thumbs up. “Alright. I’m in bed. You go sleep now.”

He was pale, face drawn from the lack of painkillers and the effort of moving. A strand of hair was stuck to his forehead. Instead of brushing it away, Jason flipped the blankets up over him, hitting the light as he left. “Sweet dreams, baby boy,” he sang.

“Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the couchbugs bite!”

“If you’ve got couch bugs, I’m reporting you to Alfred and the Good Hosts’ Association.”

“Just try not to think about them. Crawling, creeping, wiggling up your spine, nibbling at-”

Jason came back and shut the bedroom door. He could hear Roy laughing as he headed toward the couch.

Chapter Text

Even though he’d picked Lian up from school a dozen times before, there was always that little jolt of nerves when he walked through the door. The niggling fear that someone would take one look at him and refuse to let Lian go with him. The creeping thought that maybe they wouldn’t have the wrong idea, because really, Roy had to be an idiot to send a known killer pick up his kid.

But then, every time, Lian would see him at the door and light up like she’d just been promised chocolate fudge ripple ice cream. And damn if that didn’t hit him like a sucker punch every time.

“Jayjay!” Lian bounded through the classroom door, clamping tight to Jason’s leg.

Every time, and every time it made him feel like the fucking Grinch, his black and shriveled heart growing two sizes in the face of the little girl’s sheer joy. “Hey squirt, you have a good day?”

“We made necklaces! Look, I put red beads on it for you and daddy, and this one’s for grandpa, and one for grandma, and one’s for my mom, and this one’s me!” She proudly held up her necklace, showcasing the bright yellow bead in the center.

“That’s beautiful, you did a great job.”

Miss Lapinski handed him a bright green half-sheet. “Permission slip for the aquarium trip next week,” she explained. “We’ll need it back by Wednesday with Mr. Harper’s signature, since he’s the legal parent.”

“Got it, thank you. Can’t miss out on seeing a real live shark, can we?”

Lian grinned. “I wanna see a octopus!”

Jason swung her onto his hip, heading down the busy hallway. “Now why do you need to go to an aquarium for that, when you can just ask Uncle Dick to come visit?”

“Uncle Dick is only a pretend octopus, silly.”  

“He sure fooled me. Are you sure he’s not some alien octopus creature in disguise?”

“Noooo! He’s a person!”

Jason got her settled in her booster seat, and circled around to slide into the driver’s seat. He had to dig around for a moment to find his set of spare keys, with the hideous red glittery R keychain that Roy had insisted on adding. “Your dad’s all set up on the couch, so when we get home I’m gonna start making some pizzas. You guys can watch cartoons, and you can show him your cool new necklace while I cook.”

“I want to help you make pizzas!”

Jason pulled out of the parking lot. “You are always welcome to help me in the kitchen, but your dad might be a little disappointed not to hang out with you. He misses you while you’re at school all day.”

“I see Daddy all the time, though. I miss you, Jayjay. You were gone for forever .”

It had been a whole week and a half since his last visit to Star City. Hiding a smile, Jason nodded. “Missed you too, kid.”

“I wish you could just stay all the time, and you could be my daddy too.”

Jason’s brain short-circuited and he hit the brakes a little late, coming in hot at a stop-sign. The car rocked back on its springs, but Lian didn’t seem to notice, busy fidgeting with her new necklace. The necklace that had two red beads, side by side to the left of a sunny yellow. “You already have a dad, and I’m not sure he’d be too thrilled about being replaced,” he tried to keep his voice light.

Lian just scoffed. “I can have two daddies, silly. Hayley has two daddies, and they’re really nice. They go to the park and take her to gymnastics and make spaghetti, just like you and Daddy. And Hayley got to be a flower girl, and wear a pink dress with a ribbon on it.”

Jason was really, really thankful that Lian’s school was so close to the apartment. He wasn’t entirely sure he should be driving right now. “Well, um, people can be special and be around even if they’re not married, dart.” He winced as he heard the words come out of his mouth. They were a little too familiar, a little too much like the scoldings he gave himself some nights while staring at a safehouse ceiling, or packing his things after a weekend on Roy’s couch. “I don’t have to be your dad to care about you.” And didn’t that hit an old bruise.

“But if you’re my dad, then maybe you could live here, and I could see you all the time, and you wouldn’t have to leave.”

Jason slid the car into a parking spot, shoved it into park, and stared at the sidewalk in front of them for a few seconds. “Lian,” his voice caught slightly, and he cleared his throat. Sack up, Hood, this is a six year old. You can talk to the six year old. What would Matthew Cuthbert say?

“Lian, you know I care about you, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And that is still true even if I live in Gotham. Your mom loves you too, even though she can’t always be around, and you’re always important to me, even if I can’t be here all the time.”

“But why can’t you?”

“Ah, Lian…” He was so unequipped for this, Jesus Christ. He couldn’t be Matthew Cuthbert, he couldn’t even be the old Jason. “I think you might have to ask your dad that question. He’s better at explaining things than I am.” A coward’s way out, maybe, but what else was he supposed to say? Actually, Lian, that’s a great question, maybe I should finally make a move on your dad after years of pining, even though he’s never shown any sign of being interested in me, and I probably can’t even give him what he’d want in a relationship, and it would ruin one of the only friendships I’ve got, and I’d never get to see either of you again .

“That pizza’s not gonna make itself, you ready to head up?”

Lian’s frown cleared up a little. “Yeah! And I have to show Daddy my necklace!”

“Absolutely. He’s gonna be so excited to see it.”

The second she was unbuckled, Lian dashed into the building, her cat backpack bouncing. Jason jogged after her, barely remembering to grab the permission slip from the center console. She didn’t even pause at the elevator, making a beeline for the stairs. She knew Jason didn’t use elevators if there was any other viable option. Dammit, they had routines, and he couldn’t think about that right now, not when he had to see Roy in two minutes, and he was supposed to be in Star City for another five days, and there was no way in hell now he was disappointing Lian by leaving early.

Then they were at the apartment door. There was no avoiding this, and Lian was running for the couch, thankfully remembering to be gentle as she snuggled up next to her dad. Roy had clearly been napping; he was still half-asleep, his hair a tangled mess, but he lit up when he saw Lian, and-

Fuck, Jason was an idiot. His heart was still racing. He swallowed down the panic and the ache, and plastered a smile on his face, heading straight for the kitchen sink. He tossed the permission slip on the counter and started washing his hands while Lian chattered about her day.

He had started the pizza dough earlier, but it needed to finish proofing, so he grabbed a knife from the block and started chopping veggies for the sauce and toppings. “You guys want basil on yours?”

“Wait, I want to help!”

“If you’re done catching your dad up on everything, wash your hands and grab your apron. I’ve got some cheese for you to grate.”

She dumped her backpack and hurried to follow his instructions.

“Hang on,” Jason held up a hand. “Your backpack goes where?”

She wrinkled her nose. “In my room.”

“Right, and where’s your apron?”

“In my laundry basket. But it’s clean!”

“Alright, go take care of your stuff, and then come help.”

Roy’s voice was soft, so she wouldn’t overhear from the bedroom. “Everything go alright? Someone give you guys a hard time?”

“What? No, it went fine.” Jason focused back on the tomato in his hands. “Miss Lipinski’s cool. Sent a permission slip home for the aquarium field trip, said they need it back by Wednesday.” He tossed a chunk of stem on the scrap pile. “Lian’s real excited about it, w- you might have some trouble convincing her she doesn’t need a pet octopus.”

Roy laughed. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Birthday idea, ask Aquaman to say hi. Would probably make her whole year.”

“Wow, gunning for my position as Best Dad Ever?”

Jason felt his face flare red, and he focused on the tomatoes way more than they really warranted. “Nah,” he kept his voice light. “You’ve got that one in the bag.”

Lian came out half-tangled in her apron strings, and Jason was able to focus on her for the next hour or so. He’d never thought that such a constant stream of chatter could be soothing, but this was Lian. He managed to push the earlier conversation out of his head, pouring all his attention into guiding her through the steps. Roy wove in and out of their conversation, dozing on the couch. He’d spent the last couple days alternating between distracting himself and trying to sleep through the discomfort. Jason tried not to worry too much, knowing Roy had made it through much worse, but it wasn’t fun watching his best friend breathe through the pain every time he moved.

They spread the dough, covered it in rich homemade sauce, and moved on to toppings. Lian took Roy’s order like a waitress at a restaurant, asking very formally what he would like, and reporting back to Jason 10 feet away. Her own pan was a mound of cheese and extra tomatoes, and she proudly supervised as Jason slid it into the oven.

She and Roy snuggled up on the couch again while Jason cleaned up, and he dared to watch them for a few breaths. Roy had moved so Lian could lay half in his lap, with the damaged ankle propped up safely on an ottoman, and her head on the uninjured side of his chest. He gently smoothed her hair back, barely watching the cartoons that she was absorbed in. His t-shirt was one he had stolen from Jason a year ago, the sleeves long since cut off and the hem ragged with wear.

He glanced up, and Jason didn’t look away quite fast enough. Roy smiled, and it was soft, as soft as any look he gave Lian.

Jason grabbed a dishrag and started wiping down the counter. “About 5 more minutes on the pizzas.”

“I’m sending Alfred a gift basket tomorrow. He did the world a service when he let you in his kitchen.”

Jason smirked. “You should. I’ll throw in a bottle of raspberry cordial for him.”

He pulled out plates and napkins, and poured drinks for each of them. Lian jumped up as the timer went off, fetching and carrying plates and drinks to the couch. She claimed the far end of the couch so she could set her dishes on the end table, leaving the middle cushion open for Jason. He barely hesitated before taking it, but he saw that thin line appear between Roy’s eyebrows, and knew he’d noticed. Shit .

“Enjoying your nasty fruit pizza?” he asked.

Roy rolled his eyes. “Says the man with the most boring toppings ever.”

“It’s honestly disrespectful that you even made me touch that. No mention of canned pineapple allowed in the gift basket. Alfred might disown me. And Margherita is a classic; have some respect.”

“They’re both gross,” Lian declared. “You’re eating leaves, Jayjay.”

“You ate that salad I made yesterday, and liked it. Salad is leaves. Ergo, your argument is invalid.”

“That was lettuce though, that doesn’t count. Basil is leaves, and it doesn’t even have dressing on it, and this is pizza .”

Jason grinned. He wasn’t going to risk convincing her that lettuce was also nasty. “Alright, my mistake. Your wisdom reigns supreme.”  

She snuggled into his side, and he ruffled her hair. “Daddy, why can’t Jayjay be my daddy too, and live here all the time?”

There was a muffled rasp behind Jason, before Roy starting hacking like he was trying to cough up a lung. Jason turned to thump him on the back before remembering the stab wounds on his ribcage and drawing back. Roy managed to swallow his bite of pizza and took a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” Lian looked genuinely worried. Jason was trying to remember how to breathe himself.

“Yep. Yeah, I’m okay, honey. Just need some water.” Jason couldn’t tell if Roy was red from embarrassment or the near-death experience. He took a long drink before looking at Lian. “Your mom is still your mom even though she doesn’t live here, right? And your grandma and grandpa are still your family even though they don’t live with us.”

“Yeah.”

“So people don’t have to live with us to be part of our family.”

Jason’s stomach flipped. Roy was watching him, and seemed to be choosing every word very carefully.

“That’s what he said, but I want Jayjay to live with us.”

Roy took a deep breath and cleared his throat again. “I know, yazh . We love him a lot, don’t we?”

We ?

Jason was fairly sure he looked like Harley had slammed him over the head with that jumbo hammer of hers. He smoothed Lian’s hair back, and Roy was still watching him.

“Yeah.”

“And we can talk about this more later, when my throat isn’t sore. How about this weekend, does that sound good?”

“Okay.” Lian turned back to her pizza, and the conversation was over.

Roy was so damn careful for the rest of the evening, so careful not to get too close or pull too far away, keeping Lian busy with questions about school and the aquarium trip, and Jason spent the next three hours feeling like he might very literally explode. What the hell did any of that mean? What the hell was he supposed to make of that “we?” Should he politely excuse himself and give Roy space to gently let Lian down? Just give in to his first instinct and book it out the balcony doors?

Jason didn’t do any of that. He washed the dishes and packed up the leftovers, sat through Brave for the five hundredth time, talked about pufferfish, and tried not to think about Roy, warm and watching on the couch.

Finally, Roy snagged Lian around the waist as she passed him, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Alright, sweetheart. Time for bed. You've got another busy day tomorrow.”

“Can Jayjay read me a story?”

“You better ask him.”

“Jayjay, will you please ? You do all the best voices.”

“Go get in your pjs and pick a book.”

“Yes!”

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth!” Roy called after her.

Jason filled the electric kettle and switched it on, leaving it to heat up while he got Lian through her routine. “I’ll check her toothbrush.”

“Thank you, Jaybird.” Roy’s voice was a little too soft, and Jason didn’t look at him as he made his way to the bedroom.

He tapped on the door. “All decent?”

A muffled voice called an affirmative, and he followed the sound. Lian was on the stepstool in her bathroom, just spitting out her toothpaste. Technically this was supposed to be the master bedroom, with an en suite bathroom. It was more protected, tucked away in the interior of the apartment. Roy had given it up in favor of the bedroom nearer the front and balcony doors, where he could theoretically confront any intruders before they reached Lian’s room.

She wiped her mouth on the hand towel and beamed up at him. “All done! I want to read more of Freddy the Detective.”

“Sounds good. Go hop in bed, I’m right behind you.”

She fell asleep before he finished the chapter, nestled into his side. He lay still for a few minutes, rubbing tiny circles on her shoulder. A few years ago, he couldn’t have imagined someone trusting him like this, let alone someone loving him as fiercely and cheerfully as Lian loved the people in her life. She and Roy seemed to bring out all the best parts of him. The parts he had thought were lost forever. The thought of losing them because he’d been stupid enough to fall for Roy was… Christ .

He set the book on the bedside table and slowly lifted himself off the bed, tugging Lian’s blanket up higher. There was no putting this off any longer. The kid had cornered them into this conversation. He made a mental list of where all his things were in the apartment, in case Roy asked him to leave and he had to grab them quickly or come back another day.

He closed the bedroom door gently behind him, heading for the kettle. It had already boiled and shut itself off, so he turned it back on. He didn’t drink alcohol around Roy, and he needed something strong to steady him. A cup of English Breakfast would do. 

“She asleep?”

“Teeth brushed, jammies on, pig detective book read, and she’s out like a light.”

“Lian talk to you in the car?” Roy was being so careful, choosing his words like he was drawing back for a difficult shot.

Jason took a deep breath. “Yeah. Apparently one of her friends’ dads got married a while back. Lian’s been hearing about how they take Hayley to the park and cook together, and whatever. Guess it made an impression. She decided she wants me around more, and the way to make that happen is for us to get married.”

“Well, I can’t argue with her reasoning.”

Jason huffed a laugh, carefully pouring the water over his tea strainer. “She’s a smart one. Sorry, though, I probably should have given you a heads up about that conversation.”

“I’m never thrilled about inhaling tomato sauce, but I’m glad she brought it up.”

Jason set the kettle down a little too hard, plastic clacking. “I told her basically the same thing you did, that she’s important to me, and I don’t have to be her dad to care about her. Told her to ask you for more of an explanation. Didn’t want to back you into a corner, or make her any promises that you weren’t comfortable with, or-”

“Back me into a corner?”

The tea had to steep for three more minutes, the kitchen was spotless, and he’d run out of things to do with his hands. He finally turned, folding his arms across his chest, trying to look casual. But Roy was staring him down, still as a statue, and he was wearing Jason’s shirt.

“You said we,” Jason blurted, and Jesus, he hadn’t been this much of a wreck since he came to his senses after the attack on Tim. “Earlier. When you were talking about family, and you said I’m part of Lian’s family.” Was his voice actually shaking? How was this one twunky redhead in ratty sweatpants scarier than the entire League of Assassins?

Because he mattered. Fuck .

“Yeah,” Roy said gently. “I did.”

And he was realizing his mistake, and staring at Jason trying to figure out how to let him down gently, and explain that this was just how you talk to kids when they’re upset-

“Jason, get over here.”

“I’m making tea.”

“Jason Peter Todd-Wayne, get your-“

Jason got over there. Roy grabbed his shirt and yanked him onto the couch beside him. “You know what your problem is, Jaybird? You get so lost in your head and you convince yourself that everyone’s only around you on sufferance, and you just blind yourself to any evidence to the contrary. Of course it’s fucking we . Of course you’re family. You’ve had your own set of keys for a year, and you’ve been on Lian’s pick-up list since she enrolled. I’ve been trying not to scare you off, but apparently I need to take off the kid gloves. Because if you really didn’t realize we love you-”

Jason couldn’t breathe. Roy continued to rant, but his brain seemed to be stuck on a loop. We love you.

“Roy.”

“What?”

“I want to kiss you.”

Roy actually rolled his eyes. “Fucking finally.”

And his hands were tangled in Roy’s hair, and Roy’s mouth was soft under his, and they both tasted like garlic, and it was Roy, pulling Jason closer, gasping in pain-

Jason pulled back, sucking in a breath. Roy dropped his head against Jason’s shoulder. “Really wish this conversation could have happened when I didn’t have an open stab wound.”

“Yeah, well, that’s basically never with our lives.” Jason stared down at him, half-expecting Roy to vanish in the way dreams did.

“Unfortunately true. Guess we’ll just have to work around that.” Roy tipped his head back, but didn’t move away.

“I don’t…um, you know how we talked a couple years ago about the asexual thing?”

“I remember.”

“That’s still-“ he swallowed. “That’s still a thing.”

“I figured. I expect it will be for the rest of your life. I’m not asking for anything more than you want to give, Jaybird. I’m not keeping you around for your body. Incredible as it is,” Roy smirked. “I want Jay, in whatever ways you’ll have me. I want you here. Reading to Lian, and yelling at me for getting Kool-Aid stains on the counter, and sighing over Darcy’s proposal even though you’ve read it a thousand times, and buying too many discount leather jackets.”

The world was falling apart, and reassembling itself, and Jason thought he might be really happy when his brain finally caught up. Ecstatic, actually. “I can’t leave Gotham.”

“I know. We’ll figure it out. Zeta tubes are always an option.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Jason blinked. “I am a goddamn fool.”

Roy patted his arm. “And fortunately for you, I’m into that. Kiss me again?”

Yeah, he could do that.

Chapter Text

Jason woke slowly for once, a warm weight on his shoulder. It took a second for his brain to recognize it as a head. Right. He was in Roy’s bed, with his best friend sprawled beside him, head pillowed on Jason’s arm. His best friend who’d said he loved him last night, and somehow that hadn’t been a dream this time.

Roy turned his head. “Good, you’re awake. I was starting to think the shock had put you in a coma.”

Jason pulled him closer, kissing him long and soft. 

Roy smiled against his mouth. “Good morning to you too.” 

“Don’t you ever shut up?” 

“Literally never.” 

Jason propped himself up on one arm instead, looking down at him. He was really here. Freckled and sleepy and smiling up at him like summer sun. Dimly, he wondered if it should feel strange to be like this with Roy, but it felt more like taking off a piece of armor that didn’t fit quite right. Like they’d been on edge, never quite comfortable, and now they could relax into the natural way of things. 

“Are you going to be snuggly now?” Roy traced a finger along Jason’s jaw. “I can’t say I mind, but it’s not your usual gruff and grumbly act.”

Jason leaned down, burying his face in the curve of Roy’s neck. “Yeah, well, it takes a lot of work to keep from snuggling you. Can’t be arsed to keep it up now.”

“Oh, you’ve been putting in work? How long have you had a thing for me?”

“A thing?” Jason raised one eyebrow. “What are you, seventy?”

“How long?”

“Fuck, man, since we started the freelancing thing? If you don’t count the crush I had when I was like fourteen.”

Roy didn’t quite bolt upright, in consideration for his injuries, but he made up for it with a heavy-duty glare. Jason flopped back against the pillows. “ Years ?! You’ve been holding this in for that long? I missed out on years of cuddles?”

“I’m an idiot, we agreed on that last night.”

“ JE- sus, Jay. We got a lot to make up for.” Roy laid back down, sprawling further onto Jason this time. “Never mind the pancakes, we’ll have cereal.”

Jason ruffled his hair. “I’m not letting Lian go to school with nothing but Rice Crispies in her stomach.”

Roy sighed loudly. “Yeah, alright, Papa Jay.”

Jason tried to laugh past the lump in his throat. “Don’t say that around Lian, she’ll take it literally.”

Roy tipped his head up to watch Jason’s face. “If you don’t want me to, I won’t. She might anyway when we tell her. I’m not fucking around, Jaybird. If you want me, if you want us, we’re in for the long haul.”

“I want you for the long haul,” Jason’s voice was quiet. “You and your kid and your fucking trucker hats. I just thought you might want some time to adjust, and people usually wait a bit before telling their kids they’re dating someone, right?”

“Lian was literally begging you to move in and be her dad last night. I think she’s already emotionally invested. You’re not some new guy I met at a club a week ago. You’re Jay. I’m certain, it sounds like you’re certain, what’s the point in waiting?”

Jason smoothed back strands of red, tracing his thumb across the starfield of Roy’s freckles. “Yeah,” he whispered. “Alright. I just want to do this right, you know? Not gonna let you or Lian get hurt because I got too eager, you know? You deserve the best, so I want to give you my best.”

“You always do, Jay, and we know  it.”

“Good.” Jason took a deep breath, trying to let the wave of emotion settle, and shoved Roy off him. “Alright, move your big head. It’s time for pancakes.”

Roy snickered, then raised his eyebrows when Jason leaned back over the bed, hands out. “What’s this?”

“Your ankle’s still fucked up, I’m giving you a lift. Come on.”

“I gotta pee.”

“Then I’ll haul you to the bathroom first, and then the couch.”

“Do you have any idea how obnoxiously hot you are?”

“Currently about 90 degrees.” He poked his side. “Body temp never quite sorted itself out when I came back.”

“Oh my god.”

Jason scooped him up. “Come on, Royboy. Up we go.”

“That was such a dad joke.”

Jason felt his face warm. “Well, apparently I’ve got some practicing to do.”

“Gotta put in some work to catch up to my skills.”

“Half your material is bird puns.”

“No, I save those specially for you.”

“I’m gonna drop you.”

“You wouldn’t do that to your gorgeous and grievously injured boyfriend.”

Jason hummed noncommittally, but he couldn’t entirely hide a smile. He set Roy down gently in the bathroom. “Gonna check on Lian, I’ll be right back.”

Lian stirred when he opened her bedroom door. Her head popped up from under the covers, hair a rats nest. She blinked blearily. 

“Rise and shine, squirt. I’m gonna start some pancakes, so come on out when you’re ready.”  

“Are you gonna make blueberry?”

Jason smiled. “Yeah, I’ll make ‘em blueberry.”

“Good.” She yawned, reluctantly pushing the blankets back. “I want ‘em with lots of butter.”

“I know, I’ll set it out. See you in a few.” He closed the door behind him and went to help Roy to one of the stools at the kitchen island, at Roy’s insistence.

Jason slid easily into their morning routine, the one he’d been trying to convince himself didn’t exist. Fill and start the coffeemaker, fill the kettle and set it to boil, pull out breakfast ingredients and the big blue measuring cup, get everything mixed, brew the tea, start heating a griddle, pour a cup of coffee, add milk and three sugars, slide it to Roy, set his tea strainer aside, accept a hug from the now fully awake Lian, pour her a glass of orange juice, start the first batch of pancakes, grab toppings from the cupboards, flip the pancakes, complain about Roy’s coffee consumption and slide him the pot, flip the finished pancakes across the island onto Lian’s plate, bask in her applause, start the next batch, get lost in the discussion of plans for the day, and finally remember his tea existed, just as it reached the perfect temperature.

Maybe Roy had a point about Lian already being emotionally invested. Jason himself had passed that benchmark so far back he couldn’t remember the month. He wasn’t sure he’d ever known it was happening; he’d just swung the kid into a hug one day and knew this was the way things were.

“So, Lian, you remember that talk we had yesterday, about Jay and I being together?”

“If you got married and he was my other dad.”

“Yeah.” Roy glanced up at Jason, taking another sip of coffee. “We had a talk last night, and we decided you might be onto something. We’re not married, but Jay’s gonna be my boyfriend now, and I’m gonna be his.”

Lian looked from her dad to Jason and back again. “So Jayjay’s gonna stay?”

“I’ll still have to keep an eye on things in Gotham, and we can talk more later about what that might look like, but I’ll be around a lot more. I miss you, squirt. You and your dad, every time I’m gone. I stayed away some because I didn’t want to bother you, but if you want me here, I’ll be here as much as I can.”

Lian jumped off her stool and all but barreled into him, whooping with excitement. “Does this mean you can be my dad?”

He swung her up into his arms. “That’s a big question, kiddo, but I’ll be your Jayjay no matter what, alright?”

“Alright,” she grinned. “I love you, Jayjay.”

He hugged her tight, and looked over her shoulder at Roy, who was definitely not tearing up, not even a little. “Love you too, dart.”