Work Text:
As Bruce sat at his desk, replying to his inbox of never ending emails, his phone rang. He recognized the number, it was Jason’s case worker. He paused in his typing after finishing his sentence, letting the phone get to the second ring before picking it up and accepting the call.
“Hello? This is Bruce,” he greeted.
“Bruce, yes hi. How are you today? This is Annette, Jason’s social worker.”
“I’m doing well, what can I help you with,” he asked as he leaned back in his desk chair.
“I’m just calling to let you know that your background check and PRIDE training just went through,” Annette informed in a cheerful tone. “So all that is left is a home visit where we can inspect the premises as well as go over financial assessments and interviews of everyone living at the house.”
“That sounds great,” Bruce smiled into the phone. It would still take a few months for them to go through the proper channels. He had been advised to not speed up the process given that if people looked too hard at Jason’s documents there would be questions as to how exactly Bruce had acquired him.
And saying ‘Batman dropped him off’ wasn’t going to hold up in court for anything other than aiding and abetting a kidnapper.
0o0o0
Jason knew he should be asleep, that he wasn’t supposed to go down to the cave alone. But Bruce was out and Alfred had gone to bed. And if anything happened to Bruce while he was out there alone then he wouldn’t have a place anymore.
And…he actually liked staying here.
Jason snuck downstairs to the study, keeping close to the walls to avoid the creaky boards of the hard wood floor as he went.
After entering the study, he closed the door behind him, turning the knob so the knick of the teeth wouldn’t make a sound as the door closed. Only then did he fully exhale, he had made it without getting caught, just the home stretch now of opening the clock and descending the stairs.
A piece of paperwork caught his eye, or, rather. His NAME on a piece of paperwork.
Jason quickly scanned it, not really reading it, just looking for important key words.
Lawyer
Placement
Finances
History of running
Jason’s heart stuttered in his chest before lodging itself in his throat.
Bruce was planning on getting rid of him. That he was more trouble than he was worth as Robin.
Jason stepped backwards a few steps as he started at the white sheet of paper that signed his fate.
He turned and ran back up to his room, not knowing what else to do.
He didn’t want to leave.
He would just have to convince Bruce that he was good enough to keep around.
0o0o0
Jason was acting…odd. Following him around and asking him if he needed any help or if he could do anything to help around the house.
Bruce couldn’t figure out what had caused such a shift in his behavior. He was acting restless, like there was something he wasn't telling Bruce and it was eating him alive.
Jason wasn’t the type to willfully open up when something was bothering him, but the fact that he seemed like he NEEDED something to do today was concerning.
After 3 hours of Jason existing near him, twitching and fidgeting nearby as he tried to focus on his school work, he finally spoke up. “Can you at least tell me why?”
Bruce didn’t look up from his paperwork for W.E., knowing that Jason had a history to shy away when he got ‘stared down’. “Why for what?”
“Why you’re getting rid of me,” Jason whispered as he stared at the keyboard of his laptop which helped his summer modules to catch up on his schooling before the fall.
Bruce looked up, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the top of Jason’s head. “What? Why would you think that?”
“I saw the papers on your desk,” Jason shrugs, playing with the sleeve of his red hoodie and refusing to make eye contact. It was still surprising how a kid could some days be brazen with hellfire to shy and insecure the next.
Bruce set down his paperwork in an unorganized pile, pushing his seat backwards from the desk before making his way to sit beside Jason on the nearby couch. “I’m not getting rid of you Jason, I’m adopting you.”
“You don’t have to lie,” Jason spat like venom. “I saw your lawyer's names and the fact that I’m a runner.”
Bruce sighed, finally realizing the discrepancy. “That paperwork is an outline of your CPS profile, along with a list of things that we still need to do before you are legally my son,” Bruce explained. “My lawyers need to review the documents and provide my financial summaries in order for the state to determine if I am a suitable parent or not.”
Jason stayed quiet for a beat before asking, “so…some old dude decides if I’m allowed to stay?”
“No,” Bruce answered honestly, causing Jason to look up at him. Bruce smiled, reaching over to push some of the curls behind his ear. He needed another hair cut soon. “An old dude decides if I can adopt you the proper way. If they say no…then I get my lawyers involved and adopt you.”
Jason bites his lower lip, diverting his gaze from Bruce’s before nodding once.
“Do you have a question,” Bruce asks as he leans forward, trying to catch Jason’s eye again.
“What if you change your mind?”
“I won’t,” Bruce said immediately.
“Ok but,” Jason paused trying to think of something. “What if I break something?”
“Then we replace it.”
“What if I get arrested or fail school or something,” Jason asked, finally looking back up to Bruce again.
“Try not to get arrested,” Bruce smiled as he realized this was just anxious energy. Likely stemming from the fact that they were stepping into unfamiliar territory. “And if that happens, then we figure it out.”
“Ok…” Jason said, sounding unconvinced.
But for the first time, the idea that someone might actually want him forever felt a little less impossible.