Shakespearean - JayTim - Camp NaNoWriMo - July 2017

Chapter 20 - Ra's

A/N Warning for some slight homophobia. Also, warning for Ra's being Ra's. That is, a dick.

Ra's was smug.

That wasn't exactly anything unusual. Ra's was generally always pretty smug, as he usually had done some brilliant thing that warranted his smugness. You see, he was a genius of monumental proportions. Master strategist, master manipulator, and master match-maker were some of his many titles. The first two would make sense to anyone on the outside looking in. After all, only a brilliant strategist could have accomplished what he had done in the realm of private contracting. Military contractors have always been a force to be reckoned with, but the name of Ra's al Ghul's company was the most successful of them all, and he had more profitable contracts than any other.

Master manipulator is also quite obvious. People always knew that they'd been had by Ra's. The important thing, however, was that they didn't actually know until it was already over. The best example was probably his daughter. Poor Talia never did figure out the truth, that she never really had wanted to be on his side. Up till the day she died, God rest her soul, she was completely convinced that everything she did was for herself, never quite realizing that it had really benefited Ra's more than it ever did her. Then again, everything benefited Ra's.

After all, he designed it that way.

Still, Ra's considered many of his greatest achievements to be feats of match-making. It didn't sound all that impressive, not to anyone who wasn't in the know. And nobody actually was in the know. His wife never knew that he'd manipulated her into marrying him until she'd served her purpose. When he realized she would never bare him a son... well, he took what he could get and disposed of the baggage. Talia had ended up not actually being as much of a disappointment as he had originally thought a daughter would be, but he gave his parenting skills all the credit for that.

He had wondered for a time if Bruce Wayne had figured out that he had set him up with his daughter. Then Ra's realized that if he had figured it out, Bruce probably would have confronted him about it or something, and he probably wouldn't have fought the divorce so hard. That man held out as long as he could, even lasting until Talia had already given birth to their child. That wasn't part of the plan – she was supposed to give birth after the divorce to give Bruce less of a claim to the child – but Ra's had managed to make it work out anyway, and he was more than satisfied with the fact that his one and only grandchild was a boy.

Hopefully, his grandson would be even less of a disappointment than his daughter. Once he got his hands on him, that is.

If only Bruce hadn't been such an insufferable family man, he might have finally gotten that son a lot sooner. But no, Bruce had to fight for custody, and that fool actually won the case. Ra's had been so close to winning it once and for all.

But that was alright. After all, he still had a player on the board.

Not that Jason knew that was what he was.

Ra's truly did consider that couple to be his finest work of match-making. Though he detested homosexual relationships, he knew that Jason was gay, and he was also aware that his best luck at getting a foothold in the Wayne house was through one of Bruce's so-called 'sons'. His 'daughters' were too unreliable. Cassandra was too perceptive and observant, so she would have never fallen for a man who had anything other than honorable intentions. Not that Jason knew his purpose, but still. Stephanie was simply a wild thing, and she spent too much time traveling to be of use for his intentions. Even now, she was backpacking through Europe, though Ra's himself had no idea what part of that activity was attractive to anyone, much less a woman.

And, though she wasn't really a daughter, Barbara Gordon was an option he had quickly removed from the list. It hadn't taken him long to realize she was asexual. Her relationship with the Grayson boy had only lasted so long because of their friendship. No, there was no way she would have fallen for his ploy.

If he was going to use the 'sons' of the Wayne family, he would have tried using a female pawn instead of Jason, but it was obvious to everyone but the individuals themselves that both the Grayson and Drake boys were very, very gay. Grayson was quite clearly in love with that red-headed friend of his. Drake, on the other hand, was completely unattached. He had no friends, except for that Kent boy, but he was already with Cassandra when Ra's had settled on Jason. Drake was introverted, anti-social, and convinced his chances of finding 'love' were more dismal than rain. He was the perfect target, and easily enough manipulated for Ra's' purposes.

He'd had several young men on standby as potential vessels. Some he'd had to buy from various trafficking rings, but others, like Jason, he'd simply been lucky enough to find after they escaped those same rings or had only recently run away from home. He spent quite a deal of time running his own psychological tests on his candidates, determining which one was the best match for quick chemistry with the young Drake. Jason had passed every test far ahead of all the others, and his background made him the perfect person to feel utterly indebted to Ra's. This indebtedness was sure to force Jason to comply with Ra's very simple requests. After all, Ra's gave him everything he had, from his education to his job to his love life. It would be all too easy for Ra's to take it away.

Alas, Jason was to become the first of Ra's victims to know that their relationship had been arranged from the start. Ra's had had such a good track record of keeping them in the dark and making them think it just hadn't worked out when he was ready for the couples to split. It was unfortunate he'd have to break his streak with Jason, but he wasn't sure if there was really as efficient a way to convince Jason to cooperate.

After all, Jason was quite certain he was falling in love with Timothy Drake. It would be all too easy to inform Jason that his relationship would be over with a snap of Ra's' fingers, should the young man choose to... misbehave.

Yes, Jason would come around, Ra's would have what he needed, Bruce Wayne's life would be ruined, and he'd have Damian right where he belonged - with Ra's.

Then he could dispose of Jason and be done with this distasteful 'mentor' business.

All in a day's work for the great Ra's al Ghul.

A/N *dramatic damsel voice* Oh no, whatever shall happen next????