dove in the darkness ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ⋘ jason todd ⋙

•Chapter 26•

<Hazel's>

"Hazel!?" Jason calls right before he nearly smacks his head into the threshold.

"Yeah?" I question from my spot at the table next to Tim.

He looks at his brothers through narrowed eyes before he looks back to me, "What are you guys talking about?"

"The weather." Dick quips, causing the other boys to snicker.

"We were talking about Titus." I say gesturing to the large dog in the corner of the room. "Damian said he has been acting weird lately. More soft than usual."

"Yeah, ever since Hazel got here, he has been acting different." Tim elaborates with a glint in his eyes as he looks to Jason.

Jason eyes narrow in on Tim and Damian, who, for once, seem to be getting along.

I shift awkwardly in my seat before getting up and washing my plate in the sink, the boys going quiet as I do so.

I turn around to catch a glimpse of Jason seemingly threatening his brothers with his fists. He quickly wipes his face, put on a smile and drops his hands when he catches me turn.

I pretend I didn't see, making the boys snicker behind me.

I feel a pang in my chest, but not one of sadness... one of longing.

Watching them, I start to feel the same loneliness as I felt before Jason found me. I'm not exactly lonely right now, but seeing them bicker and tease each other makes me realize just how much I wanted to belong somewhere.

My dad was all I had, and he ripped that away from me as fast as Black Mask wanted him to.

The boys... they can always come back, they always have each other. And I want to be apart of something like that, I want to feel needed and I want that sense of belonging.

I have always wanted siblings, a little brother or sister to show the ropes to, but I knew it wasn't what my parents wanted. They were always so focused on work.

How did I go from having a home to having practically no one to trust? At least no one related to me.

Maybe that's why I blew up the other night when they wouldn't stop fighting. They don't know how lucky they are to have each other, even if they don't see it.

"Hazel?" Tim questions, the others stopping their conversation to look at us.

"Yeah?" I hum back, my eyes snapping to him.

"You good?" He asks, his eyes full of concern. "When you zone out, it usually means bad things."

"Not true." I state matter of factly before stopping myself because the only times that something hasn't turned out bad is when I was thinking about Jason, and that is turning into something bad. "Fine, maybe." I huff, crossing my arms over my chest. "Just thinking about my father."

"Why do you call him father like Damian does?" Dick questions, causing my face to fall. He seems to notice, his eyes showing his regret after he asks.

"Because I used to call him dad." I admit, my eyes going to the ground.

"And I am not worthy of the name anymore." He says walking in.

I thought I had seen him at his lowest point after my mom died, but he was somehow worse. His face looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks, his eyes holding bags that rivaled Tim's and Bruce's combined. His hair was slightly greasy despite the fact that he has a ton of opportunities to wash it and his eyes have completely lost the life in them.