Baby Hood

Chapter 15

When Bruce got the text he felt his heart stop. He was torn between his hunt for the Joker and his need to see Jason one last time before he returned to his proper age. As he was mentally debating it, he got the follow up text from Dick stating that Jason was returned to his normal age and resting in is room.

That made up Bruce's mind as he swung from the roof top down into the streets of Gotham on his hunt for the Joker, resolved to see Jason once the Joker was behind bars once more.

Back at the manor, Damian, Dick, and Tim were sitting in the library each with a cup of tea, staring at the spot little Jason would love to sit and read in. They had heartbroken expressions plastered on their faces, unsure of what was to come now.

"What if he doesn't remember?" Damian asked in a low voice, turning to look at his older brothers.

"What if he does?" Tim countered. Damian furrowed his brow. Tim sighed. "Think about it. He confessed things about his childhood we had no idea about until now, he cuddled with us, he was...loving. Jason doesn't like to be anything other than his hard exterior. This could be detrimental to our relationships with him if he does remember."

Damian and Dick winced at that. They hadn't thought about it like that but when Tim put it that way, it made a lot of sense. Dick sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "We should probably clean the kitchen before Alfred gets to it. Come on."

The trio made their way to the kitchen, going about cleaning it in a tense silence. When they were finished, Damian brought up a good point. "Are we going to tell the League and the team? What about Jason's friends?"

"I'll tell the League and the team, you two can tell Kori and Roy." Tim pulled out his phone and sent out a group text. "I hope Kori and Roy know not to mention this to Jason, at least for a little while."

Dick nodded silently as he pulled out his own cellphone, dialing Kori. He let her know that Jason was back to his proper age before ending the conversation. Damian did the same with Roy.

"I wonder how B is going to react."

"I already let him know. He should be back soon. I mean, if he caught the Joker." Dick shrugged. "Come on, let's go watch a movie."

The movie was about halfway over when Bruce came up from the Batcave, nodding in acknowledgment at his three sons before making his way upstairs. The boys watched him go, debating following him but decided he needed privacy.

Bruce made his way into Jason's room, surprised when he saw Jason sitting up in bed with his back to the door. Bruce was hesitant to say anything but Jason beat him to it. "How long?"

"Excuse me?"

"How long was I a child?" Jason spat the word out like it burned his mouth, not turning around to face Bruce.

"One month, three weeks, and two days." Bruce answered.

"Almost two months." Jason chuckled lowly. "I have a lot of work to catch up on."

"Jay-"

"No!" Jason hissed, finally turning around to face Bruce. He saw the tears on Jason's face, his red rimmed eyes and messy hair from constant tugging. "I just want things to go back to normal. I want to forget any of this ever happened. I don't want to think about this ever again, got it?"

"But Jason, it did happen." Bruce said gently, taking a step towards Jason.

"Not in my books." Jason snapped, grabbing the jacket that has been hanging on his desk chair the entire time. He brushed past Bruce, slamming the door shut on his way out and leaving Bruce in the dark room.

Jason stormed down the stairs and past his brothers, not saying a word to them as they eyed him cautiously. He shut the front door so hard the boys felt the house shake. They gulped, exchanging a look amongst themselves.

They got off the couch and made their way upstairs, finding Bruce still standing in Jason's room with a blank expression. Damian was the one to break the minute long silence. "Father? Are you...okay?"

Bruce cleared his throat, fixing his expression into a stern frown. "He remembers. And he wants to pretend like nothing happened, so be it. Nothing happened."

"But-"

"Nothing. Happened." Bruce grit out, brushing past his sons much like Jason did to him.

Tim glanced over at Dick and Damian. "What do we do? Their relationship seems to be worse off than before he aged down."

Damian shrugged helplessly while Dick got a thoughtful look on his face. He snapped his fingers when he hatched a plan. "We find Jason and talk to him."

"Do you really think that is such a good idea? You saw the look on his face when he left. He looked ready to kill, and with Jason that is a very strong possibility."

"Please, he is our brother. Some of his loving feelings from when he was younger must still be in there. We just have to unbury them." Dick led the charge down the stairs and towards the grandfather clock. "So, we find him and get him to see it really isn't as big of a deal as he is making it out to be."

"Dick, I love you, but that is-"

"A great idea." Damian cut Tim off. Tim looked at him incredulously. "We have to at least try. We promised that we would love and protect Jason no matter what, Tim. This is the no matter what part."

Tim sighed, agreeing nonetheless. The trio of brothers made their way down stairs to the Batcave, getting dressed into their alter egos before taking off into the night in search of Jason.

How hard could it be to find one ticked off brother who doesn't want to be found?