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Summary:

Jason is forced to confront his childhood trauma when he takes a neighborhood thief into his care.

Chapter 1: Robin

Chapter Text

Jason knew his share of con artists and common criminals, but he'd never met anyone quite like her. She was reckless, emotionally-guarded, and obnoxious, but above all, she made him laugh. He didn't know her name, but now and then they would cross paths, and Jason would turn a blind eye to her antics.

He figured she wasn't hurting anyone, so he allowed it until she tried to pickpocket him one day while he was eating inside the delicatessen. "You don't have much sense, do you?" Jason asked, grabbing hold of her hand. She tried to pull away and let out a nervous laugh.

"Okay, I'm sorry," she apologized, still trying to pull away, "You can let go. I said sorry-."

"What's wrong with you?" Jason asked, releasing her wrist. She held her wrist and stuck her tongue out at him. Jason let out an involuntary laugh. "It's not funny-."

"You thought it was funny," she smiled a big gap-toothed smile. Jason held back a second laugh and picked her up, sitting her at the counter stool.

"I didn't think you were funny. I think you're crazy. You hungry?" Jason asked. She chewed her lip as she thought it over.

She wiped her hands on her jeans and nodded, holding a finger up to his face as a warning. "I wanna see some ID," she replied. He reached into his pocket and pulled his ID out of his wallet, handing it to her. Jason watched for a moment as she looked back and forth at the ID and him.

"It won't do you much good, being as that's a student ID from seven years ago," Jason replied.

"How come you don't have a real ID like a regular grownup?" She gave it back to him.

"Because I died a little bit after I got this," Jason answered. Her lips curled up into a smile, and she shook her head.

"Get outta here. You're lying," the young girl replied. Jason shook his head. "For real?"

Jason nodded. "What do you wanna eat before I change my mind?" Jason asked. She looked up at the menu and turned to him.

"I'll eat what you eat," she replied.

Jason tapped the bell on the counter and waited for the waiter to ask for his order. "She'll eat what I eat," Jason whispered to himself. The waiter came over to their side and asked for Jason's order. "The kid and I are gonna have four franks with onions, cheese, and hot peppers... And uh... A side of chili fries and two orange floats," Jason replied. She lit up, and as the waiter walked away, Jason turned and whispered, "How old are you? Six? Seven?"

"I'm seven," she replied. Jason nodded, tapping the counter with his fingers. "How old are you? Thirty?"

"I'm twenty-two," Jason narrowed his eyes at her, "Are you crazy? What does thirty even look like to you?" She laughed. "Thirty?"

"I dunno, Mister," she shrugged, "How come you wanna feed me? What do you want?"

"I want you to stop stealing from people. It's all fun and games when you take a dollar here and there or pull that change for a twenty scam, but what's gonna happen when someone who isn't me catches onto you, and they send you somewhere you don't wanna be?" Jason asked. She leaned forward, laying her head on her arms at the counter. She didn't answer him. "I was dumb once too. I get it-." The waiter put their food down on the counter, and Jason thanked him and asked for an extra plate. The waiter nodded and came back with another dish, and Jason moved the little girl's food onto it. She immediately dug in without so much as a word to Jason, and he started eating quietly beside her. By the time he got to his second frank, she had already finished a frank and her fries. Jason separated one of his franks into two halves and put one of the halves on her plate.

"But it's yours," she replied, looking up at him with her big light-colored eyes.

"Are you full?" Jason asked. She shook her head. "Then it's yours... You gonna stay out of trouble after today?"

She shrugged, biting into the half a frank that Jason gave her. She didn't speak until she was finished. "You're only mad because I stole from you."

"One, you didn't steal from me because you got caught, two, I'm not mad, and three, I'm only doing this for you because you're a little kid," Jason replied harshly, and she shrugged it off. "Want the other half, or do you wanna start on your float?" She didn't answer. She took her spoon and pushed the ice-cream all the way down to the bottom of the glass. Jason went back to eating, watching her mix her ice cream out of the corner of his eye. Once he was done eating, he used his straw to drink some of the orange soda in the glass, and then he ate some of the ice-cream separately.

After they were done, he paid for the food and service, and Jason walked her outside. She burped, and he smiled to himself. "At least I know you're full," he replied before taking his wallet out once more and giving her a handful of cash. "Be good, kid." He turned to leave her, and just as the breeze hit him, he stopped.

"Do you want your money back?" She asked. Jason shook his head, still unable to make himself turn back for her. "Did you forget something?"

"Where are you staying tonight?" Jason asked, turning around, and she was gone. He took a Lyft home, but he couldn't shake the thought of a seven-year-old girl all alone in Gotham. It bothered him for hours until he felt he had no choice but to go out and look for her.

"I'm not Bruce. I'm not him," Jason whispered to himself, "This has nothing to do with Bruce... I'm just a concerned citizen." He repeated it over and over again as if he wanted to convince himself. He drove around, trying to look for her. He got out of his car and looked around in places where he might have hidden when he was her age, except Jason knew he wasn't as witty as she was at that age.

He looked for her for nearly three hours and almost gave up before he saw her struggling with someone in Crime Alley. "Jesus Christ," Jason mumbled as he ran over and shoved a man into the wall.

"This ain't none of your business!" the man hollered. Jason could smell the alcohol on the man's breath. Jason raised his fist and stood there for a moment. The little girl's jaw was clenched as tears rolled down her cheeks, and Jason lowered his fist.

"Get the fuck out of here," Jason commanded in a low gravelly tone. The man stumbled off, leaving Jason alone in the alley with the little girl. She fiercely pushed a hand across her face to wipe away her tears. Jason knelt down and reached out to look at a cut on her face, and she backed away. Jason swallowed hard. "I wasn't-."

"Why didn't you hurt him?" she cried out. Jason opened his mouth to answer, but he couldn't form words. "All you did was make him madder!" She hit Jason with her fists, and he grabbed her hands. His thoughts raced, and his heart pounded in his chest.

"Don't you think that I know that? Jesus! I'm trying!" Jason yelled, letting go of her hands. She stood there, her forehead wrinkled and tears still streaming down her face. "I'm sorry... I'm not mad at you. You're turning out to be a pain in the ass, but I'm not mad at you... I was hoping you had a place to stay and that I was worrying for no reason. Was that your father?" She shook her head.

"My grandpa..."

"Wanna come with me until I find you someplace to stay tomorrow?" Jason asked. She shrugged and wiped her tears away once more. "Just one night, and we won't ever have to be bothered with each other again." She nodded. "Come on." He took her hand, and he let her sit in the backseat of the car.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"It was on my ID," Jason replied, "My name's Jason. What's yours?"

"I don't like my name," she answered as he made his way back home.

"I'll come up with something, don't worry-."

"Did your dad kill you... When you died?" she asked.

"No, my dad didn't kill me. It was someone else... So you finally believe me?" Jason asked. She didn't answer. "Listen, kid, you're not gonna get killed."

He drove in silence for a while until he arrived home and realized she was fast asleep with her thumb in her mouth. He unbuckled her seatbelt and carried her inside, being careful not to wake her when he removed her socks and shoes and tucked her in. He slept in the next room on the couch, waking up to her screaming what felt like moments later. He was up and by her bedside before his eyes opened all the way.

She fought him at first, but when she saw the concern written all over his face, she relaxed and lay back down. He tucked her back in, and he turned to leave her. "Thank you, Jason," she whispered. He turned and smiled in the dark before going back to the couch and drifting back to sleep. He awakened much later in the night to check on her, and she lay fast asleep in her bed, so he went back to the couch.

She got up once more just before dawn and wandered around Jason's house. After looking through some of his things, she sat on the floor across from him. She reached to tap his face, and he grabbed her hand. "You have boundary issues," Jason mumbled, still half-asleep.

"What's that?" she asked. Jason sat up and pushed a hand through his hair.

"Boundaries are rules about respecting people's space and feelings," Jason replied, "And my boundaries include not touching me while I'm asleep. How's your face?" She touched the cut on her bottom lip.

"It's okay," she whispered, "What's for breakfast?"

"We haven't even brushed our teeth yet, and who said you were staying for breakfast?" Jason asked. She sat down on the couch next to him and crossed her arms. "Now, why are you mad?"

"You're still mad at me for trying to take your money, huh?" she asked. Jason sighed.

"Why are you so convinced I'm mad at you?" Jason asked in a sharp tone of voice.

She laughed sarcastically. "See! You're a mean talker," she replied.

"I am not-." Jason stopped to correct his tone. "I'm not a mean talker, and I'm not mad at you-."

"Then why can't I stay for breakfast?" she asked, standing up on his couch to make eye contact with him. Jason gestured for her to sit down and took a deep breath.

Jason got up and looked for a change of clothes. "You can have french toast and bacon, then we're gonna go get your things."

"You're gonna take me back?" she half-yelled. Jason thought about it for a second and sighed.

"Got any other family?" Jason asked, digging through his drawers for the smallest shirt he had. He pulled a t-shirt out of his drawer and gestured with his head for her to come closer. Jason held the shirt up to her. "Go put this on, and brush your teeth." Jason pulled an extra toothbrush out of his drawer and handed it to her along with the t-shirt.

She threw the shirt over her shoulder and tugged his sleeve. "This isn't gonna fit," she whispered as if he didn't know, and he nodded. She left to go to the bathroom, and Jason turned to make his bed, to see that she had already made the bed herself. He pulled his clothes from a drawer and set them on top of the dresser. Jason heard the shower come on, and he went to the kitchen to start breakfast. She stepped out of his bathroom in the t-shirt and punched his leg. He smiled.

"You almost look like a respectable little criminal. Hold on," Jason whispered, going into a drawer in the kitchen for cooking twine, and he wrapped it around her waist, adjusting the shirt to make it look more like a dress. "That's alright for now, I think."

She stood on the tips of her toes to look at the food cooking on the stove. "You were scared last night... How come?" she asked, her affect flat and almost far away.

"I wasn't-. I wasn't afraid of him. I just didn't want to hit him in front of you. I wouldn't have wanted someone to punch my dad in front of me when I was your age, even though he was a terrible person-."

"You must've been one dumb kid," she whispered. Jason chuckled.

"No, I was just confused... But, hey, if you want me to punch your grandpa in the face next time I see him, I'll make sure to give him a nice big shiner," Jason replied. She let out a laugh. "I'm serious. I'll do it." They made eye contact, and Jason flashed her a smile.

She showed him her teeth and pointed back and forth between herself and Jason. "We've got the same smile." Jason nodded and flipped the bread with a spatula. "You've got a real hard time being nice to people, huh?"

"I don't have a hard time being nice to people-."

"You just don't like me then?" she asked. Jason didn't answer her. "So, you don't like me?"

Jason flipped the bacon and turned the heat off on the french toast. "Why are you so worried about whether or not I like you?" Jason asked. She walked out of the kitchen and sat on his couch. Jason closed his mouth and lifted his gaze to the ceiling. "She's not me. I was nothing like her," Jason mumbled to himself. He took the bacon out of the skillet and made their plates, and he poured two glasses of apple juice. He brought their plates and sat them on the coffee table in front of her, and then brought their cups. She turned the tv on.

She flipped through the channels, and Jason stopped her. "You can look through the guide," Jason suggested. She ignored him. "It's a lot faster."

"No, it isn't," she replied. She handed Jason the remote and started eating.

Jason's eyes widened, and he looked at her. "You can't read the words, can you?" he asked. She looked down and kept eating quietly. "When's the last time you went to school?"

She took a sip of juice to help her wash down her food. "Can't make me go to school if I don't wanna," she mumbled, "And you can't make me go live with a bunch of strangers."

"Kid! I'm a stranger," Jason reminded her. She shook her head.

"Nuh-uh! I see you when you see me. You even helped me a few times," she replied. Jason nodded and sighed.

"You can't stay with me. Listen, the best I can do is put you in the academy-."

"That's school!" she yelled.

Jason turned on cartoons and took an aggressive bite of his bacon. "I'm not a kid-friendly person. I don't even really do well with people my age. What would I do with you? I kill people, kid, you don't want anything to do with me. I promise," Jason replied. She picked over the last of her breakfast. "What?"

"I don't care that you kill people," she answered. Jason's eyes widened. "You're mean, and you have a lot of dangerous stuff, but you're a lot better than a lot of grownups. When you caught me, I thought you were gonna hurt me... But you didn't. You're not that bad of a grownup." Jason sighed.

"You can stay here, on two conditions. One is that you let me teach you how to read, and two that you don't steal from anybody while you're with me. I catch you stealing, and I'm gonna drop off at the first boarding school I can find," Jason replied. She smiled and went back to eating her breakfast. "Hey, do we have a deal?"

"Okay, Jason," she replied, reaching out to shake his hand. He took her small hand in his and shook it.

Jason dug into his breakfast and took a sip of apple juice. "And yeah, we do have the same smile..." She smiled faintly and finished her juice.