Hi pls listen to Cant Help Falling In Love by Ingrid Michaelson and picture a long lazy sunday afternoon with jason carrying jackson around and humming to him quietly and inside just being complete mush for this kid
Oh the cute factor is up and over the edge. Never in Jason Todd’s life has he listened to so much Ingrid Michaelson okay, because Jackson goes through these phases of what kind of music he wants to listen to and all of Ingrid Michaelson’s Be Ok has been a long running favorite.
Jackson loves the huge porch at Wayne Manor, with all the steps and the statues and the flowers and there’s the swing in one corner and it’s just a lovely place to be when it’s warm outside and Jason will rock him back and forth on the swing until he falls asleep or until he sees something interesting (because he always manages to).
But guess what.
Every body has that album on their phones because if Jason has to go on patrol or something, everybody’s got one copy of Ingrid Michaelson’s Be Ok and when Bruce has baby patrol, you can be pretty sure he’ll start playing it from his phone but he was shocked and surprised and slightly confused when Jackson was sitting on his lap listening to Bruce’s phone and then he looked up at him and whispered, “Can you sing it? Like Papa?” and Tim was snickering in the corner when he heard Batman kind of half-mutter-half-sing “So it goes some things are mean to…be???”
And Tim was like, “BRUCE CAN YOU HAVE SOME FEELING IN IT YOU SOUND SO DOUBTFUL”
And Bruce was like, “Young man I’ve only heard Elvis sing it so you can just hush”
Maybe the reason Jackson refused to eat mushrooms is because he's allergic? No one knows this, not even Jackson, really. He just knows his tummy gets really sick when he eats them. Probably still gets a stomach ache from crying like that though.
Oh my gracious, Anon. You figured him out! That has got to be it! (As you can see, I really don’t know what will happen to Jackson or why he does the things he does, and that’s what’s awesome about you guys because ya’ll KNOW)
So the poor baby panics and no one knows why. I wonder what it will take in order for them to figure that out. It’ll probably take a while, and until then, Jason will try his best to keep Jackson away from mushrooms as much as he can.
Hey guys! Sorry this is late (again). Okay, I’m thinking about making some executive decisions but I’d like your advice: I’m thinking about making Jackson a little younger? Four or five? I think it would increase the cute factor (because if we can add more cute, let’s do it, right?) so just let me know what you think. Love you all. <3 <3
pt 1 pt 2 pt 3 pt 4
He has tried to keep his distance. He's stayed far all day long, deciding to retreat into his office early this morning to catch up on some delayed paperwork. He doesn't want seem like he's judging from afar, or checking in on Jason's progress as if he doubts him and he doesn't want to...hover. Tim says he hovers sometimes. Bruce wouldn't know.
But throughout the day he couldn't help wondering how everybody is doing. He heard that Damian got banned off patrol for letting Titus in the house when he knew (“he had implicit orders, Master Bruce”) he wasn't supposed to. Dick has kept his romps to a minimum but has already declared himself an uncle and Tim whispered something about getting a Spock plushie for Jackson (“raise him right, you know, B,” to which Bruce just answered, “That's wonderful.”).
He knew that Jackson was doing exceptionally well that morning. He loved the cat and he admired Tim's four-wheeler, and he was delighted with Dick's silent games of peekaboo. And he has to admit: he did come out of his office to stand in the shadows, to watch the way Jackson leaned into Jason. How he looked into his eyes for assurance that everything was okay, that this entire place was a safe zone where he could breathe freely. Bruce was fascinated by the new light in Jason's expression. It seems that he has grown up just in the past month.
He looks older, stronger, more powerful. It's as if the Red Hood isn't being hidden away.
But from the quiet reports, growing more and more concerned, filtering in and out of his office, he knows now that Jackson went down at soon as he was faced with dinner. There may have been something on his plate that he simply didn't like, maybe even despise with a passion, but Bruce suspects exhaustion. According to primary sources, Jackson threw a tantrum at being told that it was time for bed. That he screamed all the way up the stairs, into his bedroom, sobbed all during bath time, and Bruce doesn't need anybody to tell him now, three hours later, that Jackson is still very – audibly – upset.
There's no other sound in the house other than his hoarse wailing.
Bruce stares at the computer that's outlining a detailed report of this year's inventory and next year's plans, but he's not reading it. He can't focus when that baby is crying; it's jarring, it's painful and it reminds him of Dickie's first night at the Manor. Not much different than this one.
He's grateful when he hears a small knock on his door. And Dick enters without Bruce's acknowledgment (because he's done that since he was eight years old) and catches Bruce's eyes.
“Bruce,” he hisses, closing the door silently behind him and tiptoeing towards his desk. “You've got to do something.”
“Dick, there's absolutely nothing I can do,” Bruce replies, shifting the paperwork and straightening them. Trying to look busy.
“Yes there is,” Dick whispers. He leans on the desk. “Do you still have those baby sedatives you used to use on Timmy when he was little?”
Bruce clears his throat. Shifts uncomfortably. “I still use those sedatives on Tim,” he mutters, “So yes, I have them, but I can't do that, Dick. It's almost a betrayal of that child's trust. It's something Jason has to win.”
“Then you've gotta help him.”
“No.”
“You've got to, Bruce!” Dick insists, “For his sake. He's exhausted and Jackson just won't calm down. There's something in his head that was triggered and Jay can't figure it out. You've got to help him. Just this once.”
“It's not that I don't want to help,” Bruce mutters. “It's that I don't think it's wanted.”
“I think you'd be surprised,” Dick smiles apologetically. “Jason's a butt-head, but he's not that much of a butt-head.”
Bruce grips the papers. Jackson sobs beyond the walls of the office. Dick stares at him. Waiting.
“Fine,” Bruce growls, shoving the papers away and never minding how scattered they look all of a sudden. “I'm not staying long though.”
“Good,” Dick sighs, and for some reason, stays in the office as Bruce walks out the door.
He's probably going to hide. I don't blame him.
The house is empty and Bruce has no idea where the others might be. Tim might be in the dark of the Cave where sound is shut out, and Damian might have his earbuds in his ears and playing his music loud enough to drown out Jackson's cries. When he's close to Jason's bedroom, Alfred leaves it and walks right by him, pressing a handkerchief to his forehead. “Gray hairs, sir, gray hairs.”
“I know,” Bruce whispers. “I'm going to try to help you out.”
“No, sir, not my gray hairs,” Alfred smirks. “But Master's Jason's.”
Bruce pauses, looks for affirmation in Alfred's eyes. “Nothing I haven't been through before…?”
The old butler sighs. “It's slightly different, sir. The child is an enigma and Master Dick was not. I advise that detective work be in order for the next few moments.”
He raises an eyebrow and turns toward the staircase leaving Bruce to the half-open door and two desperate children on the other side.
He'll be angry with me for even stepping over the threshold.
So Bruce just opens the door a little, staying in the hallway. Observing the scene.
The room is still relatively clean, but the tension in the room makes it unwelcoming. There's only minor changes to it; the bed is rumpled and there's Jason's jacket over the chair and a towel on the floor. If it was quiet and relaxed, it'd be nearly flawless. But Jackson has his back pressed to the headboard of the bed, and Jason on the other end, and they're facing each other.
It's like the grand showdown.
Jason's hands are limp on the blankets, Jackson's gripping a pillow in front of him like a protection. They're both worn out, heart broken and heart heavy, and this has been constant for hours. Jackson's voice is almost gone. Jason stares at him in near despair.
Bruce swallows. “Jay?”
Jason turns toward him and Bruce flinches, waiting for his expression to turn to wrath, but Jason exhales and looks down, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. He doesn't have to say anything and Bruce knows he feels like he's lost it all. He's lost Jackson again to whatever impenetrable dark he was in before.
He doesn't have to say anything in order for Bruce to understand.
“Jason. Take back the situation.”
Jason sighs, shakes his head. “It's not like it's something I can fix, Bruce. This is...I don't know what this is.”
Bruce steps into the room slowly. “Show him you're still in control. This is still safe, just as it was this morning. You're still someone he can count on, somebody he can still turn to.”
Bruce reaches out cautiously, puts a hand on Jason's shoulder. He walks past him, picks up his jacket and folds it neatly. He can see from the corner of his eye that Jason's watching him in confusion. Bruce picks up the towel, turns off the bathroom lights.
“What're you doing?” Jason whispers, his voice low and tired.
“Cleaning up.”
Restoring order.
Jason raises an eyebrow, then frowns. Takes a deep breath. “Okay.”
He gets up and pulls the wrinkles out of the bed, turning off the ceiling light, letting the soft warm glow of the nightstand lamp permeate the room. Jackson watches, and though he flinches every time Jason gets a little too close for his comfort, he begins to calm down a little. Confusion and standing water still in his eyes. Doubt.
And then he looks up at Bruce.
It's the first time Bruce has really looked closely at the child Jason has taken in for his own. The first time Bruce has noticed how deep and vivid a green his eyes are. How his dark auburn curls frame his face, how small he seems at the head of that massive bed. He's wearing one of Jason's t-shirts, but a pair of navy blue pajama pants that belonged to Damian but were quickly grown out of.
It's the first time he's noticed the shaking hands, how he's turned in on himself, how he sometimes seems like he's struggling to breathe.
How his eyes won't let go of Bruce's.
So Bruce gives him a small smile, as Jason behind him takes a towel and dries off the water mess at the sink.
“Hello, Jackson,” he whispers for the first time.
Jackson doesn't answer, blinks a few times, a few more tears slipping down his face.
“Nothing bad is going to happen to you while Jason is around. Everything's okay.”
He's learned enough body language to see from the way Jackson frowns, his grip loosening on the pillow that maybe, just maybe, he'll remember and believe it.
Jason takes a deep breath behind him and when Bruce turns, he can see that Jason is having a hard time believing it too. From the way his arms are folded over his chest, how he clenches his jaw when he's nervous, from the way he barely says out loud, “Okay, now what?”
“Stay calm,” Bruce starts but Jason starts suddenly.
“No, what do I do now? I can't just leave him--”
“I'm not saying you should,” Bruce whispers, feeling the harsh tension already rebuilding little by little. “Stay here, stay calm. If he sees that you're in control and you're completely safe, he'll believe he's safe.”
“Yeah, but--”
“Look at what you know, Jason. You know that he's had a long day. He was doing just fine this morning until--”
“Until this evening.”
“He's exhausted. He didn't eat anything.”
Jason bites his lip, glancing over Bruce's shoulder at Jackson, who's finally given up, turning to lie down, too tired to fight anymore. “So he's hungry?”
“Low blood sugar,” Bruce answers. “He's not feeling well. He's in a new environment and nothing is familiar anymore. This will take time.”
Jason exhales, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “So what do I do?”
Bruce looks back at Jackson. He's seeming a little more calm quiet but he's still nervous even if his guard is coming down.
Bruce looks back at Jason and whispers, “A technique that is...probably not approved of in most...child-training circles.”
Jason raises an eyebrow, narrows his eyes. “Yeah?”
Bruce clears his throat. Whispers, “Compromise. Make friends. Don't hold your ground too well.”
“Wait,” Jason snickers, “Wait, you're Batman. Whatever happened to Mr. Justice himself?”
“Five kids happened to him,” Bruce mutters. “You start...making deals with them.”
Jason snorts, looks away, trying to stifle a laugh. He rubs his nose, something that he does when he's trying to keep quiet. “You mean something like...kid was supposed to eat his mushroom and he didn't and you don't want him to starve to death so...”
Bruce swallows. He's caught.
“So late snacks are in order,” he admits. “Don't tell Alfred.”
“Huh,” Jason grins. “Which kid was that? I sure don't remember anything like that.”
“I've told enough.”
Jason chuckles and then looks back at Jackson. There's thoughts forming in his eyes, gentleness back again, sadness working out of his expression. “Okay,” he murmurs, nods once to Bruce and walks past him.
Bruce watches him step slowly toward the bed, sit down on the side, close to Jackson's still form. Jason's hand is careful as he touches the red hair, smooths his fingers across Jackson's tear stained cheek.
“What do you want, buddy?” he whispers.
Jackson's eyes are blinking slowly and he takes a few deep breaths, thumb moving into his mouth, just starting to relax. Jason gets on his knees on the floor, arm stretched out across the bed, hand still stroking back Jackson's hair.
“Hey, I'm game for anything,” Jason says so softly, it's difficult to hear. “What, you want some chocolate milk? We got plenty of that. I think the little brat kinda likes it; don't tell him I said that.”
Jackson doesn't answer, but there's no sign of protest as he's gradually getting quieter, so Jason says, “Yeah? Sound good?”
He looks up at Bruce, a silent request. Bruce smiles and nods, steps softly out of the room. But before he brings the door to, Jason says, “Hey. It was Goldie. You totally compromised with Goldie.”
Bruce tears his eyes away from Jason's sharp glance, resolving to stand firm in secrecy.
But it's not the first time he's left a bedroom to get a small child a cup of chocolate milk.
Last time i bother u i PROMISE im reading ur tags on ur jackson asks and just. Jackson licking jason's hand ooomg My brother used to do that as like a line of defense. Didnt like u touching him? Liiiiiick. It actually had a pretty good success rate.
LOOK THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NO WAY YOU CAN BOTHER ME OKAY JUST KEEP ON GIVING THEM TO ME I LOVE YOU SO MUCH SWEET ANON
Oh gosh I used to do that too. And so Jason is making all these really weird faces but trying not to get attention while Jackson is just slobbering on his palm, and the moment Jackson actually starts being quiet and seems content licking, he takes his hand away and THE VERY MOMENT HE DOES Jackson points to the coloring book “Look Papa; it’s Gwranpa!” and Jason starts like, laughing hysterically, “HAHA THE BAT GUY IS GRANDPA YOU’RE SO FUNNY LITTLE BUDDY”
Ok but damian is so so so protective of little jackson ok like if jacksons at the manor and has a nightmare damian is ON THAT like asap and will sway jackson around like they're dancing and will hum a song and kiss his chubby little cheeks aaaah
DAMIAN IS SUCH A GREAT UNCLE OKAY oh gosh and there was this one night that Damian needed some cuddling factor from Dick, so they were in Dick’s bedroom and Dami was all snuggled up and then he hears Jackson crying out and even though he knows that Jason is there, Damian is OUT and Dick is like, “wha??” and he busts into Jay and Jackson’s room and Damian is like “get out of the way Todd” and Jay is like “WHAT” and that’s how Damian and Jackson became super close
Oh lordy that last Some Kind of Home hc set SLAYED me (thank you so much), hit us up with some more of Bruce and Jackson!
Haha!!! Thank you!!
- Sometimes Bruce just doesn’t want to be in Jason’s way, he doesn’t want to make him feel like he’s hovering or judging or anything like that so he kind of stays away from Jackson. But he actually finds himself wanted, needed by Jason because Bruce is an old dad and he KNOWS (”Bruce something’s wrong with him he just won’t go to sleep he’s panicking Bruce I don’t know what to do what have I done what can I do BRUCE”).
- So that leads to Jackson actually getting to know Bruce pretty well, and even though Bruce still tries to keep his distance, it’s Jackson who breaks the walls between them. Bruce is big and quiet and strong and he smells nice and he reads funny books and shows him the family photo albums and lets him walk around in the cave and he lets him look at the Batmobile (which is a big deal).
- Bruce is that grandpa that takes his grandkid to the park to get ice cream and he’ll wear dorky hats if Jackson says he must and he’ll let Jackson put leaves in his hair and toys in his pocket and he’ll untie his shoes if he thinks it’s funny and Bruce is just watching him do all these things and it doesn’t faze him, he’s had too many kids to be bothered by little kid stuff.
- He’s the one who’s figured the most about Jackson’s past. He’s a detective and he understands kids. He gets the idea that Jackson’s been in a orphanage because of the way he reacts when Bruce just mentions Dick’s past. Loud noises, being startled by sudden movement signify abuse. The fear of being transferred from one place to another may mean a traumatic experience from being in a home and then being taken to some place that he didn’t know and that abuse followed that move.
- Upon Jason’s request, Bruce has sworn that if anything ever happened to Jason, Jackson would always have a home at the Manor, even if Bruce was 75 years old. Never too old to take in another kid. Especially if you’re Batman.
- Bruce thinks that Jason’s doing a fantastic job. He thinks he’s done miracles with Jackson, even if Jay doesn’t see it. He thinks that Jason’s a better father than he was.
(Sorry if I'm stealing your baby. I'll stop if you want me to!) (1/4)Jackson pronounces his W's as R's. Jason worries that it might be because of some physical or psychological trauma, but Alfred assures him that all he
(2/4)needs is someone who cares enough to help him speak correctly. The problem is Bruce. Or Gwandpa Bwuce. Who is not one to discourage bad habits he considers cute. (Which shows how much he trusts his own children, if he feels he doesn’t have to ‘fix’ how their children are raised) On nights when Jackson stays at the manor, Bruce makes an effort to be back from patrol early enough to be around from 1-2 am when Jackson really misses his papa.
OKAY THIS IS TOTALLY GONNA BE FEATURED IN THE NEXT PIECE (which I’m still working on because my computer shut down while I was first starting it and now I have to start over ugh i hate my machine)
This is beautiful I mean, please, don’t stop!!!! All the headcanons give me such inspiration and encouragement to keep on going. Don’t ever stop, okay? It’s so much help.
My little brother actually did the same thing when he was smol, and because of all the mixed up letters in his vocabulary, he would say “water” as “hada” don’t ask me why, but one time he went up to my grandfather and he said, “Kin I have some hada?” and my grandfather was like “CAN YOU HAVE SOME WHAT” and though Bruce is used to little kids, I can see him doing that every once and a while because AWKWARD BRUCE IS SO FUNNY
(4/6) Something about Cass relaxes Jackson. When he's stressed out, and Jason's not around, he'll curl up tight with his head in her lap, and soon calm down. She loves it, but never touches him. He wouldn't like that.
(5/6) Once the kid is comfortable with him, Tim is determined to turn him into a nerd. Pretty soon Jackson will be a walking encyclopedia of sci fi trivia (especially Star Trek) if Tim has anything to say about it.
(6/6) Other than Jason, Jackson feels safest with Bruce. He’s big and quiet, calm with a deep voice like Jason.
(I think I ordered these rightly? One was about Jay and the others about Jackson baby so I kind of organized them into two posts)
OKAY YES. And Bruce is like quiet thunder, like you say, he’s just big and quiet, and because he knows how to act around kids like Jackson, he moves slowly and silently, and always stays within eye-shot when he’s around him. Jackson reminds Bruce of little Jason, so he may be trying to “start over” with him.
Tim is the one that got him the Spock plushie, now Jason acts all gruff like “trying to indoctrinate my kid with star trek and not star wars huh you little nerd” and Tim is very proud of Jackson because with only a little practice, he can situate his fingers into the Vulcan salute with minimal effort (”which,” Tim says with a smile, “is more than his father can say for himself”).
Cass and Jackson understand each other. Cass is used to a life of silence so she can figure out a lot of stuff about Jackson from mere body language, so when she doesn’t move, she can see him visibly relax. Cass has been found staring straight ahead while Jackson sleeps close by and everybody’s like “Cass you okay” and she only slightly nods. She’s very considerate of Jackson simply because she has the ability to understand him completely.
