Overprotective Part Three (Jason Todd Fanfic)

Overprotective Part Three (Jason Todd Fanfic)

 We got Jason and Ruby, Dickbabs, Damian and Tim and Cass, and Broose with his tiny granddaughter. Tight. Back to Ruby being a small bebe again cause what is continuity. I don’t know her.

    "Go," he said firmly, Jason glared at him. "She'll be fine."     "Don't rush me, Richard," Jason replied bitterly. He remained crouched down at Ruby's eye level, which wasn't very high, he had to lean down very far. Her blue-hued eyes stared back at him curiously as she continued to knaw at her fingers. Jason ran his own boney finger across her cheek softly, the baby hummed happily, grabbing onto his hand and Jason felt his heart swell a little. How could he leave her? He didn't want to.     "You wouldn't rip a band-aid off slowly, would you?" Alfred spoke softly, less firm then how Dick had spoken. Jason shook his head. "Then, think of this instant like a band-aid. Do it fast, and the pain won't seem to bad." He was speaking the truth, Jason knew. But for some reason, the thought of being away from his baby was making him think irrationally. This would be the first time Jason had even been away from her for so long since he had found her a few months ago. One week away from Ruby. Impossible!, he thought, not happening.     "I don't want to leave," Jason said stubbornly. He had to leave, though. He told Roy and Kory that he would help them on the mission- they were relying on him. He didn't think too much of it at the instant when he agreed to go, but now he was fully aware that agreeing to go meant that he would have to leave Ruby with her uncles, aunts, and Alfred. Bruce wasn't home much, not that it made much difference, Jason supposed. "I can't leave her," Jason said as he leaned down even further to brush his nose against Ruby's cheek, again the girl made a happy noise at her father's affection.       Jason didn't know why exactly he was scared. He trusted his family to watch after her- they weren't idiots. And how much safer does it get then with a hoard of crime-fighting vigilantes. His thoughts were very irrational, he knew full well. So what was he so afraid of? He would have to eventually leave her alone, let her do things by herself, but why did that time have to be now? Jason peered down at the baby in her crib with weary eyes, she was so little. She needed him to protect her. But he needed to go. Jason gripped tightly to the wooden frame of the crib in frustration.     "Okay, let's try this," Dick said, Jason could hear him approaching, though he didn't bother to look up, not taking his eyes off Ruby. Dick came to stand next to him. "You don't leave her, she leaves you. I'll take her, to another room or something, away from you, so you don't have to leave her. Yeah?" Strategically speaking, that was a good idea. But, of course, Jason was irrational.     "No," he spoke simply. Dick groaned.     "I am gonna do it anyway!" the older brother huffed, looking pointedly at Jason, who glared back.     "Don't touch my baby," he said, and Dick laughed a bit. Jason rolled his eyes, releasing his grip from the side of the crib. Ugh. "Fine," he knew he was being ridiculous, he had to leave, Ruby would be perfectly fine. Dick smiled a bit at Jason before picking Ruby up from her crib. His slender arms held onto her tightly as she wiggled a bit, finding joy in getting attention from her Uncle. 

    "Say 'Bye'," Dick said to her.     "I wrote a list downstairs," Jason said in a rushed voice as Dick began his departure from the room, "It has all her favorite food on it, and stuff like that. She doesn't like thunderstorms. She likes it when you read to her," Jason said the things he realized he hadn't said before, and what he thought to be vital information to his daughter's happiness. "I am calling every night," he added.     "Say, 'Bye, Dad'," Dick spoke one last time, offering a wave to Jason, which Ruby mimicked quickly. Then she was gone.   "Bye, Sweetheart," Jason replied softly, panic settling in. He felt his throat begin to constrict a bit, his eyes a bit blurry. This is stupid. He had to remind himself that she would be content spending a week with her copious amounts of family members, who would all over overjoyed to spend some time with her. She'll be happy, he thought, as he blinked hard a few times.     "Are you alright, Master Jason," Alfred spoke up again. Jason ran a hand over his face. "That was rather pitiful." Great. Jason let out an amused huff, reaching down to grab his duffle bag.     "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, more to himself than anyone. Throwing the bag over his shoulder, and pulling the collar of his jacket up a bit further to hide his reddened face, Jason stomped rather loudly out of the room, determined to get out of the mansion before he broke even more. He had a reputation to keep up, father or not. He only hoped the upcoming mission could distract him from the sadness that was making its way into his stomach.

    "He said she likes sweet potatoes," Damian spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, pointing to the scribbled words on the piece of paper. Tim glanced at the words, before letting out a groan.     "Then why is she not eating it?" he asked rather desperately, wiping furiously at the spit up food that had gotten to his hand. Ruby promptly bounced her spoon off her tray, the plastic utensil landing somewhere across the kitchen. Damian snickered.   "She doesn't like you," he said, his nose scrunching up as he watched food dribble down Ruby's chin. "And really Drake? Clean her up, or something." he motioned to the rather dirty child, who seemed perfectly content on giving her Uncle Tim hell. Really her father's child. Tim used the bib she wore to wipe her face clean like he had seen Jason do before. "What is so bad about the food anyway?" Damian inquired, grabbing the jar of pureed sweet potatoes. He quickly grabbed his own spoon, wanting to see what about it was bad, how could potatoes possibly be bad? Damian loved potatoes.   But, not these ones. He gagged abruptly, spitting the contents back out into the sink, a loud gagging sound resonating through the kitchen, along with Tim and Ruby's amused laughter.     "That's fucking disgusting," Damian croaked.     "Hey, that's a bad word!" Tim chided. He felt himself sound like Dick. He groaned again.   "It's gross, Drake, stop feeding that to her. Try something else," the young boy insisted, motioning towards the fridge, where her other jars of food sat. Tim shook his head.   "This is supposed to be her favorite, though," Tim said, "Apparently it doesn't get better than this."     "Why are Americans subjecting their poor babies to this processed...crap."   "Are things okay?" A female voice sounded through the kitchen. Oh good, emergency relief has come. Cass stood in the doorway of the kitchen, looking rather surprised by the scene that had unfolded in the kitchen. Sweet potatoes everywhere. Tim covered in them. Damian, a shade of green. Ruby, laughing happily.     "No!" Damian yelled dramatically, "Todd's mini-demon is recking the place, and refusing to eat," he explained, arms flailing in exaggeration. Cass raised an eyebrow, moving towards her niece with determination. She will feed the baby if her foolish brothers can not. She motioned for Tim to get up from his seat so she could sit, which he seemed to happily do. Picking up a new plastic baby spoon, and taking the jar from Damian, Cassandra began to feed Ruby. The baby stared happily at her aunt, opening her mouth and chomping down on the sweet potatoes with minimal teeth, humming happily. Cass smiled back at the little girl.   "What?" Tim whispered, watching as his older sister somehow managed to feed their niece. What was she doing differently than him? Damian began to laugh again.   "See? She just doesn't like you, Drake."

  Getting to play house with Dick seemed like a good idea at first- a glimpse into what could be their future. Barbara had happily taken to the suggestion of watching Ruby for a night, the baby coming to stay at their apartment. Ruby had been happy at first, when she arrived, pulling at Barbara's hair, reaching for Dick when she wanted to be held, curling happily into one of their chests as they watched television in the evening.     But it was at night when things, of course, took a turn. The baby woke up at around two in the morning, needing to be changed. Simple enough, Dick had thought. Soon she was changed, and content again as he layed her back into her portable crib.     Then at four in the morning, she woke up, sounding much more distressed. Barbara was the one to get up that time, shuffling over to the crib. Tiredly, she lifted the baby up into her arms, beginning to rock her. She checked her diaper- it was fine. And she wasn't eating at night anymore- seven months old don't need to eat at night, according to Jason. So quietly, Barbara continued to rock the baby, or bounce her, whispering softly to her in an attempt to get her to calm down, which seemingly wasn't happening. It went on long enough that Dick got up as well, quietly questioning Barbara if she needed help.     "I don't know what she wants," Barbara sighed, exhausted. Dick stepped closer to his fiancee, pulling her towards him so that Ruby was cradled between the two of them, and Barbara could rest her head on his shoulder. She felt her eyes getting heavy as Dick hushed Ruby, his voice soft and calm. The baby seemed to quiet down a little, but still, a continuous whimper fell from her lips.     "I think she misses her father," Dick whispered. He was probably right, it was the fifth day since Jason had left. Eventually, after a few minutes of standing there, Ruby quieted down completely, her head supported by Barbara's hand, and tiny hands gripping onto her shirt. "We should keep her with us," Dick said. Barbara laughed.     "Jason is gonna want his baby back when he gets home," she mumbled tiredly, though a smile stayed on her pink lips. Red hair fell further into her face as she buried her face into the crook of Dick's neck.     "No," he said lightly, "I mean for the rest of the night- or morning I guess. I think she's lonely." he corrected. Barbara nodded, liking the idea of going back to bed and cuddling with Dick and Ruby. "Besides," he continued, "we can have our own babies to keep, we don't need to steal Jason's." Barbara felt herself blush a little, the concept making her a little nervous, but she supposed in a good way. She placed a kiss on Dick's bare shoulder, hugging her niece closer.   "Don't get ahead of yourself," she said, another smile gracing her reddened face, "we still gotta get married."

  All these children that he had and Bruce didn't know how to take care of a baby. In his defense, he didn't have any of his sons, or his daughter, when they were babies, they were much older when he adopted them. No siblings. No prior experience with babies. Ruby seemed to pay no mind. The Batman held her awkwardly as she wiggled in his arms, pulling at his hair, and cape. He had taken off his mask, as to not scare her, and the little girl had lit up at the sight of her grandfather. Bruce had scoped her out of Tim's arms and into his own, where she began immediately to use him as a sort of playground.     "Ow," He said monotonously. Tim snorted.     "The Batman- taken down by his baby granddaughter. I can see the headlines now," he remarked, sarcasm laced through his tone. Teenagers.     "She is pulling my hair," Bruce explained, trying to unlock the tight grip the girl had on his head. "And it...hurts."     "Master Bruce," Alfred began, "might I suggest, putting her down in her pen. Where she can't hurt you."     "No, I want to hold her," Bruce argued. It was rare that he ever got to spend time with his granddaughter. He was quite content in holding her, even if she mercilessly yanked at his scalp. He successfully managed to pry her little hands from his hair, where she immediately moved to pull at various parts of his suit. She seems to like his cape especially, pulling at the fabric that hung over his shoulders. Her blue eyes were wide with what seemed to be curiosity and utter amusement.     "It's in her blood to give you hell, I guess," Stephanie remarked, she pulled her mask off as she stomped into the cave, demanding that she was ready to start a night of ass-kicking.     "Well, she's my kid, kinda in her DNA, I think." The familiar male voice spoke from behind Steph.     "Oh, and look who I brought- he's home early!" The blonde explained happily, her thumb motioning behind her at Jason. He was a full day early.     There was a happy squeal from the baby as she heard her father's voice, her eyes searching for him. When her big eyes landed on him as he strode towards her, she held her arms out for him, letting out a sound that could be described as either distressed or very happy. Maybe it was both. Jason was quick to take her from Bruce's arms and held her tightly to his chest. Pressing kisses on her cheeks and forehead, Ruby continued to babble to her father.     "I missed you, too, Honey," he spoke, his eyes squeezed shut as he kept pressing quick kisses to her head. Words couldn't describe the separation anxiety he had felt being away from his baby for a week- he had to speed through the mission in order to get home quicker. Jason had resigned to never taking long mission again- not until she was older. He didn't care that his family was around him, watching as he planted kisses on Ruby, or held her closely, he just wanted to hold her. To not let go. It wasn't that he didn't trust his family with her, he simply didn't like being away from her. "I won't leave you again, baby."    

Overprotective Part 5 (Dad!Jason)

I decided to make this part because I wanted to describe in more detail Jason’s feelings about becoming a father. This part was made specifically because I just felt like it. This part can be read as a stand-alone, but part one (on my masterlist) will offer more details on how Ruby came to be for those who haven’t read the full story. This part is more about Jason than Ruby, and its pretty short.

Throughout most of Jason’s life, he was uncertain of what the word ‘love’ truly meant, and what the connotations of it were. He was almost entirely sure that he had loved his mother, the way that a son does, but she had betrayed him in a way and got herself killed by her own volition. Whenever Willis would raise his voice at Jason when he was a child, and frighten him to the point of tears, never did Catherine hush her husband, or aid her child in any way. It was a onesided love that Jason had for his mother, and much to an aching feeling in his stomach, he eventually outgrew that love, and only had resent.

He had loved his father once, for a very brief time. He loved his father when Willis would pick up Jason’s small form off the couch where he had fallen asleep, and bring him to his bed, where he planted a kiss on his forehead and bid him only good dreams. He loved his father when he would come back home from work with Jason’s favorite snack, which were sour gummy worms at the time. He loved his father when Jason had a bad dream, filled with all too real horrors, and would crawl in bed beside his mother and father, buried in scratchy blankets and wrapped in his father's arms. But, of course, good things always come to an end in Jason’s life, and eventually, those good moments ceased to happen, and a small and vulnerable Jason was left with a cold space where his father once had been.

Jason loved Bruce. Loves. Much to his misfortune. Jason still loves the man that replaced his biological father and gave him the proper home and love that he didn’t think he deserved. Though, it’s on nights when Jason is alone, not inside Wayne Manor, while the others all eat dinner made by Alfred, that he wonders why did he have to love Bruce so much? There was always a bitter taste in his mouth when he thought of it, and that bitter taste almost always brought on a stinging in his eyes. So, Jason tried hard not to think of it too often.

Jason considers the love he has for Bruce, his mentor, and possibly a father, unfortunate because of the circumstances. Jason grew up reading, watching, and listening to stories about love, between any two people family or not, in which sacrifice is the ultimate showing of love. Sacrifice, in Jason’s personal dictionary, didn’t necessarily imply giving up one's life, it simply meant doing what needs to be done, no matter the consequence. Because you love that person. And no one had ever done that for Jason- not even Bruce, who was Jason’s father at the time of the young boy’s death. Jason could recall many times when he did sacrifice something for someone he loved, and yet, no one had ever returned the gesture. He tried not to let that bother him- it was a lot to ask of someone. Wasn’t it? Maybe he was simply suicidal and willing to die again so easily, or maybe it was that Jason didn’t know how to love something reasonably.

Jason came back from the dead with a twisted sense of what love truly was. And yet, despite the confusion, Jason loved freely. He loved his friends- Roy, Kori, Artemis, all of them. He loved them deeply and had promptly decided after befriending them, that he would, in fact, die for them.  Drastic he knew, but he supposed that their lives were simply worth more than his. The world had already forgotten about him, people don’t need him, however, the world needs his friends- therefore he would sacrifice his life for theirs if he needed to. He would sacrifice anything for them. Of course, that same sentiment went to his family members as well, but that left a hard knot in his throat.

Conclusively, Jason had his own idea as to what love was, and in actuality, it was very different from what the real world definition was. But Jason simply shrugged that off. It was a reality fuck up that he was alive- no one could tell him how to love, not when he was given a chance at life again. If anything, dying and coming back gave him a more profound idea as to what love truly was.

For years, Jason had one type of love in his life- an unreturned favor, and one that decided if he lived or died, come the circumstance if it will. That was until the carrier ended up on the entrance to his hideout, and the girl he found out was his own flesh and blood, came into his life. As per Jason’s usual style, and his typical empathy for children, he came to love the child, his child, at a rapid speed. He loved her so fast, it made him dizzy, and on the third day of her living in his apartment, which was the third day of Jason being a father, he threw up. It was nerves, he assumed, but he also held a cool hand to the pulse on his neck and felt his heart rate so elevated he was surprised he didn’t pass out or have a heart attack. What twenty year old has a heart attack?

Soon the words, “Red Hood has a baby,” started playing over and over in his head, echoing in his ears rather obnoxiously. Red Hood had a baby, true, and he was determined to keep her a secret. To protect her, to keep her safe. He quickly decided that being a crimefighting vigilante would have to come to a slow, much to his teammate's annoyance, but mild understanding. Jason needed to stay home with her, and he wasn’t about to tell anyone about her in order to get a babysitter. It was absolutely, and rather unnecessarily overprotective. A babysitter wouldn’t do any harm to his baby, it was their job to protect children, and his family would be willing to watch her, he knew, but he didn’t care.

The nerves that had been so wound up when he first found her, had finally unwound, and Jason was left feeling nothing but a new kind of love. It was separate from what he felt from friends or even the rest of the family. It was a kind of love that he had never experienced and was determined to never let that love go. It was a feeling of being ready to do anything for that child, to die for her, but not wanting to die, because if he died, he wouldn’t be able to see her anymore. It was feeling the happiest he had ever been- even when Bruce took him in for the first time- when his daughter wrapped her small, chubby hand around one of Jason’s boney, and calloused fingers. It was how the babbling noises of nonsense that she made were the best thing Jason had ever heard. Everything that she did made Jason happy, even when she woke up crying loudly, or when she threw a fit because she had been angered by something. She was a true gem in his life, for that which she was named. Ruby.

And what stemmed from that love he had for her, was her love for him. Jason couldn’t recall a time when someone spoke the words, “I love you,” to him. Not from Catherine, or Willis, nor Bruce Wayne. He was always left unsure whether they truly loved him, or if they simply felt obligated to. Then, there was Ruby, who didn’t need to speak the words to let him know that she did truly love him. And that was in the way that she looked at him- like she needed him, and never wanted him to go away. How she smiled when he did, laughed when he did or cried when he did. But, Jason’s favorite thing, though it did make him feel quite guilty, was how she never wanted him to leave. If he made for the door and left her sitting in the arms of someone else, she would promptly begin to cry. Not loud, and ear piercing, but a small whimper until her father returned to hold her, and of course, Jason always went back to her. He would take her back from whoever, and hold her against his chest, whispering to her softly until she settled down. It was only when she was asleep that Jason could slip out. She loved him with all of her small heart, and never wanted him to leave, and Jason had never seen someone care about him that much.

And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.

A Little Company (Damian Wayne and Batmom)

Request: No

On most occasions, you spent your nights alone, with the exception of when you spent the night at the Manor. Those scenarios had been few and far between as of late, much to your disheartening. It seemed as if the family was falling apart, bit by bit, and there was only so much you go do to aid your hurting loved ones. It also seemed that you spent most of your time being angry at Bruce, whether he was being reckless on a mission, or fighting with one of his sons.

You bit your bottom lip hard as you stood over the stove, the spoon in hand whirling around the bubbling soup you were making for yourself. Your apartment was quiet, and eerily so. Usually one of the boys or girls were around. Dick, who stopped by for dinner with you at least twice a week, was no longer in Gotham, nor did he remember you to begin with. Let alone, himself. Jason, who often fell asleep on your couch when he was lonely, had been unceremoniously kicked out of Gotham City by his father. Tim and Stephanie were also no longer in the city. Barbara and Cassandra were far too busy- now that there was a low of vigilantes in the city they had extra work. You paused in the making of your soup for a moment, eyes flicking up towards the ceiling as you willed back tears- you missed them. Your children.

Dumping the contents in the pot into a white and blue ceramic bowl, you sat at one of the many empty chairs in your kitchen, attempting to bring your focus to the television that played in the living room. It was hard to make out the words that were rolling at the bottom of the screen, but from what you could understand, you gathered that the Riddler was up to something again. You contemplated for a brief moment grabbing your suit and pursuing the case yourself, but with that thought came the immediate realization that Bruce would probably already be on it, and you weren’t keen on the idea of working with him. His brutal fight with Jason still caused your stomach to twist in knots.

The night remained calm as you ate your dinner and glared at the television, trying hard to keep your mind from wondering where Jason was, if he was alive, or if Dick was starting to remember who he was. You slammed your hand against your forehead and stood abruptly up from the chair. Moving towards the fire escape, you pushed open the window and slipped out of the apartment.

There had been a storm, as there usually was, but by some miracle, the sky had cleared up as much as it could in Gotham, and the night sky was somewhat pretty as a result. Sitting on one of the steps of the fire escape, you leaned back a bit and let your eyes wander about the night sky. The moon was a hazy color, the pollution of the city ruining the true, beautiful color of it. Instead of a silver color, the moon had an orangy tint to it, ugly, and unappealing. The stars did not twinkle, instead, they were a dull light in the vast darkness of the sky. Gotham, in and of itself, was hideous. Truly wretched in the way it looked, and in the way it worked. Crime and grime, you joked to yourself, though it was the sad truth of the matter. Gotham was entirely made up of both crime and grime, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that, only to stall it from getting worse. To halt the highway of criminals, and the villains who controlled their brain-dead bodies. If Gotham could be described as any sense, that which you could experience as a person, you would choose taste- that taste being bile. But there was some part of you that loved the city and commanded you stay.

While you had been busy cursing the city, you had failed to hear the grapple hook latch onto and release the fire escape you sat on. Robin, in his true bird-like nature, sat perched on the railing, eyeing you curiously, waiting for you to take notice of him. When you failed to do that, he sighed and dropped his shoulders.

“Absurd that you would sit outside without a coat of some sort,” he remarked, his voice causing you to startle. You rested a hand against your chest, where your heart pounded, once you realized who it was you let out a breath. You didn’t even need to look back at him to know it was Damian. You would be able to pick his voice out in a crowd of people- his voice carried like no other. “You will catch a cold.” He was probably right, the air was cold and dry, the way the storm had left it. It burned your throat as you inhaled deeply.

“I guess,” you replied to the young boy, nodding your head. Slowly Robin crept toward you, his stance still tense, and ready to fight, though, when did Damian not look like that? Even under his hood and mask, you could make out a confused expression.

“Why are you out here?” he asked, the wind pushing his hood down, revealing more of his face, and messy hair. He looked so young, his skin still soft and unscarred. He hadn’t had a growth spurt yet and remained a whopping five foot nothing. Even his voice was still young sounding, though the words he often spoke told a story otherwise.

“I came out to look at the sky, Robin,” you said, sliding over on the step so he could sit next to you. “Shouldn’t you be fighting criminals right now?” Damian frowned as he sat next to you, letting out a huff, remaining slightly arrogant.

“Father sent me home for the night,” he replied, he sounded bothered by this. Whereas Dick and Jason might have liked being sent home a bit early to catch up on sleep, Damian and Tim would both rather be out fighting criminals all the time.

“So why aren’t you home?” you asked raising an eyebrow, “Not that I am telling you to leave.”

“I...don't know. I suppose I just don’t want to. I do not feel like being reprimanded by father tonight.” So he was avoiding facing Bruce for whatever he did. You didn’t necessarily blame him, you knew first hand how argumentative Bruce could be. You hummed in response to the boy, pulling him in to lean against your shoulder, to which he rested his weight against you.

You weren’t sure what it was that you did to gain Damian’s trust and respect, but you were glad you had done it. Damian didn’t hand out affection easily, or really ever, but he felt comfortable enough to confide in you. To seek out affection specifically from you. You supposed he knew you were a mother, and saught you out due to his lack of one. You considered Talia a friend, but her lack of presence in her son’s life irked you. The way she trained him to fight since he was a baby- it felt wrong to you. So you offered him a place where he didn’t have to fight, nor where he would be under the watchful and judgemental eyes of his mother and father. You weren’t positive he viewed you as another mother, but you welcomed him in any way, no matter the circumstance. Just as you had done with his brothers and sister.

As he leaned into you, you took notice of how cold his cheek was and grew concerned. You would suck it up if you caught a cold, but he shouldn’t catch one, he becomes miserable when he is ill. Nudging him a bit, you nodded towards the window.

“Let’s go inside.”

After entering the apartment, Damian pulled his domino mask from his face, revealing glossy green eyes that reminded you of Talia. His brows were almost always furrowed, in a look of deep thought or annoyance, it was hard to tell which it was sometimes. As he flopped down into one of the chairs in front of the television, he let his hood fall off his shoulders and drape across that floor, the pool of black and yellow fabric falling soundlessly. As the boy slumped into the chair further, he let his limbs go limp, and his lower lip jutted out into a pout. You glanced at him over your shoulder.

“Are you hungry?” you tried, motioning to the extra soup left in the pot. You planned on keeping the soup for leftovers the next day, but you were willing to feed a potentially hungry child. Damian peered over the side of the seat.

“What’s in it?” he asked. Right, Damian had a vegetarian diet.

“Don’t worry, it’s vegetarian,” you smiled, to which Damian proceeded to dramatically slide off the chair. He limply scooted to the floor, before hauling himself off the floor and straightening up his position and making his way to the kitchen where you stood. Your smile faltered a bit, taking notice how unlike himself he was being. You contemplated questioning him on the matter but decided against it- the Wayne’s didn’t like talking about feelings.

Handing Damian a bowl from the cabinet, he dumped the rest of the contents in the pot into the bowl. With a hum of approval, he sat at the table and began to practically drink all the soup in a span of two minutes. You kept your lips sealed tight as you watched him, growing more concerned, and couldn’t help but ask- it was against your nature.

“Are you alright, Damian?” you questioned, sitting down on a wooden chair next to his. He set down the bowl, dropping the spoon into it with a clank. Eyes scanning his face, you couldn’t decide what he might be thinking.

He shook his head, “Fine,” though he did not sound fine. You cocked your head to the side, giving him a look of sincerity. “I am simply frustrated with Father.”

You weren’t sure what it was that Damian did to be sent home so early, but clearly, the act of being punished was bothering the small vigilante.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” There was a pause in the conversation- longer then it should have been. For a moment you thought that Damian had ignored your question, but you held your apology in when he grimaced.

“He says that I am ‘too angry’, whatever that means. Any decent person, with a respectable set of morals, would be angry with criminals. Especially the kind we were dealing with tonight,” Damian begins, using his hands to emphasize what he was saying. You nodded along as he spoke. “I didn’t kill anyone. That’s the rule, and I followed it. There was no solid reason to send me home early, I did nothing wrong!” Damian’s voice cracked on the last word. Dropping his arms back to his sides, he let out a groan.

It was an argument you were all too familiar with- it was the same one Bruce had with Jason when your older son was still Robin. Jason didn’t think he was angry, nor did he think he was being violent beyond the allowed amount. Damian had suffered the same complex when he was first brought into the crime-fighting business but had seemingly gotten over it. Until now, you supposed. You pushed your lips together into a straight line and stared at the boy who rested one cheek against a clenched fist.

“Well, Damian, you know my opinion on the matter,” you began, “and I do not intend on yelling- your father seems to have under control. But I will say that whatever it is that is making you angry- which something clearly is, don’t argue- it isn’t as important as being Robin. You love being Robin, and whatever it may be occupying your free time, might cost you the title. You don’t have to keep your anger inside either, Damian, you can talk about it. With whoever. I know Dick isn’t around anymore, but there are other people willing to listen.” Damian stared at you with intensity as you spoke, his green eyes focused on yours. You weren’t sure if what you were saying was helping anything, but it felt like the correct thing to say. It is what you would’ve said to Jason before he died if you had known better at the time. You finished with a sincere smile.

Damian didn’t say anything, only nodded once, and picked up his bowl. He jumped off the chair and made his way to the kitchen where he placed the now empty bowl into the sink. You watched him from where you still sat, waiting to see if he was going to respond to the words you had spoken to him. He gathered up his mask and cape from the floor and fixed his costume. Placing the mask back over his eyes, and pulled his hood back up over his head, he resumed his Robin persona.

You stood up, going to bid him goodbye for the night. Opening the window back up, you were greeted by a cold gust of wind pushing its way into your apartment. When you turned back to face Damian, you were abruptly engulfed in a hug, his arms wrapped tightly around your waist, his head rested against your chest. Quickly you wrapped your own arms around him, a smile forming on your mouth. It was a rare occasion that Damian handed out hugs, but when the occasion did arise, you tried to enjoy the moment as much as you could. He held onto you for what seemed like a long time, though you were accepting of that. He continued to remain silent, even as he unwound himself from you and slipped out of the window, swinging off the fire escape and into the dimly lit streets of Gotham. You noted that he was not going in the direction of the Wayne Manor, though you chose to ignore that detail.

Overprotective (Jason Todd Fanfic) ((Part Two))

   This is when Ruby is a teenager. I know it is quite a time skip, but there will be more of when Ruby is younger, for now, I am just posting out of order. After I make a masterlist, all the parts will be in order.

Part One

She was giving him grey hairs. He was thirty-seven, why was he getting grey hairs? Because she never listened to him. Ruby pleaded at first, begged to be sent on a mission, hoping at least to be able to go on one with one of her uncles. Technically, it was what she was trained for, Jason taught her to fight, Dick helped her learn gymnastics, Tim taught her how to hack a system, and she practiced a sword with Damian. She was completely capable of taking out a bad guy. It was Jason who was incapable of letting his daughter go. Sixteen was far too young to be fighting the criminals of Gotham, and Jason had very good evidence to back his argument up. She was only a year older than him when he died. He was paranoid.

“I’ll be fine,” she reasoned with him as they stood in the cave, she grabbed the grappling hook off the table. “You trained me, remember?”

“I remember.”

   Ruby had been training with Dick the longest, mastering the art of flexibility and balance before anything else. Then she trained with Damian, finally asking him to teach her after years of watching him use his sword. Then Tim thought it would be a good idea if she knew how to operate and override systems, using the big computer in the cave. Finally, Jason tiredly agreed to teach her combat skills, figuring her knowing hand to hand combat would be useful. She was as much of a Bat as the rest of the family. As Jason watched her practice he took note that there was no mistaking it- Ruby fought like a Robin. Almost the exact style that each predecessor had.

   It was a small mission, nothing overly extravagant, her and Damian would be back in no time. Jason leaned against the cold wall of the cave, crossing his arms over his chest. He felt a sense of bitterness nagging at his heart, adding to the dread he also felt.

“We’re just clearing out a warehouse of thugs, I’ll be fine,” Ruby shrugged her shoulders, finishing knotting the laces of her boots, she had a prideful smile on her face, “It’s my first time punching a bad guy, not my first time punching at all.”

“I also remember that,” Jason sighed, watching as his daughter timidly approached him.

“Dad, stop worrying,” she spoke quietly, “I’ll be okay.” Jason felt as his chest got heavier, his breathing involuntarily becoming uneven, and he realized just the extent of how much he didn’t want to let Ruby go, how scared he was. Ruby seemed to take notice of his change in emotion, automatically flinging herself into her father's arms. She held tightly to him, gripping the sweatshirt he wore. This only made Jason feel more lost, and uncomfortable with sending her on the mission, but he knew, that above most things in her life, this is what Ruby wanted most. She was almost an adult, he couldn’t stop her.

   Jason wasn’t sure how long he had been holding onto Ruby, but the sound of someone clearing their throat caused the two to separate.

“We should be leaving now,” Damian said, in full Batman suit. Jason felt the real urge to tell his younger brother to screw off, but he knew Ruby and Damian wouldn’t appreciate the sentiment. Ruby nodded at her uncle, though tightened the hug to her father, and Jason did the same. After another moment, Jason nudged her forward, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Be careful, baby,” he told her, she smiled up at him and nodded before pushing away from him to follow Damian. The two departed rather swiftly, leaving Jason standing alone in the cave, or so he thought.

“That part never becomes easy to do,” Bruce spoke, he sat in one of the chairs at the rectangular table. Jason wasn’t sure when he got there. “No matter how old they are, or how strong.”

“You seemed to get over it,” Jason huffed, still bitter. Bruce paid no mind.

“No, Jason, I didn’t, I still get paranoid when one of you leaves. Especially now that I’m not on the field to pick you up if you fall.”

“You are being very comforting, old man.” Jason deadpanned, tossing a sideways glance at his father.

“You trained her, you see how she holds herself, you know that Ruby can protect herself and others, even in rough circumstances. That’s what comforts you when you send your child away to fight the same crime you do.”

   Bruce, of course, was right. Jason knew full well that he had trained his daughter to kick ass. So did his brothers. Ruby was highly trained, arguably.

“I know that,” Jason slumped into a chair opposite Bruce, leaning his cheek against his fist, “It’s just, I know what can,” he paused, “happen…out there in the city. I’m not particularly fond of the idea of sending my young child into it.”

“She is sixteen, Jason, and very smart. She knows when to fight and when to leave,” Bruce said, attempting to reason with his son.

“Well, she’s my kid- half of me, and I sure as hell didn’t know when to back down. Maybe unwillingness to run is genetic, and you are wrong-”

“Children learn from their parent's mistakes, you know that.” Bruce cut Jason off, his head tilted to the side with an eyebrow raised, conveying the, ‘You know I’m right’ thought through nonverbal communication. Jason let out a scoff, one that he made whenever he knew he was wrong.

   Jason was right. He knew he was going to be right, and still, he let Ruby go. His first instinct was to throw blame at people, which at first was Damian. He was the adult in the situation, he was Batman, he should have prevented it from happening. But what was Damian supposed to do? He did all that he could, and Jason knew that.

   It wasn’t what they were expecting, of course. That’s how something like what happened happens. No one knows what’s coming, and then gets hit hard, blindsided.

    Dick had been waiting as the backup, in case Damian decided they needed him. Nightwing was quick to swoop in and assist in taking out the bad guys. What they weren’t expecting was an angry Talia Al Ghul to be waiting inside, bitter that her son had refused to see her, or acknowledge her in several years. Anyone that needed to be out of the situation was removed by assassins, meaning Dick and Ruby. Damian stayed to appease his mother, reassuring the others that he would soon return home.

“What the hell happened?” Jason barked as the two returned home, automatically the two vigilantes were bombarded with people trying to see their wounds or gain more information on the events of the night.

   Ruby wasn’t walking, Dick carried her. Blood dripped down her forehead, and she cradled her arm against her chest as she leaned into her uncle's shoulder. Dick was in somewhat of a similar state, though able to carry himself and Ruby, which was a good sign according to most of the Batfamily's standards. Jason wasted no time in assessing his daughter's injuries, his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration and concern.

“Talia,” Dick sighed out, clearly in need of rest. Jason took Ruby from him, holding tightly to the still unconscious girl. “Go take care of her, I’ll check on Damian.” That was all Jason needed to hear before he was off to fix the damage that had been done to his daughter.

   Ruby woke up in one of the spare rooms in the Manor, the sun shining brightly on the hardwood floors. The faint sound of the television across the room grabbed her attention, a nature documentary played, showing the life of wolves in North America. The window was open letting in the breeze that brushed aside the pale green curtains.

   Shifting carefully, ignoring the sore pain she felt in most of her body, Ruby swung her legs over the bed, noticing she had a cast on her left foot and a sock on the other. Half her arm was also cast, the bulky white material felt odd and foreign, she supposed she would have to get used to it.

   Slowly, she rose from the bed, stretching her aching muscles as she did so. Shooting pains erupted in her chest and back making her yelp. Tugging up her shirt she realized her chest was wrapped, she assumed it was the result of bruised or broken ribs. Ruby wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep, but it felt like a long time. Moving to stand in front of the long mirror attached to the door, she sighed. A plain black sweater, gray sweatpants, and one sock didn’t seem like such a great look compared to her usual standards, and level of maintenance. Her hair sat in many directions, long, brown locks tangled and knotted, a task that would be grueling to undo later. Bruises layed out everywhere on her skin, from her face, down to where she pulled up the hem of her shirt and peaked at her waist where the muscles and flesh ached.

   Flinging the door open she began her trek down the long corridors of the mansion. She descended the staircase and made her way into the kitchen. The brightness of the room was blinding, she squinted her eyes in the direction of the sun.

“Whoa, hey, you’re awake,” Ruby recognized the voice of her uncle, Tim. Her vision came to focus on the silhouette of her uncle haunched over the high chair his daughter sat in, a spoon held in his hand. “When did you wake up?” He asked, setting the spoon down when the young girl pushed his hand away with a whine. Tim took a few steps toward Ruby, looking as if he was ready to catch if she fell.

“I just woke up,” Ruby rasped out, moving to pull out a seat at the counter. “What happened?” Tim seemed to be looking her over, assessing if she should be up and walking around with no assistance.

"It's a long story," he said, shaking his head, "Your father should explain it to you." Ruby perked up a bit at the mention of her father, remembering that he existed. She felt guilty for not going to him first, or not thinking of him sooner, seeing as how he hadn't liked the idea of her going on the mission, and what had happened during the mission.

"Where is he?" She asked, her voice soft. Tim smiled a bit.

"Library. Should I walk with you?"

"I got it, don't worry Uncle Timmy," She patted his shoulder as she passed him, attempting to give him a reassuring smile.

   There had not been a library in the Manor until Jason demanded one in his Robin days. It was one of the few things he asked for, so of course, Bruce complied. The library was finished and stocked full of the books Jason expressed a liking for, though Jason never got to see the finished product.

   Ruby limped down the hall, dragging her casted foot behind her. She noted that she probably would find crutches useful later. The library, luckily, was on the first floor, though on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen. As she reached the library, she pushed the door open, sneaking in through a crack.

   The fireplace was lit, logs stacked high in the flames. The windows were tinted, making the lighting more comfortable to Ruby's eyes. The library had a built-in cozy feeling, designed to be warm and safe on purpose. The feeling of nostalgia was something that Ruby mustered up herself. The memories of her father reading to her when she couldn't fall asleep a night always flooded her head when she was in the room, surrounded by the books she had become so familiar with.    

   Her father sat in the chair he always did. One across from the largest window in the room, adjacent to the fireplace. Jason had his feet propped up on the footrest, holding a book close to his face. The book he read was fat but split open in half. Ruby could tell from the worn pages what book he was reading. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. He had read the book to her when she was in middle school. Reading was one of the few times when Jason's life was calm. No fighting, no dealing with the crimelords of Gotham, and no bickering with his brothers. As a result, he almost always disappeared into the library if he had a chance.

   He looked tired, the collar of his turtleneck sweater was pulled higher than it was supposed to be, as he sat hunched over, the fabric covering most of his lower face. This brought attention to his eyes and the dark circles that were under them. His hair was a mess, which was unusual for him. The only time he allowed his hair to be messy was when he took his Red Hood helmet off. The glasses he wore sat low on the bridge of his nose. As he aged, Jason came to the frustrating realization that he did, in fact, need glasses. He had needed them his most of his life, actually, but insisted that he didn't need them. Now nearing forty years of age, he couldn't ignore that his seeing wasn't the best. Especially considering he used a gun at work.

"You look like an old man," Ruby sighed out. Though it was in a quiet tone, it was loud enough to scare Jason, the Red Hood successfully caught off guard. His eyes were wide in surprise at first, but the look quickly melted into one that was filled with unadulterated relief. Pushing himself up from the chair, Jason was up and over to his daughter, pulling her into a tight hug. Ruby wrapped her arms around his torso, burying her face into his chest with a smile on her face. Jason went without the smile, though still felt just as happy. At the same time, Jason felt content, and relieved to have to daughter awake, and moving, and hugging him, but at the same time, when she was in bed, he knew she was out of harm's way. He could make sure that she wasn't getting hurt. Of course, Jason knew that the events of the previous mission would do nothing to deter Ruby. She would want to be back fighting alongside Batman in no time.

"You shouldn't be walking by yourself," Jason said quietly, placing a kiss on Ruby's forehead. "You don't even have crutches." Ruby let out a small laugh, burying herself further into her father's chest.

"I don't need them," She said, "I just want you to tell me what happened."

"You don't remember anything?"

"No, not really. I remember Uncle Dick had to come and help, but it's hard to remember anything after that." Jason sighed as Ruby spoke- there was a lot to be discussed. Carefully, he assisted her towards the couch, helping her put her casted foot up. Ruby, under all the casts, and bandages, and bruises, still looked optimistic, hopeful, even, and quite frankly, it scared Jason and broke his heart at the same time. She was always going to get hurt doing this job, and there was nothing he could do.

"Talia showed up, with her assassins," Jason began, sitting on the couch opposite Ruby. "Since none of you were expecting it, none of you were prepared. Damian had to stay behind with Talia, he's back now though. Dick got hit pretty hard, but he was back up in a couple of days."

"'A couple of days'? How long have I been out?" Ruby questioned, her eyes searching her fathers. Jason hesitated for a moment.

"A week, about." He said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Ruby seemed to take what he said into consideration, before cracking a smile.

"Well, I thought you were gonna say, like, three months, so this is definitely better then what I was expecting." She giggled, nudging her father's side playfully. Jason didn't smile, and Ruby's grin turned downward into a frown. "I'm allowed to joke about that. I was the one that was out." She deadpanned. Jason's eyes cut to her, anger now present on his features.

"And I was your father who had to deal with you being out for that long," He snapped.

"I was kidding, Dad. Chill." She regretted saying that as soon as the words left her lips. Automatically she cringed into her sweater, hiding her face partially.

"I never should have let you go on that damn mission!" Jason yelled, standing from the couch. "I knew you weren't ready. I know what can happen out there, and still, I let you go. I suppose, though, that was my mistake, not yours."

The first time Jason had ever lost his temper on Ruby was when she was seven and had decided to go outside and play in the yard of the Wayne Manor without telling him. Even though he was just inside, and she was out, he panicked, unable to find her for about twenty minutes before Duke found her up in one of the many Oak trees near the woods, just out of earshot from the mansion. Jason yelled at her, scolding her for scaring him, for not telling him where she was going, for climbing a tree alone with no supervision- what most parents would say. Though, he was loud, and admittedly scary looking, and had never yelled at her before. Her blue eyes were quick to fill up with tears, her lip quivering sadly as she listened to the most important person in her life yell at her. Jason was quick to notice, and even quicker to feel guilty. He scooped her up and held her tightly, whispering an apology to her,  repeating, softly, to not scare him like that again.

It seemed to be a repeat of that situation. Ruby being scolded for something, him yelling, getting angrier then he should, and Ruby attempting and failing to hide tears. She was not a crybaby, she actually took pride in being very emotionally stable, however, she never held up well when it came to her father losing his temper with her. Hot tears welled up in her eyes, which soon spilled down against her cheeks and chin, her breathing becoming uneven. Jason didn't even notice at first, rambling on about how she wasn't ready to go on missions yet.

"This isn't my fault," she spoke shakily, "Yea, maybe I wasn't ready for this mission- it's my first and I had to fight the League of Assassins. I mean, I could have died, and you're yelling at me." It was rare that Ruby ever spoke up when her father was ranting about something, but Jason always let her say what she wanted. He took her words seriously. Slowly, Jason knelt down in front of Ruby, his hand moving to brush the tears away from her red cheeks.

"I know, Sweetheart, I know this isn't your fault," Ruby leaned forward to wrap her arms around her father's shoulders, burying her face into the crook of his neck, soft cries still leaving her lungs. "I am proud of you, you kicked their asses. I'm just paranoid, worried. I'm not overly fond of seeing you hurt."

"I'll try not to get hurt," Ruby said, Jason couldn't tell if she was crying or laughing.

"I would appreciate that, Rue.”

Overprotective Part Four (Jason Todd Fanfic)

Words: 2,874      

Note: Lots of more people in this one. Ruby is seventeen.

It was a mission that her father had forbidden her from going on, but it was a demand she chose to ignore. Teenage rebellion, she supposed with a smirk. As wisps of auburn hair whirled around her face in the cool, salty wind, her eyes tracked the moving criminals. The lead that she had read on her Uncle Tim’s computer told her that the thugs she was watching were working for Two-Face, a villain she particularly despised. When she heard the activity going on in Old Gotham, she proposed going out to fix the problem herself, to which her father and Damian both dismissed her proposition, instead instructing her to stay at home. Ruby chose to simply ignore both their commands.

Grappling from edge to edge of buildings, Ruby stayed on the heels of the thugs. They drove two vans and one truck, with ten men in total. Dent wasn’t even in attendance. Ruby couldn’t think of an easier mission then this as she ran across the edge of the clock tower. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to her father when she returned home from the mission with new leads, and the thugs suddenly off the radar, but she had no time to ponder such things. She noted that the vehicles were headed to Brown Bridge- out of Gotham. She had to stop them before they left the city.

Reaching to the left side of her utility belt, she pulled out a gadget she had seen her Uncle Damian use when the two worked together. She loaded it three times and took aim at the truck. The plate that she had loaded it with magnetized to the hood of the truck, and with a flash of yellow light, it had drained the car’s battery. She aimed at one van and did the same until all three cars were stopped. Slowly, and with a commotion, men began to unloaded from the cars. Now was her chance.

Damian had always taught her to start at the back of the group and pick the ones not paying attention off first. Once the others take notice of the disappearing teammates, grapple back up to a building, and take as many as you can out with batarangs or a taser, which her father had granted her use of. As she worked through the steps, picking men off one by one, she let out a laugh.

“Oh shit,” one man exclaimed, “it’s Robin.” Ruby laughed again, prideful, and eager to show off to her family about the work she had completed. Taking the last three men out by hand was hard, Ruby was still quite small. She took a few hits and kicks, but she learned quickly to shake it off and keep fighting. Eventually, she had taken all the thugs out, standing in the middle of unconscious bodies while panting heavily. What was so hard about that, Dad? If only he could have seen her, maybe he would have been proud. Ruby knew that he was more than likely going to bench her for sneaking out, and if he didn’t, Damian would.

Once she had her breathing back under control, she began to unlatch the door on the first van. Slamming the doors open, she peered in to see an empty car, with no equipment. Ruby shrugged, moving on to the next car. The second van also had no equipment or anything of importance stored in it. Ruby raised an eyebrow. Strange, she thought, everything was in the truck? Approaching the truck she pulled up her hood and situated her gadget back into her belt. Unlatching the back of the truck with a loud clanking sound, the door was shoved open from the inside.

Ruby felt the air knocked out of her lungs as she was kicked back, landing on the hard ground with a thud. Struggling to breathe for a moment, she peered up, adjusting her domino mask. Ruby had been sure he wasn’t there when she read over the leads or counted the thugs when she first arrived at the scene, but as Dent stared down at her with crazed eyes, she realized how wrong she was. She wasn’t prepared to fight Two-Face by herself, or the two abnormally large thugs that stepped out of the truck after him.

“I was wondering if you were going to catch us before we got to the border,” Harvey spoke, his voice gravelly. Ruby groaned, rolling her head back.

“Y’know, for an old man, you got a mean kick,” she said, thumping a hand against her chest. She kept her eyes on him as she stood back up. “But is that still the best you can do?” She was aware that she was pushing buttons when she wasn’t supposed to be- this wasn’t a fight for her. She’d be lucky if she walked out alive. Two-Face shook his head, reaching behind the tail of his jacket to pull out his silver and black gun. The two thugs held large guns themselves, Ruby wasn’t sure what kind, but she knew that one gun could take her out with one bullet.

Two-Face let out a sigh, beginning to load the gun. Ruby scanned over him, his black coat was the same one he had been wearing since he first began his crusade as a notorious Gotham maniac. His hair had gone gray on the normal side of his body, but the hair on the burnt and mangled side remained stark white. It was an odd contrast. Harvey loaded the gun, moving towards Ruby, stopping in front of her stomping his foot slightly and clicking his tongue. He reached a long finger into his pocket and pulled out the coin Ruby was unfortunately familiar with.

“Last time we met, the odds were in your favor, and you got away,” he remarked. The ‘last time’ Ruby had been with Red Arrow, her best friend Lian, and they narrowly escaped without a bullet in each of their bodies. The main difference this time was that Ruby was alone, and how often are the odds twice in your favor? “Maybe I can catch a Robin by her toe this time,” Dent said. Ruby scoffed, though she felt her heart begin to pound. She had taken her tracker off before she had left, as to not be followed, but that meant there was no longer communication between her and the other Bats. Dent clicked the gun once and held it up at eye level to Ruby. “Heads, I kill you. Tails, you get to leave. Deal?”

Ruby was about to respond but bit her tongue as a mass of shadow slid down behind the two thugs, effectively taking them out in silence, going unnoticed by the man who still held the gun to Robin’s head. Elegantly, Dent flipped the coin into the air but was rather quickly distracted by the massive hand the grabbed the barrel of the gun, bending the metal with ease. The clink of the coin on the pavement snapped Ruby out of shock, and she ducked out of the way, retreating into the shadows as she watched Dent be taken down with ease by Bizarro.

Ruby sank further into the shadows, an attempt to disappear, but was taken off guard when a hand firmly grabbed her shoulder yanking her back out into the light. Red hair that cascaded down past her broad shoulders was the first thing that Ruby saw. Then the angry face of her mother. Artemis, though not Ruby’s birth mother, had taken up the title of mom when Ruby was just a little girl. The Amazon had been hesitant at first, but her love for Jason, and eventually Ruby, was stronger than the feeling of fear. And Amazons laugh at the face of fear. Ruby haunched back a bit.

“What are you doing?”  Artemis was practically seething in anger. Her green eyes, which were usually gentle when directed at Ruby, were hard and concerned. If her mother was this angry, then Ruby could only guess how angry her father was.

“Red Him angry at Baby Red,” Bizarro chimed in, his voice booming from where he stood over the thugs, and a chained Two-Face. “Very angry,” he added for emphasis. Ruby flinched, the pride she felt having washed away almost completely and replaced by regret.

Artemis grabbed her daughter by the hood of her costume, beginning to walk her to the car, wherein, Ruby was crammed against Bizarro. Artemis sped home, Two-Face had been tossed in the trunk. A quick stop to Arkham Asylum and Dent was no longer the problem at hand for Ruby- it was facing her father’s wrath. Ruby slowly slumped down into her seat as her mother ranted from the driver's seat. When they arrived home, the teen nearly refused to exit the car and enter the home. Regret had completely swallowed up her pride by the time she was slinking through the doorway of the apartment, and into the living room where Jason lounged on the couch.

“Two-Face is in Arkham now,” Artemis informed her husband, to which he nodded in response. There was a moment of complete silence in which Ruby waited for her father to say something to her, and in that time, her mother had disappeared from the room leaving the two alone. Ruby remained in the doorway until Jason motioned her over to the couch. Hesitantly, Ruby moved to sit beside him. Lowering her hood and removing her mask she waited for him to speak first, which took a painful amount of time. She knew that he was waiting on purpose- he wanted her to feel guilty, and that she did. It was his form of punishment, she supposed. It was working.

Jason ran a hand over his face, scratching at the stubble on his cheeks and jaw. His hair was standing up in all directions- he had been pulling at it more than likely, as he did when he was anxious or frustrated.

“I have been trying to think about what to say to you since I realized you had snuck off,” Jason began, his voice hard and annoyed. “But, I don’t know exactly what to say to make you realize why what you did was...wrong,” he paused again, Ruby said nothing. “So, I figured now is a good time to tell you something I have been needing to share with you. I wanted to tell you the day you became Robin, but I didn’t know if that would have done anything to sway your decision. I didn’t want to scare you, I guess,” his voice remained stiff, but there was more emotion than just annoyance as he continued.

“What?” Ruby asked, a little shocked that he wasn’t yelling at her. His reaction was far from the one she was expecting the ride home.

“When I was two years younger then you are now- fifteen- I was Robin. I had been Robin at that point for a few years, so I thought I knew what I was doing, I was far too confident and arrogant. Prideful. I didn’t listen to adults- Bruce, Alfred, Dick. Whatever, I just thought I knew better than them. I was the all-powerful Robin, nothing could hurt me, right?” Jason, once again, ran a hand over his face, his eyes focused on the ground. “I got over-confident one day and thought I could take something into my own hands, no help from anybody else. Just me. I ran off, like you did, and took on something I couldn’t handle. It turned out to be something that I wasn’t equipped to deal with on my own, someone I couldn’t deal with on my own.”

“Who?” Ruby questioned softly, her eyes staring intently at her father. Jason huffed.

“It doesn’t matter now, Ruby. But-” Jason seemed to struggle for words, something that Ruby wasn’t used to seeing. Jason was fairly well-spoken. “I died.” The room went deafeningly quiet. Ruby questioned if she heard him correctly. How could he have died? He was right in front of her, breathing, and had a beating heart. Had he gone mad since she left? “I had been killed by a bad guy. I was dead for months before Talia Al Ghul tossed me in the Lazarus Pit, and brought me back. I went through hell because I got too cocky, Ruby. My life was altered completely because I didn’t listen.”

Ruby said nothing, as she did not know what to say in response to what her father was telling her. How could that possibly be true? But why would he make up a lie like that? Ruby shook her head, mimicking Jason’s actions of running a hand over her face, and through her hair.

“A-are you making this up? Cause this sounds pretty made up. You died? That isn’t possible!” Ruby stood from the couch, adding a certain emphasis to her words. Jason watched her patiently. He couldn’t even count how many times he has told someone about his death, but none were so imminent as telling his child. Jason bit the side of his middle finger.

“I wish I was making it up Rue, but I am not. So you can imagine why I am telling you this.” Truthfully, and horrifyingly, it did not seem to Ruby that he was lying. She had so many questions if it was true. “Ruby, I can’t let anything like what happened to me, happen to you. But when you do stuff like this, that becomes hard, and frankly, it gives me a heart attack,” he chuckled breathlessly at the last part. He wasn’t laughing, he was nervous. Ruby opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to think of what to say, or how to phrase it.

“But y-you’re here? How? I don’t-” she struggled, her voice fading out and words trailing off. Jason’s mouth was pulled in a tight line, something he did when he was bothered by something.

“It doesn’t matter that I came back, it matters that I died in the first place. Me coming back was a one in a million chance, not everyone gets so lucky,” Jason said, standing up from the couch himself. “I am telling you this so you don’t make the same mistake I did.”

“You have to tell me more than what you are! Who ki-...who did it?” Ruby found herself not being comfortable saying ‘killed’ out loud.

“Ruby,” Jason started.

“Why won’t you tell me?” she hissed. Jason rolled his head back in annoyance. He knew how she would react to his answer- he never planned on getting that specific, but he also didn’t plan on raising such a stubborn daughter. He couldn’t withhold that information, he felt as if he was lying to her, and he didn’t want to do that. As he paused, his grey eyes searching her shockingly blue ones, he felt a rise in his anxiety. Once he told her, she’d stop at nothing to get justice for him. She was overprotective of him like that. Jason crossed his arms with a huff.

“Because, if I tell you, you’ll only put yourself in more danger for me,” he reasoned. She barked out a forced laugh.

“Tell me, or I will find out myself,” she demanded. She knew she had no right to demand things from him, especially after her previous actions, but she needed to know. This wasn’t something she could so easily brush off and forget about. Jason glared, but Ruby held her ground. As she always did.

“The Joker,” he finally answered.

It had been years since the Joker had been imprisoned. There were constant eyes on the clown since, but when Batman, more specifically Bruce Wayne, retired for years, the Joker disappeared. The inseparable duo, Jason thought grimly. Jason watched Ruby’s expression contort from one of distress to one of pure rage. Her ability to change moods was similar to Jason in a remarkable way. The temper she had was nearly unadulterated, despite Jason’s attempts to teach her to control it. She was too much like him to learn otherwise. At the age of seventeen, it seemed she almost did not want to. Her eyes turned hard, unblinking, and it looked as if she stopped breathing. Almost a mirrored image of Jason. Her nose scrunched up slightly in a sort of snarl, and her jaw clenched so hard it looked almost painful like she’d crack a tooth if she clenched any harder. Jason stepped forward in her direction, his hand reaching out to cup her cheek.

“Don’t get angry, I don’t need you to,” he spoke, it was a demand, but a soft one.

“I’m not angry for you, I am just angry,” she corrected.

“He’s in prison, he’s not getting out,”

“I am not just angry at him,” she said in a cold tone. “I know why you hate Bruce now, at least.”

Jason cocked his head to the side. ‘Hate’ was a strong word. He never hated Bruce, he couldn’t. Ruby seemed to misunderstand that.

“Ruby, I do not hate Bruce,” Jason said, his thumb swiping across her cheek to catch the tear that had fallen. Ruby huffed.

“Well, I think I do.”