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Love doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints It takes and it takes and it takes And we keep loving anyway We laugh and we cry and we break and we make our mistakes And if there’s a reason I’m by her side When so many have tried Then I’m willing to wait for it I’m willing to wait for it
J'ai retrouvé une description de moi par moi et il faut que je le partage commenté par la moi d'aujourd'hui.
Yes, this chapter is intentionally short. Yes, there will be multiple parts. No, I don’t know how to turn comments on. Yes, you can put in an ask for me to add you to my tag list for this story. Please, tell me how to turn comments on.
Warnings: mentions of trafficking (I swear nothing terrible happens)
Over and Under the Bazaar
The kingdom of Gotham was a cruel one. Crime was higher than any neighboring kingdom and the area so large that the King’s feeble attempts to stop it never made it past Bristole. Trash and human remains littered every sandy corner, only lingering there for a day before ‘grave robbers’ came in and snatched it up, another soon taking its place. Starvation was ever so common and took the lives of many civilians, most being children whose mothers could no longer feed them. Many fathers left after the mother died and their children were left to rot and fight to survive from ages as young as 6.
The hot air was almost never ending, only taking its break during the late night, when no sane soul would dare to step out.
It is for this reason that the night was the best time for any with malicious intent to strike. This fact was as well known as any, a common knowledge for any wishing to prevent the thievery of their market goods. Merchants would lock up shop and inventory the second the air turned too cool to sweat at. This time proved not only dangerous for anyone wishing to make a profit but also those at the bottom of the chain.
Thieves, street scum, prostitutes, and every other name you could think of for someone who had no other wish but survival. This was the unfortunate case for a young boy named Jason Todd, who walked with only his name and the clothes on his back.
Yet he walked with purpose, nearly bare feet not hesitating on the burning sand of the bazaar. Though it was still early in the day, he had prolonged his hunger for far too long and could not longer wait to snatch a meal, however small it would be. Sweat and grime dug into his skin, arms and legs wavering with heat and exhaustion.
He wished he could feel the cool air on his face, gently brushing through his tangled hair. Alas, the hood and robe he wore must not come off. If it were to show even the smallest sliver of his face, he’d be immediately caught by the king’s corrupt guard, and who knows what would happen then.
As people walked past him, he ducked between the stands selling fabric, the intricately woven cloth hiding his features from any wandering eyes. Before he moved on to duck through the next strand, he slipped a short square of cloth off the stand and tucked it into his waist band, unnoticed by the distracted merchant.
He passed through several more tables, not taking anything else but a ring from a jewelry stand which he could pawn later. He was focused and determined to reach his end goal. His eyes narrowed as he found the stand he was looking for.
It wasn’t much to anyone who looked with only their eyes. Nearly stale bread, apples needing to be sold before they rot, eggs with yolkes so pale you could mistake it for foggy glass. Overall, nothing to behold and instead something to quickly walk past before the merchant tried to talk to you.
However, Jason did not just look with his eyes but with his stomach also. The pale eggs seemed rich and golden to him, the apples seeming ever so ripe and perfect. He wanted ever so badly to just sprint there and start shoving things in his mouth. To just taste even a drop of the juicy apple or the thick yolk of the egg. Though, he knew he couldn’t. He’d be caught no sooner than he could swallow. He had to plan this out carefully.
Ever so gently, he stood to his feet from his position on the floor and walked innocently to the rotten stand. The merchant noticed him instantly and grinned, being so new to the market he couldn’t tell the difference between the appearance of a customer and that of a thief. The man spoke first, excitement at the thought of selling his stock seeping into his voice
“Well, hungry are you? I imagine you’ll find lots to want here, boy. Please, do take and look and consider your purchase.”
His smile was all rotten teeth, dark yellow and corroded from years of neglect and it took everything in Jason to not let the grimace show in his expression.
“I wasn’t looking to buy anything, sir.” The gotham drawl sunk deep into his voice, “just wanted to know if you’re the man people are talking about”
At this, the merchant was confused, making hand gestures that urged Jason to elaborate, so he did, continuing to speak with his eyes wide and innocent.
“Aren’t you the guy who’s wife has been with every woman in the market? I just saw her going off with the fresh fish merchant and I wanted to know if it was you”
The mans face immediately split into rage before he yelled his curses and stomped off, eager to find the man sleeping with his face. He absence left Jason the perfect opening to take what he wished from the stand. Any merchant worth his salt would have seen through the trick and called the king’s knights on him. But this man was new, so new that any other merchant that overheard dared not to interfere, not wanting to have any ties to the foolish man.
Jason stuffed his pockets full of old bread and cheese, slipping an apple into his mouth and biting into it to keep it in place. He took a handful of blueberries, the only perfect thing on the stand, and wrapped it in the cloth his stole earlier, slipping into his pocket.It would definitely hold him over for another week as long as he was careful to ration it.
Quickly after this, Jason safely departed to his hideout, ready to hide away the food until it was needed. His slipped the hood off his head and put a skip in his walk. Wasn’t it perfect today? Free food and he didn’t even get caught!
.
At this moment, Jason would like to go out and make a public statement that it was not his fault he jinxed himself and that he would like to publicly apologize to anyone who took his earlier celebration as a threat.
Currently, Jason was cornered between an alley wall and a gang of 5 burly men, each holding either a knife or net. Trafficking was unfortunately common in Crime Alley and apparently, these men saw Jason as the perfect fit for whatever they wanted from him. The apple had long since fallen out of his mouth when he began running from the men. He would have gone back to pick it up but the men were gaining on him and he was forced to keep running.
This worked against him though as his focus remained on his lost apple and he unknowingly cornered himself by running into an alleyway far from anyone that could help him. The men themselves were fairly large but also young, wearing thick, hooded cloaks that shielded their eyes from the harsh sun. The two men with the curved knives were moving in front of the others, arms outstretched to grab him as the men behind kept the net steady. Jason tensed, his tightened fists digging his nails into his palms.
“C’mere kid. You don’ gotta make this hard. If you’re one of ‘em lucky ones, you might even get a rich fella. Ain’t that nice?”
“Fuck you!” Jason snarled
The man Jason supposed to be their leader, strung in tattoos, barked out a laugh.
“Well, that wasn’t ‘ery kind, was it?”
“Neither is this!”
Wide blue eyes darted around the alley, searching for any possible way of escape as he racked his brain for ideas. When Jason came up empty, he swore under his breath and switched to the last thing he could think of. Was it stupid? Incredibly. Was it more likely to get him killed? Oh, absolutely. Was he gonna do it anyway? Of course he is.
“I don’t think you wanna do that, mister”
The man poorly crafted sincere expression crumbled into confusion before spreading into amusement, the other men following suit.
“Yeah? And why do ya say that, kid? What, you gonna call for your mommy? Gonna tell her to save ya from the big, bad man?”
They all split into laughter, some finding it so humorous that they nearly dropped onto the floor in a mix of laughter and coughing. Jason felt the dread rise into his throat, gripping his airways in a manner that made him want to claw at his chest until he could breathe normally again. Tears fought at the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill as his voice suddenly felt too weak to form strong and confident sentences. His false bravado was gone and he could only do so much to salvage his escape attempt.
“Because my dad- is uh- my dad is the bat! Yeah, he’s Batman! So- unless you wanna- you wanna mess with him, you better leave me alone!”
It didn’t seem like it was possible for the men to be laughing any harder.
“Yeah, kid?” The man spoke between his wheezes “your papa gonna hurt us? The bat is your daddy, huh?”
This was it. Jason was going to be caught. He spent so long surviving on the streets just to get caught trying to eat breakfast.
What else could he do? They’d catch him, tie him down, and sell him to whatever buyer put a bid worthy of a dirty, street rat. No, he couldn’t. He- he didn’t want this, no
“Is there a problem, gentlemen?”
The voice came from above the alleyway, Jason and the men looking up to see who it came from. The voice light but firm all the same, laced in a facade of joy with a nearly blinding smile, something dark beneath it.
Nightwing, Bludhaven’s knight.
The men stuttered backward, only the foolish man in front standing ground.
“It’s none of ya business, ya damn bird. What, you tryin to meddle in our matters? Stay the hell out of it!” He barked, hands shaking despite his tone.
“I think it is seeing how that’s my brother you’re cornering”
The blue and black bat swept down and jumped straight into combat with the other men.
A bit of hope swelled in Jason’s heart before dying out as soon as it came.
Nightwing only hurt bad guys, like murderers and traffickers.
And thieves.
No
No, he was playing along-
Which meant that he was gonna take Jason too.
The people he would be sold would be terrible, vile in every way for even thinking about buying a child for personal pleasure, let alone actually doing it.
But Nightwing? He would play a show of being his brother to save him then take Jason for himself. All the bats were scary. They were also huge and could easily overpower him, not like that was hard to do.
Maybe
Maybe he could slip away while they fought? Find a way to climb onto the out-of-reach fire escape…
Jason could barely debate this before the fight was over, Nightwing victorious. The bat turned to Jason and approached cautiously, he stance held at a light crouch and relaxed, seemingly trying not to intimidate the young boy.
“Hey kid. You alright? Did they do anything? Where are your parents? Are they around here somewhere” the man looked around, as if attempting to search for them
Or checking for witnesses
The questions barely registered in his mind as the tears he’d been trying to hard to push down finally slipped out, streaming in waterfalls down his face. The heavy tears washed through the dirt on his face as Nightwing turned back and panicked.
“Woah, kid. It’s okay, they can’t hurt you anymore, I promise” the man kneeled down to Jason’s level and out his hands on the other’s shoulders, attempting to ground him “they’re, uh, asleep. You don’t have to cry”
The touch could barely make him flinch as the horror flashing across his face, every coherent thought turning into pleading babbles.
“Please-please, I’m sorry. What- whatever it is, im so sorry- no, no no - stop- please” his breath was coming in short gasps,“im sorry- sorry sorry- don’t do it- please - don’t you- don’t do it. I’ll leave and- and I’ll never come back”
It was like Nightwing’s face shuttered, flashing between so many different expressions before settling on one of sympathy.
“No, no kid. Nothing is going to happen, I-“ he took a deep breath. “Breathe for a second. What’s your name?”
His name?
His name. He wanted his name, he could do that.
“Jason”
“Jason, no one is going to hurt you, okay? No one will touch you. I’m just going to call some nice knights to find your parents okay? You’ll be back home in no time, I swear”
No, no.
Nightwing wasn’t going to take him for himself, he was going to hand him over.
To the corrupt knights of Gotham.
The ones who paid the kids on street corners and took them away for a night.
The ones who arrested innocents just for being good looking so they could get time with them.
The ones who had sold his mother the drugs that got her killed.
He couldn’t, no, he wouldn’t.
As soon as Nightwing got up and took his hands off him, Jason booked it across the alleyway, took a sharp turn, and ran.
Ran till he could hide from the ones whose eyes watched Gotham.
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