Chapter Text
Jason sat in his room, carefully holding the box he received earlier in the day. He had honestly not expected anything when he walked his old neighborhood, just needing a bit of relief after everything that had happened lately.
He clenched his fists as Bruce’s disappointed look flashed through his mind. He may have wanted to kill that man, but he would never actually do it. Why couldn’t Bruce believe him?
Shaking his head, he focused on the here and now once again. The box in front of him held stuff his mom had kept safe for him, even after the grave. With careful reverence, he opened it. He carefully pulled out and inspected each item.
There were old report cards, a lock of his hair in an envelope labeled “J’s First Haircut”, homemade Mother’s Day cards, a few photos, and Willis’s address book. He teared up a few times, remembering when he made those cards or when the pictures were taken. Those had been good days, before his mom had gotten sick and fell into using drugs.
As he got to the bottom, there were signs of water damage. A few documents were partially rotted, but still legible. He finally got to the last document. Unfolding it, he found his birth certificate. It was almost half rotted away, so Jason almost missed the birth mother’s line, where there was an innocent ‘S’ still legible.
It was as if he had been dunked into a tub of cold water. Mom’s name was Catherine. He was Jason Todd-Wayne, son of Catherine Todd. But that wasn’t true, because the truth was in front of him. Placing the birth certificate down, unable to fully register this discovery, he spotted a white piece of paper in a plastic bag resting in the corner of the box.
After the birth certificate, he wasn’t sure what else he could handle. But, as he got the paper out of the baggie, he saw it was Mom’s—Catherine’s handwriting. It was a letter for him.
He put the letter back into the bag, not ready to look at it just yet. This was too much.
He put everything back in the box, the certificate and the letter on top. He’d deal with it tomorrow.
He ate dinner that night, listless. His mind was too absorbed by the sudden change in his foundational beliefs about himself. Bruce was away on a Justice League mission and Alfred always claimed that a butler shouldn’t eat with the Family. So, there was nothing to distract him.
After dinner, he went to bed early, well aware of the fact that he was not allowed to go out and act as Robin. If he tried, Alfred would give him another one of those disappointed looks and tut at him, making him feel far worse than any of Bruce’s lectures.
Waking the next morning, he felt a bit better. He had another parent out there, one that he could have a fresh start with! He opened the box to pull out the certificate. The letter was on top.
Jason hesitated. Even if he had another mom out there, Catherine had cared for him like he was hers (he’d certainly had no idea otherwise). He owed it to her to at least read her last words.
With a sigh, he opened the plastic bag, once again pulling out the letter.
He braced himself as he opened it.
My Dearest Jason,
If you are reading this, then I am gone and my instructions have been carried out. Firstly, I want you to know how much I love you. I know these last few years have been hard on you. I tried to beat this, I really did. I’m sorry I couldn’t.
Secondly, I’m sure you’ve found your birth certificate and have seen that, as much as I love you and have raised you, I didn’t give birth to you. Sheila, your birth mother, was not willing to be your mother at the time. She gave you to us happily.
That brings me to my next point. Willis admitted to me one night, early on, when he was quite drunk that he was not your birth father. He told me that Sheila trapped him into caring for you, as she thought your birth father was not well suited to fatherhood. Once his name was on the birth certificate, it was much harder for him to deny you. And he knew I wanted you, so I agreed to keep his secret.
Your birth father’s name is Flynn Carsen, should you wish to seek him out. As far as I know, he is unaware of you.
I love you so much, my dear boy. No matter your decision on what to do with this information, please know that you have my blessing.
Love,
Your Mother, Catherine Todd
Jason cried as he finished the letter. He had done his best to deal with the revelation that his mom wasn’t his mother, but now Willis wasn’t his sperm donor?
It was too much.
Jason took several deep breaths, needing to keep himself calm.
He looked at the letter again. There were names. He was the son of Flynn Carsen and Sheila. That was a start.
Remembering Willis’s address book, he rifled through the box once again. Pulling it out, he pumped his fist in success. He flipped through it, looking for any Sheilas. He found one—Sheila Haywood. He circled the name in joy.
He went down to eat a quick breakfast before heading down to the Batcave. Alfred had gone out to buy groceries, so he had enough alone time to find out what he needed to without needing to sneak.
He searched the Batcomputer for information on his birth parents. The computer was quick and brought up several sources of information.
It seemed Sheila was a Gotham native, one that became a medical doctor and was currently doing relief work in Ethiopia. How the hell someone like that knew Willis Todd, even think he was a good choice for a father, was beyond Jason. Maybe they knew each other when they were young? Back before Willis was truly awful? Either that or his sperm donor was even worse.
With tension building in him, Jason moved on to the information about his father.
The man was far from what he had expected.
Given Willis was supposed to be the better choice, Jason was prepared for the worst. But the guy was far from that. Jason blinked, wanting to make sure he didn’t misread. Nope, the guy had twenty-seven degrees and was a doctor multiples times over. This was the guy his birth mother thought wouldn’t be a good dad, but Willis Todd was?
Okay, it was clear that, despite her good works, Sheila was a poor judge of character. Given Batman’s current mission and the Joker’s actions, Jason wouldn’t be surprised if, on the odd chance they ran into each other, she trusted that wacko.
Jason shuddered at the thought. Nah, she was from Gotham and was smart enough to make something of herself. She would know better than to trust the Joker.
He took another look at Flynn Carsen’s file. Though the man did a lot of traveling, he was employed as a librarian at the Metropolitan Public Library in New York.
A plan formed in Jason’s mind. Since Flynn was closer, he could go meet him. It wouldn’t take more than an hour or two to get there. Hell, if things didn’t work out, he’d be back the same night, no one the wiser!
If things didn’t work out, then Jason would consider Sheila. Surely poor taste in people wasn’t the worst thing about a person.
Plan made, Jason began to hash out the finer details. He packed his bag, grabbing a few mementos and some clothes, along with enough cash to cover him going to New York and back (thank fuck Bruce gave him a huge allowance. He could never spend it all, so he’d had a healthy piggy bank, even after donating regularly.)
He finished writing a note for Alfred, explaining that he’d gone to find his birth parent (it would be found the next morning when Alfred came in to take his laundry, assuming he was gone that long.)
That done, Jason called a taxi to take him to the bus station, feeling hopeful about his upcoming adventure.
***
Jason walked through the library’s doors, taking a moment to admire the architecture. While he would forever have a fondness for Gotham’s aesthetic, the classic features that represented hundreds of years of history for this library spoke to him in a way that Jason felt deep in his soul.
Once he focused back onto his mission, he looked around again. This time, it was for someone who could help him. Spotting the front desk, he walked up confidently.
“How can I help you?” The librarian asked. It was a woman with dark hair and kind eyes.
“I’m looking for someone that works here? His name is Flynn Carsen.”
Was it him or did the librarian in front of him become suspicious?
“What is this about? Maybe I could help you.”
Yep, there was suspicion in her tone. Jason wondered what this was about. Flynn’s file didn’t say much about his job. He did travel a lot on behalf of the library. He probably did a lot of rare book buying for the library. Maybe he made a few enemies in acquisitions?
“It is a matter of a personal nature.” Jason did his best to look confident. “I need to speak to him about it.”
“Uh huh.” There was a slightly skeptical eyebrow. “Okay, well, you’ll need to talk to Charlene then. She’ll know where he’s at at the moment.”
“Okay, where’s Charlene?”
The librarian stepped out from behind the desk.
“Come with me.” The suspicious nature was still there, but it was lesser. The librarian smiled at him and beckoned for him to follow.
She led him through the library and up a huge staircase. Once up the staircase, they went down a bit to the left, before going past a few rows of shelves, filled with beautiful books that Jason’s hands itched to explore. Once past them, there was a woman at a desk.
“There she is.” The librarian pointed towards the woman at the desk.
“Thank you.”
He gave a smile he hoped was charming. It must have worked, because the woman relaxed a fraction and gave him one in return.
“Hi I’m” He began before being cut off.
“I told Flynn not to order take out for here.” She waved a couple twenties in his face. “Here, just leave the food, take it, and go.” She sounded exasperated.
“I-I’m not take out.” He stuttered out.
The woman put the money down and focused a piercing gaze at him. And he thought the librarian that brought him here had looked suspicious. She was a kitten compared to Charlene.
“Then why are you here?”
The question was neutral, at least.
“I’m looking for Flynn Carsen. I was told you could help me.”
The woman gave him a once over.
“Are you a student, wanting his help? Just because he does guest lectures, doesn’t mean he has time to be a full-time mentor.”
“No, I’m not a student.” Jason was starting to get nervous. Was Flynn even here? He could be traveling. Not to mention Charlene seemed to be going out of her way to keep him from seeing Dr. Carsen. “I need to speak with him. About personal business.”
“And just what is this personal business?”
Jason was almost ready to tear out his hair, he was so nervous.
“It’s personal.” He tried to insist.
“Flynn Carsen and I have worked together for years. You don’t see him unless I let you.” Charlene’s tone brooked no nonsense. “So I need something a little better than that.”
Wordlessly, and out of options, Jason handed her Catherine Todd’s letter.
He watched as she opened it and read the lines. He saw the moment she found his reason for being there, watching her eyes widen. She looked up at him, back down to the letter, and then back to him, gently setting down the letter.
“I will go fetch him. You just stay here.” Her tone wasn’t suspicious anymore. It almost sounded excited.
Jason found a nearby chair and settled himself. He waited, pulling out his copy of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen to read a quick page or two.
He ended up reading ten pages before he heard Charlene’s heels click on the floor, along with the tread on men’s shoes. Jason closed his book in an instant, looking up at the man at Charlene’s side.
Flynn Carsen was dressed like a cliche college professor, with a tweed jacket and baggy shirt and pants. Jason noted that, despite this, the man wore sensible running shoes. Looking at his face, Jason looked for himself. He cataloged his nose and eye shape. Though the hair was lighter, the texture was the same.
As he looked at the man, there was a shocked look on his face. That continued as Charlene handed him Catherine’s letter. That seemed to pull Flynn from his shock, as he gained a calculating look as he scanned the page.
“Sheila Haywood. I remember her!” Flynn handed the letter back to Charlene and began gesticulating. “It was an arranged blind date! She was a med student, I was studying for my second doctorate! We went on three dates before it fell through!” Flynn gesticulated so hard, he turned his whole body towards Jason. He paused, as if registering Jason’s presence. He knelt slightly, placing his hands on Jason’s shoulders. “I had no idea. And now you found me? That’s fantastic! I have a son! I have a son.” The last sentence was said in a disbelieving, questioning tone.
“I assume you’re Flynn?” Jason stammered out, feeling oddly shy after all that.
Flynn laughed.
“Yeah, sorry. I’m Flynn Carsen. And you’re Jason…Todd?” Flynn glanced back at the letter, still being held by Charlene.
“Yep, Jason Todd.” He wondered if he should have said Todd-Wayne, since Bruce did go through the formal adoption. But that seemed a world away and right now, he just wanted to get to know this excitable man with more degrees than Jason thought possible.
“It is so nice to meet you, Jason.” Flynn stood. “Charlene, I’m taking the rest of the day off.”
“I’ll let Judson know.” Charlene replied, handing the letter back to Jason and returning to her desk. She quickly returned to her typing.
“C’mon, I know a great burrito place a few blocks from here.” They walked down the hall, back down the stairs, and out the door.
The whole time, Flynn rambled. It was nice.
By the time they got to the burrito place (a tiny building with a few tables and amazing smells), Jason knew that Flynn had just returned from Chile just earlier that day, he had a grandmother that would have adored him that passed away five years previously, Flynn had worked as a librarian for the last eight years, and had a huge variety of interests.
They ordered their food (Flynn insisted on paying) and sat down.
Feeling awkward, Jason wasn’t sure what to say. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunate), Flynn had no problem starting a conversation.
“So, the letter said that your mom passed. I’m sorry.” The suddenly sober tone was a bit of a shock after the jovial rambling and occasional exclamation.
“It was years ago.” As he said it, there was a lump in his throat.
“Still doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. I understand.” The seriousness continued. Jason remembered him mentioning his own mom passing. Suddenly, Flynn clapped his hands. “So, where have you been since then? If you’ve been in foster homes, I can see about getting custody.”
Jason’s heart was full at that. Such simple acceptance after Bruce’s judgemental glances was amazing to Jason.
“I lived on the streets for a couple years before being taken in by a billionaire.” Flynn looked shocked at that. Jason really hoped the man wasn’t fond of rags to riches stories. The condescending tones from judgemental people using the term had given Jason a huge fucking dislike of the phrase.
“Wow. Okay, and you still wanted to meet me?”
Jason shrugged, blushing at the awe in his father’s tone.
“Just because someone has money doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing.”
Flynn nodded, before getting a dark look on his face.
“He hasn’t hit you, has he? Because statistics for abuse and neglect in higher income households—”
“No, he never laid a hand on me.” Jason cut off Flynn before the man told him the latest statistical analyses on bad parents. He took a deep breath. “I messed up and I can tell he regrets taking me in.”
Flynn took a minute to answer, which was surprising to Jason. He took a chance to bite into the burrito, now perfectly cooled. It was as delicious as promised.
“Adults have a lot going on. I’m sure it wasn’t you. From what I’ve seen, you’re perfectly nice.”
Jason just barely held in his snort. He was mid-chew and that would not have felt good.
Perfectly nice, what a compliment.
“Why don’t we get a hold of him? I’m sure he’s missing you like crazy right now.”
Jason swallowed.
“He’s out of the country on business. He’s hard to get a hold of right now. Alfred won’t even notice I’m gone until tomorrow.”
“Alfred?”
“The butler. He’s practically B’s dad.”
“I’m assuming B is your foster dad.”
Jason nodded.
“Bruce Wayne.”
Flynn looked befuddled for a minute, as if trying to recall the name. Jason supposed that was a normal thing outside of Gotham. In Gotham, everyone knew Bruce Wayne.
“Okay, so will I be charged for kidnapping? Because I’d rather not be.”
What?
“I left a note, saying I was seeking you out. I’ve got my phone.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket for emphasis.
“Alright. You can stay with me until your foster dad gets back or the butler calls. I’m sure they’ll be very worried about you.”
Jason nodded reluctantly.
“So, why did you seek me out? I know you said there were issues, but running away to find a birth parent that may have chosen to give you up in the first place seemed pretty risky.”
Jason’s throat tightened. He gave a small cough.
“I messed up. I wanted to do something bad and, even though I didn’t do it, somebody got killed. B thinks I did it, despite promising not to. He doesn’t believe me.”
Flynn looked at him with a deep scrutiny.
“That’s a pretty heavy issue. That said, I’m sure he doesn’t blame you. You’re only a kid.”
Jason shrugged, unconvinced. Not wanting to talk about it more, he took a huge bite of his burrito.
Flynn raised an eyebrow, but took a bite of his own burrito.
***
Flynn sat in the slightly dusty apartment, suddenly glad he had taken Judson’s advice and not moved permanently into the Library. Keeping his mother’s apartment had been more akin to keeping a storage space, his own bedroom having stacks of his books and a bed that he occasionally crashed on. He had given up his own apartment when his mom first got sick. The rest of the apartment was partly just like his mom had left it, partly packed up and replaced with more books of his own. The one untouched place was his mother’s bedroom.
So that was where he put Jason for the night.
Jason. Okay, now that he had the kid fed and taken care of, Flynn could properly freak out.
So he did.
He had a son, a living, breathing, human son that he had helped create.
He couldn’t help but think about all of those hints his mother made over the years in an attempt to have him settle down, often citing wanting grandchildren to spoil. And now here was one in her room.
He wanted to cry over the irony.
He remembered Sheila. Aside from his near perfect recall, Sheila was not the type of woman that was easy to forget. They had initially bonded over not wanting to be on the date in the first place. He had been tricked into it, thinking he was going to take his mom out to celebrate her promotion at work and Sheila had been guilted into it by her roommate. They ended up getting along enough to go to bed once or twice. But as soon as they had satisfied the interested parties, they called it quits with no regrets.
He had kept up on her achievements a few times over the years, hearing about her graduating and her name had been mentioned as doing good work in war-torn countries. He thought he may have heard about a scandal a few years back, but he wasn’t sure of the details.
He wondered if she had done the same, if seeing him act as a perpetual student, collecting degrees over the years, never settling, was why she never contacted him. It made sense.
That didn’t stop the hurt in his chest.
He looked over at the door to his mom’s room, to Jason. He already loved this boy, so bright and curious, despite clearly not having the best life. At least he had managed well in the end, staying with a foster parent that could supply for his basic needs.
Though, given what Jason had said earlier that day, perhaps the needs weren’t enough. Not that Flynn would be any better. The demands of being the Librarian had ruined so many potential relationships, had kept him on the move. Could he really try to raise a teenager while doing it? Especially because he knew that the false explanations or even lack of them would leave Jason as disappointed as all of his previous relationships, both romantic and familial, had been.
Flynn didn’t know what to do.
He sighed. Likely, the butler would know in the morning and call Jason (there was a butler . Jason would be okay, he reminded himself).
With that thought, Flynn shook his head and grabbed a book for some light reading before bed.
***
Three days passed and there had been no word. Jason looked down at the phone, willing it to ring.
As he checked the phone to see if he had missed a call due to sleep, his heart sank as he gained further proof that he had been right. There was no way Alfred had missed his disappearance for this long. He would have gotten through to Bruce on the emergency line. They would have tracked his phone and found him if they couldn’t simply call.
But there was nothing.
He got up, needing to get his mind off of this. He decided to make breakfast.
As he stepped into the kitchen, he found a note from Flynn stating that there had been a minor emergency at the Library (why Flynn had insisted on capitalizing it, he had no idea) and had to leave early.
That would leave Jason alone with his thoughts. Nope, he wasn’t going to do that.
Jason decided that, since Flynn wasn’t here for breakfast, it didn’t mean he couldn’t take breakfast to him. So, Jason whipped up a few omelets, and a couple slices of bacon. He packed it up in some of the prettier Tupperware containers (because breakfast deserved the extra attention to detail, fuck anyone that said otherwise), and locked up the apartment, holding onto the emergency key Flynn had given him after that first day.
As he walked to the library (he didn’t know the subway system yet and he had traveled farther as Robin), he thought about what kind of things counted as “minor emergencies” to librarians. It beat thinking about anything else and he had fun thinking up fun scenarios and then impossible ones. After thinking up the image of the stone guardians outside the Library coming to life and rampaging through, scaring patrons, he shook his head. It was a library, for fuck’s sake!
As he finally came up to the building, he patted the stone creatures at the bottom for good measure and then walked up cheerily.
He remembered the route to Charlene’s desk, so he started towards it, not even glancing towards the help desk, lest someone stop him for bringing food into the library (he wasn’t sure if it was allowed or not, given Charlene’s reaction to thinking he was a food delivery guy the other day, so he hurried along with the idea that it was allowed).
He got partway there when Flynn came flying past him, distracted and clearly in a rush. Jason pivoted and followed. Flynn quickly sensed he was being followed, though, so Jason hid himself when the man turned around. Once he had begun walking again, Jason fell into his Robin training and kept a further distance, following him with little trouble.
After a minute, Flynn got into a cab with a bag he had been carrying. Jason quickly got into another, feeling a bit foolish asking the cabbie to follow Flynn’s ride. The cabbie gave him a clear look of skepticism. If it wasn’t for Jason flashing his allowance money, the man would have likely refused him outright. Instead, he sighed and followed the cab.
A few minutes in, Jason’s phone went off. Hopeful, he pulled out his phone. His heart sank a bit as he saw it was Flynn.
“Hello?”
“Jason, hey! I’ve got some bad news buddy. I’ve tried to get out of this, but the library is insisting on sending me out of the country for a book. I’m so sorry.”
The man sounded genuine. Jason couldn’t help but compare it to Bruce. The first few times it happened with Bruce, usually for Justice League missions, he had sounded genuinely sorry too. Then, as time went on, it became more like a standard status update, more run-of-the-mill. He had missed someone sounding like this.
“It happens. If B or Alfred call or show up while you’re gone, what should I do?” After three days, Jason wasn’t betting highly on it. Three days of silence made things pretty clear. But, there was still a possibility.
“If they will, I’ll explain the situation and that you wanted to make sure they could still find me.” Jason lied. Bruce and Alfred could find him anywhere in the world.
They said their goodbyes and he hung up. They were approaching the airport. Jason paid the guy and gave a decent tip before getting out and looking around for Flynn. He spotted him just as he disappeared. Jason began a jog to catch up. Fortunately, in a busy airport, getting caught as a tail was a lot harder. He was able to catch up in no time. He followed for a few minutes before seeing which gate he was going to. Once he had that noted, he checked the flight times, cross referencing them with the amount of time needed to go through security and current time. There was only one flight.
He rifled through his backpack, pulling out the tupperware in order to keep the food intact (he was glad he hadn’t made pancakes like he originally planned, no syrup to cause issues in security). There was his passport and more of his saved allowance. There was enough for a flight ticket.
He went over to one of the terminals and bought a ticket for the flight. Since Flynn was likely to be in business class (or economy if the library was cheap), Jason splurged on first class (thank you Bruce and your ridiculous ideas of allowances). Once he had it printed, he went through security (remembering to throw away the plasticware beforehand) and did his best to keep his distance from Flynn until it was time to board.
*****
Bruce frowned as he looked over the information. It had been a few days since Alfred called him and told him that Jason had run away. The two of them had gone through everything left behind, including the birth certificate, Jason’s note, and the address book. The address book had the best lead, giving three names that started with “S”. One had been circled, but Bruce knew he needed to eliminate the others. It was possible that someone else had circled the name completely unrelated to Jason’s search.
He hoped that hadn’t been the case, given the occupations of the first two candidates. A Mossad spy was always troublesome. And Lady Shiva…
Bruce shuddered. It was fortunate she was willing to talk and said he was the first arrival in several months.
That left the circled name, Sheila Haywood. According to the search on the Batcomputer (he scolded Jason so many times on leaving research open on the computer, but he was quite happy his son had ignored him this time, when every second counted), Sheila was a doctor involved with charity care in Ethiopia. While it wasn’t the same country as the Joker and his plans, it was still too close for comfort.
He had made it to the area that Haywood was said to be working out of without issue. The tents and people gave away that it was the right location. So, he began to work, looking for a woman that fit the description. There were a few blonde women, but none of them quite matched perfectly or were nurses instead of Doctors or answered to a different name.
In the end, Batman was forced to make contact, asking for Haywood’s location. Once the person he asked got over their shock of seeing Batman far from Gotham, they were extremely helpful. He had only missed Sheila Haywood by thirty minutes, as she had left to deliver medical supplies.
He left in the direction of the tracks, flying overhead in the Batcopter, pushing the speed. He felt the adrenaline pump more and more through him as he crossed every mile, getting closer to Jason.
Then, the worst happened.
He could see the explosion light up the sky, feeling the heat through the batcopter. He set down, hoping he wasn’t too late.
There was the Joker, laughing at the explosion.
“What did you do?” He demanded, clenching his fists, hating that he couldn’t lay a hand on the Joker at the moment.
“Why Batsy! You came? I’m honored.” Giving a bow, the Joker looked towards the flames. “I’ve simply been tying up some loose ends, you know how it is.”
The smirk Joker gave left Batman with a tight feeling in his gut.
Batman ran towards the flames, intent on finding Jason. He spotted the body of a blonde woman—Sheila Haywood—lying there with a bullet to the head. Frantically, Batman continued to look around, using his rebreather to keep from passing out. He found no body. A small hope began to grow within Batman. Perhaps Jason hadn’t made contact before Sheila left.
That hope died away as he looked at what must have been the epicenter for the explosion. There was blood. Too much to have been accidental. The Joker would have had to strap someone right on the incendiary devices for that much blood.
Batman stepped out of the tent in a daze. The Joker had left, not that Batman would have been able to do anything. But he didn’t even have a body to—
He cut that thought off. Instead, he called Alfred.
“Haywood is dead. She was working with the Joker.” He informed Alfred. “If Jay was in there—” His voice grew tight. “If Jay was in there, there was no body left. We need confirmation.”
“I understand sir.” Alfred voice said, a noticeable tremble in it. “Calling his cell phone now.”
Batman held his breath as he could hear Alfred dialing. Jason often turned the locator in his phone off, citing wanting privacy, so Bruce hadn’t tried to track him through that. And he had wanted to talk to his son face-to-face. Given he felt the need to run away, Bruce doubted he would pick up. Face-to-face would have been best.
“The number you have dialed is not currently working right now. Please hang up and try again.” The automated voice stated.
“Try again.” Batman ordered.
So Alfred did.
And again.
And again.
“Stop.” He finally ordered.
There was no doubt now. Jason’s cell phone had been destroyed in the blast as well. His son was dead.
***
Jason had managed to avoid Flynn the entire flight and even kept a tail on him for a fair distance before his luck ran out.
It was only after Flynn left the cab and was partly down a trail that Jason was even noticed.
“What are you doing here?” Flynn demanded, coming out of nowhere.
Jason jerked in surprise. He thought Flynn hadn’t even noticed him as the man sat in a cantina. Unfortunately, in jerking, Jason fell backwards, landing on his backpack. Hearing a crunch, he sighed.
“I followed you.”
Might as well be honest. It wasn’t like Jason couldn’t handle whatever Flynn had to do to get his rare book. It was probably kiddie stuff compared to Gotham.
“Why?” Flynn asked as Jason opened the backpack to inspect the damage.
The food was intact, but his cell phone had been crushed. Cursing up a storm, Jason pulled out the cell phone pieces, prying them open to keep the sim card.
“Because I wanted to bring you breakfast.” Jason said, a little glib, pointing at the tupperware.
“Long way to go for a breakfast, kid.” Flynn was kneeling down, helping him pack the food back into the backpack.
“I saw you leave and I didn’t want to be on my own.” Jason admitted.
Flynn gave a small smile at that.
“As nice as the sentiment is, what about your family?”
Jason sobered.
“It’s been three days.” He reminded Flynn. “On top of that, if they wanted to find me, they could have. I know how to take a hint.”
Jason lowered his face, feeling the tears in his eyes.
Flynn gathered him in a hug.
“I’m sorry Jace. Maybe they’re just wanting to give you some space. Maybe they’re waiting for you at home right now.”
Jason snorted, but didn’t let go of the hug.
After a minute, Flynn let go and got up. Jason followed suit.
“Alright, I’ve got a room at a local hotel ready. You can stay there with me until this job is over. But you will stay at the hotel.”
Jason immediately began protesting.
“Jace.” Flynn looked serious. “Jason, I know you’ve been through a lot recently, but this is about your safety.”
“Look, if I promise I can defend myself, can I go? I’m perfectly safe, I promise.” Jason winced as he could hear a hint of a whine come out on the last few words.
Flynn sighed.
“Nope, I can’t risk you in all good conscience, no matter how good you are in self-defense.” Flynn tugged Jason’s sleeve. “Now come on, we’ll get you settled at the hotel.”