Chapter Text
The issue with fighting Ivy is that you could end up walking home feeling like a fucking flower. Worse, Jason couldn’t do anything about it because he was covered in whatever pollen she was using this week and had to get home to decontaminate before he risked inhaling whatever it was. He was pretty sure it was something of the cuddle variety, but that didn’t mean he wanted to test it.
That shit always left him feeling achingly cold if he wasn’t around the family. Going searching for them wasn’t really something he considered an option if he was hit. Maybe it was, but he wasn’t going to.
Jason turned a corner, hoping to cut through an alley to get back to his bike so he could go home, shower, and decontaminate literally everything he had touched.
He nearly passed the person that huddled further into a corner by a dumpster, frowning behind the mask as he turned to see whoever it was. A bit smaller than him, curled in on him, arms wrapped tightly around his legs. Like he was trying to make himself smaller. A young face and-
Fuck.
Jason took a small step back from the kid, holding up his hands to show he didn’t mean any harm. That he wasn’t trying to make any sudden movements or cause problems. “Hey, you’re a bit young to be out here, you ok?” he asked, crouching down slowly so they were at the same level, eyes searching over the black teenager for any injuries.
The kid curled in further on himself, away from Jason even though he had backed up. Like Jason was threatening him. “I’m fine,” the teen ground out, hands clenching in his pants.
“You don’t look fine,” Jason pointed out, even though he couldn’t actually see any injuries. But something was definitely wrong, and he couldn’t get any closer to see what. Not without seriously spooking the kid and potentially getting one of them injured. “Do you know who I am?”
The teen seemed to finally focus on him, making Jason realize just how out of it he was. Whoever this was, he was severely out of it to not realize who he was talking to, especially with the voice modulator. “Red Hood,” he breathed softly, shoulders seeming to lose some of their tension. He didn’t move, though, hands still holding on tightly to his pants.
Jason nodded. “Right. I’m Red Hood. So that means you’ve heard that I don’t hurt kids, right?” he prompted quietly. That earned a slightly more hesitant nod, thankful that he had built a reputation for himself. “So I’m just trying to help. I’m not gonna turn you in to anyone. Ok?”
Slowly, he earned a nod. Not a fully trusting one, but he could work with that. Crime Alley kids weren’t the most trusting.
“We should probably get you out of here. Ivy was causing a ruckus a few blocks over, and with the way the wind’s been going, gonna feel even worse than you already do if you get hit by that, you know?” he said, trying to work through his thoughts out loud so that the other would know what he wanted to do. “Nothing too scary, but cuddle pollen sucks when you’re on your own.”
“Too late for that.”
“Oh, fuck, you could’ve said something sooner, kid,” he muttered, more to himself, hanging his head for a moment. That explained everything.
When he looked back up, the teen was staring at him, brows raised pointedly. Right. People in the Alley tried to take advantage of that shit. Fair enough. Even if there was reputation on his side, Jason couldn’t blame him for being on edge about it all. They didn’t know each other. It was a smart move.
Well, at least he wasn’t going to be the one to expose him to the pollen, he supposed.
“Can you get up? We should leave before you get a much bigger dose. Who knows how far Ivy’s shit is going to travel tonight,” he said, pushing himself to his feet, not offering him a hand. He was sure the pollen was all over his outer layer, he really wasn’t trying to make this worse. “And you need to get decontaminated. It’s only gonna get worse the longer you sit with it.” Gotham rain would do very little in the way of help if it came tonight.
The teen shifted a bit, frowning before pushing himself up shakily, stumbling only for Jason’s hand to shoot out to catch him.
The world went white. Jason froze, heart pounding.
“Don’t touch me,” the teen’s voice snapped out even as his vision returned, finding the boy leaning against the wall, eyes wide. Looking like all he wanted was to run with the way his eyes darted down the alley but clearly aware he wasn’t quite in the state to run anywhere.
It took a moment to breathe properly, forcing back the hints of green at the surprise.
“Sorry. Was just trying to help,” he finally managed, breath evening out. He was not going to snap on this kid just trying to get through cuddle pollen. He didn’t deserve that. “Wanna tell me what the fuck that was? Or at least a name or- anything?”
The teen’s fingers tightened in the arms of his shirt, frowning as he stared back at Jason. “Duke,” he finally offered.
Name it was then. “Come on then, Duke. There’s a safe house not far from here we can get you cleaned up in,” he said, nodding towards where his bike was another block or so away. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it was safe and they could both at least get into clean clothes before Jason headed home if Duke didn’t want him around further.
“A safe house?” Like he wasn’t sure what to make of that. Maybe he wasn’t. Jason couldn’t blame him.
“Yeah. You can stay the night there. I’ll drop you off, show you where the supplies are, make you some cocoa, and get changed myself. Can’t go roaming around with this covered in pollen,” he explained, tapping his helmet with a glove.
Duke’s eyes scanned him once more, definitely shaking a little. “And that’s it.”
“That’s it.”
“If you try anything, I’ll blind you,” Duke warned, even with a shaky voice. But it was still strong enough that it promised violence if Jason did anything untoward.
He bit back a laugh, not managing to stifle the snort. “Fair enough, kid. I’d applaud you for it,” he promised. He didn’t hurt kids, and he wanted to be taken out if he ever intentionally did. The guilt of what he’d almost done to Tim still stuck with him. “My bike isn’t far. And it’s even less to the safe house from there. Come on.”
Duke hesitated a moment longer before following after him as he walked down the alley, Jason keeping close enough that he could assist if necessary but not actually touching him. It was a silent walk, not sure what he could say that would make the other feel better. He wasn’t quite sure if Duke was from Crime Alley, but he’d definitely lived here or nearby long enough to be weary. Not in the way that rich people were, they avoided it entirely, but weary enough to not want to follow even him around. Being a crime lord did have some disadvantages…
Jason paused in front of the bike, waiting for Duke to catch up those last few steps. Well fuck. “So. You want to ride in front or hold onto me? You’ve gotta be stable enough if you want to sit behind,” he warned. He was not sending some strange, probably meta kid skidding across the pavement.
“Behind,” Duke answered immediately. Like it was an obvious answer.
His brows rose slightly, questioning, before remembering the helmet. Jason had to opt for a head tilt, hoping that it got the message across.
Enough so that he got a shrug. “You asked. If I fall off, it’s my own fault, right?” Duke continued, hands still gripping into his sleeves. Trying to control the aching emptiness that Jason knew crept under your skin when hit with cuddle pollen and no one around to help.
“Fair enough,” he said, fishing out the extra helmet to offer it up. Never let it be said that Red Hood didn’t protect people under his care.
He only waited for it to be taken before swinging a leg over, letting Duke get situated behind him. “One arm around me at a minimum,” he warned, waiting. He could not just take off and risk Duke going flying off the back.
An arm did loop around him before long, and then Duke was holding onto him like he was trying to leach heat from the other. He probably was.
Jason didn’t comment, sending them speeding through Gotham so that they could get to the nearest safe house. There was no need to run into a Bat or anyone else tonight, he could get Duke settled, find him enough blankets, and make sure he knew his choices for the night would end in safety no matter what. That was all that mattered now.
And maybe a shower, if he could manage it.