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Jason was so stupid. This was the fucking dumbest thing he’s ever done and will ever do. He’s so sure of that.
What was so stupid? Bringing the replacement back to his fuckass apartment. The replacement that had been fucking brainwashed and now thought he was the clown’s kid. And he did not trust whatever Bruce was gonna do to him.
What made it worse was that the kid was just.. sitting there. He expected the brat to be.. well, a brat. Especially cause he just shot his “Dad” (gross). But, he just.. sat there.
God, it was hard to look at him For one, he looked like a mini Joker. Stupid ass green hair and makeup and ripped up suit. But he also looked.. so sad. So hurt.
He was smiling, but it never reached his eyes. He looked like he wasn’t there fully, and those scars along his mouth were definitely gonna get infected if he didn’t clean them.
“Replacement,” Jason said, keeping his eyes locked on the kid. He didn’t move.
“Tim,” he tried again. Still nothing.
“Hello?” he asked with a sigh, getting annoyed now.
“Junior. JJ,” the boy said, looking straight into the void, his eyes empty of emotion.
Jason was.. a little taken aback. He sounded so broken, but also… Junior? JJ? Seriously?
“Fine, Junior. Whatever,” he rubbed his temples, getting a little frustrated, “you’re gonna have to change out of those dirty ass clothes.”
Junior finally looked at Jason. Oh, ew. He didn’t like that. It made his skin crawl.
“Don’t have anything, silly. You took me,” JJ said with a big smile.
Jason growled softly, walking into his bedroom for a moment to grab a spare change of clothes. He tossed them at Ti- Junior.
“Here. Change.”
Junior didn’t look impressed. Then again, he didn’t look like anything. He grabbed the clothes and went to the bathroom, changing. He looked like he was on autopilot.
When the door opened, he looked a little more normal. A little being the keyword here.
“Alright, we’re getting that stupid makeup off of you,” Jason declared as he joined JJ in the bathroom, turning the faucet on. One the water was warm, he tried to splash the kid’s face.
Junior backed away, his face showing emotion for the first time. “No!”
“The fuck do you mean ‘no’?”
“Keeping the makeup!”
“You’re not- oh my God. You’re not keeping that stupid makeup on. It’s gonna get into your scars.”
“No! I look like Papa! Get in trouble if I dontttt!” JJ declared in a sing-song voice.
Okay, so now he was just saying random shit. Got it. Great. Perfect.
Jason gritted his teeth and sighed. Don’t yell, don’t yell dammit. He’s been through something very traumatic. He was with Joker. Course he isn’t gonna be coherent. He grabbed a towel and ran it under the water.
“Junior. Stay still,” Jason said, his voice low and stern, but not unkind.
“No!” JJ argued back, running back into the living room. Jason followed him.
Luckily for Jason and unluckily for JJ, Jason was about 3 times bigger and stronger and faster than the kid. He was able to grab the kid and wipe the makeup off.
That doesn’t mean it was easy. Junior was screaming his little head off so much that Jason was nervous that he might hurt his throat. He’s definitely getting a noise complaint. Fuckkkk.
“Oh calm down, it doesn’t hurt,” Jason muttered through a clenched jaw. Junior struggled and tried to claw at Jason’s face.
After what seemed like an eternity (it was probably 20 minutes realistically), the makeup was mostly off. Junior looked pissed, but who cares. Patching the kid up was easier, surprisingly. He kinda became a ragdoll. Jason couldn’t tell if he should be thankful or concerned.
Now adorned with face bandages and new clothes, Junior sat on the couch and went back to staring into nothingness. Jason turned in the TV, trying to distract himself.
But, of course, that didn’t last long. He looked over at the kid and he was crying silently. Great.
“Ay, what’s wrong now,” Jason asked with a sigh.
“..What’s wrong with me,” Junior mumbled, his voice soft and shaky. He wasn’t smiling anymore. He looked so.. so defeated.
Jason sat up, narrowing his eyes. “Hey, kid,” he said, his voice unnaturally soft, “You’re okay.”
“‘m a freak now,” JJ—maybe it was Tim now?—whispered, tears falling down his cheeks. “He ruined me.”
Jason just.. stared. What else was he supposed to do? He didn’t know how to comfort kids, especially not kids he had tried to kill himself.
“..Junior-“ he started.
“I wish he had just killed me,” JJ/Tim admitted softly.
“No, no you don’t,” Jason snapped, but his voice didn’t have any real heat to it. He gently grabbed the kid and cradled him against his chest. That’s what Dick did to him when he was upset during his time as Robin. Dick was nice. Dick was a good brother. Act like Dick.
“You’re okay now. You’re gonna get better,” he whispered.
“I wish I was dead. I hate him. I hate myself,” Tim whimpered.
“I hate him too, kid. It’s not your fault. You’re okay.
“I’m a monster..”
“No you’re not. You’re a child. You’re not a monster.”
“..I wish he was dead.”
“I know. I wish he was, too.”
“..Bruce didn’t look for us. He doesn’t care.”
Jason opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He hated the fucking Bat, but bashing him probably wasn’t the best idea right now.
“..Get some rest, kid. I’ll be right here,” he said instead.
Tim shook his head a little. Great, he’s stubborn too.
Jason sighed, filing through his memories. What helped him calm down?
He started to hum a lullaby. This was so stupid, but he was so tired. He was exhausted. He just needed this kid to calm down and relax a little.
Jason hummed for a while, staring at the TV. When he finally looked down, the kid was quiet. He was asleep, nuzzling into Jason’s chest.
..It felt so nice. He could get used to this.
“..Goodnight, Tim,” he whispered softly, rubbing Tim’s back.
Tim hummed in response.