Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Contrary to popular belief, Bruce did try not to take sides when it came to conflicts between his Robins. 

“You’re the one who wanted a divorce Dickhead. You’re the one who wanted to leave us, you don’t get to take my son,” Jason snarled.

“It’s my son too. And why do you think I wanted a divorce? You are not an appropriate influence on them,” Dick snapped. 

“Hey, I actually kept that shit away from home. You were always leaving your crap all over the place. What happens when he gets bigger and tries to play Daddy’s pretty sticks and fries his little brain, huh? What happens when your killer for hire you like to fuck in our bed decides he want to collect the bounty on our kid’s head, huh?”

“Aren’t you the killer for hire in this situation?”

“Fucking Alpha prick!” 

“Guys calm down-”

“Stay out of it Replacement Traitor.”

“Jay, I just pointed out that Dick had a much better set up with his day job to support a child-”

“Oh yeah, so they can grow up all alone while Dickshit over here plays workaholic and never comes home. I’m the one who has been taking care of our son this whole time.”

“Maybe I would have come home if you didn’t make it clear I wasn’t welcome.”

“Guys, serious, let’s take a break,” Tim pleaded, managing to usher a furious Dick out of the room. 

Once they were gone, Jason collapsed onto the couch and put his head into his hands. Bruce approached him cautiously. He was hardly the Omega’s favorite person, but that didn’t mean he liked seeing his former ward in pain. Back then, Bruce hadn’t the foggiest clue how to raise the aggressive Omega he’d pulled from the streets, so he’d tried to raise him the same way he’d raised Dick. 

He should have protected him better. 

“Come to fucking tell me I don’t deserve to parent my own child too?” Jason growled without looking up. 

“No,” Bruce said sitting down a little awkwardly next to him, “Are you alright, Jay?”

“They’re going to take away my boy, Bruce,” Jason said with a shuddering breath, “Everyone- they’ve all taken Dick’s side and they’re gonna- he’s all I have left . What am I supposed to do if they take him away? I can’t-”

“I won’t let that happen,” Bruce promised. Jason stayed stiff against him before going limp and nuzzling his shoulder almost tentatively. Bruce held him tighter and tried to project a soothing scent. 

Dick did have a stabler life style- a more approvable lifestyle certainly- but he was also more disorganized and struggled immensely with the day to day aspects of parenting. He could do it, with some help that he was sure to get, but Jason- the baby had been good for Jason. He’d stopped smoking and had become much more careful and responsible than he’d ever been before on the street. 

It was an inpossible choice and Bruce didn’t take sides, but- Bruce himself knew what it was like to lose a son, he didn’t want to watch either of his boys go through that. They’d have to figure something out.

Dick would be ok either way, no matter how much he raged now. Jason- in this matter, Bruce knew he had to protect his boy.

Chapter Text

Someone should give Dick an award for being a passive aggressive asshole, Jason thought with gritted teeth. 

Dick probably thought he was being sneaky. They’d fought after Jason had put a bullet through the head of a child trafficking ring. Jason was not sorry. A monster like that didn’t deserve to live and Jason especially wasn’t going to let him breathe the same air as his son. But since then, Dick had been staying out late, snapping up all cases in their area, and being generally unavailable which forced Jason to take a bigger and bigger domestic role in his absence… and thus kept him off the street more often than not. 

It’s not that Jason didn’t like staying with their son. He loved it with out reserve actually. He actually might have been willing to take a break from street completely while their son was so young. But Dick didn’t ask him, just passively engineered things so Jason didn’t have much a of a choice but stay home. 

If it had been for the good of their son, Jason might have tolerated it. But instead, it felt more like Dick was trying to strip him of his freedom since he wouldn’t come to heel on the streets. The fact that it probably was more about Jason being violent than Jason being an Omega- since Dick usually wasn’t that sexsist- didn’t really help all that much in the end.

Well fuck him, Jason wasn’t interested in being a good little Bitch.

He also wasn’t petty enough to sacrifice his son’s well being to get back at Dick. He wasn’t going to let the kid grow up with two absentee parents. 

Jason smiled proudly when his son took his first couple shaky steps. Scooped him up after he fell and praised him with kisses and twirls around the room until the toddler was giggling uncontrollably as well. 

Jason couldn’t help but think about how Dick hadn’t been there for it. How he hadn’t really been there for most of their son’s firsts. 

That night, after the boy had fallen asleep, Jason decided to put his foot down. 

“What’s this?” Dick frowned when he came through the door, thoughtlessly dumping his gun and badge on the table with the rest of his things.

“Lock that away somewhere safe,” Jason snapped from where he was prepping the couch pullout bed, “We have a toddler for fucks sake.”

“Jay, I’m tired. He’s asleep,” Dick sighed, “It’s not like he’s going to get into it in the next 5 minutes while I grab something to eat.”

“No. Put it away now,” Jason growled.

“Fine, whatever,” Dick shot him a dirty look and went to do so.

You’d think it was some new rule Jason was making up on the fly to inconvenience him, Jason thought bitterly, rather than an agreement they’d had from the moment they’d known they were having a baby.

“There, done,” Dick came back in and flopped tiredly into a chair, “Happy now?”

No, but Jason just grunted instead. 

“So, are we having someone over, or?” Dick asked gesturing towards the couch-bed.

“My heat is probably going to start sometime tomorrow,” Jason said, not looking at him.

“And you’re inviting someone over to watch our son?” Dick surmised, a slightly possessive look coming over his face, “You know I don’t like other people in the house when you’re-”

“It’s for you,” Jason said curtly.

Dead silence as that statement sunk it. That’s right, Jason thought savagely, you are not invited to my heat after all the shit you’ve been pulling lately. 

“That’s not fair Jay,” Dick said finally, “I’m your husband. Your heat affects me too.”

“Oh no, poor Alpha, imagine being uncomfortable during a heat,” Jason scoffed, “You’ll live.”

Dick was still decent enough that he didn’t fight that, though he made a face.

“What about our son?” Dick demanded.

“You’ll just have to watch him,” Jason said unsympathetically. 

“I can’t just take that much time off work short notice.”

“It shouldn’t have been short notice; my heat is the same time every year.”

“You should have reminded me.”

“Not my job,” Jason said a little bitterly, “besides, you were perfectly to take off work when you thought you’d be fucking me through my heat.”

“Stop twisting my words Jason,” Dick sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “What’s this really about? I know things haven’t been great between us lately, but your heat has always been a time for us to reconnect.”

I’m not going to let you convince me everything is fine while I’m high on my hormones, he thought.

“Why? So you can knock me up with another kid that you can never be around for?” Jason snapped instead. 

Real anger showed up on Dick’s face this time. 

Fucking finally, some part of Jason thought as he geared up for the ensuing fight.

Chapter Text

Dick didn’t know how things got so messed up. He’d loved Jason, he really had. Some days he thought maybe he still did, but everything felt so poisoned between them. 

If he had to say, then it seemed like everything went downhill when they found out Jason was pregnant and decided to keep it. Jason had struggled a lot during the pregnancy and Dick hadn’t known how to support him.  He’d tried, but Jason hadn’t wanted to be touched for a whole lot of it, extremely uncomfortable with his body and quick to snap at Dick when he displayed any sort of Alpha-like possessiveness. 

Dick never really thought much about the fact that all of his experience with kids was with preteens and teenagers. He had no idea what to do with a baby. His son wriggled and cried whenever he’d held him at first and it was stressful. Jason hadn’t had the patience to teach him, just took over. The Omega clearly knew what he was doing and Dick had been beyond grateful to step back and let Jason do his thing… something he later found out Jason resented him for. 

Alpha pride had insisted that they not accept any help from Bruce and he didn’t want Jason using the dirt money he’d gotten from offing crime lords. That meant trying to support his new family on a Police salary only… which was easier said than done. He worked longer hours, trusting Jason’s competency at home, and the patrolled at night. They barely saw each other those first few months after the baby was born. He never even realized that Jason was struggling with the isolation and postpartum depression. 

He honestly felt pretty bad about that. 

But then, things started to take a turn for the ugly. 

When Jason went back onto the street, he seemed even more brutal. Granted, he was actually a lot more cautious and careful out there- which Dick was grateful for- but he was also less forgiving of anything he considered a significant threat too close to their territory. Between that and the fact that Dick continued to struggle with taking care of their son without his mate around- well, it just seemed like everything would work better if Jason stayed home and Dick took over patrol. 

Plenty of other families worked that way, right? And besides, it wasn’t forever. Once their son got a little older, Dick would be better able to hold his own and take care of him without help. And maybe Jason would mellow out a little after taking a break. It seemed like a good plan. 

Jason did not think it was a good plan. 

He yelled at Dick and kicked him out of their bed. It was humiliating to be made to sleep on his own couch, but he tried to respect Jason’s wishes even if he was frustrated and angry at him. He tried to hold onto the reasons he’s married the Omega, but it was harder and harder as he was treated like an unwelcome stranger in his own home. 

Dick tried his best not to be a burden, but it was difficult. He missed physical touch and affection. Jason wouldn’t even look at him, let alone give him affection. His son still cried for his dam whenever he tried to do anything with him. Tim was supportive on the phone, but they were both too busy to ever meet up. Everyone at work was of course professional. Dick convinced himself that he was just fine, even as it felt like every day he withered away. 

Then came Slade. 

The Mercenary invited himself into Jason and Dick’s room with some information he’d requested one day while Jason was off taking their son to visit the Manor for the day. Dick lectured him for coming to his home, but he knew the mercenary would just do whatever he wanted. In the end, it wasn’t like he could discover anything there that he didn’t already know. 

“Trouble in paradise?” Slade had given a pointed sniff to the air and Dick flushed, knowing his lack of scent in the room made it obvious that he wasn’t sleeping there. 

“That’s none of your business,” Dick snapped. 

“Don’t know why, hate fucking can be good too you know,” Slade said causally, moving up behind Dick as he tried to focus on scanning through the case files, “And you’re still the hottest ass in time.”

As if to make a point, Slade’s hands cupped his ass and squeezed. Dick took a deep breath around the lonely desperate feeling rising up in his chest. 

“Slade…” he warned as Slade laid a scratchy kiss against his throat. 

“Say no,” Slade challenged him as his hands slipped around to Dick front and pulled them flush together. Dick let his eyes fall closed and his head tip back onto Slade’s shoulder. Warmth and touch all over him after so long and Dick felt like he might start crying if it stopped. 

He should still say no, he knew that. But… he just wanted, if only for a little bit, to be touched and wanted again. 

When Slade led him to his bed, Dick went willingly and did his best not to think.

Chapter Text

Dick remembers when he’d accused Jason of cheating with Roy. The flat unimpressed look in his eye when he’d regarded Dick.

“There’s only one cheater in this relationship Dickie dearest, and it sure as hell isn’t me.”

Dick hadn’t realized Jason had known. He’d never said anything.

“Maybe we should separate,” Dick had suggested tentatively, “It’s clear this isn’t working out and we’re just going to make each other miserable if we keep this up.”

“Hell no,” Jason glared at him. 

Dick hadn’t understood, and he’d said as much.

“We agreed,” Jason said fiercely, “We have a kid now and we agreed that we’d be a family no matter what it took. You trying to quit this family Dick?”

“No,” Dick had wilted back.

“Then don’t bring that kind of shit up,” Jason had said as if that was that. 

Still, the idea that maybe they weren’t right for each other stuck in his head, surfacing whenever things started to go wrong. Day to day he never could tell if Jason wanted him around or not. He was mad if he was gone and he was mad if he was there. Dick didn’t know what to do.

And then things slowly started to look like they might get better. Dick slowly got better at taking care of their son. He had still stumbled at the details but he was slowly getting it. Every day their son was more mobile and more verbal Dick was able to engage with him a little better than before and give Jason some breaks. Dick still worked overtime a lot to make ends meet, but so long as he was engaging with their kid then Jason seemed happier. 

He even let Dick back in his bed. No sex, but Dick loved having him close. 

And then it all fell apart for good. 

Dick must not have been as careful coming home one night because one of Nightwing's enemies figured out where he lived and attacked while he was gone. Whether it was to try and use his family against him as leverage, or just to strike back at him, it wasn’t clear. They’d never have any answers because Jason hadn't let him finish his threats and monologue before he slit the guys throat with a kitchen knife and then dumped the body out the 5th story window. 

Jason had been angry that he'd been careless, but mostly just miffed that they were going to have to move. 

Dick on the other hand had been livid. Jason swore that their son hadn’t seen anything, but they both knew he would always have killed the guy. Jason had killed someone in their house . It was the last straw for Dick. 

Dick hadn’t really thought about how Jason would react. He just looked at him and could only see a killer, no trace of the guy he'd fallen in love with. He was dangerous and had no remorse for his actions and hell if Dick was leaving his son with him.

The moment it became clear that Dick not only planned to leave but was going to take their son with him, Jason lost his shit. To this day, Dick still thought that Jason might have killed him if the family hadn’t arrived when they did. He was thankful he'd called them when he'd heard the house had been attacked. 

“I will never forgive you for this,” Jason had hissed when Bruce pulled him off Dick. 

Dick had been a mess, but his friends had surrounded him in overwhelming support and advice on his next steps. Tim sympathized with Jason, but Dick knew he agreed with him in the end even if Tim was unhappy with the outcome. 

He didn’t want to take it to court- especially since their vigilante personas played a roll in everything- but Jason wasn’t budging. He was hell bent on keeping their son with him and throwing Dick out of both their lives completely. No compromises. Dick's friends assured him that if it did become a court battle he was sure to win; Jason’s anger and rash decision and words kept stacking the odds against him. 

Dick had been angry and grief stricken, but he hadn’t really been worried.

Not until Bruce stepped up and blindsided them all by siding with Jason.

Chapter Text

It was weird as hell living in the manor again. 

Alfred had moved him into a suite in the guest wing that had an attached room for his son to sleep in. Jason would rather he had his own apartment in the city, but his funds had dwindled from years of not working and he didn’t think he could support them. He was less than thrilled about having to share a roof with Bruce again, even if their relationship had improved slightly since Tommy was born. Didn’t mean that he wasn’t a little pissed when Bruce started taking over and detailing out every aspect of his life after he moved out of he and Dick’s old place. 

It felt like he’d moved out of one controlling Alpha’s house to another’s. 

Still, Jason did his best not to pick fights with the man. He wasn’t dumb; he knew Bruce was one of the few reason’s he was hanging on to custody of his son.  

“Going to the zoo!” Tommy bounded in, “Hurry papá! Going to the zoo!”

“Tomorrow,” Jason emphasized, helping getting shoes on his son’s feet, “We’re going to the zoo tomorrow.” 

“But you said one more sleep!” insisted Tommy, wiggling unhelpfully.

Ah, Jason realized his mistake. But...

“Did you sleep at nap time?”

“Yes!”

“Really? So if I go ask Alfred…”

“No!” 

“Hmm,” Jason grinned as he set the little boy on his feet, “early bedtime tonight?”

"No!"

Jason raised his eyebrow.

“Zoo tomorrow!” Tommy said flushing. 

“Zoo tomorrow,” Jason agreed. 

“Will daddy be there?” Tommy asked, and Jason felt like the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.

“No.”

“But daddy’s going to show me the elephants,” Tommy said blinking up at him without comprehension, “he promised.”

Jason wondered how long ago that was. 

“We’ll still go find the elephants,” Jason promised, “Maybe we can get elephant popcorn too.”

“Elephant popcorn!” Tommy cheered and Jason breathed out a sigh of relief. Sometimes Tommy got into a one track mind and could not be derailed. ‘Daddy’’s broken promise to show him the elephants still had the potential to be a full blown meltdown later on though. 

Jason sighed and trailed behind his son as the little boy tried to run “super super fast!” down the halls of the Manor. Every day his steps became less of awkward stomping steps and more confident strides. 

Even if he did still wipe out on the floor pretty regularly. 

“Cookies!” Tommy announced excitedly when they reached the kitchen. 

“Only if you eat all of your dinner, Master Tommy,” Alfred said sternly moving them out of reach.

“Why don’t you show Grandpa how good you can kick your ball outside?” Jason suggested, spotting Bruce peaking in the doorway. 

“Oh, I’d be happy to-” Bruce began, his eyes getting that misty edge they always got whenever Jason told Tommy to call him Grandpa. Jason himself sort of found it funny, even if Bruce had ever really been much of a father to him or Dick, but he wasn’t unaware of what it meant to the man that Jason would consider them all family now. 

“Lets go,Letsgo!” Tommy said tugging Bruce out the backdoor. 

“I can’t decide if you’re being kind or enjoy watching Master Bruce fail to keep up with a child’s exuberance,” Alfred said mildly as Jason joined him at the counter to help with dinner prep. 

“A little of both?” Jason snickered, keeping an eye on the two out the window, “Bruce is even worse with small children than Dickie-”

Jason cut himself off and looked away, swallowing thickly. 

“Have you given any more thought to Master Bruce’s suggestion of marriage counseling?” Alfred asked, kindly not commenting. 

“Yeah, no, still not happening,” Jason snorted as he chopped vegetables, “counseling is for people trying to fix shit. There’s no fixing us Alfie.”

“Perhaps not,” Alfred inclined his head, “but a counselor could help verify the situation and your case for custody.”

“Don’t lie, Bruce wants us back together again,” Jason grumbled, handing his veggies over for some meat to cut.

“Master Bruce wants the two of you- and your son- to be happy,” Alfred corrected, “he may not be the best example of clean communication, but he is not totally unaware of its importance.”

“Right, sure,” Jason scoffed, “even if I did go, what would the point? Just one more person to be charmed by Dick and take his side over mine.”

“Hmm, that sounds dangerously like self contempt, Master Jason.” Alfred said, scraping the remaining ingredients into a dish and shooing Jason off to the table. 

“It’s just a fact Alfie,” Jason shrugged.

“Hmm,” Alfred hummed non committedly as he finished seasoning the dish and placed it in the fridge. 

Outside, Tommy took a huge kick at one of his balls, missed, and fell flat on his back. Bruce fluttered about anxiously as the boy picked himself back up and went at it again. 

“Have you given someone the chance to hear your side of the story?”

“Nobody would listen,” Jason said with certainty, “Besides, I’ve been told I’m not the greatest with words. At least not the kind that don’t piss people off.” 

“Why don’t you try writing a letter or an essay?” Alfred suggested as he checked the heat on the oven. 

“Huh?” Jason frowned, finally looking away from where Tommy was now happily chucking balls at Bruce to watch him deflect them all with ease.

It’d been one Tommy’s favorite games to play with Dick if he came home before the boy’s bedtime. The acrobat could twist dramatically out of the way in all different crazy positions while the toddler giggled in delight- Jason didn’t want to think about that. Not when it was over for good. 

“You’ve expressed some difficulty in laying out your case because of how emotionally charged the situation is, and I must say I agree with you there. I’m afraid that continuing to repeat that Master Dick is a ‘useless fucking Alpha prick’ as your sole argument is not going to help you much. However, I recall some of your teachers speaking very highly of the strength of some of your writing in school,” Alfred said, “as such, it may be wise to play to your strengths.”

Jason shifted uncomfortably and focused on Tommy abandoning his game to chase a bird in the yard. Writing it out… while it was true that he’d always been better at that, it still felt kind of lame. People should be able to just look at their situation and see that Jason was right. 

“Lawyers can do a lot, but we need your side of the story to even begin to figure out what’s best for Tommy. Not overarching insults and accusations, but a narrative that will bring support onto your side,” Alfred said, “Whatever the best method for getting that out, be it writing or perhaps telling a recording, you need to think about what you want to say.” 

“Like anyone would choose me over the Golden Child, no matter what I say,” Jason growled.

“I think that once you stop believing that the whole world is against you, you may find more allies than you expect,” Alfred said tapping a paper on the table. 

“What’s this?” Jason frowned, pulling it closer. 

“Information about some open positions at Gotham’s Public Library. Miss Gordon dropped it off the other day,” Alfred said with a small smile. 

“But… I don’t understand?” Jason said weakly, still staring at the paper. 

“It seems that although Miss Gordon loves Master Dick dearly, she is sympathetic to your position,” Alfred said going back to his meal prep. 

That… sort of made sense. She had almost married Dick at one point too, only to call it off later. 

“Really think about it,” Alfred said kindly, “I know you would not be pursuing a divorce lightly. Really think about the reasons why you want one. If Master Dick came in the door right now saying he wanted to get back together and promised to change, what might be your response?”

“Hell no,” Jason croaked, “I’ll never forgive him. He went too far, I can’t- I’ll never forgive him,” 

“Then why don’t you write me the reasons why that is,” Alfred said, “pick your top 3 reasons and write a couple paragraphs each flushing them out.”

“... that sounds so stupid,” Jason said uncomfortably. 

“Indeed?”

“... not really, but I just-” Jason rubbed his face in his hands. He already hated the hot acid-like feeling that twisted in his stomach when he thought of Dick. He didn’t really want to dwell on that feeling much less put words to it. 

“I think this will be good for you,” Alfred said finally setting down a cup of Jason’s favorite tea before settling next to him, “You’ve never… expressed your displeasure verbally about some of the things happening in your home during your visits, but between the few things that were hinted at and some of Dick’s comments when he called, I’d say this is a whole lot more complicated than the story currently circulating.” 

“Why the fuck would I have to- say fucking anything when none of them are going to believe me anyway?” Jason grumbled, which was really the heart of the issue, “They never have before, why the fuck would they start now?”

“This pack has not always- or often, I’m afraid- done right by you, I believe in the end they will stand by you,” Alfred said, then after a pause, “Perhaps even Master Dick.”

“Hah, I’ll believe that when I see it,” Jason snorted, finally lifting his head,  “but thanks. I’ll give it a shot, even if it’s just for you Alfie.”

“That’s all I can ask.”

Chapter Text

“You,” Barbara had said icily, brandishing a sheaf of papers, “need to man up and fucking read this.”

It’s not that Dick had been avoiding reading the letter Jason had wrote- his lawyers had given it to him saying that he needed think about what his defense would be- but… he had also really had been. He’d been angry and bitter that Jason would do something like this. 

Especially when it made the rest of the pack- minus Damian, who swore he would stand by Dick forever- take Jason’s side. 

Jason had asked that the letter not be made public, that he was just explaining his side of things, but pack was not public and their pack was made up some of the nosiest hackers he’d ever met. 

So Dick didn’t really want to read the letter… but he pretty much never won arguments with Babs, so it looked like he didn’t have much of a choice.  

Dick had never gone through the five stages of grief in such quick succession.

Halfway through the first page, Dick was overflowing with confusion, anger, and denial. The picture Jason had painted felt harsh and cruel. It took all of Dicks failures and insecurities and threw them in his face. 

Not to mention, there was so much that Dick hadn’t known about at all. Why hadn’t Jason just talked to him about this stuff? 

It couldn’t be true, it wasn’t true, right? 

But the further Dick read, the more it matched a little too well with some of his own memories. The more it explained. And the more it hurt. 

Dick was crying by the second page. He felt like a worthless human being and a worse husband. 

He had to take a break at that point. 

“I fucked up,” he said hopelessly. 

“You sure did,” Barbara said unsympathetically. 

“God, I…” Dick rubbed his face and took a deep breath, “I really really fucked up.”

Barbara said nothing.

“And Tommy, how am I supposed to… he’s going to hate me when he gets older. Because that’s what the letter’s really about, isn’t it? Tommy. Jason didn’t even bring up Slade, and he really really could have.”

Barbara silently slid a cup of cocoa over to him.

"Jason's... a really good dad," mumbled Dick, take the mug and cupping in between his hands.

"He is," Barbara agreed.

“Babs… tell me honestly, is it too late?” Dick asked.

“To apologize? Never. And you better,” Barbara said bluntly, “To fix your marriage? Almost definitely.” 

“Fuck,” Dick put his head on the table.

Barbara settled across from him and sipped her tea. 

“I want to go to the Manor,” Dick finally said.

“Probably a bad idea,” Barbara noted. 

“I need to talk to Bruce.”

“Bruce?” her eyebrows crept higher.

“I know you’re probably right and there’s probably no chance of fixing this, but…” Dick took a deep breath, “I have to try.”

“Dick…”

“I want Bruce to set us up for marriage counseling.”

Chapter Text

Jason’s peaceful afternoon was shattered with one word. 

“DADDDDDDDDYYYY!” Tommy took off like a bullet and launched himself at Dick. The alpha laughed and tossed him into the air, much to the toddler’s squealing delight. 

Jason remembered that it wasn't too long ago when Dick was such an irregular presence in their life that Tommy would hide from him whenever he came home the same way he would for a stranger. But Dick had enough successful “babysitting” attempts before things fell apart that he was deemed the fun parent. 

You can’t fucking babysit your own kid though. You parent or you don’t. 

“What do you want? This is not a visitation day,” Jason growled. 

Jason knew he smelled upset and he hated it. He tried to rein it back, but Tommy still smelled it, squirming out of Dick’s arms to come check on him. Jason hated that. He didn’t want his kid to have to worry about him. He didn’t want to see himself in his son’s eyes, checking in on his mom after his parents fought. 

Dick came closer. Too close. It made Jason want to punch him or run, he wasn’t sure which. 

“It’s okay Tommy, I’m not here to upset your Dam, I just want to talk with him a bit so we can all see each other a bit more. You’d like that, right?” Dick said with one of his prettiest smiles. 

Tommy nodded slowly, worriedly glancing at him. 

Jason barely resisted snarling. He didn’t want Tommy to be scared. 

“Bruce let me in,” Dick added, looking at Jason like… Jason wasn’t going to try and interpret that expression. 

“Of course he did,” Jason muttered. 

Dick bit his lip, and Tommy clung a little closer. 

Jason didn’t want him to see them fight. But Dick was here, ergo, there was going to be a fight so… “Tommy, why don’t you go find Grandpa?”

“No,” Tommy planted his feet, sticking out his chin. 

“I bet Grandpa has new toys,” Jason crouched down next to him. Bruce had gone into the city, so he definitely had bought toys for his only grandchild. He did it no matter how many times Jason told him not to. 

“ No ,” Tommy insisted, looking over at Dick and then back at Jason, putting his body protectively in between them. 

That was upsetting on a number of levels. 

“Tommy-” Jason started sternly. 

“Tommy,” Dick knelt down with them, “don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt your Dam.”

That was rich, Jason thought bitterly of all the times they’d threaded both physical and verbal blows. 

“I promise, okay?” Dick extended his pinkie. 

“No fighting?” Tommy checked, looking suspiciously at both of them.

“No fighting,” Dick agreed solomly. 

Fat chance of that, but… Tommy was looking at him and-

“If he starts being stupid, I’ll come right in so Alfred can tell him off,” Jason whispered. 

That reassured the boy.

“Okay,” he shook pinkies with Dick and ran inside, glancing back several times. 

Fuck, Jason needed to talk to him about all of this better sometime. 

“He’s a good kid,” Dick said. 

“Damn right he is,” Jason growled, standing up and brushing the grass off his pants, “Now what do you want?”

Dick stayed kneeling on the ground, looking up at him.

“What?” he snapped. 

“You’re a good dad,” Dick said simply. 

“That’s not what you’ve been telling everyone and their dog since this started,” Jason spat.

“I know,” Dick winced, “I’m so sorry. I was so angry I couldn’t see you in there anymore.”

“Right,” Jason said disbelievingly. 

“I read your letter,” Dick said hurriedly, “It made me realize a lot of things.I’m going to tell the lawyers to stop pursuing sole custody.”

Jason’s stomach flipped. 

“And I’m supposed to just believe this sudden change of heart?” Jason asked suspiciously. 

“I want us to do marriage counseling,” Dick said, “I want to do better. I want us to do better.”

Jason stared at him. 

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” he asked, “because I could have swore you just just asked to go to marriage counseling with me after you tried to block me from ever seeing my son again.”

“That’s-” Dick winced, “I was never going to block you from ever seeing him…”

“Fuck. Off.” 

“Shouldn’t we try though?” Dick begged, “Even it’s too late for us, what about Tommy?”

Months ago, this was what Jason had been ready to all but beg for, but…

“Don’t use Tommy as a tool to get back into my pants-” Jason snapped angrily.

“I’m not trying to- Jason, no! I really just want to fix things,” Dick said. 

“Go fuck Slade, I’m not interested,” Jason turned on his heel. 

“Tommy shouldn’t be scared of us!” Dick cried.

Jason stopped. That was low. 

“You saw it in his eyes too, right? He’s scared that we’re going to hurt each other,” Dick was on his feet behind him now. 

You’re hurting me now, Jason wanted to say. 

“Please… he’s our son, and we both love him even if we don’t know how to properly love each other right now, so…” Dick tugged on his sleeve slightly. 

Jason could smell him. He hadn’t been close enough to smell Dick since things started to fall apart. Not without the bite of anger and blood. 

“There’s no fixing us, Dickie,” Jason sighed. 

“But can’t we learn to be ok? I want to be able to see you two and it to be ok,” Dick begged. 

Jason kinda thought that was impossible. But Tommy…

“Just a couple sessions to see if it helps,” Dick bargained, “please?”

Jason wasn’t supposed to still be weak to the Golden Boy. 

“...whatever.”

Chapter Text

"Hey Timbo," Dick went to ruffle Tim's hair only to have Tim duck out of the way and keep typing on his computer.

Dick paused.

It wasn't unusual for Tim to dodge him, but he usually squirmed and complained about it loudly. Now he wasn't even acknowledging Dick was there.

The air seemed a little colder.

"Right," sighed Dick, dropping into the chair next to him, "we should probably talk, huh?

Tim ignored him, just typing away, head held high.

Geez, he was pissed.

"I'm guessing this is about Jason?" Dick ventured. It wasn't really a question. There wasn't all that many other things he could be mad at him for. Not anything new anyway. 

Tim twitched, but didn’t respond. 

“I read his letter too you know,” Dick sighed, dropping into the chair next to him and propping his chin on his hands, “I really had no idea about most of that stuff. He was pushing me away and I honestly thought I was doing what he wanted.”

“And sleeping with Slade was doing what he wanted?” Tim spoke for the first time. 

“...I didn’t realize that you knew about that,” Dick said after a long moment. 

“It came up in a few of your arguments,” Tim said typing a little more violently, “I thought that Jason was just saying things to start stuff because of how Slade has always been with you. Didn’t realize until later that he meant literally.”

“Yeah… I’m not proud of it. But Timmy, Jason and I talked about that when it happened. I offered him an out then, but he wanted to try and fix things and we moved past it.”

“Did he move past it? Or just you?” Tim asked. 

“Both of us did,” Dick insisted, surely Jason wouldn’t have let Dick back into their bed if he was still angry, right? “I’m not saying I deserved it, but we did. Now he killed someone- tried to kill me too- but it’s my turn to try and fix things.”

Tim paused.

“Is that really the way you see things?” he asked. 

“Well, it’s what happened.”

“I don’t think Jason would agree with you.”

“ You used to agree with me,” Dick pointed out. 

“Yes, I did, but-” Tim stopped himself, “Dick do you even want to be married?”

“Of course- Of course I do! I love them, you know that, Tim,” Dick reeled back a little. 

“And it’s not just guilt?” Tim finally turned to face him. His expression was closed off, but Dick could see the edges of hurt at the corners of his eyes. 

“How can you ask me that? You know me, Tim,” Dick said, a bit offended. 

“Yeah I do, and I thought-” Tim’s face scrunched up slightly with emotion, “I believed in you. I had reservations, but you both seemed happy, and you got a place together and were raising a kid, and were staying in one spot, one profession, one partner-”

“Tim-”

“But you weren’t . Not any of it. I thought- but it was all a lie.”

“It’s not! Why are you saying this Tim? You know I love them-”

“That’s never been enough for you!” Time cried, "You throw people away! You always have! Kori, Babs, your teams, m-me, and now even your family! The only one you haven't is Bruce, and that's not for lack of trying."

Dick felt like he'd been stabbed.

Tim was standing, hands still balled in fists, breathing like he'd been fighting. Fury was quickly giving way to quiet misery, but Dick could barely see him around the feeling rising in his own chest.

"Fuck. I shouldn't have- I didn't mean that," Tim said, eyes dropping slightly.

"I think you did," Dick said, and he was surprised by how cold it came out.

“Dick-”

“I think I better go, I’m obviously not welcome here,” Dick turned on his heel. Under the anger and hurt, he half expected Tim to try and stop him. The fact that he didn’t…

So Dick left. 

He was apparently good at that.