Chapter 4
The next morning proved rather eventful. It was Jason's turn to wake up to a rather adorable sight. He pulled himself out of bed with a yawn, his usual grumpy, morning frown on his face, and slid into a pair of dorm pants before shuffling into the living room. There, he found Dick holding Kaden's little hands and helping him walk a giggled happily and Dick had the sweetest smile on his face as he helped little Kaden walk the length of the coffee table before the child fell down.
"Well, isn't this adorable. Almost wish I had my camera," Jason said with a grin before moving on into the kitchen with a yawn.
"Dada!" Kaden called after him, his chubby little arms outstretched toward Jason. Jason froze on the spot; it was such a little thing and yet...he turned toward Kaden, a genuine smile on his face, forgetting about his coffee for a few moments to crouch down in front of him.
"Dada!" Kaden squealed again, tugging at his father's hair, grabbing tufts of white. Jason chuckled a bit and carefully pried the little boy's hands off his hair.
"Taught him that this morning! He was already making vague sounds, so we worked on it a little," Dick explained, grabbing the bottle off the table and handing it to Kaden. The boy accepted to bottle and sat in the floor, drinking the milk contentedly, little eyes following his father as Jason moved into the kitchen for his coffee.
"Oh by the way, Barbara is coming over later. And Roy, too," Dick said then, pushing himself up onto his feet. Jason groaned in annoyance as he took his first sips of coffee.
"Jesus, really? They're going to smother the poor kid. And Probably give me the third degree," Jason mumbled, sitting down on the couch behind Kaden. He smirked a little, nudging the boy gently with his foot. Kaden sent his father a little glare that was oh-so-incredibly Jason-like. Dick burst out in laughter.
"That's adorable, he has daddy's scowl!" Jason snickered in amusement at the sight as the boy put the bottle down and reached for Dick, looking to try walking again.
"That's my boy," he said, smirk twisting into a grin. A knock came at the door and Dick moved to open it, revealing Barbara and Roy, with Lian in his arms.
"Hey guys, come on in," Dick offered with a smile. Barbara smiled at him as she wheeled herself inside and Roy strolled in, giving Jason a cocky smirk.
"So, welcome to fatherhood then. Where is the little guy?" Roy asked. Jason looked around but Kaden was gone.
"How the hell did he get over there so fast?!" Jason asked in surprise, spotting Kaden halfway across the room, playing with a teddy bear. Roy laughed in amusement as he carefully placed Lian down on the floor. The toddler looked up at her father and smiled before she moved toward Kaden, to check out the new baby.
"Aw, he's so adorable!" Barbara cooed, wheeling herself toward Kaden. The baby looked up at her and let loose a shrill laughter, offering her the teddy bear. Barbara 'aaaw'd' again, accepting the teddy bear and both Jason and Dick laughed.
"Look at that! Not even a year old and he's a ladies man!" Jason said with a laugh. Dick snorted.
"He's going to be a little heart breaker," he added. Roy playfully punched his friend's arm and then flopped down on the couch next to him.
"Like father, like son, right? Just make sure he keeps it in his pants when he's older. I don't wanna have to kill him for coming on to my little girl," Roy teased, although he was half serious too. Jason snickered in amusement.
"Hey, just because I fu-"
"Jason!" Barbara shot at him without looking up. Jason rolled his eyes and Roy snickered at him.
"You get the point. He'll be a respectable-" a snort from Dick "young man. And fuck you Dick." Barbara shot him a glare as she handed the teddy bear back to Kaden. Lian came over to her and held her arms out to her.
"Aunt Baba," she called to her.
"I think someone's jealous," Jason said in amusement. Roy just nodded his head.
"Oh yeah, she gets jealous when Aunt Baba gives anyone but her attention."
"I think it's adorable," Barbara replied, picking the little girl up and placing her in her lap. Roy pushed himself up off of the couch and knelt down beside Kaden, the little boy looking up at him with his little blue eyes, flashing him a little angry look, as if trying to intimidate him. Roy snorted, trying to hold back a laugh.
"Jesus, he's definitely got your scowl," Roy said in amusement when the boy's scowl turned into a smile, laughter erupting from him. Roy picked him up and his little hands started grabbing at the strings on his hoodie.
"Cute kid. Looks just like you," Roy said coolly, glancing over at Jason.
"And Talia is his mother?" Jason gave a nod.
"Yeah, unfortunately." Roy laughed and put the boy down, but instead of sitting back down, he stayed standing up and the whole room went silent, watching what he'd do. Even Jason leaned forward, watching him carefully, eyes slightly wide. The room was entirely silent as Kaden wobbled in place for a moment...before taking a few steps toward Jason, calling 'dada!' He didn't get very far before he fell down, and then everyone laughed at his adorable little Jason-like scowl as he crossed his tiny arms over his chest in disappointment.
Jason got up off the couch and picked him up, earning a squealing laughter from the boy.
"You walked, buddy! I'm so proud of you," Jason said happily, kissing his forehead. Barbara, Roy and Dick even joined in in congratulating the little boy. He'd taken his first steps all on his own!
"Well, I have to get going, Lian has a doctor's appointment in an hour," Roy said smoothly, gesturing for Lian. The toddler grabbed her father's hand and followed him out of the apartment.
"Catch you guys later," he called back over his shoulder.
"See ya Roy," Dick called after him. Barbara started wheeling away too.
"Yeah, I should probably get going too," she turned her attention on Kaden who looked up at her and gave a little half-wave.
"Bye bye little Jay," she called, earning an odd look from Jason. She giggled and wheeled out of the door, closing it behind her. Jason sighed deeply and leaned back on the couch.
"Ugh, this is going to be a long day," he murmured. Dick snickered and joined him on the couch, kissing his jaw.
A few weeks passed as Dick and Jason settled into a routine; they'd trade nights off to go out on patrol. One night, Dick would go out as Nightwing and the next, Jason would go and so on and so forth. Unfortunately, it didn't always work out that way. Due to the nature of Jason's...work...he sometimes had to go out multiple nights in a row, leaving Dick to take care of Kaden. Sometimes they ended up having Tim, or Roy, or even Alfred come over to watch him so they could both for out, each following leads for their own cases.
Tonight was another night, the fifth night in a row that Jason went out on patrol as the Red Hood while Dick stayed with the baby. He'd gotten a report from one of his lieutenants that The Falcone's were trying to move back into Gotham from Bludhaven after having been chased out a couple years ago. And now, he was watched as one of his turncoat Lieutenants was brokering a deal with Mario Falcone.
"The Red Hood wont be a problem. My gang and I have taken steps to ensure he's unaware of the Faclone's presence here in Gotham," the man said with a grin. Mario Falcone gave a nod.
"Good. And when the time comes, I assure you, the Falcone's will kill the pretender and take Gotham back. You will be my right-hand man," Mario said with a smirk.
"Yeah, not happening," Red Hood said smoothly, arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at the thugs below.
"R-Red Hood?! How did you-"
"Save your breath. I've known for a week you piece of garbage," Red Hood replied. Mario Falcone snorted and pointed toward him.
"Waste him!" the men pointed their guns at him and started firing on him. Red Hood laughed in amusement as he disappeared behind some crates. Moments later, some of his own men burst into the warehouse to take down the traitors and the Falcones. Mario attempted to escape in the confusion, but that wasn't happening; The Red Hood followed him and the man hadn't even gotten to his car before he hopped down from the roof above and landing in front of him.
"Where do you think you're going?" Red Hood said smoothly. Mario whipped out a gun and attempted to shoot, But Red Hood spun on the spot, kicking the gun out of his hand, then punching him in the jaw with an uppercut, sending him sprawling over backward on the ground. Before the man could recover, Red Hood grabbed him up, slammed his head against his own car and knocked him out cold, then tied him up and tossed him against the car, leaving him for the GCPD.
"Red Hood sir," came one of his men's voices. Red Hood turned and shot the man a glare. The man fidgeted nervously and reported "the traitors have been taken care of. What do you want us to do with the survivors?"
"Get rid of the traitors. Hand the Falcones over to the GCPD and make it known-" Red Hood said, taking a threatening step forward "that they're to give the cops everything they want. Or they'll get a visit from me."
"U-understood sir!" the man stammered, retreating back to the warehouse to relay the orders. Heaving a sigh of exhaustion, he grappled up to a nearby building and headed for home.
Once he was back at the apartment building, he slipped in through the window of their apartment, pulling off the red mask, sighing in relief as cool air met sweat slick covered skin.
"Have fun?" Dick asked angrily, gently rocking Kaden in his arms. Jason looked toward the voice as he started removing his equipment and moving toward the closet where he and Dick kept their gear. They were going to have to figure out a better hiding place for this stuff when Kaden got older to prevent him from finding it. He began tucking the gear inside and heaved a sigh.
"How long has he been out?" Jason whispered, pulling off his jacket and his shirt, sighing contentedly as the cool air breezed over his bare skin.
"Only five minutes. He's been awake all night. For the fifth night in a row," Dick growled. Jason felt a twinge of guilt at leaving Dick with him for five nights in a row. Everyone else had been too busy to look after Kaden. Tim was all the way over in Jump City, Bruce and Damian were out on patrol every night this week, and with them out, Alfred needed to remain at the manor in case either of them needed patching.
"Look, it's important work, I can't just blow it off-" Dick held up a hand and interrupted him, moving to Kaden's bedroom and placing the sleeping child down in the crib before creeping out and closing the door behind him.
"Jason, five fucking nights in a row! I've stayed up all night, every night, for almost a week! Can't you give me a fucking break? I love Kaden, really, but seriously, what the fuck?! Why not have one of your crime lords or whatever handle it?!" Dick growled, keeping his voice low. Jason snorted and turned his back on Dick, moving for the kitchen.
"Oh, come on! Don't play victim! How many times have you pulled this same crap! 'Oh sorry Jaybird, but I got this lead I want to follow'" Jason said in a mocking tone. Dick growled and was very tempted to throw something at him, but there was nothing on hand.
"Oh, grow up Jason! My work is important too!"
"Hey! I sit at home all day with him while you go off to Bludhaven to play police officer! And then I sit at home with Kaden while you go play vigilante! I might be his father, but I need a god damn break too, y'know! You come home and fuckin' nag me about cleaning the place up-"
"Oh spare me, I do all the cleaning around here, you just sit on your ass-"
"Fuck you, no one asked you to play daddy with me," Jason snapped both of them were interrupted by Kaden's cries and as much as they'd prefer to keep arguing, they both sighed and went into the room to check on him. They hadn't realized it right away, but their arguing turned into shouting and they must've startled the baby.
"Sssh, it's okay little guy," Jason cooed, gently rocking the little boy in his arms. Kaden let out another shrill cry, tear rolling down his tiny cheeks as he buried his face in his father's shoulder. Jason cursed under his breath and patted the boy's back, but it wasn't working, so Dick took him and started bouncing him a little, whispering soothing words, everything he could think of until he finally started to settle down. The two of them moved out of the room and Dick turned to Jason.
"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you lazy, I was just-"
"Frustrated? Pissed? Yeah, we've been at each other like this for the last few days, haven't we?" Jason asked with a smirk. Dick chuckled a bit at the response and sighed heavily.
"Look, I get it Jay, your work is important, you keep the peace in Gotham. But you need to understand; I'm exhausted! For the last week now, I wake up early, drive half an hour to Bludhaven, work all day, come back, and then I watch Kaden until late at night. Most nights this week, he doesn't even go to sleep until midnight, or he wakes up at like, two in the morning while you're still out-" Jason held up a hand and stopped his little mini-rant.
"I get it, really I do, and I'm sorry for the whole 'play daddy' comment. I know you wouldn't be here if you didn't want to be," Jason added in. Dick laughed in amusement, which seemed rather random. Jason quirked an eyebrow at him but Dick held up a finger, signaling him to wait. He moved to Kaden's room again and carefully placed the child into the crib before returning to the living room with Jason.
"We're practically married now, you realize? Arguing over a baby, over work, housework." Jason laughed too, because now that he realized it, it was kinda true. He wrapped an arm around Dick's waist and tugged him close.
"Well then, maybe I'll buy you a nice gold ring and make you Mrs. Todd?" Jason teased. Dick snorted and playfully shoved the younger man away.
"Bullshit. If anything, you should be Mrs. Grayson." Jason let out a bark of laughter.
"You wish." The two of them shared a laugh, and then a kiss, Dick melting his lips against Jason's, tongue slipping into his mouth, deepening the kiss. Jason threaded his fingers through Dick's hair, the older man moaning softly into his mouth as the two of them moved toward the couch. Dick shoved Jason down, grinning down at him and Jason grinning up.
"Well, well, what do we have here? Grayson's getting assertive. It's kinda sexy," Jason purred. Dick opened his mouth to speak, but they were once again interrupted by the cry of an infant. Dick and Jason both sighed heavily.
"I love Kaden, I really do," Jason murmured, draping an arm over his eyes and then grabbing his own crotch "but he's a cockblocker. My dick is in serious need of attention." Dick laughed in amusement and held out his hand, Jason accepting the offer and allowing himself to be tugged up off the couch.
"Maybe we can convince Alfred to look after him for a few days? Get some much needed R&R, and take care of your blue balls," Dick teased. Jason snorted, quickly tugging Dick close for another kiss.
"Please, don't pretend your own balls aren't as blue as a smurf." Dick laughed at the comment and the two of them went to check on Kaden.