_ Chapter 10 _
Jason stopped fussing with his hair, journeying back through the hallways until he got to his bible. He was thinking of doing a piece on forgiveness this Sunday. People in Gotham really needed to listen to that one again. Like, seriously. He didn't know how many times he had passed kids in the pews fighting over toys, holding grudges like they were ancient warlords rather than children, and that was the children. The adults were even worse. He'd passed a butchers the other day that refused to serve a man purely because his second cousin had broke the butcher's heart. Forgiveness cost nothing, and Jason, quite frankly, got sick of living in a world that didn't understand that.
There were more than a few stories he could use, but Jason kind of wanted to aim his teachings to the younger generation. They were the impressionable ones. They would be the ones who would go away from his sermon thinking, soaking in the words, and, hopefully, applying it.
He flipped to the New Testament, grabbing his notebook, or would have if he didn't spot the bruises on his wrists. Those hadn't been there before.
His hand shook as he lifted it closer. He recognised those marks, those fingers.
"Demon!" He clung to his rosary. He knew it would do no good, but there was solace in the beads. God was with him, He would give Jason the strength to send the demon away. "And there was me thinking you'd got bored."
The room in front of him remained silent, not a whisper disturbed. Jason didn't let his guard down. This had happened before, the demon liking to mess with him. It would ignore him, it had already got Jason's attention after all with the marks on his wrist. It would leave Jason to stew, to worry, and then attack him when he was least expecting it.
He still had the scars from last time.
"Alright, have it your way." He went back to his seat, he could play this game. He had managed to drive the demon away once, even if it was only for a few months, he was sure he could do it again. Thing was, Jason didn't know what he'd done last time to actually ward it off.
He sighed, fingering the bruises lightly as he turned to the right passage. They seemed a bit odd. Well, as odd as bruises could get. Usually Dick liked to make him feel the pain. The demon couldn't hurt him any other way. Jason had no family left, no pets after it had murdered the doves and dog he kept in the parish. He had no one except his parishioners, and they had long struck a deal regarding them. Especially after what happened to Tim. Jason still couldn't forgive himself for that.
These however, these bruises, they didn't hurt all that much. They didn't feel like the demon had just burnt him, like it had clung onto him. Usually, when it left reminders for Jason he made sure Jason knew they were being made. He felt every invisible finger carving into his flesh, every whispered palm clutching his skin. He felt it all because it was the only kind of contact the demon was going to get off him. Yet these bruises felt days old at the very least.
Maybe the demon was just reiterating his claim without being particularly cruel. It wouldn't be the first time. Tim came to mind again.
Something clattered, a mug broke and Jason reared up out of his chair again just as a priest rounded the corner.
"What the-?"
Jason would have been amused to hear the rest of that sentence. Would have been, right now, he was trying to work out what the hell was going on himself.
The priest lowered the book he had in his other hand when Jason didn't move to attack. As much as he probably would have wanted to cast Jason out, something told him that the guy wouldn't. Or, maybe couldn't was a more accurate statement. Something about not sending away those in need or whatever.
"Can I help you with something?" The priest asked after a while.
"I-" Jason cleared his throat, back-pedalling through the weird five minutes he'd just had to remember waking up in front of the church. "I think I've been sleepwalking."
The priest narrowed his eyes, his head tilting to take in Jason's, no doubt, dishevelled appearance. It looked like he'd passed some kind of test since any lasting animosity and suspicion the priest had died. It didn't take much for Jason to be changed out of his soaking socks and a blanket put over his shoulders. A nice cup of cocoa was put in his hands as the priest came back with a phone.
"Do you have someone to get you?"
Jason nodded, taking the phone and hoping someone was awake or close to their phone to pick up.
It took three attempts and the priest looking more sorry for him than Jason liked before someone picked up.
"What?" Damian grumbled into the speaker.
Jason stopped himself from teaching the kid some manners, knowing he was one more failed phone call away from the priest taking him to the GCPD and letting them handle him. "It's me. Is Bruce there?"
There was some shuffling, a small sound from Damian that reminded Jason more of a wary cat before he was back on the line, "Where are you? How did you get out?"
"Not important. Get Bruce. I need to be picked up," He hissed, smiling over at the priest.
"Picked up?" There was more shuffling and a definite bear sound that had to be Bruce waking up.
"What?" Bruce asked, the voice barely legible through the phone.
"Todd's gone."
"What!" There must have been some signal or Bruce guessing someone, probably Barbara, was on the other side since the phone was passed over, Damian protesting slightly and more grumbling from other people waking up as Bruce barked, "Where?"
"The old church, erm, I don't know where," the priest rattled off an address, relief on his face as Jason repeated it. God, he wasn't that bad. "Look, can you just come quickly. Please?"
"Jay..." the dial tone started, Jason handing the phone back.
"He'll be a few minutes."
The priest nodded. Jason drank his cocoa.
Bruce, when he came, was like a bat out of hell. He burst in, looking like he expected some kind of hostage situation or escaped villain of the week as he whipped his head around looking for Jason. He spotted him and the priest, the two of them sitting civilly at the table, and promptly deflated, a look Jason would describe as sheepish coming over his face as he started on his apologies to the priest.
Jason didn't wait for Bruce to finish, tossing the blanket back, he said his thank you's and scuttled out to the car. He rolled his eyes before he even slid in. It looked like the only way Bruce could get here right away was to bring Damian with him. The kid had a sword strapped to his side, his eyes still alert as he waited for Bruce to pile in with them.
"What's the situation?" Damian asked.
"No situation," Jason defused.
Damian glared back, his hand on his sword tightening until Bruce, finally, managed to pry himself away from the church. The door slammed louder than it should, irritation in every line of Bruce's body as he started the car up. Jason sat back, figuring it was best to say nothing until they got back to the manor.
The others were awake when they got back. Jason just had time to peel out of his wet clothes before he was bombarded with siblings asking him questions, and in Dick's case looking him over like a warrant chick.
"I'm fine," Jason hissed.
He tried to go to the bed, but Bruce caught him before he could, his fingers twice as rough as Dick's as he turned Jason this or that way to make sure he was fine. "What the hell was that?" Bruce bit out eventually.
Jason huffed, "Would you believe me if I said I don't know?"
"Jason," and wow, Bruce wasn't kidding around tonight.
"Look, I don't know. I went to sleep, and then I just woke up in front of the church." Which, was the truth, no matter how much Bruce wanted to believe otherwise. "Really, that's what happened. I swear. I don't even know myself how I got there."
Bruce scrubbed his face, frustration radiating off him as he felt the truth in Jason's words. "You swear?"
"I swear."
"That was a long way to walk Jay," Dick said.
"You don't think I know that?"
Dick saw how much this was freaking him out, how much Jason was scared of what was happening to him since he didn't say anything more. Instead, he went over to Bruce, the two of them having a short, hissed conversation before Bruce visibly tried to calm himself down. When he didn't look like he was about to hit whatever got in his way he went back to Jason. "What happened when you woke up?"
"When I-?" A strange question. Or, maybe not that strange. There had been that weird moment. The one where he had been himself but, he hadn't been. Looking back, it felt more like a dream than anything else, but it felt real too. Natural. The thoughts had all been his, the life too normal to be that of a dream. One of Jason's dreams anyway. He looked at Bruce, reading something more than just the terror of waking to find Jason gone in his eyes. Something else had happened. "I was in front of the church. My socks were wet and, I don't know, I just started walking in. The pews were all different, not how they should have been." Like two different images overlapping each other Jason remembered. "And then I walked to the back, where the priests quarters are." Although how Jason knew that was where the priests lived was beyond him. He'd only been inside a church twice in his life. The first time had been for his mother's funeral, and the second he hadn't even been alive. "I went up and then I got a bible, no, wait, I stopped. I was at a mirror and I was thinking about my death." The face in the mirror that had been his but wasn't. The one that was thankful for the white stripe, the proof of God's power and that he had chosen Jason to come back. "My hair hadn't been dyed. It was kind of weird. And then I went to get the bible and-" the demon.
His dream, whatever, had known about the demon. Much more than Jason knew. He could tell, he could feel it somehow. This thing he'd been had interacted with the demon. He called it Dick. He had known about the bruises it left, the punishments for misbehaving. He had been fighting the demon, and he had maybe won.
"And...?" Bruce prompted.
"And then the priest walked in and I suddenly realised I'd broken into a church."
Bruce grumbled, pulling his phone out. "And you're sure that's all. Nothing else?"
Jason shook his head. He had promised not to tell and he wouldn't. He would behave. He had things to lose after all, not like that other guy. "Why?"
"There was another blip," He showed Jason the phone, the screen showing a map of Gotham and little blinking lights where, he guessed, the other timeline had tried to merge tonight. Jason saw the church labelled as one of those places.
"You think I was there?"
"Did it feel like you were?"
Jason nodded. It did. It was him. That other guy, that other way of thinking, was him in another timeline.
"The timeline must have felt you, maybe dragged you to the church to try and merge. If your other self was there he would be the dominant of the two. I need to look this up," Bruce told the rest of them, eyes landing on Dick, "Keep an eye on Jason."
"You got it."
Jason felt like he was never going to sleep again. He had almost been erased. Everything he was, everything he'd went through had almost gone away. He knew this other guy was him too, but he wasn't the Red Hood, he wasn't this Jason, him Jason, he was another Jason with another life.
The worst thing was, he kind of wanted it to erase him. That other Jason, he had a good life. A weird, saintly life sure, but he didn't feel like he had issues upon issues weighing him down. He didn't have to worry about safe houses or people he didn't save. He didn't have to worry about patrol, and villains, he just had to worry about the kids he looked after and his parishioners. A simpler life for a simpler Jason.
"Jay?" Dick sat next to him, running his fingers through Jason's hair. "It was just bad luck it was you."
"Yeah," he laughed. "But it's always me," because even in this other life there was still a demon to haunt him.
The timeline thing really spooked more than just Jason. He could see as the hours wore on and Dick didn't tire taking advantage of Jason's vulnerability for a hug that the others were still far from sleep too. Even Alfred, who insisted that he get at least six hours a night minimum for himself was sitting up, and with a little coercion from Dick read them all a book Tim fetched from the library.
They didn't want to go to sleep and wake up someone else. They didn't want to sleep period, which meant, that when morning came they were all awake before seven. A record if Alfred was to be believed.
Since Bruce wasn't around Alfred was able to manipulate Dick and Jason to help him down to the kitchen. Jason didn't let him cook, but Alfred had got his victory and amused himself with making sure Jason had everything up to his standard for breakfast. He was harder on Dick than Jason, which amused Jason to no end. Where Alfred would leave Jason alone when he was making blueberry pancakes, he was scrutinising every move Dick made, Jason knowing from experience it was the only way that things would come out edible.
Breakfast was a quiet affair even with Alfred's corrections. There was no fighting, no name calling. Silence reigned over most of their meal, only broken here and there with someone asking for syrup or another glass of orange.
"Should we take Bruce's down?" Dick asked as they were cleaning up.
Jason would have said yes. But with the new protocols of the manor and Alfred needing supervision he figured sending someone alone wouldn't be a good idea. "We'll leave something out. If Bruce is hungry enough, he'll come out of his hole and eat."
"You would make a mean housewife," Dick said, trying for humour.
It worked, Jason snorting as he finished wiping down the last plate. "You have no idea."
They retreated to the sun room for today's day of boredom. Jason wanted to get started on the manor again, but Alfred insisted it could wait, preferring instead to keep Jason close.
The six of them dug out old board games that hadn't been played since Dick was a kid. Dick, naturally, loved each and every one they unearthed, telling them stories of rainy days where Bruce still had a fun side and actually enjoyed playing games.
Twister got most of their attention, especially when Dick presented it as a test of flexibility and durability. Something Damian latched on to and declared he would be the best at. Tim and Cass only agreed because they knew it was actually a fun game. Jason on the other hand, decided to sit it out and help Alfred out with the spinner.
Thing was with bat kids Twister which usually ended after a few minutes of laughing and taunts actually lasted much longer. Dick and Damian had the flexibility to twist around their other siblings with ease, and despite how many times Tim got leaned on or almost forced to the ground he had strength of will. He wasn't going down without a fight. Cass, well, she had the whole package, so it wasn't like she would be the first to go down.
Jason was torn between watching this soon to be battle royal or catching a quick cat nap. No matter how much he was afraid he would wake up somewhere he shouldn't be, he was freaking sleep deprived and still running on fumes from the last few sleepless nights he'd had.
He was drifting next to Alfred's chair when last night came to him again. The other him. The other him that was haunted by the demon too. No, wait, he wasn't.
In the blip, his other self had said 'And there was me thinking you'd got bored.' He hadn't seen the demon in months. He thought he'd gotten rid of it. That meant that this thing, this demon, it had been haunting the other him before haunting him now. It had somehow crossed the blip into the first timeline.
This, wow, this made some sense.
If this demon was from the second timeline then it meant things that would work in this timeline might not work there. Or vice versa. The summoning circle. Who was to say it wouldn't work in this other timeline. If that were the case then the demon had been right when he said things in this world couldn't contain him. But things in this other world, this other timeline might.
The priest, for all his bible and hope in God, would only think that strength of will would keep the demon away. He wouldn't look into the occult. He wouldn't know that magic could help him. Or maybe that it existed at all, after all, magic and demons didn't necessarily go hand in hand. So, there could be a way to get rid of this thing.
Only problem was, he didn't have a way to communicate with his other self. Or, he might not. There could be a way, but Jason wasn't sure it would work. Or that he would get away with it.
He thought about it for the rest of the day. Weighing the risks and probability that it would work until Bruce came to find them. Bruce had ordered in, something Alfred scowled at but ate nonetheless when it was passed around to him. Dinner was just as quiet as breakfast with Bruce there. His mood seemed to bring back memories of things no one wanted to think about now nightfall was coming again. Especially when he told them that he was benching Tim again. The kid had been angry before that he wasn't allowed to go out, now, he just looked scared. One more hour at the manor meant one more hour of going to sleep, of finding himself in this other life. Tim's life was bad enough, he probably didn't even want to know what his other one was like, and, truthfully, Jason thought he probably shouldn't know either. If the demon and other him were to be believed, Tim didn't have it so easy over there.
Seven came with Dick, Cass and Damian all heading down to the cave to suit up. Since Jason had done another walkabout he wasn't allowed to even think of asking to go with them, so he shut up and hid himself by Alfred instead. Let Bruce have Tim.
It was probably a wise decision since another night of not being on the streets and feeling helpless in his own home meant that Bruce was just as angsty if not more than Tim right now. He was sullen, unapproachable, and when Tim managed to sneak his tablet from who knew where Bruce and him holed themselves in front of it for another night on the sidelines.
Alfred must have been feeling the boredom too since Jason's evening before bed consisted on Alfred trying to teach him some tricks 'Master Bruce' thought he was above. Like pick pocketing, and not the wimpy kind they taught on the streets. When Alfred said pick pocketing he meant stealing or replacing some expensive item that would surely be missed if not done correctly. Fascinating, and yet another reason why Jason wondered how Tim could choose his tablet over Alfred and his life of experiences.
Bruce seemed to be putting off going to bed since he managed to make them stay up until one in the morning before Alfred pointedly reminded Bruce that he wasn't the only one being kept up. Bruce grumbled like a teenager but helped Jason get Alfred ready for bed anyway.
He was going to turn in himself when the perfect opportunity arose. Bruce was busy cleaning Tim's chest, the kid trying to keep his mind off it by listening to Alfred bitch at Bruce. No one was paying attention to him, so Jason quickly slipped out of the room and ran to Dick's.
His phone was where it always was, right on top of the pillow. He never took it down to the cave in case one of his little brothers decided to hack it. Jason didn't know if that was a porn reason or someone new he was dating reason but Dick liked to keep his phone in his room when he went out as Nightwing. Somewhere that was labelled as private and if broken Dick would know and his trust would be gone. Stuff that would have Jason backing away if he was five years younger and not desperate.
Wally's number was easy to find, and after a few false starts Jason managed to get his message across. Make contact with Barry. Tell him to find Father Todd. The priest needs to look into demon lore. Wally was as curious as anyone would be in that situation, but Jason was hoping trust would win out as he locked the phone back up and slipped back into Bruce's room.
With no Damian and friends to kick them about Jason enjoyed his new found space in Bruce's bed by spreading out as much as he could. So much so that he even managed to push Bruce a little more into Tim's territory than he should have. Still, the kid should have seen it coming.
"Bruce," Tim whined, pushing at the bulk threatening to squash him. "Tell him to move along."
"But-" and Bruce actually sounded quite hesitant as he made a few gestures.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Tim, just go with it," Bruce begged. Jason pushed a bit more, hearing one of Tim's legs fall out the bed.
"He's taking up all the room."
"And when you're ill you can take up all the room," Jason harrumphed.
Tim sat up, looming over Bruce to point a finger at him, "You're not ill. You haven't had an episode in two days. Go home."
Jason wished he could. But he couldn't, so he put his hands behind his head instead and asked, "You gonna let him talk to me like that Bruce?"
Bruce sent him a warning look, but still turned to Tim to say, "This is his home Tim. And just because he hasn't fallen back into his fever does not mean Jason's out of the woods yet. Just, let him have this."
"Oh my God," Tim near screeched, flopping back. "This is ridiculous."
"This is having an older brother," Jason sent back. "Trust me when I say Dick's gone far too easy on you all these years."
Tim snorted, "Like you would know what Dick's been like. You're never here."
"And whose fault is that?"
"Yours," Tim screeched again.
"Agree to disagree," Jason said, expecting the lunge when it came.
Thankfully, Bruce caught Tim mid leap and set him down before any damage could be done. Unfortunately, that place Tim was set down was right in the middle of Bruce and Jason. "It's late, I'm tired, you two behave and sleep or so help me I'll..." He could see Bruce struggling for a punishment fit for the both of them. It wasn't like he could ground Jason any more, and banning him from anywhere in this manor was like giving himself a death sentence. They needed Jason here and Bruce knew it. He had no power. So Bruce just flopped back, crossing his arms like he hoped the unfinished threat alone would have them behaving.
It didn't. Two mini fights broke out before Bruce barricaded himself between them again and smushed Tim to the mattress to stop any more fighting. Jason sent his little brother little grins that had the kid hissing fits until Bruce started flicking Jason in the nose every time he did it.
It wasn't long after that Jason gave up and tried to get some real rest. He was tired after all.
Unfortunately, the world wasn't listening to him tonight. No sooner had he closed his eyes did he find himself being jumped on. He expected Dick when he saw him, the demon grinning down at him and making motions to the bathroom.
Jason didn't fight him. He couldn't. He didn't know if the demon had figured out he had a plan to get rid of him, if he had been watching him when he broke into Dick's phone and he couldn't let it know. He couldn't give it reason to watch him when it wasn't feeding. So Jason followed when the demon led.
Dick had the courtesy to lock the door before approaching Jason, giving him at least some privacy from his family. Small blessings. "So Jay, you learnt your lesson?"
"Yes."
Dick pouted, "Shame, I was quite looking forward to teaching you another." He shrugged, "Well, since you're on board tonight, lets get to the good stuff. Have to say, I haven't been with a human so aware in a while. This is going to be quite the experience for me."
"Joy," Jason huffed.
Dick rolled his eyes, "Don't be like that." He clapped his hands, "So, any ideas? Preferences? What would you do if I was... lesser me?"
There was something off about Dick tonight. It wasn't the whole demon thing either. This was another thing. Jason couldn't put his finger on it. "For one I wouldn't be doing this."
Dick huffed, "Come on, play nice."
Jason didn't think he could. Not when the thing in front of him just wasn't Dick. "Okay, listen. I don't care that you're using me, I don't care that you're probably lying about the whole tiredness thing. But if you expect me to play nice while looking like my brother, you can forget it."
The demon sniggered as it asked, "Then what do you suggest?"
"If you're a demon, look like one."
Dick looked surprised but his wings unfolded and eyes glowed anyway. It hit Jason as Dick crowded close what was so weird. The eyes, the wings, they were both kind of faint, like they were struggling to stay. But when a wing touched Jason, its inhumanly soft feathers stroking against his face, they were as real as they had been last time.
"What do you want a demon to do to you Jay?"
Jason swallowed thickly. A demon it was, but it was still in Dick's form, still gorgeous. "Whatever makes you go away the fastest."
The demon smiled and in one swift move had Jason turned so his back was to Dick's chest. His underwear was tugged to the floor, the demon grabbing Jason's hips and pulling back until his skin met Dick's. It was similar to that time in Jason's bathroom. So similar as the demon started tugging on Jason's cock. Yet the wings cradling him were new, as was the chin on his shoulder.
It wasn't difficult to get him hard. This was some sort of Dick that was behind him after all. One that wanted him, one that was touching him. Jason couldn't help but rock back because in another timeline this probably was Dick. Other him had called him Dick, the demon itself had admitted the human him was a pale imitation. In another timeline, Dick was a demon, and he wanted Jason. As sick as it was, his brain couldn't help but latch onto that because in another timeline he was worthy enough to catch Dick Grayson's eye.
"Why do you call him brother?" Dick mumbled, nipping at his collarbone as his hand sped up his strokes. "I mean, you're not really related. And if he was your brother," another nip as his other hand went around Jason's hip to his ass, "You wouldn't want him doing this to you."
Fingers teased his cleft, dipping in further and further until it was rubbing against his hole.
"Is it a kink?"
A finger pressed in slightly, mocking what another part of Dick's body could be doing if Jason asked.
"No, I think it's something else. It's what he sees you as isn't it? His little brother. That's all you are to him."
Two of them pressed gently this time, spreading his hole as Dick twisted the head of his cock.
"That's all you think of yourself to him. His little brother."
Jason tossed his head back, leaning most of his weight on the body behind him. One of Dick's finger slid in further than either of them planned, the stretch dry but good as the demon twisted it back out. He brought it back around front, rolling Jason's balls around and stretching the skin. He tightened his hand on Jason's cock, Dick's front moulding itself to Jason's back so he could guide his body through his fist. The heat from the back and grip at the front had Jason on the edge pretty fast.
He turned his head, breathing in the same smell both Dick's had, that air of flying that left itself on their skin. His eye caught something just as Dick gave a rather forceful thrust, the edge of a cock Jason wasn't sure the demon had brushing against his hole.
He came in messy streaks, Dick cooing behind him even as he kept thrusting. Jason felt his legs go under him, tiredness setting in, yet Dick wasn't done yet. This was new, as Jason lay, the demon climbed back into position, soft little whines escaping its throat as hands pinned themselves to Jason's shoulders. Never before had the demon showed any interest in anything other than getting Jason off, yet there it was, dry humping his ass. If Jason wasn't fading, he would have tried to commit the sensations to memory. Demon or not, Jason needed material to get off too.
As it was, all he could do was lay there and try not to pass out. He needed to get back to bed after all. If he didn't, it would just be worse in the morning when they couldn't wake him.
One of Dick's hands came next to his face as the little whimpers increased. Jason blinked at it, and blinked again, his brain trying to wrap itself around the skin he was seeing. It wasn't clear like it had been last time. Instead, there were scars, small, lines zigzagging to his fingers and palms. The same one other Dick had.
Darkness overcast him for a moment as the demon's long wings curled around him, straining slightly where they stayed as Dick let out one more whimper and stilled.
The light came back as the demon climbed over him, panting slightly, laughing a little either in some kind of mirth. Jason tried to move, but there was still a weight on his back, one that was slowly inching forward until it was covering Jason entirely.
The hand next to his face hadn't moved, but when Jason looked he could spot the demon a few feet away, its devilish grin increasing as the wet streaks disappeared in the bathroom.
"That was unusual," it said, dipping over to plant a kiss on Jason's cheek. "But not bad." It disappeared, and still there was a weight on Jason's back.
He could hear them panting in his ear, the hand on his shoulder clenching as soft hair brushed against his back. Jason tried not to but he really was more than tired now, and sleep was so close. The floor, while not his first choice, was growing more and more agreeable the longer he lay there. Too agreeable, and since the weight on top of him wasn't moving, Jason blamed them for his eyes closing.
"What was that?" Was the last thing Jason heard before he passed out.
A.N: So, here's the thing. I'm not giving up on this story, but I have essays I need to write. The next chapter is going to take more than a few days to come out. Like a week or two, so please don't get too impatient because I really have to get my work finished.
Thank you to all who reads my story, and those who comment or favourite it. Like, it really helps to know a story is liked so, thanks.