Family

by Elizabehta Beilschmidt

Jason and Jasmine Nightingale were considering the idea of starting a family, you know, slow and steady, make sure they had everything under control, adopt a kid when they had the resources to properly provide for them- It starts with Billy Batson, but soon chaos literally knocked on their door.

note: this is also crossover with Captain Marvel/Shazam. but ff is Like That and only let me put 2 fandoms. No need to know a lot about Captain Marvel, though.

This is what happens when you really like The Addams, The Incredibles, Anger Management and Billy Batson. Also, when you are enabled by a server of lunatics (affectionate) that cheer on you as you lose your mind.

Special thanks to Hestia and Serenity from the BatPham server for dialogue ideas. Also thanks to the BatPham server for helping with ideas and scenes for this story.
Special thanks to shroudthecursedone for the Billy Batson being adopted by Jason and Jazz addition to this ask, which was what started it all.
Special thanks to Artemis, Simonsaying and Kate for taking a look and giving me feedback!

Bill the Henchman and the Guy are from ThePandaRedd's skits

---

Family

---

Part 1 - Billy joins the family

"Jason."

"Yes, dear?"

"Jason, my love."

"..." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "You don't usually call me 'love'."

"I do now," she crossed her arms, "because I'm pissed as fuck."

"I'm… sorry?"

They looked at each other in silence, the sounds of someone walking around their living room clear even with the bedroom door closed.

"Why did you bring a kid to our home?"

"I…"

"Okay, I'm not really mad," Jazz sighed and purposely relaxed her shoulders, "I just want to talk."

Jason breathed out, feeling a little calmer. Jazz was a paragon of sincerity and both made an effort to talk sincerely about how they felt, if they needed a time out, if they were mad or something like that. If she said she wasn't mad, then she wasn't. No mind games.

"Name's Billy. Didn't tell me last name."

"Obviously."

He nodded. Jazz had gotten close and personal with the darker parts of Gotham around him, and she still stayed at his side. Sometimes he wondered how she did it, how she still said 'yes' to him.

"Caught him trying to steal my bike."

Her lips curved. "The tires?"

Jason chuckled. "No! The whole thing! It's not even that easy, mine is modified to high heavens and still he almost got it when I found him."

"I see why you like him."

There was a bit more of silence, but this time with less tension as they smiled at each other.

"Is this really happening?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Is this something you want?"

They had talked about family, of course. After four years dating and two more married, talks about the future had sneaked into their conversations; starting a family, stopping the vigilante work, children.

He knew her stance on children, she knew his and they have come to a shaky middle ground where both were scared about subjecting a child to fucked up genetics from a liminal mother and a zombie father, if they were even able to have kids, that is.

They would adopt, once they felt ready to provide for a kid, once they had their shit together, once Jazz got that promotion and the juicy raise they would need to pay for a kid's needs since neither wanted to dip into the whole crime lord's money for this.

The actual eleven year old kid was in their living room and dropped something to the floor. An actual human being that had no living relatives and ran away from a neighboring city and ended up in Gotham, following Red Hood home.

"I do want to keep him." Jason answered her question, eyes downwards as his hands played with his helmet.

He was still wearing the suit, only maskless since it didn't make sense to hide now that the kid knew where he lived. The walls had family photos and selfies with Jazz all over them.

"Maybe until we find someone better to take care of him?" He added after a moment, since Jazz let him think about it.

"Do you really believe that?"

He smiled, looking up at her, his blue eyes slightly glossy. "You know me well." He straightened his back and braced himself. "Is this something you want?"

Jazz had been less into the idea of children than him, but agreed to consider it. Her main worries were giving the child enough attention and nurturing, claiming that covering the basics (food, shelter, education) wasn't enough to raise a kid. Jason knew this came from her childhood full of neglect, and how she had to provide those needs to her own brother growing up. Also because both were usually very busy with the Red Hood work and her job at Arkham and how hard it was to climb the ladder.

She said she would be open to it, but needed to think.

She looked into his eyes, her little smile letting him know her answer before she opened her mouth.

"Yes. I think we got this."

"Yes!"

He scooped her into his arms and kissed her smile, laughing with her into the kiss. This was a pivotal moment in their life together, this was the point of no return, this would forever change things in their little home - and he was excited to change with her.

"Are you guys going to start making out or something?" A voice called from the opened door. When was it opened? "I mean, don't stop on my account." Billy grabbed a handful of chips from a bag and brought them to his mouth, chewing loudly.

The couple jumped back, looking at the black haired, blue eyed kid on the door, watching them with a bored smile.

"Where did you get those chips?"

"There was a stash hidden in the cupboards."

Jazz frowned at Jason. "I thought we would stop hiding snacks." He smiled sheepishly.

"I forgot I left them there?" He frowned, looking at the kid and his baggy, stained and holey red hoodie. "You took more things. Gimme."

"I didn't-"

"You did."

"I did not."

"Did to."

Adult and kid glared at each other, before Billy sighed and pulled a ghostly ceremonial dagger Jazz gifted Jason on their anniversary, the one that was usually on display on the living room wall.

"And the other thing."

"I only took this one."

"Kid," Jason said with such a tired dad voice that Jazz had to chuckle, "I've been in the stealing business longer than you. I know all the tricks. Gimme the thing."

Billy groaned and angrily pulled a few silver spoons from a fancy tea set Alfred got them as a wedding gift, also on display in the living room.

"Good. If I catch you stealing something else we're gonna have a problem."

Kid didn't look appalled, angry or scared. Just looked at them with a blank stare. "You gonna call the police?"

"Police doesn't do shit for orphan kids like you," Jason grabbed the kid by the arm, gently but firmly, and dragged him all the way back to the living room, walking to the tiny two seat kitchen table that divided the space between living room and kitchen, and sitting down with him. "I was talking about consequences like only getting vegetables for dinner and less TV time."

It took a moment for the kid to understand the words.

"You guys are keeping me?" He looked like he didn't believe it that much, but was hopeful despite everything. It was almost as if the offer was too good to be true, too fantastic to be made sincerely.

By the boy's frown, Jazz suspected the kid would bolt the moment something started looking suspicious. She had dealt with street kids before, helping Jason set up some child counseling places around the Narrows and Crime Alley; and all of them had the same dangerous edge in their eyes as they spoke with an adult.

Jason usually took care of the older ones, the most hardened, sharing his own story with them in hopes of making a connection and convincing them they were there to really help and not make it worse. Would he do the same trick with Billy?

"We still need to do a shit ton of paperwork, but if that's what you want, then yes." Jazz walked closer, amused by the stare down and how Jason had clicked into his role so quickly.

Billy considered it for a moment, his emotions clear in his bright blue eyes. Hopeful, distrust, hurt, hope again. This kid had seen some bad things and life has been cruel to him.

Jazz wanted to give him everything instead.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that."

---

Part 2 - Billy gets caught

Billy thought he had gotten a sweet deal.

Free food, free shelter and two parents that actually gave a fuck. It was also cool that one of them was one of Gotham's vigilantes.

It's been about a month since he came to live with the couple and it's been… good? Like, not perfect, but honestly good. The Nightingales (she told him to call them by their names, but he didn't want to just yet) made an honest effort to change their lives for him.

They also took care of all the paperwork scarily fast.

He was vaguely aware of Gotham's heroes and the little bit he knew about Hood was that he was very dangerous but very good with homeless children and the prostitutes. That's why when he was discovered stealing a bike and saw it was Hood's, he thought he hit the jackpot.

He also thought the man would guide him towards a trusted orphanage or give him food and cash and send him on his way.

He didn't expect to meet his actual wife, a sweet and innocent looking woman around Hood's age, and brought to his actual house. An apartment with a real TV and a couch that wasn't filled with holes and was comfortable to nap in. A place with warm food and hot showers and-

Jason and Jasmine were amazing, but still he had them at arms' length. It wasn't just that a mere month was not enough to be the happy family they wanted out of him; it wasn't that he didn't want to get attached in case they decided they didn't want him anymore; it was just… they were good, you know? They tried to be good parents despite him crashing into their lives unannounced.

They were good and he didn't want them to know about Captain Marvel.

He tried to be good too, he tried to be the hero Fawcett needed, but there was just so much he didn't know… There was so much he knew he could do, but-

But he needed guidance. And he couldn't ask anybody. Who would mentor a kid with a double life as a god? Well, man with god-like powers.

His new adoptive parents were good, but they wouldn't get it, you know? Or they could forbid his hero work, something he couldn't afford. Or they would freak out and think it was too much and kick him out - No, he was being unfair. They wouldn't kick him out, but they could call Batman. And Batman could call the Justice League. He didn't want them getting involved.

So that's why he had a portal hidden in his closet.

Good thing about living with the Nightingales was that he had his own room. There was an unused guest room in their small apartment that had been basically used for storage, and they cleared it for him. He had his own bed and his own closet (had to share the bathroom though, but even that was an improvement from living in the streets).

The portal. Yes. He had a portal to Fawcett in his closet, his pride and joy. It consumed a bit of energy, but was totally worth it, since he didn't need to fly all the way to Fawcett. Or worry about transforming in Gotham and alert the local vigilantes with a giant lighting every night.

Either of those was a bad idea.

Also, it was very nifty - he didn't need to come back from a window and risk being seen by his vigilante adoptive dad coming back from patrol or anything.

As he crossed the portal from Fawcett's end, completely ready to collapse on his too soft bed (he was still getting used to sleeping there and not on the floor), he didn't expect seeing his adoptive mother, Jasmine, sitting on his bed with her arms crossed and a frown directed at him.

"Hello, Billy." Her voice was controlled.

He jumped in place, his heart beating like a hummingbird's inside his chest. He had been caught before sneaking around or stealing food, but this… Jasmine's eyes were fixed on him like a cat that found its prey.

This could very easily end in him being kicked out/sold out to Batman.

"Hi." His voice cracked in the worst way.

"Before you try anything, Jason is not home yet. Is it just you and me," she was trying to sound softer, but Billy could differentiate by now the nuances of her being pissed off sneaking into her tone. "I'm not mad, I just wanna talk."

A month ago, Billy wouldn't have felt comfortable enough to talk back. "You do look mad, though."

"Because my kid is crossing portals and doing Ancients knows what behind my back."

Ancients. Jasmine cursed using that word. It was weird, but she never explained why.

"I'm sorry?" He smiled like he smiled when he wanted to get away with something. Jason usually caved easily.

Jasmine was a bit stronger of will. "Apology accepted. Now, tell me about this portal and where it leads." She patted the space beside her.

Wasn't she weirded out by the portal? The thing was shining and still working inside the closet. By her tense smile and how her eyes were fixed on him, it seemed that a portal in the closet wasn't her focus right then.

Billy didn't sit with her. It felt like a trap.

"Alright. Don't sit, I won't force you," her tone was soft, not exactly motherly, but the therapist tone she used when feelings were discussed in the Nightingale household. "I'm not mad," she repeated, "I was worried."

"About?"

"You?" Jasmine lifted an eyebrow. "Your safety. Where that portal leads. What you do every night," she took a deep breath. "And why you don't feel safe enough to tell me."

There it was. She tried not to show, but her eyes got pinched in the edges at the last admission.

Billy has had people worried about him before, people that felt that his safety was their duty and people that pitied his plight. Jasmine was not like those people. She had tried to make him feel safe and loved, despite his attempts at keeping her away; and never, not once, she made him feel pitied or like a charity case.

"I knew about your escapades. I knew you went somewhere every night."

"You went through my things?" Okay, that was unacceptable.

But she was laughing. "Oh, I didn't need to. Not that I would ever disrespect your room. Billy, we promised this would be your own space and that still stands, no matter how mad we could get at you."

"Then how-"

"You think you are sneaky, but you aren't," Jasmine interlaced her hands on her lap, her smile turning vicious. "You think you are the only one that knows the tricks, the way to lie around and do dangerous things behind your parents' back. You don't know me that well, Billy, but maybe you will, one day, when you are ready to ask about my past."

It struck him like magic, despite being sure she wasn't a magic user. Jasmine was not a normal person, a normal human. Her eyes glowed with the supernatural, her smile suddenly had many teeth, her aura was radiating something powerful, something he didn't know what it was.

Her lips shrunk back into a smile he was more familiar with, a kinder one, and the effect dissipated.

"I waited for you to tell me on your own." Jasmine continued.

"I'm sorry." This time it was sincere. She nodded.

"Apology accepted," she repeated, patting the bed again, lifting an eyebrow in a silent invitation. "Care to tell me what is going on? If you have a problem, Jason and I have ways to help you."

Now, he didn't doubt it. Jason was a ruthless vigilante, dangerous, lethal, and with connections with almost every circle in the criminal underworld. Jasmine wasn't exactly human, he didn't know what she was, and she was dangerous in a more supernatural way.

Billy felt tired. He felt like he was at the edge of a precipice and he was looking down at the darkness, feeling completely drained.

Too long. It had been too long, and he had been all alone. He had tried so hard to be strong, to be worthy of his gift, to be the best he could do.

But he was tired.

Jasmine's… No, Jazz's smile made him want to surrender, to give up trying to be strong, trying to be -

He sat down next to her, and when she circled her arm around his body, he let her. She was warm, he felt cold to the bone. Without thinking, he buried his face in her chest, comforted by the sound of her heartbeat.

"It started with a Wizard, about a year ago…"

---

Part 3 - Billy is introduced to the Waynes

"When you said you had something to announce to the family, I expected, I dunno, that Jazz was pregnant?"

"I mean, it's not that much of a difference."

"Is it though?"

"Dick, Tim, please." Bruce sighed in that way he did when he knew he was powerless to stop the chaos.

"It's okay, Bruce," Jasmine, the best thing that happened to his son in recent years, took one of his hands in hers. Her smile was cheeky, like she had an ace in her sleeve. "They are just grumpy because they aren't considered the best uncle."

On cue, the brothers huffed and crossed their arms at the same time. In the distance, they could hear Billy laughing at something Damian said. The best uncle had been chosen already.

Bruce smiled at her. He liked her a lot.

Jasmine crashed into their lives when a case brought them to investigate the Arkham Asylum staff. She had been assigned to be interrogated by Hood since she lived in his territory, and instead of being dodgy or try to run like the others, she said 'Fucking finally!' and gave him a detailed list of exactly the people they needed to apprehend and what they have done in specific. As a parting gift, she also gave him a powerpoint with a twelve step plan on how to reduce the reincidence in crime in Gotham's underbelly.

It was love at first sight for Jason, and well, the rest is history.

"We didn't come here to crack jokes about the situation." Jason leaned back on the sofa, one arm casually around his wife.

It wasn't possessive, but a way to let her know he was there without crowding her. Bruce couldn't not notice these small gestures, committing them to his memory since it was too cute, and a facet of his son he wasn't usually allowed to see.

Jazz squeezed Bruce's hand in hers, twisting a bit so she could look him in the eye better. He leaned in a little in the loveseat next to the sofa, where he had been sitting, knowing this was going to be A Conversation.

"Billy is not a normal kid," she began, wincing a bit at her wording, "and I don't mean his homeless past or the orphan thing."

"Oh great, he fits the brand more and more."

"Brand? What brand?" Tim turned to glare at his older brother. "I wasn't an orphan when I joined the family. Or homeless."

"Well you weren't adopted until your dad died."

"You weren't adopted until you were an adult."

"Because I didn't want to!"

"Boys!" Bruce turned to glare at the siblings on the other sofa in the sitting room they were having tea in. The brothers stopped arguing and stood to attention. "This is serious."

"Thanks," the woman smiled as her husband glared at his siblings. "So, Billy has powers."

"A meta?" Not that Bruce would mind that his grandson (grandson!) was a meta, but this amount of nervousness was troubling.

Her smile turned a bit forced. "Not exactly. Uhhhh-"

"Captain Marvel."

"Jay!"

"What?" Bruce blinked at the non-sequitur. "What does this have to do with Captain Marvel?"

He had been investigating the Fawcett City hero, maybe to scout him for the Justice League, if the hero agreed to it. This wasn't a secret between him and his children, they knew about his League activities and duties.

"Don't recruit him." Jazz bit her lips. "Because Billy is Captain Marvel. And we don't want him to join the Justice League yet."

Bruce had faced weird stuff in his life, weirder than this, so he only blinked and sighed. He believed them since neither had reason to lie about something like this.

"Alright."

"That easy?" Jason lifted an eyebrow.

"What? Did you really think I would recruit a literal child for the League?"

"I mean…" his smile was wide but not friendly, and his opinion on child sidekicks was fresh in everyone's minds. "Oof!" He jumped when his wife elbowed him. "What was that for?"

"You promised to behave." Jazz narrowed her eyes.

There was a brief silent argument between the two, speaking only with their eyes and a series of facial expressions neither Bruce nor the brothers could follow. In the end, Jason sighed.

"Sorry about that," it sounded sincere enough, "it was uncalled for."

Without dwelling on what just happened, Jasmine turned towards him again. "A wizard chose Billy to be the Champion of Magic and gave him all these powers and responsibilities with some shitty and dubious consent and that's how he has that other form. Don't worry, we are working on it, my brother could help him with his powers."

"Have you contacted him?"

Danny, Jasmine's brother, the real High King of the Ghosts. All powerful, but still a child when he took the throne. He could understand why they would ask him for guidance.

"You know how it is," she sighed, leaning back to rest on Jason, "no phone signal in the Realms and he would get the message when he gets out or any of his friends sees him." She chuckled. "Heck, maybe you would see him sooner than me."

Good thing that the Ghost King's sister was his daughter-in-law. His association with the League went smoother than if Batman didn't have previous intel about this new Ghost King, or personally knew the kid himself. Everything was actually resolved in a simple phone call, a fact that drove Constatine completely nuts, so it was absolutely worth it if only for the look on the magician's face.

"How about his other needs? Schooling? Do you guys need money? I could-"

"We are fine, don't worry," she purposely took his hand again, patting it softly. He discovered some years ago that it was her way to center him, and Jason, when they spiraled into plans and possibilities. "Jay's been amazing and he's going to take care of it all."

"Homeschooling?" Dick leaned in. "Are you going to drop the whole vigilantism thing, then?"

He shook his head. "Not for the moment, but we'll see. Kid never learned to read," this affected his son more than he let on, Bruce could see, "I don't mind teaching him, at least enough so he can work on getting in level with the other kids." He crossed his arms. "Billy's smart, just didn't have a chance to go to school."

Bruce felt his heart swell, knowing that his son was seeing himself in the kid. His mind transported him to that night so many years ago when he saw a kid lose his parents right in front of his eyes. He understood the feeling, he understood trying to protect another mini-you from going down a dark path and maybe, just maybe, heal his inner self in the process.

No. This time it was different. His eyes went to Jasmine, who watched her husband with so much pride and love.

Jason wasn't like him; none of his kids were, actually, and it was something he came to learn over the years. He also found out it was better if they weren't like him, and that fact brought him certain peace.

"Jazz! Jay! Look what Damian gave me!" Billy ran into the room with Bruce's youngest hot on his heels and Alfred calmly following behind.

Bruce recognized the katana he was waving like it wasn't an actual deadly weapon. Did Damian really give one of his precious katanas to the kid? He must really like him already.

"Honey, that's a bit dangerous."

"Gimme that." Jason extended his hand, waving his fingers. Billy tensed for a second, stepping away and hiding the katana behind his back.

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Let me see it, Billy."

Excited, the boy walked around the sofa so he could be by her side, already thrusting the katana in her direction, missing chopping her hair by millimeters. If she hadn't dodged in time, the blade would have done some damage to her stomach.

She took it from him with a wide smile. "Looks amazing! But it's not for you." She gave it to Jason, who was offering his smugest grin to his adoptive son as he put the katana safely away from anyone's flesh. "Maybe you should start smaller."

Aaaaand this is when Bruce was reminded why these two were perfect for each other. He couldn't move a muscle as she searched inside her purse for a moment before pulling out a big dagger still in its sheath. It was lacquered crimson red with black flower details, and it had been an anniversary gift from Jason.

"A dagger?" The kid didn't seem that excited. "But I want the katana!"

"Damian is the best with a dagger, ask him to train you." Her smile was as sweet as candy; motherly, even, as she put the weapon in his hands.

Damian preened at the praise, his cheeks coloring a bit red. "Indeed, my skills are unparalleled." His back was ramrod straight, like when he was giving a report as Robin. "Onwards, my nephew, we shall make you the best fighter in no time."

This did the trick. Billy's eyes were alight once again with excitement, his hands gripping the sheathed blade, probably knowing it was an important object for his adoptive mother.

"Thanks!" He shouted, and they were gone.

There was a bit of silence in the room. Alfred, the fiend, was barely controlling his laughter as he stood by the door.

"That was…" Dick blinked slowly.

"You guys are, like, the non-goth version of Gomez and Morticia Addams."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Jason answered Tim with a smirk. "I do love my wife. I would kill for her, I would die for her." He turned to look at Jasmine, who was biting back an answering smirk. "Either way, what bliss."

She punched him softly as he leaned in to kiss her, giggling at her husband like they were younger and have just started dating. "You are such a sap."

"That was too dangerous!" Bruce tried to reason, not caring about killing the playful mood. "The kid has no training!"

"In my experience children would do dangerous things anyway, so better having capable supervision while they do. I completely trust Damian to not let him harm himself."

Jason nodded at what she said. "The alternative is him doing it anyway, but trying to hide from us. And we don't want that."

Bruce flinched. Not only remembering the time Jason went solo and did something dangerous without telling him; but all the other times each of his children did the same thing, all their lying and reckless decisions behind his back.

"That's also why Billy still goes back to Fawcett and does Captain Marvel things, but has a phone to report when he is out and how long he thinks he's going to take." Jazz crossed her arms, daring Bruce to disagree with her parenting choices.

"Careful, Jaybird," Dick jumped in to redirect the conversation, "it starts with one, and then next thing you know, you've got four of them."

"I don't-"

"Yeah, black hair and blue eyes is gonna become our brand isn't it?" Tim caught on the attempt and continued the joke. "It's one thing to be Bruce's brand but now with Jason adopting the next generation of black haired blue eyed kids then it's gonna be a Wayne brand, and now you've set the template, the first kid to break the mold is gonna be so isolated."

"Then maybe some of you should step up your game and have some kids, huh?" Jazz's smile was everything but kind, laughing when both brothers started backtracking and blushing, throwing excuses about them and their partners not being ready and still thinking about it.

Bruce watched in mild amusement, still a bit shaken by how they dealt with parenting their kid. He had no doubts that they would do great - these two were passionate when they set their sights on an objective, and if that objective was raising a kid they would do everything they could and more. It was just that, well, their methods…

Once upon a time, Bruce had the passing thought that Jasmine would somehow tame Jason, rein him in so to speak. He now regretted thinking that.

First, because he had come to learn that it was so wrong to put that kind of pressure on someone else, and 'it isn't a girlfriend's duty or place to "fix" anybody, what the fuck is wrong with you' (Selina kind of beat that into him quite literally).

And second, because when there was a ghost invasion in Gotham and she had to call her brother, introducing him to the family at the same time, Bruce kind of understood why Jasmine was part of the Ghost King's War Council, and the answer wasn't because they were related. He also understood that he had passed on his taste in women to his sons.

Amused, he wondered now if he had passed his adopting tendencies as well. Only time would tell.

---

Part 4 - Danny joins the family

Danny couldn't believe this.

How did this happen? Well, the how was kinda confusing, and Danny was a bit pissed off to really dwell on the mechanics.

He would find the motherfucker that did this, that was for sure, and he would make them pay. He was the High King of the Ghosts, for fucks sake. He could snap his fingers and make any ghost disappear.

He didn't see the incoming attack, it had been literally the classic stab in the back cowardly move. He didn't see who did it, or why, or if it was one of his enemies.

Danny only remembered a feeling like floating in space (cool) and indescribable pain (not cool) and an uncomfortable sensation of being compressed. Like a hug, but the ones that stopped being warm and are just to break your bones.

He opened his eyes with a gasp, momentarily disoriented with the vast green around him. Still in the Ghost Zone, okay, he could be back in no time.

Except… When he called for the power of the Realms, it barely answered. It was still there, he hadn't lost his position as King - it was just… quiet. Muted.

Wrong. Something was wrong.

He put his hands on his head, trying to feel the crown. His fingers touched cold metal, good; but the crown's proportions were all wrong.

Danny looked at his hands, trying to see what-

They were small.

His hands! Small hands, baby hands, tiny hands. He still had the ring, though, safely secured in his left gloved hand-

His gloves! His suit! He hadn't seen this suit since he was sixteen and outgrown the lab suit he died in and one advisor informed him he could just change his ghostly attire and he just did that.

Danny. Focus.

He was wearing a familiar black and white suit with his logo placed on his chest. Not armor pieces, no utility belt, no cape. Unacceptable.

Also, yeah. His body was small. If he had to guess, he was just like the day he died.

Oh joy.

Just to test things, he tried calling on his power, breathing in relief when his tiny hands lit in a green glow. He felt… weak. Constrained. Was he this weak when he started? Logically, he knew he was stronger now - he had years of training and once he ascended to the throne, the power of the Zone itself opened for him to use as he saw fit.

(He was not a god, thank you very much.)

Now, with his connection with the Zone muted, in a small and weaker body and potentially depowered, Danny knew he was an easy target. He needed to stay somewhere safe until he figured out who or what did this, and why.

He couldn't go back to Amity Park. It would be the best option, given the insane amount of ambient ectoplasm, but his parents still lived in his childhood home and after things turned a bit dark with them, his hometown was the least safe place for him in his depowered state.

Sam and Tucker was another option. They were sharing an apartment for college and would drop everything to help him solve this problem, but he didn't want to bother them now that graduation was closer and they needed to figure out what to do with their lives after that.

Jazz. She was still living in Gotham and if he remembered correctly, her apartment had a juicy guest room he could crash in until he got his body back. Also, it helped that Jason was the coolest brother-in-law and his cooking was the best in the world (unbiased, of course).

Having made his decision, Danny used what remained of his connection to the Zone and found a natural portal that could take him to Gotham, since his portal powers were a no-go. He flew the rest of the way and located the apartment via Jazz and Jason's ecto signatures, very noticeable in a city with so little ambient ectoplasm.

Feeling like literally crashing in from the window was a bad idea, and phasing right in could end in him seeing something he shouldn't, Danny decided to transform back to human (and woah, he was still wearing his adult clothes and those didn't fit at all) and knock on the door like a normal person. He even prepared his cutest smile to ask for the favor.

Who opened the door was not his sister. Or Jason.

It was a kid.

"Who are you?" The kid frowned, ready to slam the door shut. "You are not the pizza guy."

"Sorry to disappoint." Danny was not sorry. He stepped back and checked that this was indeed the Nightingale home. "Who the fuck are you?"

"You shouldn't use cuss words."

"You can't tell me what to do," Danny was starting to get really pissed. "Where's Jazz?"

The kid's eyes lit with recognition. "Do you know my mom?"

Mom?

What the fuck?

Jazz had a kid and didn't tell him? How? When? Also, now that he looked at the kid he did look like the father, assuming that was Jason. They got busy, huh.

Wait. The kid was at least eight years old. Did… did he really miss so much? He knew the time dilation thing in the Zone was crazy, but enough to make him lose years of his sister? What about the others? Sam? Tucker? Did they forget him already-

"Honey, who are you talking to?" That was Jazz's voice alright. Soon, she appeared at the door and Danny relaxed a little when she looked as young as he left her. "Danny? Is that you?"

He sighed in relief. Good thing that she was used to weird shenanigans happening to him and didn't freak out at him being de-aged.

"Hey, Jazzy. I need some place to crash. Can I stay with you guys?" His smile was wide and cute and his eyes wide open, trying to play the 'im baby (and deaged)' card.

It didn't work. Much.

She sighed and let him in, quietly closing the door after them. The kid watched in mild amusement as his mom (okay, HOW did THAT happen?) pursed her lips in thought.

"You take the couch. And when Jason's back we need to talk."

"The couch? What about the guest room?"

"You mean my room?" The kid puffed out his chest with a smug smile that reminded Danny of Jason. It was his kid alright.

"You stay out of this, shorstack." He glared at him.

"Short? Have you seen yourself in a mirror, pipsqueak?"

"Boys!" Both froze at the powerful Mom voice. "Enough. Danny, this is Billy, my son. Billy, this is Danny, my little brother who I remember having raised with proper manners." She narrowed her eyes at him.

Danny glared at Billy, who struck his tongue at him.

"You could have told me you were having a baby." His shoulders slumped, all fight gone from his body. "I don't want to be completely out of your life, you know."

Since he became King, Danny sometimes felt he was drifting away from everybody. His work absorbed every last ounce of energy he had, and he had found himself not going back to the living world in months, even counting on the time dilation.

The one he missed the most was his sister. Jazz had always been there for him, made him lunch for school, helped him with homework and generally filled a role in his life his actual parents should have. He had years to reflect on that, especially when she chose to fly solo and come to Gotham on her own. She had been the closest thing to a mother in his fucked up childhood, and the moment she left with the moving company he felt he was losing a big part of himself.

He never told her any of this, of course. He knew she would have turned around and stayed in Amity, or left with him when his parents-

"He's adopted, actually."

"Really?"

"We made it official a few months ago, but he's been with us a bit longer than that."

It still stung a little to be left out of the loop.

"But I texted you about it, Danny," she tilted her head in confusion. "You didn't see it?"

"I think I was freaking out a little about being a fucking child again." He pulled out his phone, which was still in the back pocket of his oversized jeans. He ignored all the notifications and went straight to his sister's chat conversation. "Champion of Magic, huh? Sucks to be the Chosen One when you aren't even done with highschool."

"I don't go to school," Billy crossed his arms, "so I don't care about it that much."

"No school?" Danny smirked at his sister. "Are you going soft, Jazzy?"

"Billy is homeschooled until he is at level with his peers," she crossed her arms, disappointed at her brother. "He has been living in the streets and hasn't had a chance to learn how to read."

Danny pocketed his phone, sighing. "Okay, now I feel like a real asshole."

"A little bit, yeah."

He made a face at her just as the window in the living room was opened, the imposing figure of the Red Hood frozen with one leg inside the apartment. Danny couldn't see his face with the helmet in the way, but he felt his eyes on him.

"Hello?" The voice modulator didn't hide the confusion. "Darling? Did you clone the kid?"

"Har, har."

"Clone?"

"Excuse me, I don't need more clones-"

"Holy shit, Danny?" Jason slipped into the apartment and ripped the helmet off, shaking his head a little to unflatten the curls. "What happened to you, man?"

"Got hit by a deaging ray or something so," he shrugged, the oversized shirt making the movement more pathetic.

"You're stuck as a kid, then?" Jason approached Jazz and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, ruffling Billy's hair when he passed by him, making the kid giggle.

Danny felt a pinch in his chest at the happy family picture, envious about something he never had (and probably never would, but that's another story completely).

"I don't know, I need to figure things out, look for someone that could know how to undo this," he sighed heavily. "And I need a safe place to stay in the meantime."

Even with the mask covering his eyes, Danny knew Jason's answer was a yes. Still, he turned to look at Jazz.

"The couch turns into a bed," she lifted her eyebrows. "Beyond that, I'm too tired to think about logistics right now."

"Did you order the pizza?"

"It was on it's wa-"

The doorbell rang.

"Pizza is here!" Billy jumped to open the door, forgetting about the vigilante in the living room.

This seemed like a common occurrence in the house, because when Danny looked back at the couple, Jason had made a run for it and a door was closing in the hallway.

Jazz's smile was tired, but content. She looked… happy. Accomplished. She had found her calling in Arkham and a good partner in her husband; and despite the trauma of their shared childhood, she found happiness in taking in a kid to love and cherish. Like she did for him, or tried to, once upon a time.

Now, it was a mistake comparing then and now. Back then, Jazz had been a child as well. She had tried her best, but it wasn't enough, nothing had been enough. Life had been unfair to both of them and they did what they could with the pieces, but still they had to carry the incomplete picture for the rest of their lives.

Jazz had opted for making something new, apparently, if the surname change wasn't enough of a clue - 'Fenton is a product brand, and I want to be a family' she had said when Danny asked why the change.

Family. Danny felt his heart ache for that.

He shook his head. Serious thoughts will be later; for now, pizza was in order.

---

Part 5 - Dad's day off

"For the record," Danny licked his chocolate ice cream with a frown, "I'm not going to call you 'dad'."

"You don't have to," Jason shrugged as he bit on his vanilla and cookie ice cream. "Billy doesn't either."

"What are you talking about, dad?" Billy's smile was barely hidden behind his gigantic three scoops ice cream cone. Chocolate, nutella and dulce de leche. "I've always called you dad."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire." The man said with the most deadpanned expression at the obvious lie. Danny snorted, his frown softening a little.

"But it doesn't make sense," Billy said as he struggled with eating his monstrosity before it melted over his hands, "you don't have any trouble with calling Jazz 'mom'."

The deaged Ghost King went silent and the air got heavy in the tiny table outside the ice cream place Jason had taken the kids to today. It was his day off and Billy and Danny had been at each other's throats after being cooped up together in the tiny apartment for so long.

And so, outside air could be a good idea. Or so Jason thought.

"Jazz basically raised me," Danny tried to sound nonchalant, but the hurt feelings peaked through. "Maddie and Jack, our biological parents, weren't exactly the greatest at the whole parenting stuff."

Billy caught the shift in the conversation and sat straighter in his chair. "Did they… hurt you?"

"It's complicated," he shook his head. "Science was their calling and everything else was secondary. We were… an afterthought, sometimes. Jazz tried to shield me from the worst of it, but with time I understood we simply weren't a priority."

"That's fucked up, bro."

"Language, Billy."

"Don't even try that, old man. You are worse than me."

"What happened to 'dad'?" Jason couldn't not see the irony of the situation. "Are we jumping straight to 'old man' now? I'm not even that old."

"You are, like, ancient, man." Danny joined in the bullying, glad to not be the center of the conversation. "Definitely 'old man' material. A DILF, if you will."

"What's a 'dilf'?" Billy frowned at the teenager, his ice cream forgotten for a second.

Danny opened his mouth, jumping when Jason kicked him under the table. "You'll know that when you are older." By the look he sent Jason, that wasn't what he was going to say originally.

"You are not that much older than me."

"I'm fourteen, shortstack. I'm the big brother now, I know more things."

That fact seemed like the only thing Danny was openly excited about in the new arrangement of things.

After a few weeks doing trips to the Realms and contacting allies, it became obvious that the answer was that Danny was stuck with second puberty and having to do everything all over again. He couldn't even draw the King card and go back to his duties - his depowered state made him too vulnerable to challenges for the throne and it was decided that a regent council would take care of things until he was able to retake his place.

Until then, well, Jason knew a Guy. A Guy that wouldn't ask questions and forge Danny a new identity as his and Jazz's legal son, Daniel Nightingale. Everything was set up in an extra week and now that it was official that Danny was here to stay, things were slowly adapting to the new changes.

The first change was that the apartment was way too small to raise two growing boys. Jason disagreed about many things with Bruce, but he was right in that kids needed space to run and scream and play and burn energy. The Manor was absurdly enormous, but Jason could say he always had enough space to do whatever he wanted.

They needed to pick a new home, pack their things and move, and soon.

Also, they needed to see if they could send Danny to school-

"Jaybird?"

"Oh my god."

"I fucking knew it."

"A baby!"

Danny was in the middle of speaking when a blurry black shadow scooped him from his seat and squished into a chest, strong arms holding him in place.

"Jay?" He looked back at the resigned figure of his adoptive father.

"Cass, let the kid breathe." He sighed.

"He is too cute," she rubbed her face against the soft black hair and finally let him go. "Baby."

"I am not a baby."

"Where are my hugs?" Billy crossed his arms, half pouting. "Since I'm not the novelty I don't get hugs anymore?"

Cass barely let him finish his sentence as she scooped him into her arms; but unlike Danny, Billy was excited to be held. He struck his tongue at his older brother from the safety of the tight Cassandra's hug.

"So… Another one?" Dick grabbed a chair from an empty nearby table and sat down next to his brother with a wide smile stretching his lips. "That was quick, even for Bruce."

Jason knew, he knew this would happen. Just… not on his day off. Please?

"There were special circumstances and the kid needed a place to stay, that's all."

"Uh, is that so?" His brother asked with a knowing smile. "What's the story for this one? He ran away? He's hiding from his parents?"

"He is right here!" Danny elbowed Dick, making the older man jump. "I'm hurt that you don't recognize me, even in this form."

Dick narrowed his eyes, puzzled at this new information. Jason saw the wheels turn in his detective brain, making connections, searching for similarities.

"Danny?"

"In the flesh."

"What happened?"

"Ghost magic bullshit, what do you think?"

"It makes sense," Dick shrugged. This wasn't the weirdest thing that happened to Danny. "So are you staying with your sister for the moment? Until you fix this?"

Danny looked at Jason, asking for support. This was another thing they had noticed with Danny's deaging situation - his mind was slowing down, shrinking, so to speak, to go back to someone of his apparent age. Jazz had thrown words like mind development phases and that it didn't reach adulthood until twenty-five, but neither Danny or Jason were exactly paying attention. The gist of it: Danny wasn't an adult anymore, in body and mind.

"He can't undo the spell," if it's even a spell. They didn't know what happened. "So second puberty it is."

His older brother grimaced.

"And now I'm legally this idiot's son," Danny gestured at Jason, but by his tiny smile the kid wasn't against the arrangement.

"Are you okay with that?" Duke, who had been taking photos with Billy, Tim and Cass, decided to join them. "Seems like a huge life change."

"I'm still getting used to it, but," he shrugged, "dying was also a big shock for me, and after that, changes like this pale a bit in comparison."

Jason kicked Danny under the table again. "No death jokes."

"Hypocrite."

"At least not self deprecating ones. Jazz said-"

"I know what she says. I've been on the receiving end of her lectures longer than you."

Both glared at each other for a few moments. After a few seconds, Jason smiled.

"I will tell her exactly what you said," he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "She'll want to know about this worrying development."

"Don't you fucking dare."

"Language."

"Fuck you." Danny narrowed his eyes.

"Do you think that's how you should talk to your father?"

"You are not my father."

"I'm hurt," he really wasn't hurt. He was having a good time watching Danny's face go red and try to find his words. "Also, your ice cream is melting."

Danny looked back at his hands and indeed, the cup was starting to become lukewarm soup. The kid rushed to eat what he could.

"You are good with kids," Dick had been watching in silence, but his expression wasn't mocking. Instead, he looked proud. "Who would have thought?"

Jason shrugged noncommittally. He didn't think it was that difficult. He had to change a few things about himself, like quit smoking and make time for homeschooling and playing with the kids; but it was a sacrifice he had been willing to make. If he wasn't ready to do that, then he wouldn't have agreed to take in Billy in the first place.

Dick just smiled and turned to the other group at the table. His siblings were asking Billy about his training and how Danny's deaging was affecting it. The boy talked excitedly about flying around with Danny and learning a few tricks to better channel his magic. At Danny's prompt then they started talking about a spellbook that the halfa found in the Infinite Realms that Billy was devouring as he learned to read it.

Jason watched as he ate his ice cream. He already knew all of this, so his mind disconnected a little as the boys explained what they've been up to; instead latching onto the changes his little family was going through and the most immediate problem to deal with.

They needed a new house.

With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and opened the housing app he started checking out to see what was in the market.

"House hunting?" Tim was suddenly there by his shoulder. "Apartment got too small?"

"Try claustrophobic. I've been sleeping on the damn couch for almost a month." Danny grumbled.

"I thought you loved it. 'It's like a sleepover', were your exact words," Jason lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah, for like, a week!" He rolled his eyes. "We need a house with at least two bathrooms. And with a backyard. And a pool."

"Can we have a pool?" Billy's eyes were wide. Pleading. The fucker knew Jason was weak to those eyes. "Please, dad. I want a pool."

Danny knew what's up and pouted, doing his own version of puppy eyes. "Yeah. Pretty please, dad?"

Jason wished Jazz were there, she would have been stronger. He sighed. "I'll talk to your mom about it."

"Yes!" Danny fist bumped Billy, who was smirking at their success.

"I hate you both so much."

"You know, if you ask B, he would get you guys anything you want."

"Dickolas, don't give them any ideas."

"Just sayin'" He lifted his hands, trying to act innocent. "Bruce is so excited about having grandkids. If he knew you needed a new house because of another kid…"

Jason really, really, didn't want to use the Nuclear Option - that is, asking Bruce for help. He was sure the man would drop everything to help them, not only for being his son; but also because it was in his nature to bend backwards for children in need.

Also, yes, he was aware that Bruce didn't shut up about his grandkid - Selina and the Sirens complained about it when they met up for girls' night a few times in the months since they adopted the kid.

"I'll talk to Jazz about it," he chose to say, trying to be diplomatic.

They needed a new place, but everything costs money, and if they didn't want to dip into the crime lord's money (which, he had more than enough even after giving away what he didn't use for his gear to local food kitchens and other non-profit associations), then they didn't have that many options.

"Make sure you have extra rooms, though." Tim patted his shoulder.

"What for?"

"For the next kid you guys adopt."

Jason narrowed his eyes. Were they going to keep up with that? "I don't know-"

"I want a sister," Billy interrupted him. Danny was nodding in agreement. "Please adopt a girl next."

"A little sister would be cool."

"No, I want an older sister." Billy frowned at his adoptive brother.

"Older sisters are overrated. I want a little sister this time around."

As the argument continued, much to the amusement of the present Wayne children, Jason bonked his head against the table.

They were not adopting more kids.

---

Part 6 - Dani is here and she brings a friend

"Hello!"

"Kon?"

"Jason?"

"You guys know each other?" The black haired girl was confused for a moment, but smiled excitedly. "Cool! Then this will be easier."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Jason crossed his arms, trying to block the door as much as he could. "Who are you?"

"No shit! Dani?"

"Eyyyy!" She did finger guns at her original, who had sneaked around Jason when he heard the familiar voice. "You look small! What happened?"

"I was hit by a smooth criminal, what the fuck do you think?"

"They got you good, huh. I've heard rumors but I guess seeing is believing."

"Can we, like, not do this at the front door?" Kon shifted on his feet, a bit uncomfortable behind the girl.

Jason reconsidered his life choices, and knowing that this could go wrong in so many ways so why bother fighting destiny, he stepped aside to let the guests in the new house.

Turns out that he didn't need the Nuclear Option after all, although he suspected some kind of 'divine interference', so to speak, when the right house appeared at the right time on the listing website. Also when it was just available and no other buyers had called yet. Jazz had been full on laughing when the owner of the house accepted their lousy offer, way below the listed price, and below the market price of such a nice and recently reformed house.

Bruce confirmed his suspicions when he 'subtly' asked about how the move was going and if he had some photos of the kids in the new house. Jason stared at him for a few seconds and decided that fuck it and pulled out his phone and started showing him funny videos and photos of the whole moving process.

Neither commented when the older man's eyes watered a little at the antics of the boys.

Who would have thought that the old man took to being a grandfather this well? He hadn't offered to babysit them, yet, but Jazz was positive that it was a matter of time.

"Dad? Food was smelling a little burnt so I moved-" Billy walked in the foyer, a bit sleepy after his post-studies nap. "Who are these people?"

Trusting that his kids, the new girl and Kon wouldn't get in too much trouble in his absence, Jason rushed to the kitchen to check on the simmering pot of soup he had been preparing for dinner.

With a sigh, he realized this wouldn't be enough food for everyone, not if the guests stayed for dinner. Which they would. He just knew they would stay and then it would be impossible to kick them out. It was just his luck.

Fortunately he had plenty of food in the fridge.

Rule number one of parenting a Champion of the Gods and a deaged Ghost King: Always. Have. Enough. Food. Growing boys his ass - those two were an endless pit of hunger.

"House husbandry suits you, Jason."

He turned, well aware that he was wearing an apron and wielding a wooden spoon.

"I found my calling," he shrugged. Kon didn't say it with mean intentions. Jason recognized the longing of a lonely boy in his eyes, despite Kon not being a 'boy' nor 'lonely'. The fucker was dating Tim. Speaking of that, "Why are you here?"

"Are you going to kick me out?"

Jason scoffed, turning back to preparing the chicken. He had left some marinating for tomorrow's lunch, but they could do for dinner just fine.

"We don't kick people out in this house."

"Not even your siblings?"

"Surprisingly enough, they all behave when they come over. I think it's the kids that charm them into behaving for once."

Jason chuckled at the memories of the housewarming party the others forced on the Nightingale household and how nothing caught fire thanks to Danny and Billy's puppy faces keeping everyone in check. No magic was needed to charm the others, the boys had them doing their bidding with a well placed 'you are the best uncle/aunt ever'.

Jazz didn't like the approach but Jason had been delighted.

There was a bit of silence as Kon joined Jason in the prepping process for the chicken parmesan. He had all the ingredients and it was easy enough to do it at the last minute.

"I found Danielle wandering the streets, dying," Kon started with a small voice. "She actually tried to fight me, but she was starving and she had been shot by something and her blood wasn't red and… I don't know. I had to help."

"Hm-mm." Jason nodded when he stopped talking, urging him to continue.

"I've been with her since, or at least keeping tabs when I was needed for a mission or something." He chuckled. "I think Tim is suspecting I'm cheating on him."

"She can't be older than eighteen, you monster." There was no bite to his words. By the way Kon talked about her he knew there wasn't anything romantic about it.

"She's a clone. And a-"

"Half ghost."

Kon stopped flipping the egged chicken in breadcrumbs to raise his eyebrows at the older man.

"Danny."

"Yep."

"Jesus Christ."

"Not quite!" The boy in question materialized besides Kon's elbow, startling the super. Danny snickered. "When are we eating?"

"Dinner will be done soon."

"How soon?"

"Once your mom comes back from work."

"But she said she was going to be late!" Danny groaned.

As if called, the rest of the kids came barging into the kitchen, crowding him as he checked on the soup once again and pulled out the pans for frying the chicken.

"I'm hungry." Billy didn't try to be subtle as he leaned on the kitchen counter.

"Hi hungry, I'm dad." He answered without thinking.

Jason froze. Billy froze.

Kon started crackling. "I need to tell Tim about this."

"Do that and you are fucking dead." He said, pointing at him with the wooden spoon. Jason knew the wooden spoon wouldn't do much to hurt the clone, but he needed the satisfaction of threatening him enough to shut him up.

"Are you going to kill me with more dad jokes?"

"I can still kick you out."

"What happened to 'we don't do that in this household'?"

"Don't worry," Billy butted in, munching on a piece of bread. Where did he get that? The bread was usually on top of the fridge and - oh right, fucking magic. "Mom won't let him, she is weak to a cute boy with black hair and blue eyes. How do you think I am here?"

"And why do you think she married Jason?" Danny added, floating towards Billy and phasing the bread from his hands as he was going to take a bite, ignoring the other boy's protests.

Without missing a beat, Kon smiled and said: "I thought she married him for the money."

The kids started crackling at Jason's expense. He glared at the other supposed adult in the room, but there wasn't real heat behind it. It was nice hearing the kids laugh, even the new girl, Dani.

A clone, huh. This was the first time he learned about her existence. He got a sudden pang of guilt at the thought of the little girl alone and hurt somewhere in the world while Danny was here and taken care of. At least she had Kon, so that's good.

Said girl jumped to sit on the counter, close to where very hot oil was bubbling and ready to fry the breaded chicken.

"Please don't sit there."

"Danny told me you were a crime lord."

Everyone stopped and watched him, waiting to see what he'd say. Jason put the pan with hot oil the furthest from the girl and turned to look at her with crossed arms.

"Danny should learn to shut his fucking mouth."

She found this funny. "So it's true?" She said, giggling.

"You wouldn't be asking if you doubted the word of your original."

Dani narrowed her eyes for a second, humming. Somehow Jason felt like he was being evaluated by the teenager. Teenagers were scary in general, but knowing that this one had Danny's abilities made her scarier.

Finally, she nodded and jumped down the counter, ducking under his arms to hug him in the middle. Her fluffy mop of untamed hair reached his chest, making her taller than his kids.

"I like you," she said, her voice muffled as she rubbed her face against the apron. "I want to stay here."

Once upon a time, Jason would have frozen in place, unused to being hugged so easily. But since he and Jazz started dating, she made it her mission to get him used to hugs and pats and loving physical contact.

That's why his first instinct now was to wrap his arms around the skinny girl and squeeze her against his body. The girl melted into the hug, so probably that's what she wanted.

"Oh, hello?"

Everyone turned to see the new person at the door of the kitchen. Jazz was still in her work clothes, her hair half out of the bun she put it in the morning before leaving the house, her eyebrows raised as she looked at everyone crowding Jason.

"Finally!"

"We were starving!"

Danny and Billy walked up to her to hug her hello, but she was distracted by the new people in her house.

"Dani? Kon? Everything alright?"

"You knew about her?" Jason said, still hugging the girl who had latched onto him like a koala.

"I thought- Danny told me she was training with the yetis."

The boy in question tensed and quickly stepped away from her. "I may… have forgotten to mention…"

"Danny?"

"I had to leave," Dani finally said, letting Jason go and stepping back a little. Suddenly she looked so small. "I… don't have an ice core. Couldn't stay."

"They kicked you out?" Jason could see the fury start brewing in his wife's eyes.

"No! No, no. Nothing like that!" The girl looked at her feet. "Frostbite was so nice and tried to help as much as he could; but in the end he told me to find another ghost with a fire core, but I only knew Vlad and I just… ran away?"

"When did this happen?"

"Two years ago? Give or take."

Jazz nodded, face set in stone. She turned to her son. "Danny? Why didn't I know about this?"

"I may have forgotten to tell you? I got so busy with King stuff and I was totally going to do something about it and then-"

"It's okay." Everyone turned to look at the girl. Her smile was fragile, but sincere. "I could have just visited you at the Castle but I never did, not even when I needed help." She shrugged. "At least I met Kon!"

They smiled at each other. It was obvious the connection between them, a kinship, and Jason was glad that Dani hadn't been alone. He just met her, but he didn't want her to wander the streets cold and hungry anymore.

He needed to talk with Jazz.

"Let me finish here with the chicken and then we can eat-"

"Yay!" The tense air was lifted as the kids cheered.

"- if you guys set up the table. Take Kon with you."

"Gee, if you wanted alone time with mom you just needed to say it."

Danny nodded at Billy. "Yeah, dad, no need to be so obvious." He rolled his eyes. "Let's go, Dani, before they start kissing and being gross."

Kon was highly amused as the four marched out of the room, sending Jason a tiny nod before closing the kitchen door as he exited.

"My answer is yes."

"I haven't said anything." He chuckled, finally putting back the pan in the fire and dropping the chicken in the oil to start frying.

"But I know what you are thinking, darling."

He felt her arms sneak around him, her face buried in the space between his shoulder and his neck, her hands softly placed on his chest.

"I didn't know you had developed mind-reading abilities."

"Har har," she kissed his neck, knowing it would make him shiver. "Dani can stay."

"Am I that obvious?" He flipped the chicken, the red in his cheeks having nothing to do with the heat of the stove.

"I just know you well," Jazz sighed, rubbing her nose on the exposed skin over his pulsepoint. She had commented many times that she liked how he smelled. "Also it's my job to read people's thoughts."

"Fair." He hummed, plating the cooked chicken and setting up more to be fried. "Are you really okay with that?"

"If I can get to see that look in your eyes when you hugged her once again, then yes."

He didn't respond, but placed one hand over one of hers on his chest, not trusting his voice to actually say the words. She understood him anyway, as she always did, because she's that amazing.

"I draw the line at Kon, though. I refuse to be the mother of my brother-in-law's boyfriend."

Both chuckled at the horrible thought for a few moments. Then, Jazz let him go and started helping him finish dinner quickly, changing the topic easily and telling him about her day and the crazy gossip Marcus from the Legal Department told her during break time.

Conversation lulled for a moment as they did the finishing touches. Jason stopped and looked at her.

"I love you."

She arched an eyebrow, but continued pouring cheese over the chicken parmesan.

"I know."

"I should say it more often anyway."

Jazz turned to look at him, lips curved in a smile. Her smiles were easy, a feat he still respected given the stuff she told him about her past, and stuff she faced daily at the Asylum.

"I treasure it every time you say it." She put a hand on his cheek. "And I know you love me even if you were to never say it anymore. You are more of a 'show, don't tell' kind of guy, but I knew that when I married you."

"But I want to tell and show."

"Nothing is stopping you," she smirked as he slowly leaned in to kiss her, "and I'm not complaining."

She looped her arms around his neck, flushing her body against his, accepting that kiss with a little giggle. Jason put his arms around her waist, lifting her a little to make the kiss a bit more comfortable for her.

The door was slammed open.

"ARGH. MY EYES!"

"I warned you~" Danny snickered at his clone. "Don't open a door if you are not ready to see those two smooching."

"Hm-mm." Billy expressed his agreement from further inside the house.

"But I'm hungry!" Dani protested.

Kiss interrupted, the pair sighed and went back to work. In moments like these they missed the quiet life of newlyweds.

---

Part 7 - Dad's day off 2: electric boogaloo

"Can we get ice cream, dad? Can we?"

"If we get ice cream I want cookies and cream."

"What? No! Chocolate is the way to go."

"Dad, can we?"

"Yeah, dad. Can we get ice cream?"

Jason felt the headache coming. He loved his kids a lot, but they could be very grating when they wanted, and this was supposed to be a relaxing day off.

He was a fool.

Of course there was no day off, not with these three gremlins around. Not when 'Dani' officially became Danielle Nightingale after getting back the correct paperwork from the Guy Jason knew.

The girl was ecstatic about it, an absolute daddy's girl. She followed him everywhere and more than once he had to get the boys to stop her from coming with him to do crime lord stuff. She assured him she wanted to 'follow her Daddy's footsteps', but he wasn't buying it. Not even the knowledge that she was practically immortal and couldn't be killed by normal weapons, he didn't want her within a mile of his night activities.

Dani, or Ellie, as she said she wanted to be called now (something about experimenting with her identity), was an absolute menace.

And he loved her a lot.

He was adult enough to accept she had him wrapped around her pinkie; but what Ellie wasn't counting on was that he was smart enough to outsource important decisions regarding her with Jazz. She was the reigning champion of resisting any form of puppy eyes, and therefore, she was the voice of reason in their not-so-little-anymore family.

That's why leaving him at the mercy of the three menaces to society in a supermarket was A Mistake.

"Yes to ice cream. But only one flavor each of you."

The trio whooped and ran to the ice cream fridge to select their prize, giving him a moment of peace to actually buy what was needed at the house.

"Boss?"

He knew that voice. That was Bill, one of his best henchmen. He knew who he was because Bill always said working for Red Hood was the best paying job he had so far; and since the goons unionized a few years ago, the one with the best benefits and working conditions. Bill was cool, an old time Gotham thug, very reliable; but the man did gossip like it was a sport.

And he was looking at him, eyes going back and forth between the kids arguing about ice cream flavors and Jason wearing his Wonder Woman sweatpants and an oversized Batman hoodie (gag gift from Dickward, but the damn thing was comfy okay).

"Um… Good day?"

Jason pocketed his phone and turned his whole attention to the thug. He was also pushing a cart around and doing groceries, so this was simply a coincidence and not a deliberate thing. He relaxed and smiled.

Bill tensed, taking a step back out of instinct. A smiling Hood meant someone was going to die.

"Fancy seeing you here, Bill."

"Today they had a sale on, uh…" checking his phone was an excuse to not look at him, but Jason let him have it, "meat! I thought I could check it out, so, um, yeah."

"Interesting, I might check it out too."

Silence fell upon the two, making it awkward.

While it wasn't rare for him to see his people around while in civilian clothes, this was the first time he had been seen with the kids and in such a domestic environment. They knew Jazz, of course, since she got involved in his crime lord affairs a few years into their relationship - it had been kind of an accident that first time; but they made a very good team and sometimes she was called for backup if they needed another heavy hitter.

But no one from his other life knew he had kids. Until now. Because Bill would tell everybody.

"Dad! We have decided!"

That was the only warning before Ellie jumped onto his back, quickly looping her legs around his waist and her hands redirecting his head so he could see the ice cream in the shopping cart. There were more than what he instructed they could have.

"I said one flavor each." With her hands squishing his cheeks it came out almost intelligible, but she snickered.

"But think about it: Ice cream will run out soon and then what? Who's going to the store for more?"

"Yeah," Danny pointed at the brownie ice cream he threw into the cart. "Also brownie is always a good idea to have in the freezer, just in case."

"And more options in case we have guests and they don't like chocolate!" Billy seemed proud of his cookies and cream ice cream of choice. "And why is Ellie allowed to piggy back? I want to be carried as well."

"You could if you weren't a coward." She stuck her tongue at her younger brother from her advantage point.

Billy took this as a challenge and jumped into Jason's arms, barely giving him a heads up.

"I'm not a coward, see?"

"I want in too!"

"Danny wait-"

The boy jumped a bit faster than what passed as human, and it was only reflexes developed after months dealing with his halfa antics that allowed Jason to quickly move Billy to one arm and catch Danny with the other.

"Welcome to the club!" Ellie cheered.

"I feel so tall."

"Someday, you'll experience this joy as your own, young Billy Nightingale."

"I will be taller than you, idiot."

"Yeah, I also will be taller. When I get my original body back."

"Are you sure about that, shortstack?"

"Children." The trio stopped shuffling and arguing at their dad's serious tone. "I don't mind carrying you, but if any of you start shit and make us fall, I won't just ground you. No, that would be too easy." He looked the boys in the eye. "I will make you beg for the mercy of being grounded."

The trio murmured a few "sorry, dad" and stopped fighting over him in the middle of the frozen goods aisle.

There was a clatter sound or their right, followed by a curse.

The kids finally realized they had an audience, all turning to see Bill still standing there with his phone no longer in his hands, but on the floor instead, watching the family interaction with wide eyes.

"Is this man bothering you, dad?"

Jason chuckled at Ellie's choice of words. "Nope. He is just a friend from work." 'Oh's and 'Ah's echoed as they understood what he meant. "Everyone, say hello to Bill."

"Hi, Bill."

"Hello!"

"Hi."

The man was pale, eyes dancing over each kid like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Jason caught his gaze and arched an eyebrow when he didn't answer back.

"Um. Hello, kids. I'm just- yeah. I'm Bill. Also I have to go. Bye!" With that, he picked up his phone, grabbed the cart and made a run for the checkout line.

After a few seconds, Ellie started giggling, followed by Billy and then by Danny into a full on laughter.

"That man is weird."

"He is actually a good henchman," Jason shrugged. "He's been working with me since before I met Jazz."

"So for a thousand years, then." Danny rolled his eyes.

"Har har, you are so funny. I'm not that old." He cracked his neck and sighed. It was all fun and games but they truly needed to get going. "If I'm carrying all of you, how could I move the cart?"

"We'll do it for you!" Billy extended one hand to grab one end of the handle. Danny did the same with the other end.

Of course. "Alright. We'll get the stuff from the list and then some snacks. Sounds good?"

"Hell yeah!" Ellie whooped, squeezing him a little with her legs. "Go, go, go!"

How they managed to finish shopping in time for lunch, he didn't know, but he suspected that the reward snacks were the key.

He had forgotten about the whole incident by the time he had to suit up the next day and go to his base to check on things. That's why when he noticed the weird looks and worried glances from his people he was starting to suspect Ellie had snuck one of her holographic bat stickers and put it on his helmet while he wasn't looking.

He took it off to check, but there wasn't anything out of place.

"Um, Boss?"

Another henchman, this one was new, approached when he nodded at him. The boy was young and probably joined because of the union benefits and good pay.

"Are the rumors true?"

"Rumors?"

"Um. Is it true that you have children?"

Ahhhh. Was this about the thing with Bill? Wow, news spread fast in the base.

"Yeah. And?" Why bother hiding? It wasn't like he pretended to keep his life a secret. Or that the kids could be in real danger from his goons.

But the young thug got paler. He glanced at the side, where more of his people were making encouraging gestures and thumbs up.

"Did you cheat on your wife, then?"

Jason bluescreened. "What."

"I mean. Bill said the oldest was about eighteen? Maybe less. But still, you look so young to have a teenage daughter… uh, Boss." The young man apparently had a lot to say and took Jason's unresponsive stance as a sign to continue. "And the youngest couldn't be older than eight, so, uhm, does the Lady Boss know about it?"

This was what they were worried about? That he had been a bad husband to his wife? That he hid illegitimate children from her?

It was… touching, in a way, that his goons cared about Jazz enough to risk his wrath like this. But did they think so lowly about him? Did they really think it was more plausible that he was sleeping around and having another secret family?

"She knows." He settled for grumbling that instead.

"Does she?"

Finally, he looked the young thug directly in the eye. "Do you want me to call her here?"

A few of the onlookers flinched. They had seen her in action, both during a fight and scolding and lecturing people about proper self care and healthier outlets for violent emotions.

Seeing his peers cower and scatter, virtually leaving him alone with the problem, the young man yielded and stepped back.

"No, sir. Good day, sir." And he ran away.

Jason scoffed. "Unbelievable."

---

Part 8 - Mom to the rescue

Jason woke up with a splitting headache, a bit dizzy and disoriented. But the situation wasn't that unfamiliar - the perks of being a vigilante for so long was that you recovered quickly from being knocked out.

He didn't make an obvious sign that he was conscious, though. First he tried to remember how he got here in the first place.

He was doing a stakeout, right. Something about a new drug coming into Gotham and he got a lead about a big exchange near the docks. It was Saturday evening and he had been there for hours, ready to give up and consider the lead a bust, and ready to go back to his warm home and noisy family, when he was-

An ambush. It was a trap.

Jazz told him to call one of his brothers, but he thought that since it was just to get information he didn't need to bring any of them into this. His wife will be insufferable once he told her she had been right.

"I know you are awake." A voice grumbled. Male, deep, and very close to him.

He finally opened his eyes.

There it was the leader of this whole operation. Kristoff wasn't supposed to be there that night, he was supposed to be on the other side of the country; that's why he had decided to investigate that specific night, there was supposed to be less security at the base.

And now he was tied to a chair in the middle of a cold room, surrounded by men pointing guns at him. They had taken off his clothes and his weapons, even his helmet, leaving him completely helpless.

He had gotten out of worse.

"You made a big mistake coming after me, Red Hood," the man started his villainous speech, but Jason rolled his eyes at him. The heavy accent was just the cherry on top of a speech he had heard many times. "I knew you were investigating. I knew you wanted to attack today. But you made a mistake coming here alone."

Way to rub salt in the wound, huh. Now the only thing he needed was Jazz here looking at him with that little knowing smile when she knew she was winning.

Speaking of-

"What time is it?" He interrupted whatever the man was saying.

"What?"

"Yeah. Is it already dark outside? Because I had something to do and if I'm late-"

"Who the fuck cares!" Kristoff's face got red as he pulled out a knife. "You are already dead, Hood," Jason had to contain the snort at the words, since the knife was now on his neck, the sharp edge right over his windpipe, "and you'll pay the consequences of your mistake."

"You see," he smiled at the man that could kill him with one hand movement, "my wife doesn't like it when I'm home late."

There were murmurs as the thugs looked at each other, confused.

"Today I was supposed to make a special dinner, you know? Quiche. Have you ever had quiche? Mine is to die for."

"Shut up!" Jason didn't flinch when the knife dug on his skin, feeling blood flow down his neck. "Stop trying to delay your demise. You'll die today, Red Hood."

"I don't think my wife will be happy about it," he said 'my wife' in the most obnoxious voice he could muster. "She's a real beast, too. I'm convinced she's on her way to drag me back home, like, right now. When she finds out you are holding me hostage she will come for you."

Kristoff laughed, taking a step back. "And what will she do? Lecture me to death? Make me a bad sandwich?" The thugs snickered at his words. "Women don't belong in a world like ours. Except to warm the bed, if you catch my drift."

It was raw willpower that helped Jason stop a full body cringe. Instead, he continued untying his hands and talking to distract the man from noticing anything going on. It helped that he got that tingling sensation on the edge of his awareness - Jazz was on her way, as he predicted. And she was pissed.

Good.

"That was very misogynistic, dude." He scoffed. "No surprise your wife left you. What happened to 'happy wife happy life'? You gotta cultivate a relationship even after marriage."

"Shut up!"

"I mean, it's important to go on dates and romance her. Or him. I'm not judging. The trick to a long marriage is to treat them like you are on the first date all over again. And compromise. And healthy communi-"

"I said, SHUT UP!" Kristoff slapped him so hard that Jason felt his lip break. His mouth tasted like blood now. "Why won't you shut your damn mouth?"

"Because I needed to distract you long enough, you fucking idiot."

On cue, the lights went out.

Kristoff and his men were not prepared with night vision gear, so they quickly were turned around in the windowless basement now that they couldn't see anything. A few rushed to the door, guided by the faint emergency lights from the hallway, but the heavy metal cell door was closed on their noses.

A pair of glowing green eyes appeared on a dark corner.

Man. He loved this woman a lot.

Jason allowed himself a smile as sounds of a fight started around him - thuds of bodies falling to the ground, a skull bashed against the concrete wall, screams of fear at the unknown figure jumping from person to person in the dark room.

She barely made any noise, a silent executor with precise hits of her staff with enough force to knock out the thugs without doing lasting damage. In his opinion she could go a bit harder on them, but hey, if it works, it works.

"Just kill him!" Kristoff was screaming, trying to stop the invisible dark figure with green eyes quickly taking down his men.

"I told you she'd be mad~" Jason singsonged, laughing on his chair in the middle of the chaotic room.

A body flew over his head, armored boot barely missing his cheek.

Jason could now see her, his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. It always made him weak in knees seeing her in action, no matter how many times she fought at his side. Jazz wasn't very into vigilantism, but if a fight started she was always on board to end it.

Soon, only Kristoff remained. The basement was quiet, the man's quick breaths echoing in the darkness as he waited for his turn against the invisible unknown.

Lights flickered back on.

Jazz was there in her suit - a modified old Batgirl suit that his wife had revamped with a hooded jacket and changed the symbol on her chest to Red Hood's one. There were some ideas thrown around for a hero identity for her, but since she only joined for counted situations, Jazz didn't see a need for the whole shebang.

She was grabbing Kristoff's hand, the one with the knife, glaring at the man with her glowing green eyes.

"Hello, darling."

She didn't answer, but winked at him.

"This is your fucking WIFE?" Kristoff, now pale and sweating because of her painful grip, glanced at the still tied up vigilante in the chair. "Does she peg you, too?"

Before Jason could answer, Jazz applied more force in her grip until a crunch was heard. Kristoff finally dropped the knife, screaming at his now broken wrist.

"You bitch-!"

Jazz didn't let him speak, sucker punching him in the jaw with her other hand. The man's body was sent backwards to the wall, crumbling to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

In the silence that followed, the couple looked at each other.

She sighed and pulled the hood back with one hand, lowering the mouth cover Steph gave her with the suit with her other hand.

"You are late."

"I know," he smiled at her, probably one of the dopey smiles she found funny and kissable. He hoped she found it kissable now. "I got a bit tied up at work."

She chuckled, walking up to him and, instead of untying him or, you know, giving him his clothes back, sat on his lap, straddling him like they weren't in a basement surrounded by unconscious men.

"This reminds me of our honeymoon."

He hummed, lifting an eyebrow. "You remember?"

She leaned in, placing her forehead against his, eyes back to the usual teal fixed on his. "How could I forget?"

"We were so young," he sighed at the memory. "No duty calls."

She got close enough he could feel her breath on his lips. "No cares."

"No survivors."

She was smiling when her lips finally touched his, her kiss careful and loving. Her gloved hands went to his head, grasping the hair at the base of his neck so she could angle him and deepen the kiss as much as she wanted.

Jason hummed his approval, opening his mouth for her, tasting his own blood on her tongue.

He dropped the ropes that he untied a while ago so he could place his hands on her hips, the familiar texture of the suit soft under his calloused hands.

"You liar. Why didn't you help me if you were free?" She whispered when they parted to breathe.

"Maybe I love seeing you fight." He hummed again, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "Could it be possible for me to get a private show?"

"Oh, no, you don't. We have five minutes to get out of here. Tops."

"Not even a lap dance?"

"Darling, I told the kids to wait at home."

"And they followed you."

"Of course."

They looked at each other. "I bet we have at least three minute-"

The metal door exploded.

"We are here!"

"Where's my dad, you bastards!"

"Put your hands up- OH MY GOD!"

"MY EYES."

"Keep it in your pants, people! Geez!"

The couple sighed, expecting this.

Jazz got out of his lap and untied his feet, gesturing at the kids to get Jason's stuff from a nearby table. Billy did so, one hand dramatically over his eyes as if he expected to see more stuff he didn't want to see. Danny was pulling on his hair, grumbling and kicking the fallen metal door, as Ellie shook her head at the couple.

"Unbelievable." The girl said, crossing her arms.

"I told you to wait at home."

"So you guys could act out your kinky fantasies?"

"DANNY!" Jazz's face was red, but she kept her composure as she glared at her son.

Jason found the situation amusing, laughing as he accepted his stuff from Billy and got started on suiting up again. By the time he was done, he ruffled his son's hair and gave him a hug in thanks.

"Alright, let's get out of here."

He shook his head at his wife. "I still need the intel I came here for."

"You are joking, right?"

"You guys can go home if you want to," from the corner of his eye he saw the kids shake their heads profusely, "I won't take long."

"Darling, I told you to bring back up, that's how you ended up in this situation," there it was, the mandatory 'I told you so'.

"I know…"

"We could be the back up."

Everyone looked at Billy. The boy shrugged.

"Yeah. We broke in, we can break out easily too." Ellie was smiling, lips curved in something not quite humanly possible.

"Think of it as a family bonding activity, Jazzy." Danny's smile was smug.

Jason and Jazz looked at each other. Both knew each other's stance on children fighting the adults' fight and the dangers of vigilantism.

That being said, their kids were not exactly normal kids.

"Okay, but you guys stay back and listen to mom and dad. No exceptions."

Jazz's words were barely heard under the loud cheering and whooping of the children.

"Let's go!"

"Go, go go!"

Ellie and Danny transformed, Billy murmured words in latin and he was covered in a blue aura. Jason nodded at him, knowing it was a protection spell, one of the first ones he learned.

Alarms started blasting.

"Oh shit." Ellie flinched. "Uh, we forgot to tell you-"

"You guys barged in guns blazing?"

"Yep." Said Danny.

"And didn't care about hiding the bodies?" Jazz frowned at the kids.

"Yep." Said Billy.

Jason sighed, putting on the helmet.

"Whatever. Let's go."

And the Nightingale family ran back into the fray.

---

Part 9 - Family outing

It was supposed to be a normal, casual, picturesque family picnic. You know, like the ones from TV; with a red and white checkered blanket and a basket with sandwiches and juice packs and the whole family taking stock photo pictures.

And then Kon, the fucking snitch, told Tim about it.

Sure, it was because he had already said he would go to the picnic and wanted to explain why exactly he couldn't go see a movie that Saturday. Also, it made sense that he had to rush and explain that he wasn't cheating on him with someone else and that "Ellie" in his contacts wasn't a girl he was hooking up with.

The thing is.

It was all Kon's fault.

Because now all the family knew about Ellie and about how Kon was unofficially living with the Nightingales now.

Fortunately the news was a bit buried under the drama of Tim having a breakdown thinking his boyfriend was going to leave him for a girl. Still, the family insisted on coming over to meet her and congratulate the growing family.

Instead, what they did was crash their picnic.

It was one of the rare days where Gotham wasn't cloudy and actual rays of sunshine sneaked around the clouds. Jason personally suspected Billy had done something magical about it, because the forecast was rainy that day, but the boy was surprisingly good at enduring interrogations.

It made him proud. In a weird way.

So they had their nice and peaceful picnic in a secluded park a bit outside the city for about fifteen minutes, twenty maybe, before they were spotted by the entire Wayne clan. At least Tim had the decency of looking apologetic, since he was the reason the others even knew about the outing. If he hadn't confronted Kon at the front door, where Damian heard the conversation, then the whole thing could have gone quieter.

So they didn't have their ideal picnic, but at least the kids had now more people to torment.

Jazz kissed his cheek, making him come back to the present.

Both were chilling under the shade of a tree, munching on the sandwiches and simply cuddling and enjoying the view. The familiar weight of his wife against his chest was comforting, grounding. Her familiar shape between his legs, the smell of her hair, the warmth under his hands.

"Have you tried the tuna one? Danny made the sauce."

He took a bite from the sandwich she had in her hand, humming as he chewed. "Too much salt. But he has gotten better."

"You should tell him that, he really looks up to you about cooking stuff."

Jason hid his face in her hair. He knew that. Danny usually volunteered to help in the kitchen and always asked this and that about the process, making jokes and laughing to hide the fact that he had never had so many home cooked meals so regularly. Jason let him have it, teaching him everything he knew just like Alfred did for him once upon a time.

Both stayed quiet after that, watching the kids play and tire themselves out after devouring an insane amount of sandwiches and fruit cake slices. Danny and Ellie had transformed, since they were in a very out of the way meadow and no one would see them here, and were flying around chasing each other in the air.

Billy had roped Kon into playing with him. The game apparently was testing how high the wind spell he had been practicing last week could take him. Jazz had been about to run and express her disagreement with such a game, but Kon caught him every time.

Jason saw the others watch the kids too. Some were having fun with the show, Dick looked about to jump in and join them, Tim was recording with his phone.

Bruce looked sad.

Despite the happy family picture, the old man was sitting alone and looking more miserable than ever.

"BILLY. THAT'S ENOUGH."

He jumped when Jazz quickly stood up and ran at where the kids had been playing. What was going on? Jason watched, body tense and ready to jump into the fray as well, but apparently Jazz had it under control. Going by the apologetic faces of his three kids and Kon, he suspected that the "let's see how high can Billy go" game was canceled.

"Hello, chum."

Quiet as always, Bruce had approached him as he was distracted.

"Hi Bruce. Wanna try the food? Danny and Jazz made it all so I can't guarantee the quality."

"I thought she was banned from the kitchen?" He asked with a little smile as he sat down next to him.

"She is banned from using the stove, and these were safe enough to make. Also Danny was there and I trust him."

Bruce hummed as he browsed the selection of sandwiches and finally picked a turkey sandwich, not commenting on the absurd amount of food available. He had experienced Danny's and Billy's appetite first hand one time he took out them for dinner.

A breeze passed through the meadow, welcomed under the warm and rare sunlight. Neither said anything as the older man finished his sandwich, they were content watching the kids, and now Jazz too, play some kind of modified tag where flying was allowed but only within reach of a high jump.

"I don't know how you do it."

Jason blinked and looked at Bruce, confused by the non-sequitur. The man's gaze was still fixed on the game, his lips curving a little when Dick and Cass jumped in to play as well.

"Do what?"

"Make it look easy."

Ah.

Jason turned back at his family, feeling a bit self conscious about the whole thing.

"Is not easy. You more than anyone should know that."

"When I adopted you I was maybe one year younger than you are. Dick had moved out and I had Alfred's help. And still I messed up so much."

There was a certain satisfaction in hearing him say that out loud. Jason had time to process his issues, to look back and reflect on his past decisions - not only those that led to his demise, but all the stuff he did when he came back.

He still resented Bruce's inaction after Joker killed him, but he was way past letting it consume him like it used to.

"You did mess up," he lifted a hand to stop Bruce when he opened his mouth to, probably, apologize, "and that's fine. We all make mistakes. The important and most difficult part is owning up to those mistakes and acting accordingly."

"But someone might get hurt."

"I never said it's simple or painless. Or that it is a black or white thing - it depends on so many things that sometimes I wonder if there's no real 'right' or 'wrong' decision at all." He shrugged. "The important part, as I said, is being ready to act and roll with what happens next."

Bruce chuckled. "When did you get so wise?"

"Oh think it was after the actual Champion of Magic called me at two in the morning because a mad scientist was trying to kill him and he needed back up," Jason scoffed, "or maybe when the actual King of the Ghosts said that 'mom told me I can't go to the Ghost Zone without adult supervision and I know you are busy but the Council really needs me for something so could you go with me?'"

"And Ellie?"

"Ellie is far from being a saint," he rolled his eyes. "I caught her brainstorming hero names with the others last week. She wants to be my sidekick, can you believe that?"

"Really?" Bruce's eyebrows went to his hairline. "And will you let her?"

"Absolutely not. She may look eighteen but she never had proper education or a proper childhood," Jason scoffed, but frowned at the memories of learning the girl's backstory from Danny. "I said we'll talk about it once she finishes school."

"She was fine with it?"

"No. No, she wasn't," he sighed. "We had a big fight about it and she refused to speak to me for the rest of the evening. She skipped dinner, too, something she never does. In the end we talked and I explained that even if she's virtually immortal and the regular thug didn't have ecto weapons that could harm her, I didn't want to take the risk. That if something did ever happen and I couldn't save her I don't think I could take it."

Bruce cleared his throat, turning to look at the group playing tag so Jason couldn't see the tears gathering in his eyes.

"And?" Both ignored the slight pinch in his voice.

"She said she didn't think about how it made me feel and that she was sorry." He chuckled. "But that the sidekick thing will be revisited in the future."

"Of course."

"Of course," Jason nodded, his smile showing more teeth than what was necessary. "What she doesn't know is that I'm taking a break from vigilantism for a while."

"Really?"

"Yeah, until they are a bit more independent and go to school and stuff. That was kind of the initial plan with Billy; but now that they multiply when I'm not looking, someone has to stay at home and make sure stuff doesn't catch fire."

"Hmm," Bruce regarded him for a moment, analyzing. "House husbandry suits you."

Jason started laughing at his comment. "Would you believe me if I said you are not the first to tell me that?"