Daydreams & Delusions | Batman

Band-aids and too many scars | Jason Todd centric

info/warnings:

Age Regression/Little Space, Little Jason Todd, Caregiver Bruce Wayne, Caregiver Alfred Pennyworth, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd Has Issues, Family Fluff, Song: Little Space (Sxye)

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It's not the first time Jason finds himself in this position, breaking into Wayne Manor and crawling through his adoptive dads bedroom window while said dad is away at some fancy gala or work meeting, and it's also not the first time that Bruce's bedroom window has been left unlocked and Jason wonders if it's on purpose- if Bruce is aware of what his second son is doing, breaking into his room and regressing to the age of a child to relive the childhood he didn't get to experience, and if Bruce is intentionally leaving the window unlocked to make Jason's feats easier. Either way, Jason tries not to think about it too much, because he really doesn't want Bruce to know about his regression, even if Bruce is the one person Jason craves when he's slipped into that state of mind, and instead he just chooses to believe that the constantly unlocked window is merely a coincidence.

Today, Bruce is attending one of the many galas Alfred urges him to go to in attempt to keep up appearances, and Alfred is with him as part of his "butler duties" as he calls them. Dick is still in Blüdhaven, Tim is on a date with his boyfriend, and Damien is... Jason isn't sure actually- that kid can disappear- but he's not at the manor, so Jason's happy (yes, Jason stalks his family, so what? it's not weird-). Since no one is home, it's the perfect time for Jason to indulge in his coping mechanism, which just so happens to involve breaking into his dad's bedroom, yes- but, in Jason's defense, being in the head space of child makes him crave his childhood home and the comforting smell of his Daddy's cologne, okay?

Speaking of his Daddy, little Jay is currently sitting on his Daddy's king-sized bed, pulling little gear out of the small, black backpack he brought with him. The first item Jay pulls out is his black bat Hello Kitty stuffed animal, a Beanie Baby Halloween plush in an orange outfit with details in the same color. Next, he pulls out two coloring books, the first being Superhero themed and the second being of the Lisa Frank brand; he also grabs a few small packages of crayons. The last thing Jay grabs from his bag is his pacifier, black with a red handle, decorated with a small array of stickers.

Jay slips the paci into his mouth, lightly suckling, and opens his Lisa Frank coloring book; he flips to a page of a girl in a princess dress, standing on what looks like a castle wall, a vase of flowers on the floor next to her. Grabbing a light brown crayon, Jay colors her skin first, then switches the color to a dark purple to color the girls curly hair, lips, and eyeshadow. Next, he grabs hot pink to color her dress, switching to a light pink to color the big bow on the front of her gown. Jay then moves onto the flowers, filling them in with different shades of purple and pink, then colors the vase with a orange-ish-brown. Finally, Jay colors the castle walls grey, switching between dark and light shades for every other brick.

The little continues coloring for a while, filling in a couple more pages, the last he does being a picture of Batman from his Superhero book, a present for his Daddy when he's finished, though he knows he'd never actually give it to the man (Jay wipes away the tears building up in his eyes with a sniffle, wishing the thought away). Once the picture is fully colored, Jay smiles at his work with pride, before a small yawn escapes his lips, muffled by his paci. His eyes start to close and his shoulders begin to droop, and the boy realizes just how sleepy he is and lies down on side, curling in on himself and grabbing his Hello Kitty stuffie to cuddle up to his chest. In his small, sleepy state, Jay falls asleep in the comfort of his Daddy's bed, forgetting that he really isn't supposed to be there in the first place.

———

When Bruce comes home and steps into his room, the last thing he expects to see is his second son asleep on his bed with a stuffed animal in his arms, an adult pacifier in his mouth, and a mess of crayons and coloring books next to the boy's body. The man takes in the sight before him, a fond, although slightly confused, smile on his lips.

Alfred comes up behind Bruce, wondering why his Master has stopped in the middle of his doorway with a genuine happiness on his face, though the butler immediately understands when his eyes lay on Jason, and he smiles, too, then whispers, "It seems Master Jason has made a mess. Shall I clean up for him?"

Bruce nods, though advises Alfred to be quiet, careful, not wanting to risk waking his sleeping son, then lightly walks towards his closet to change out of his suit and into more comfortable clothes. Alfred understands and quietly puts away all the crayons in their respective boxes, going as far as to put them in color order, then moves to pick up the coloring books, eyes widening when he sees the open page of a fully colored Batman. The butler waves over Bruce, who is pulling on a shirt, and shows him the carefully colored picture, hand drawn hearts covering the border as well as the single word, "Daddy".

Grinning, Bruce takes in the picture, asking Alfred to rip it out of the coloring book for Bruce to keep (Alfred has always been better at tearing along perforated lines than Bruce). Alfred does as asked, then gently puts the packages of crayons and coloring books into the backpack at the end of the bed, making sure to keep the Batman page out. As he does this, Jason shivers from his spot on Bruce's bed, a mumbled, "Daddy" falling from his lips as his pacifier gently slips out of his mouth and onto the bed next to him. Both Alfred and Bruce smile warmly at the sight, and Bruce grabs the fuzzy blanket at the end of his bed and gently covers his son with it. He then grabs the pacifier, asking Alfred to clean it off, then slowly pushes it back between his sons' lips. Once Jason is warm and comfortable, and the bed is clean, Bruce and Alfred both quietly make their way out of the bedroom, Bruce slowly shutting the door behind him with the coloring page in hand.

Together, the Master and his butler search the internet for answers to Jason's behavior and learn about the terms Age Regression and Little Space, quickly understanding the coping mechanism and how and why it would benefit Jason.

———

When Jason wakes up, all his coloring tools are put away, and moonlight shines in through the window he came in. His eyes widen, realization setting in; someone saw him. Quickly, Jason shoves his pacifier and stuffed animal into his bag, momentarily pausing when he comes across a plastic baggie filled with chocolate chips cookies. A light blush spreading across his tanned cheeks, Jason shakes his head, leaving the same way he came in.

(He eats the cookies when he gets to his safe house, the taste immediately giving away who baked them: Alfred. Jason smiles.)