Stitched Up

1. Code Red

Jason arrived at Wayne Manor only a few months ago. He was still quite mefiant, and though he was impressed with everything he saw he tried not to show it too much -Bruce Wayne being the best detective in the world and Jason being just a kid, it failed-.

He'd wander for hours in the halls, scanning every detail of the high walls, or the thin and elegant pattern of the chandeliers, or even the huge portraits picturing the Wayne family that made him so nostalgic. His life with his mother wasn't ideal, of course, but she will remain his mother forever and seeing her overdosed left him in shock for a while, he still in fact had nightmares about it. He'd wake up sweating and crying, even screaming sometimes and Bruce would come running to his room, Alfred kindly preparing some tea and cookies every time that happened, even if it was the middle of the night.

In the morning though, no matter if the night was filled with nightmares or not, Bruce would wake him up for his training sessions. Training was hard, and Bruce wasn't especially gentle with it but it didn't matter to Jason because he admired the man very much and was willing to do anything to be worthy of the Robin costume. He trained all day, sometimes until he fell from exhaustion and Alfred and Bruce carried him worrily to the nearest couch. He was too hard on himself, and he had trouble managing both his anger and limits. Some days, Alfred had to ground him to bed so he would rest.

With this much efforts, he was now ready for his first day of patrol with Batman and he was thrilled. He didn't even try to hide his excitement this time and that made both Bruce and Alfred smile. The night was rather calm, much to Jason's disappointment but he still managed to kick some ass, even a bit too much in Batman's opinion. Still, the patrol went smoothly and Jason only had one little bruise on the cheekbone despite the fighting, wich still owed Bruce a glare from Alfred.

With his new Robin suit, Jason felt..invicible. Sure, he took a few punches and had to be stitched up by Alfred once, but overall he was the one making the bad guys bleed. Bruce was less and less happy about that, but he didn't really scold Jason, just reminded him that he had to manage his anger and force no matter what. Bruce was scared that Jason would leave, just like Dick did...

It's only after a few more months living in Wayne Manor that Jason got to meet him. Of course he knew about Dick, Alfred and Bruce had told stories about him but seeing him in person was much more..intimidating. He was older, way taller than Jason who didn't grew much, especially because of years of living in the streets and being underfed, but what made Jason shiver the most is the glare that Dick shot him. He felt attacked, and didn't understand why he glared at him like that. Dick didn't bother paying him more attention, instead rushing towards Bruce looking furious and arguing with him. Alfred had led Jason towards the mansion, away from the argument but he could still guess who all the yelling was about, given the constant gesture towards him. Despite feeling angry, he still followed Alfred and even got some cookies fresh out of the oven. Dick finally left a few minutes before patrol, but Jason could still feel the tense air when he entered the Batcave.

Days like that would often happen for the next few weeks, until Dick finally decided that Jason was worth talking to. But Jason wasn't so sure about it. He'd heard pieces of argument, like "He's a replacement" or "another toy for you to play twisted games with" or even more direct attacks like "come on, the kid is obviously lost !", and that hurt him. He was reluctant to talk to someone who thought so low of him, but he still greated him. Though, through the arguments between his adoptive father and brother, he started to grow anxious about whether Bruce had the same opinion about him. It was in fact hard enough being Robin after this golden boy and going through adolescence, he didn't need that crushing his self confidence even more.

With time, Dick and Bruce stopped fighting, even got along from time to time and Dick tried to act more like a big brother. But what was done was done, and even though he tried to hide his crushed ego under the Robin or rebellious teen mask, Jason had a lot of frustration in him. He felt like he was never enough, and he let out his rage on any criminal he could find wich owed him remarks from Bruce. He loved Bruce deeply, as a father, and seeing these dissapointed looks in his eyes made him feel even more shitty, plus the fact that the golden boy came back so Jason just let it all out during patrol and the vicious cycle repeated itself.

After some time of this, when Jason was 14, Bruce grounded him from patrol and that made him furious. He stormed out of the Manor without even taking a jacket despite the pouring rain and rushed towards Crime Alley. He tried to fight a group of adults selling drugs to a woman that looked like his mother, but without his Robin equipment, he could have all the willpower of the world that he would still loose against a gang of adults, especially since he wasn't very tall or strong. They beat him up pretty badly and he was left there, on the soaked ground, bleeding and covered in bruises, without even knowing if that was the rain or his tears that fell the harder on his cheeks.

Dick found him about an hour after the incident and immediately picked him up, covering his shivering body with his Hoodie that he brought with him. Jason was breathing heavily, both in frustration, anger and shame but also because he layed under the rain with just pants and a short-sleeved shirt under the rain. When they got home, he didn't even say a thing while Bruce stitched him up personally and he was also docile when Alfred put him to bed. It was almost like he was a ghost.

The morning following the incident, Jason ran a pretty bad fever and that worried Alfred, Dick and Bruce. Bruce decided that he needed to put an end to Jason's actions, because he knew that he was violent and impulsive because of his lack of confidence and inferiority complex. Knowing that he couldn't do anything about it personally, he asked Dick for help.

After Jason recovered from his injuries and bad cold, Bruce explained to him that he couldn't go on patrol with him for a while because he was worried about his safety. Jason didn't like that but before he could protest, Dick told him that he would be staying with the Titans and him for a while. It didn't really delighted Jason either, but he figured it was better than to rot at the Manor.

The next day, he packed a few things he needed because he would be staying with Dick for about a month, depending on how things went. He said goodbye to the ones he considered his father and grandfather and they were on their way to the Titans Tower.

Arriving, Jason didn't feel very comfortable and the looks of his brother's teammates certainly didn't help making him feel like he belonged there. They all looked at him like he was just a frail child. Dick must have told them about the incident from a few days ago because he could also discern pity in their eyes, and he hated that more than anything. There was just one thing he wanted to do, turn around and go back from where he came from, even if that meant rotting at Wayne Manor.

That was until the silent was finally broken by a boy, nearly in his 20s Jason assumed. He was quite tall, had a fox like grin and vibrant ginger hair that complimented his emerald eyes and pale skin splattered with freckles. He wore military green sweatpants and a matching ugly cap with a black tank top that revealed his strong arms, thanks to archery Jason assumed by the bow he was doing God knows what with. He was just...breath-taking. Jason lost his words and felt his face burn when said man looked him in the eye and said : "So you're the famous lil bro huh mate ? Nice to meet ya, I'm Roy. " He grinned and Jason could see his eyes : empty of any pity or doubt, just pure honesty and mischief.

He felt his face burn even more. Shit.

Hey :D it's my first JayRoy fic, first English fic for that matter, so please don't be mean :') I'll try to keep the characters as Canon as possible ( though I'll had some spice and headcanons ) but it will be a slowburn romance with hopefully lots of chapters, hope you'll enjoy ! ^^