[British and American] Jason Wayne's Struggle

In the early morning before Christmas Eve, Tim walked in the corridor of Wayne Manor with hurried steps. He wanted to talk to Damian about something.

Just this morning, Dick called Jason, hoping he could go home for Christmas, but Jason didn't even answer the phone. The same thing happened when Tim called, but Alfred didn't know. Then Tim and Dick both asked Bruce to call, but when the old Batman picked up his phone and dialed the number, the phone was also turned off.

Although they could have dialed the emergency communications channel, Bruce refused to do so.

Considering that Jason said Damian knew how to find him, it makes sense to infer that Jason may not want to deal with family members other than Damian in the near future.

After all, Jason had just had an unpleasant experience with the old bat brother before, and based on Tim's understanding of Jason, he would definitely avoid them for a while.

However, when Tim arrived at Damian's room, he found that Damian was no longer in the room.

Ah Fu stood behind him at some point and said with a smile, "Master Damian went out yesterday."

Tim: “…Okay.”

Since when, Tim began to have trouble understanding Jason's thoughts, especially after he entered politics, Jason's thoughts became more and more profound, so Tim was not sure whether Jason was willing to repair his relationship with his family.

But if there is anyone who can connect Jason to this family now, that person can only be Damian.

To this day, Jason's main attachment to this family is Damian and Alfred. They are the only ones who have never made Jason sad and have a strong enough bond with him.

……

Jason finished handing over all his work the day before Christmas Eve, and he felt refreshed when he walked out of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The mission didn't take him long, but Jason met the Guardians of the Galaxy on the way and talked to Gamora about the red stone of the Zehuberi.

Then Jason learned that it was the Zehouberi Red Diamond, which represented trust, protection, and luck. It was usually a gift from one Zehouberi party to the other when the people got married. However, this red diamond was highly toxic. It was fine if it came in contact with the skin, but once it entered the stomach and combined with stomach acid, it would kill a person instantly and painlessly. Therefore, it was also a well-known suicide drug in the universe.

Jason stretched and thought that the busiest period was finally over. He would have at least 20 days of annual leave and could have a good rest.

He helped Fury set up the framework of the new department and took so many agents on business trips to outer space. Although it was a bit tiring, Jason still felt a sense of accomplishment in his heart for being able to train so many talents who could carry out space missions.

Although Fury is a ruthless boss who orders his subordinates around without mercy and is extremely shameless, his heart to protect the Earth is sincere. Jason can make a very pertinent comment that if most of the Earth's residents knew how much that boiled egg has given for them, they would be grateful.

The wind made Jason tighten his coat. He thought of Gotham, not far from New York. The winter there was even colder. When he was a child, he always got frostbite on his hands, which was painful and itchy. After being adopted by Bruce, he could curl up by the fireplace and warm himself by the fire. Later, he spent a few years in the hot Middle East. After leaving the Middle East, he had enough money to buy thick clothes and gloves and wrap himself tightly.

So how did Dickie Bird manage to wear green scale shorts and still jump around in Gotham in the winter? This is really an unsolved mystery. When Jason was a child, he once suspected that the first Robin had the special ability of "small stove" and secretly envied it.

He looked up at the sky. The New York sky in December was gray. Occasionally, the noise of an airplane flying across the sky could be heard, but it was quickly drowned out by the noisy voices and car horns on the ground.

The difficult childhood seems so long ago that it seems like a thing of the past life. Time always passes so fast and there is no turning back.

When passing by the flower shop, Jason turned around, went in and bought two bouquets of flowers, then walked into a nearby alley and opened a portal to Gotham Cemetery.

He placed the bouquets on the graves of Catherine and Andrea respectively, and sat cross-legged on Andrea's grave.

Jason thought for a moment and said, "There are not many female branches in the East District now. Girls can do decent jobs. Little girls will be sent to school. As long as I am here, no one will force them. I will try my best not to let the children go hungry. I will let them study hard and have no problem supporting themselves when they grow up."

"Andrea, misfortunes like yours are becoming less and less common. I will keep working hard."

He recited for a while before slowly getting up and leaving Gotham Cemetery. On his way home, he bought a case of beer from a nearby convenience store and brought it back. He first fed the cat, ate the two remaining pizzas in the refrigerator, drank two bottles of beer, took a hot shower, and then fell asleep on the bed.

When he was half asleep, someone came into the bedroom and stood beside the bed. He didn't say anything, but Jason was immediately awakened. He stared at the person's face with sleepy eyes and lifted a corner of the quilt.

Damian crawled into his bed, and Jason took the child in his arms, pressing his head into his arms, the back trembling slightly under his palm. After a while, the child sniffed and spoke with a heavy nasal tone.

"She called me and said she was sorry and that she didn't regret anything she had done, including killing me, because from the moment I chose the other side, we were destined to become enemies one day."

Jason hummed and hugged the man into his arms again.

They were all children who had been killed by their mothers, and Jason could understand Damian.

He asked, "Do you want to listen to some music?" Damian said "yes", and Jason began to hum slowly.

The voice that had just regained its ability to sing through vocal cord repair surgery naturally couldn't sing beautifully, and it always sounded hoarse, but Damian didn't care about that.

The child asked, "How did you feel when you died in Ethiopia?"

Jason thought for a moment and replied, "Maybe it's loneliness. When I left Gotham, I was ready to leave that home because I realized that I couldn't be what they expected me to be. I wanted to kill the criminals who hurt innocent people."

"When the Joker hit me with a crowbar, my mother was watching beside her smoking a cigarette. Her eyes were cold, like a knife. Later, the warehouse exploded. I held on until Bruce dug me out of the rubble. In the last few seconds before I died, I was filled with regret. I made him lose his son."

"Then I gave birth to you. Do you think I paid Bruce back with a son?"

As he was talking, Jason couldn't help laughing. Damian arched his back, poked his little head out of the quilt, looked into Jason's eyes seriously, and touched the corner of his eyes.

"I will only say this once. Remember this. You are a brave man. You have overcome the Lazarus Pond and a lot of pain. You are also the coolest brother I have ever met."

Jason opened his eyes wide and blinked, feeling both astonished and amused at the same time.

After saying this, the little guy buried himself in Jason's arms, rubbed his furry head against Jason's chin, and heard a steady heartbeat in his ears.

Even though his memories of the past were incomplete, Damian was sure that this posture was so familiar to them. Perhaps he had fallen asleep peacefully in Jason's arms like this before, and Talia would look at them gently with loving eyes at that time.

Perhaps for Jason, becoming the "vessel" that gave birth to Damian was a disaster. He exhausted his vitality and was pushed into the Lazarus Pool by Talia to survive, but Damian was still glad that Talia chose Jason.

Because even through all the bad things that happened to him, Jason's heart would never stray, and neither would his love.

No matter whether he inherits the glory of Wayne and Batman in the future, or breaks the boundaries of killing and becomes the leader of the villain, Jason will never stop loving him. To Jason, Damian is Damian. He is free and has an unlimited future.

Damian knew he would be fearless because of this love.

"Naijim."

"Ok?"

"Do you love me because I was born by you? Do you treat me as your own child?"

"You are not a son to me, but a boy who changed my life. And..." Jason felt awkward for a moment, but continued, "When you lost your memory and I lost my memory, I liked you very much too."

They really didn't spend a very long time together. At first, Damian stayed in Jason's belly for nearly 10 months, and then Jason took care of him for a year. After that, they both lost their memories. But no matter whether the memory is there or not, as long as they meet again and start to get along again, Jason will like Damian very much.

Including when Damian came to Gotham later, Jason would occasionally take Damian out to play. During the time they spent together, even though Damian didn't remember anything, Jason still liked Damian very much.

Their connection is not just a reproductive relationship, it is higher than blood ties. Defining it only as father and son or mother and son is very one-sided, and it is not even pure family affection, because Jason sometimes treats Damian as a friend with a big age difference, and he is willing to confide in Damian on a certain level.

Damian was a little man, and Jason loved, respected, protected, and trusted him all at the same time.

So that's the anchor.

Jason feels that no matter how the world changes, his love for Damian and the connection between them will not change, so Damian is his anchor.

Damian hummed, closing his eyes with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

To him, Jason is also an anchor. Damian used to be wandering and confused between the two different paths his father and mother were on, but now he is no longer confused.

Because Jason is here, he has the anchor.

They are each other's anchor.

The two robins snuggled up to each other and fell asleep again. To Jason, Damian was a warm little stove, and it was especially comfortable to hug him in winter. Unfortunately, this kid had a lot of muscles, so his touch was not as soft as when he was a child. To Damian, Jason's heartbeat was the best sleeping magic.

The next morning, Damian rubbed his eyes and sat up, and found that the person holding him was Axel, and there were two cats, Sera and Luca, in the quilt, and Orange and Lingxing were also curled up beside the pillow.

He found a pair of new slippers next to the bed, with a very childish cartoon bear pattern on them. Damian pouted and condescended to put on the slippers. He walked to the living room with a clatter and saw Jason making breakfast in the kitchen.

Jason and Alfu are the only two people in the family who can cook delicious food.

Damian walked over to Jason and saw Jason using a machine to beat the zucchini into noodles, then adding the freshly stewed tomato sauce and mixing them. At this time, the microwave made a sound, and Jason asked Damian to take the bowl from the microwave without even looking up.

"Be careful of the heat."

Damian said "oh", opened the microwave, and without even wearing oven gloves, he took out the bowl with his hands.

He looked at the contents of the bowl and clicked his tongue, "Cereal? Were you possessed by Grayson today?"

"I use almond milk to make oatmeal, and add chia seeds and peanut powder. Oh, and you can also peel a banana and put it in there, blend it into a paste, it will be delicious."

Jason then told Damian that he could add cinnamon powder and raw cocoa to the bowl of cereal. After he did this, Damian also thought that this bowl of deluxe cereal would be delicious.

Then Jason took out the kiwi and strawberries, cut them and placed them on the plate.

Zucchini with tomato sauce, deluxe oatmeal and fruit platter, this is a luxurious meal and one that perfectly fits Damian's vegetarian principles.

No one mentioned what happened last night, and Damian was grateful for Jason's attitude. He seldom opened up to others, and didn't like others mentioning his weak side. Jason's approach of letting the past be the past made him feel comfortable.

While eating breakfast, Jason asked Damian, "Are you going to spend the day with me?"

Damian didn't even look up from eating his zucchini noodles. "Yeah, I said I'd spend Christmas with you this year."

Jason nodded: "Then we have to go shopping later."

In the past two years, he has been always busy as a dog. His way of celebrating the holidays was to treat himself to something good during work, so he forgot to prepare holiday food for his home.

After dinner, they went out together, and when they arrived at the mall, they were surprised by the flow of people there.

Damian glanced at the 30% off sign at the entrance of the mall and crossed his arms, looking defensive.

"I'm not going to go in there and squeeze with those people!"

Jason had no choice but to leave the child in the beverage store next door, ordered a drink and a cake for him, and then resigned himself to his fate and walked into the mall.

Alas, in the past, when he was going to celebrate a festival, he would prepare everything several days in advance, so as to avoid fighting with the aunties who were eager for discounts. He didn't expect that he would still have to join the battle this year.

This shopping mall is also very powerful. It offers a 10% discount every Christmas, including some luxury goods, so even foreigners who do purchasing on behalf of others like to squeeze in here. Jason can hear at least different languages ​​in the mall.

When Jason came out carrying a short plastic tree and a few bags of holiday supplies and food, he found Damian still sitting there with that sullen expression on his face, but with a shopping bag at his feet.

The child bought two identical red sweatshirts with Paddington Bear patterns on them, one in the child's own size and the other in Jason's size. It is said that this is his Christmas gift to Jason.

Jason didn't know whether this was parent-child outfit or brother outfit, but they changed into new clothes as soon as they got home. Then Jason turned on the TV and let the bear and the cat watch TV together. After a while, Cassandra also knocked on the door with her head in her hands, saying that Coulson had given her two days off.

"That's great. Take it."

Jason tossed a pair of woolen socks to the little girl, and Cassandra laughed, "Should I hang this over the bed?"

"Yeah, remember to pretend to be asleep at night."