Chapter Text
Jason had spent his last ten dollars buying a pair of pants and a shirt that didn’t smell awful or have holes in them. He wanted to steal a pair of shoes, but the thrift stores in Crime Alley watched too closely. He had managed to steal a pack of baby wipes from one of the rich ass drugstores uptown, and he’d washed his hair as best he could in a gas station bathroom. After all, the dirty street kid appearance would cut it for his average johns, but Jason was moving up in the world, or making his very best effort.
Jason had heard all about Bruce Wayne’s thing for little boys. Everyone knew about it, but no one did anything about it because Wayne was stupid rich.
Most people gossiping about it tut-tutted about poor Dickie Grayson, but Jason couldn’t believe them. Dick Grayson had it made. The foster system had stuck him with a trafficker before his mom’s body had cooled. Jason had run, but it was only a few months before he resorted to doing exactly what they had been going to make him do in the first place—but on his own terms, no one else’s. Most of the time.
Meanwhile, Dick Grayson had been given to a pedophile, yeah, but a rich pedophile who apparently treated him pretty well. Dick was always smiling in all the pictures, even the ones he didn’t know were being taken, and he looked real healthy, so Wayne probably didn’t have diseases or anything like that and he fed his boy and he didn’t leave many bruises on Dick where anyone could see. There were a few, sure, but only sometimes.
Not only that, Dick Grayson got to go to school. Not just any school, either, but Gotham Academy. When Dick had finished that, Bruce had sent him to college.
So not only had Dick Grayson been treated better than any whore could ever hope to be, he’d also left an opening.
An opening another little boy with black hair and blue eyes could fill.
It hadn't been too tricky to get into the Wayne Enterprises’ parking garage. Honestly, that wasn’t great for the company. If Jason had been there to boost tires, and if he’d had a team, then he could go to any level of the garage with all the fancy cars, remove the tires at his own pace, and then lower them down to an accomplice on the ground outside with a rope.
Jason could warn Wayne about that, and that would make Mr. Wayne happy with him, right?
Wayne’s car wasn’t hard to find. Jason had only been wandering for a few minutes before he came across a line of reserved parking spaces with names on little signs above them. Jason figured that of course the CEO…President…whatever it was that Wayne did would have a special parking space if the Regional Public Relations Executive got one, and he was right. Wayne’s parking space was the farthest from Jason, right next to the elevator.
Jason wasn’t sure he should…touch…the car. He was scared he was going to scratch it, and instead of eagerly accepting Jason’s advances, Wayne would punish him instead and throw him away. It wasn’t like Jason enjoyed what he did, but as long as he got something for it, he could do anything. He didn’t want to die. He also didn’t want to have to do stuff for free, especially if a man as huge as Wayne was mad at him.
Instead of sitting on or near the car, or risking getting his newish jeans dirty, Jason stands.
He wasn’t sure how long he stood there until he heard the sound of clacking shoes, but it felt like forever.
Jason nearly balked when he saw Wayne coming around the corner.
Sure, he knew that the guy wasn’t small or anything, but seeing how tall and built the man was firsthand and close up was a new brand of terrifying. But he...he could…he could do this.
Then at about twenty feet away, Wayne noticed the small, underfed street urchin standing next to his car, and his face went through several emotions at once before settling on something that looked vaguely like concern.
“Are you waiting for you parents?” Wayne asked, and that was a deeper voice than he’d expected. Rumbling, and as huge as Wayne.
Jason forced himself to put on a flirty smile and wink. “I dunno. Do you want to be my daddy?”
Wayne legit choked and started coughing. Ugh, was he sick or something? If he got kissy, then Jason was going to get sick too. Jason barely managed to keep from grimacing.
Wayne recovered after a few moments and looked up at Jason with something strained in his eyes that had Jason repressing a shiver.
“Where are your parents?” Wayne asked more insistently.
Probably hadn't expected Jason to be so forward. Jason hoped that that wasn’t bad, but he was happy to assure Wayne that no one was going to go reporting Jason missing or for “abuse” of a minor.
He shrugged. “Heaven and Hell. You might say they’re separated. They’re not going to be a problem.”
Wayne looked like he was about to choke, and Jason was pretty sure he was going to throw up. Maybe…Jason could always come back, later, when Wayne was feeling better.
Then something came over Wayne, and the pallor turned to suspicion.
That probably wasn’t good.
“This is a ploy, isn’t it?” Wayne glanced around him, glaring into the windows of a couple cars. He raised his voice and shouted, “I’m still not a pedophile, and I’m suing you for child endangerment unless you come out this second.”
Jason crossed his arms and looked around too. “Who are you talking to?”
“The news crew, wherever they’re hiding.” After one last fruitless look around, Wayne apparently gave up and looked back to Jason. His expression softened, just slightly. “Go home, kid. Whatever they’re paying you isn’t enough. Imagine that I actually took you up on your offer.”
No, no, no! Wayne thought he was being set up, which meant that he was being cautious, which meant that Jason had just wasted all his money and wasn’t going to see a dime for it, and there went all his hopes of surviving the winter without having to get a pimp and go full time.
“I don’t have a home,” Jason rushed, his tone edging on pleading—too desperate and you’ll drive your price down, but he didn’t care because as long as Wayne just let Jason show him a good time, even if he didn’t even pay Jason this time, Jason was sure he could impress Wayne enough to eventually get taken in as his new boy toy, but Jason couldn’t be the only boy clambering for this spot, so he needed to work fast. “I’m not with anyone. I’m not going to report anything, I promise.”
A tinge of that previous sickness—it was revulsion, Jason was doing a bad job of this—returned to Wayne’ expression, but he still didn’t seem convinced.
“I haven’t reported anyone else!” Jason cried in desperation.
Dammit, dammit, now he was going to think that Jason was diseased or something, or maybe that he wasn’t built for permanent use, but Jason could do anything! He would! He was tired of being so hungry all the time, of being dragged into an alley and…and doing what he did for those men, and then being shorted his pay, and he didn’t want to take on a pimp and risk getting trafficked, but he’d barely survived the last winter, and he just wanted to be safe.
Jason dropped to his knees hard enough that he was definitely going to have bruises later, but if his plan worked, then having bruises was the point, or at least proof of his success.
“I—” It was too late to go for virgin and innocent, so he had to lean into his experience, market himself that way. “I’m really good. I’m not a snitch, either, and I can take…I can take whatever Dick Grayson took, I promise.”
He couldn’t bring himself to look any higher than Wayne’s shiny black shoes. He did manage to keep himself from flinching when those shoes moved closer, every step echoing in the empty parking garage like a death march. He…but he wanted this. He did.
Wayne stopped a few feet away, and Jason clenched his jaw once before getting a hold of himself and relaxing it. Wayne was big, so he was going to need to be very relaxed for—
Wayne crouched in front of Jason, and Jason blinked at him in surprise. This was…god, he hated when johns taught him new things, but if he was going to be living with Wayne, he was probably going to have to learn all kinds of kinky stuff, so he’d learn whatever it was that Wayne was doing, and then he’d be the best at it, and Wayne would never want to get rid of him ever. Then, when Jason was grown up like Dick Grayson, Wayne could either pay for his college willingly, or Jason would blackmail the money out of him so he could go to some ridiculously expensive school and make a fuck ton of money and never have to get fucked to make ends meet again.
Wayne’s face was serious but unreadable as he searched Jason’s face. Jason could only hope that Wayne liked what he saw. Jason had wiped off all the grime, right? He knew his hair wasn’t clean clean either, but it was as good as Jason could get it with hand soap and a sink, and he’d already told Wayne that he was homeless, so Wayne had to know that Jason would need to be cleaned up a bit before he looked his best.
“How old are you?” Wayne asked at last in a carefully controlled tone, but he sounded more like he was leaning toward anger than arousal.
“I—I’m eleven,” Jason stuttered despite himself. He…he needed to stop sounding scared, because scared kids ran, and screamed, and tried to fight, but Jason wasn’t going to do any of that. He was going to behave.
“Eleven,” Wayne whispered hoarsely. “I see. And your parents?”
“Dead,” Jason repeated. He blinked rapidly to force back tears at the thought of his mom, at the thought of her seeing him like this. She’d be so disappointed, but…Jason didn’t have a choice anymore.
Wayne dipped his chin, but he didn’t say anything for several seconds. “What’s your name?”
That—that had to be a good sign, right?
“Jason,” he answered. Normally, he wouldn’t have told a john his real name to keep from getting caught or recognized, but if he was going to be permanent, then he didn’t want to get caught lying.
“And you’re homeless?” Wayne affirmed.
Jason nodded quickly. “No one will even notice I’m gone.”
Wayne would still have to fork over an education, but he could just keep Jason completely quiet and let Jason be homeschooled until he could get his GED when he was older.
Wayne pursed his lips and went silent again for several seconds. “I see. Unfortunately, I’m not a pedophile, but I could certainly help you find a nice foster home.”
Jason blanched and tripped over himself scrambling to his feet and away from Wayne. Wayne—either he was telling the truth, in which case he was going to try to throw Jason at the mobs in the foster system, or he was lying, and he just didn’t want Jason specifically.
“I’m not going to foster care!” Jason snapped at him. If Wayne tried, then Jason was going to kick him in the balls. “I’m not getting trafficked!”
Wayne had the gall to look confused, but even he couldn't be that stupid. Jason might be a whore, but he was self-employed. He picked his own clients, his own hours, and his own rates, and he wasn’t going to let himself spend the rest of his life as a whore for someone else.
“I’m not trying to traffic—”
“The mobs control all the foster homes!” Jason snarled. “If you don’t want me, fine, but I’ll run if you try to throw me in foster care.”
Wayne’s stunned expression folded into consideration. “I see.”
“You’d better.”
Wayne rose slowly, keeping his hands at a somewhat unnatural position as he stood, but Jason could still see where they were, so maybe Wayne wasn’t as absolutely pissed as anyone else would be if Jason yelled at them like that.
“You want to live with me?” Wayne crossed his arms and stared down at Jason like he was taking him apart with his eyes. It was somehow even creepier than the normal leers he got.
“And go to school,” Jason added, because he was not just some ditzy kid looking for a roof and a couple meals.
A ghost of a smile tugged at Wayne’s lips. “And go to school. That can be arranged.”
Jason’s heart leapt. “So—”
Wayne jerked his head toward the car as he opened the driver’s door. “We’ll call it a trial period. You can stay with me for a few weeks, and then we’ll see where we go from there.”
Jason grinned and ran to get in the passenger seat. He’d just scrambled into the seat and was reaching for the seatbelt when he realized that Wayne was staring at him.
Jason stiffened, then looked up. “Yes, sir?”
Wayne scoffed. “You’re not sitting in the passenger seat. It’s not safe.”
Oh. Jason had figured that the heavily tinted windows were enough for him not to be spotted, but Wayne was the boss for now, so Jason let go of the seatbelt and slid down into the hollow space below the dashboard and glanced to Wayne for approval.
Wayne looked sick again. “I meant you’re too short for the airbag. You need to sit in the back.”
Oh. Jason flushed bright red and opened the car door, not looking back at Wayne when he opened the back seat door and climbed inside. He’d just demonstrated how much of a whore he was to know how things usually went. At least if Wayne would probably want to test Jason for diseases and shit before they…did anything, so hopefully, he’d have a few days to get used to the idea of Wayne before they had to do anything.
Still, Jason thought as Wayne pulled out of the parking space and through the garage. Still, for all the bumps in the road, he’d done it. Wayne was taking him home, and sure some parts of his life were about to be hell, but Jason would be damned before he let Wayne get rid of him.