Jason is fourteen, he is standing at your window, and all he has in his pocket is a stolen credit card. He doesn’t have anything to his name but his love for you. And all of that is important. It’s all he needs because…

Because this is important.

“Come run away with me.” He says breathlessly as soon as you open the window, crawling through and taking your face in his hands.

He’s panting- he climbed, like, ten flights of the fire escape stairs to get up to your apartment, and it’s absolutely not the most exhausting thing he’s ever done but it’s you. He’s so happy, he’s happier than you’ve ever seen him. He looks genuinely elated, and he’s barely said one sentence to you.

“I have-“ he fumbles, and he drops the credit card on your bedroom floor, picking it up and holding it up with a big, lopsided smile. “I have money! We can go anywhere!”

He looks so excited that it actually hurts.

“I know that Gotham is… scary, and… and I know that I can’t always protect you here, but if we go somewhere else…” He reasons, reaching out and squeezing your hand.

He presses his forehead to yours and laughs softly, boyishly, smiling at you like you mean everything to him. “I could protect you. You wouldn’t have to be scared anymore.”

That’s all he’s ever wanted. He’s loved you since he met you. He just wants to go away with you, get out of Gotham, get you somewhere safe. He wants to protect you. He can’t do that here. Not when he’s still Robin, not when you’re so vulnerable.

“We can get on a bus. We can go, like, now, if you want.” He suggested, eyes shining with hope and love and joy. “I’ll go anywhere you want. Please? Just- like- I can get bus tickets and we can go wherever. Bruce won’t care, he’s got more money than anybody I’ve ever met, he can spare some for us to start over somewhere else!”

He sounds so simply and plainly… happy. It’s clear he hasn’t really thought this through, but he seems to think he can make it work.

He squeezes your hand again, and his smile softens.

“I can make you happy. I can try.”