Jason watched with a pang of...something, in his heart, as a face he hadn't seen in a decade smiled warmly at a toddler.

This had been his neighbor growing up, whom he'd pined after for years. Jason's childhood had been difficult, to say the least, but this neighbor had been a blessing, a ray of sunshine in his otherwise cloudy existence. Whenever they played together, Jason got to feel like a knight in a story, a hero out to save the world. Those few hours of pretend had meant the world to him, at a time when little else had held any meaning.

They'd lost touch when Bruce took Jason in. He'd become a true hero then. He hadn't needed to pretend anymore. But he'd often thought of his old friend. His plan had been to grow strong, and then come rescue his friend. He'd be the knight in shining armor, just like in the stories they used to make up. A childish fantasy, of course, but to his young mind, it had been the perfect plan.

And then, you know, reality had come knocking, Jason's life had become an absolute mess, and that youthful innocence was no more. He was no hero, not anymore. Just a broken guy trying to understand his place in a world that didn't seem to want him.

Now, years later, there his old neighbor was. His old neighbor, and a chіld, apparently.

"That your kid?" Jason asked, trying to sound casual. He hoped the answer would be no. The idea of his first love moving on and starting a family without him was crushing. A selfish thought, he knew, given that he'd been the one who'd up and vanished, but still. "Just, uh, curious. Been a while and all."