Single Mom

batfam-imagines:

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Being a single mom was
not something that you had ever expected your future to hold. Having to leave
your home in Star City and go back to Gotham in order to get you and your baby
away from an abusive ex even less so.

“Thanks for letting me
stay with you, Roy”

“It’s no problem, Y/N,
you and Jackson are welcome to stay as long as you want. Trust me, I know all
about needed to get away from Star City”

You reach out and pull
your cousin into a tight hug, “We won’t be staying long, I already have a job
and just need to look for an apartment”

“Don’t worry about it. I know that Gotham can be a difficult
city to find a safe apartment in.”

“Tell me about it, luckily your dad sent in a good word to
Bruce Wayne and I’m going to be his new secretary. It’s a surprisingly good
salary, hopefully I’ll be able to save enough to get us out of Crime Alley –
Not that your apartment isn’t nice! I just -”

“You just don’t want to raise a three year old in Crime
Alley. Don’t worry, I understand”

“You can come live with us, get to a better neighborhood”

Roy ruffles your hair, “Nah, cousin, I like it here, this
place has grown on me. And plus, if I leave whose gonna make sure that the
girls on the corner ain’t pushed around?”

“So you look out for the hookers?”

“They’re sweet ladies, they just gotta do what they gotta
do. I just make sure that the Johns don’t get too rough, and if they need a
snack I’ll toss down a few things”

“You’re such a bleeding heart, Roy!”

“I can’t help it! They have kids and some guys can be
assholes”

You let out a dry chuckle, “I know all about guys being
assholes. Trust me”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Y/N” Roy pulls you
down onto the couch, “Do you think Jacks will remember anything?”

“I hope not, the only time he really saw Lyle hit me was
when we were trying to leave, at least I hope that’s the only time he saw it.
Jackson’s a smart kid though, hopefully he’s too young to remember anything.”

“You think he’s gonna try and sue for custody?”

“I sure as hell hope not”

Roy smirks, “For his sake I hope to hell he stays far away
from Gotham”

–

Six months later finds you in your own apartment in a much
nicer side of Gotham than Roy’s apartment in Crime Alley. Jackson’s been
enrolled in pre-school, and then goes to daycare while you’re at work.

“Mommy!”

You kneel down, easily catching your son in your arms, “Hey,
pumpkin! I missed you”

“I missed you too, Mommy!”

Scooping up the now four year old boy you turn and head back
to your car, “I have a little bit of work that I still need to do at the
office, okay sweetheart? Will you be a good boy and draw me a picture while I
work?”

The smile your son gives you is bright enough to warm your
heart, “Yeah! And I can tell you about my new friends!”

“Of course, Jacks, of course. You know I always want to hear
about your day”

Jackson continues to talk while you drive back to WE, “And
everyone’s my friend! Even the teacher is really cool! She says that I’m super
smart because I already know how to write my name and read some!”

Thankfully Jackson’s always been eager to learn. He took to
reading relatively quickly, and even wants to try learning how to speak another
language. The woman down the hall from your apartment likes to speak to Jackson
in Italian, and has started to teach you and Jackson a few phrases.

“Did you show her that you can add and subtract too?”

“No, Mrs. Ellie said that we get to do math tomorrow, so I
have to wait”

“Well, if you want you can practice your math when we get
inside, just to make sure that you haven’t forgotten anything”

Jackson’s eyes light up, “Yeah! You’re so smart Mommy”

“Thanks, pumpkin”

Once you get Jackson set up with his math problems, several
sheets of paper, and a cup of juice, you can finally finish your work for the
day. Most people think that being a secretary is easy work, and it might be if
you worked for anyone other than Bruce Wayne. Mr. Wayne who was constantly
canceling or rescheduling meetings, having some kind of scandal, or hosting
some kind of party, was a lot of work to keep up with.

“Mommy?”

“Hmm?”

“How long are we gonna be here? I’m hungry”

“I’m almost done, sweetheart. I just need to make a few more
of these invitations so I can send them out tomorrow and then we can go.”

“Y/N?”

You whip around, coming face to face with your boss. “Mr.
Wayne?! What are you doing here so late? I though you left at 3 today”

Bruce raises an eyebrow, “I could ask you the same thing
considering I know you left at 5 pm, but here you are at 6:30pm and still
working”

“I – I had to pick up my son” you make an aborted gesture
towards the four-year-old, “and I had to come back to finish these invitations
for the gala in two weeks …”

“I didn’t even know that you had a son”

“Well, I try not to bring up my personal life at the office,
I mean I’m just your secretary Mr. Wayne”

“Yes, but you’ve been with me for over six months and I
still never knew that you had a son. Hasn’t he gotten sick or anything?”

“Well, my cousin Roy can usually watch Jackson when he’s
sick so I don’t have to take time off work. I mean I can’t really afford to
miss much, it’s a little difficult to be a single mom and pay rent. I was only
just recently able to move out of Crime Alley and I’d like to be able to stay
out of there”

“I’m … sorry. I always asked you to work weekends, or come
in after hours. I never realized you had a son” Mr. Wayne pauses for a minute,
“You mentioned your cousin. Roy? Would that happen to be Roy Harper?”

“Yeah, actually. Do you know him?”

“He and my sons, Jason and Dick, are good friends”

“Yeah, he mentioned a Jason and Dick, but I never got the
chance to meet them before I moved out.”

“Mommy, I’m hungry”

“Sorry, baby, I’m almost done. Do you want some fruit
snacks?”

“Yeah!” You quickly pull out a pack of fruit snacks and pull
it open. “Thanks”

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Wayne, but I need to finish this up
so I can figure out some dinner”

“Actually, I was going to go to dinner with my sons and I
wanted to know if you and Jackson would like to come. It’d be my treat”

“I can’t ask that of you, Mr. Wayne”

“Call me Bruce, and I insist. You’ve made my life so much
easier these past few months that dinner for you and your son would be the
least I can do. What do you think, Jackson? Would you like to go out for dinner
with my sons and I?”

“Yes, please!”

You narrow your eyes at your boss, “What was a dirty trick,
Mr. Wayne, using my own son against me”

“Come on, Y/N, it’s just dinner. And three of my sons are
close to your age, I know that you don’t have very many friends your own age,
not with how much time you spend here and then with how much you must spend
with your boy”

“Please, Mommy? Can we please go? I promise I’ll be good and
I’ll use all my manners”

“Fine, we can go, but you have to clean up after yourself
first”

Jackson scrambles to get everything in order. He puts all of
his papers in his backpack, and throws away his juice cup and snack wrapper.
“All clean”

“All right” Quickly logging out of your computer and
gathering your own things, you turn back to the billionaire, “So, where are we
going?”

–

You all arrive at the small diner at the same time. “Boys,
I’d like you to meek Y/N and her son, Jackson. She was working late tonight and
though it would be nice if they joined us”

“Hi, I’m Dick” The man grins, his blue eyes sparkle with the
light of a man that’s seen a lot in his life, but still manages to see the good
in everyone. “It’s really nice to meet you guys” He doesn’t seem to know how to
handle Jackson though, so it’s obvious that he’s never been around kids.

The second man that steps forward is huge. He’s about as big
as Bruce, but he has gunmetal grey eyes and a strange white streak in his hair.
“I’m Jason” As soon as you let go of his hand Jason crouches down and smiles at
Jackson, “Hey, big man. My name’s Jason, what’s yours?”

The little boy grins and to your surprise darts forward,
wrapping his arms tightly around Jason’s neck. “My name’s Jackson, but mommy
calls me Jacks”

Jason pulls back slightly, a soft smile on his handsome
face, “Oh yeah, bud? And what does your daddy call you?”

You twitch not expecting the question, but before you can
even open your mouth Jackson answers, “Well, my father liked to call me bad
names, like bastard and little shit, and he used to hit mommy, but mommy and me
left to come here and live with Uncle Roy”

Everyone paused, either in shock or in horror at what
Jackson had just said. Slowly crouching down and pulling Jackson away from
Jason, “Baby, we talked about this, remember? We said that we weren’t ever
gonna tell people about your father and what he did.”

“I know, but -”

“You promised that you wouldn’t tell people, Jackson. When
people ask where your father is you tell them …”

“That I don’t have one” Jackson’s lip wobbles, “’m sorry,
mommy”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Come on, lets meet everyone else and
then we can eat, alright?”

“Okay”

–

Dinner is a surprisingly fun affair. It’s full of the
brothers constantly picking at each other, Bruce trying to control his sons,
and your own son’s laughter. Jackson seems to bond even more with Jason and, to
everyone’s apparent surprise, Damian.

Damian places the menu on the table, “No, Jackson, chocolate
milk is obviously superior to plain milk, so that is what we shall get”

“You like chocolate milk too?!”

“tt – of course.”

“Mommy, can I have chocolate milk?”

“Only a small cup, I don’t want you to have too much sugar
before bedtime”

Jackson’s smile is bright, “Thank you!”

Jason smiles at you, watching his youngest brother and your
son debate which is better, grilled cheese or chicken nuggets. “He’s a cute
kid”

“Thanks”

“He’s pretty damn smart too. He was telling me about his
math and reading when you were talking to Tim and Bruce about work.”

Your eyes soften when they fall on your boy, “He’s always
been smart and he soaks up new information like a sponge. He likes to watch
animal documentaries instead of cartoons, and one of my neighbors is teaching
him a little bit of Italian.”

“Even smarter than I thought” Jason’s eyes meet yours, “You
know you’re pretty awesome too”

“I just your dad’s secretary, Jason”

“You’ve also gotten yourself out of an abusive relationship,
and are raising a pretty awesome kid”

A blush starts creeping up your cheeks, “Thank you. You seem
to be pretty good with kids you know”

“Before Bruce adopted me I lived in Crime Alley, there were
a lot of kids on the street that needed to be looked after. I honestly think
that kids can sense that I’ve had experience, that I like to be around kids”

The chocolate milk comes for Damian and Jackson, when Damian
just tries to drink it Jackson shows him the wonder of blowing milk bubbles, “I
was surprised when he hugged you. Ever since we left his father he’s been wary
of strange men, the only man he really likes is Roy. Damian I can understand
because he’s young, but you’re huge and basically a stranger”

“Kids have pretty good instincts, especially ones who’ve
witnessed abuse”

Jackson lets out another shrieking giggle, this time at Dick
and Tim fighting over the last French fry, “You guys are just really good with
him” Dick starts whining when he realizes that Jackson stole the fry among all
the fighting. Bruce calls the waitress over and orders another three servings
of fries.

“So, I know that we only just met, but I was wondering if
you’d like to go out with me sometime? Like on a date?”

“Yes!” Both you and Jason look at Jackson in surprise, “Say
yes, mommy!”

“You want me to go on a date with Jason?”

Damian snorts, “tt – you would be an acceptable partner for
Todd, much better than any other woman he has brought around. The child is also
acceptable, I quite enjoy his company”

“Glad we have your approval, Demon Brat, but it’s up to Y/N
whether or not she wants to go out with me”

Giving Jason a shy smile you nod, “I think I’d really like
to go out with you, Jason. I mean Roy had some pretty good things to say about
you, and if you’re his best friend than I guess you must be a pretty good guy”

Jason’s grin is blinding, and Jackson cheers, “Yay, mommy!”

–

Jason’s out patrolling, making one last round before heading
in for the night. He hasn’t been able to stop smiling since Y/N said yes to a
date, but that smile is quickly wiped off his face when a red arrow hits his
helmet.

“Hood!”

Jason yanks off the helmet, looking up in shock at his best
friend, “What the fuck, Roy?! Did you just shoot an arrow at me?!”

“That was a warning shot. You hurt my baby cousin or her boy
and the next time I shoot, you won’t be wearing the helmet. Understand?”

“Yeah – Yeah I understand”

Slowly Roy unnotched his arrow, sliding it back into his
quiver, “Good. Jay, I love you like a brother, but I’m serious, you hurt either
of them and I’ll kill you”