Summary: Snippets of a blossoming romance between Jason Tood/Red Hood and an original character (named Ima), with other DC characters in supporting roles. Jason falls for a waitress at a diner he frequents with his best friend, Roy Harper. When she is caught in the crossfire between him and Black Mask, he is determined to protect her at all costs. What he does not expect is her falling for him, too. And how much she becomes a part of his – and the Batfamily’s – life.
** Not strictly canon. Romance + fluff + minor angst. A lot of Batfamily feels. Title from the Coldplay song. Currently 8 chapters long, each one to be posted separately due to length. Editing may occur, depending on inspiration. 🙂 **
Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight
Four
The sunlight filling the room forced her to open her eyes. How long was she out? In spite of the softness of the bed, her entire body was sore. Spotless white walls. Two traditional Japanese swords overhead. A wall-to-wall bookshelf made of fine wood. A tire with a bat insignia? And beside it, a photo of Batman and Robin… Where was she? She pushed off the fluffy duvet that covered her. She was still wearing her uniform, except it was soiled and parts of it were singed. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of blood, sweat, and soot.
All her senses were telling her that last night was not a dream. As she stepped onto the carpeted floor, she noticed the Post-it stuck on the bedside lamp. “Breakfast awaits”, followed by a smiley face. She rubbed her arms, feeling a small strip of gauze taped to the underside of her left arm. She peeled it off, revealing a puncture wound that looked suspiciously like one for intravenous fluid infusion. Her reflection on a full length mirror showed her the bandages on her face and other parts of her body. She yawned, straightened out what was left of her clothes, then gingerly walked out of the bedroom. Her stomach grumbled at the scent of freshly made waffles. Her eyes widened at who may have been causing them.
“Jason?”
“Hey,” Jason said with a bright smile, setting a plated pile of scrumptious-looking waffles on the kitchen island. “I bet you’re hungry. You’ve been out for two days.” He was wearing an apron with “Kiss the Hood” haphazardly sprayed in red onto it (Roy’s idea of a joke). When she did not reply, he continued, “I made waffles. They’re probably not going to be as good as what you guys serve at the diner, I didn’t really have time to go grocery shopping this week, what with the -”
His ramble was drowned out by the sight of Ima taking in her surroundings. She was a bug-eyed, and he found it adorable. The safe house looked like a bachelor’s pad, with its dark wood paneling and floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking a lake (underneath which a customized amphibious vehicle designed by no other than Lucius Fox himself was parked). Leather-covered furniture, modern industrial fixtures. All of it concealed the state-of-the-art reinforcements and built-in weaponry (not to mention the safe room within the safe house) to give a homey feel. A bomb could go off at their front door and it would not even make a dent. It was a far cry from the one he and Roy used to operate from when they first started getting clients. But that was in the past; they were working for Batman, Incorporated now. He and Roy were often caught in the crossfire or swept into shady political dealings as guns-for-hire. By employing them, Bruce (and, by extension, Oliver Queen) could keep constant tabs on them. And even if the older man would not admit it out loud, Jason knew he was being protective.
Ima approached him slowly, and the sway of her hips almost made him drop the batter-covered spatula. He had grown used to seeing her after her shift at the diner, which was just when the sun was about to set. But the morning sun was making her ebony skin glow in a way he was not sure he could ever get used to. Gulp.
“Where am I?” She said, suddenly light-headed, grabbing a nearby stool to steady herself. Jason quickly caught her by the small of her back and guided her onto the seat.
“In our safe house,” he replied. The safest. Well, second only to Wayne Manor.
“Our?”
“My, um, best friend lives here, too. He’ll be back any minute now.” She had met him before. Sort of.
“I had the strangest dream… I was in a burning building and… the Red Hood rescued me.”
He nervously wiped his hands on his apron and took a seat across from her. Yup, this conversation was happening.
“Then he took off his mask,” she continued, looking confused, “and it was you.”
There was no point denying it. “It wasn’t a dream, Ima.”
He handed her a glass of water. After taking a sip, she stared at him with a blank expression that made him even more uneasy. What did she think of him now?
She nodded, but more to herself. Yes, Ima. He was that masked vigilante scaring the shit out of criminals in Gotham City. The “dangerous” and “lethal” one that the news warned the citizens about.
“You… saved me.” He nodded silently back.
“The explosion in the warehouse… those scary thugs with guns… m-my… my brother?” She choked out the last part, tears building up in her confused eyes. His heart broke for her. “All of it… happened?”
“Yes… What do you remember exactly?”
“I… I went over to the docks to bring him leftovers from the diner. He called me earlier that day to let me know that he was working late. It wasn’t the first time, but I wanted to surprise him. As – as I was walking toward the warehouse, I heard some men talking about – about -” Horror was clearly reflected in her eyes as the memory flooded back in. “- t-t-taking Kai down… they were going to shoot him, something about him knowing too much… I couldn’t move, I was so scared! Then I felt an arm grab me from behind and drag me into the warehouse…”
“What did you see?” What were her nightmares going to made of?
“A briefcase, two men were shaking hands over it… One of them had a black face. He looked so… evil. He sneered at me when his men dragged me in… asked that they bring me closer, pulled up my skirt…” Black Mask was going to pay. Dearly. “Kai kept begging them to let me go… Wouldn’t even take his share in the loot, he said…” She was staring off into the distance, as if watching the macabre scene playing on an invisible screen. “… then I heard it. My brother’s gasps for air…” A gunshot between the eyebrows. He had tripped over the lifeless body on the ground amid the chaos, recognized him immediately. Ima briefly introduced them months ago. If only he had known then…
Now her eyes were lifeless.
“I-I wanted to run to him, see if he was still b-breathing, but some of the men started yelling that there was an intruder, another one…” That idiotic moment when he and Roy got caught. “Th-there was p-panic, so I bit the arm that was holding me and ran for it…”
She collapsed on the floor, covering her face. “I l-left him there…” He knelt down beside her, enveloping her shivering shoulders. Her sobs were muffled in the firmness of his chest, tears drenching his shirt. “I never suspected a t-thing. I should’ve worked harder so that he didn’t have to take that job at the docks… I should’ve listened more… I should’ve, sh-should’ve -” He caught her slender hand as it pounded on his chest and gently held it. “Hey, hey. None of this was your fault. Kai ran with a bad crowd, but he didn’t deserve what happened to him.” But those who did this to him were going to get what they deserved. He would make sure of it.
As she clutched at him tighter, he could feel her chest heaving violently against his. He knew what it was like to lose the only family you knew, but he also knew that second chances were a thing. The seven missed calls from Oracle was proof enough that family was much more than just sharing DNA. She would get her second chance.
A text message sent to Roy. Not patrolling tonight. The city could wait.
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