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 10 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
Three
“Nah. Non. Nein. Net. And for the last time, no.” Roy was rarely this firm with his decisions. This was serious. (Also, he knew that many languages?)
It had been two days since the warehouse incident. Once Jason and Ima had gotten out of the warehouse, comm signal had improved drastically. He contacted Roy immediately, telling him to rendezvous with Batwing at a secure location. They were to deliver the briefcase to an off-shore branch of S.T.A.R. Laboratories. By the time the paramedics arrived on scene, he had strapped Ima behind him on the back of his motorcycle, doing his best to be gentle. She was unconscious and bruised, but otherwise stable. The safe house had enough equipment to deal with injuries ten times worse than what she sustained, and he was focused on getting her out of there as soon as possible. As he was about to speed them off, he heard Roy’s voice over the comm a last time. “You gonna be good, Jay? Because if you don’t make it out of there alive, I’m gonna have to kill you.” He would never admit it out loud, but the concern in Roy’s tone was reassuring. He grinned under his helmet. His best friend always had his back.
But maybe just not today.
"Roy -”
“That waitress from that dump of a diner?! Two days, two days, and you couldn’t even send me a text that you were having a little slumber party??” The accusatory finger was dangerously close to Jason’s chest. On another day, that would have warranted a breaking of bones, but he was admittedly at fault for not giving Roy a heads up.
“Her name’s Ima. And I would’ve introduced you two the last time we saw her, but you were upset -”
It indeed had been the last time he saw her. At least until the incident at the warehouse. Neither of them suggested that they exchange numbers. Accidentally crossing paths was good enough, it seemed. Well, that wasn’t completely true. He had his way of knowing where she would be and when. But he had not anticipated the warehouse incident. At the diner, at the Wayne Foundation library, on a crowded street. It didn’t have to get any more complicated than that. Yet.
Besides, he had been caught up in dealings with criminal overlords as undercover work for Batman, Incorporated. He saw it as a good opportunity to close in on Black Mask. And as much as he itched to be with her, he could not put her in harm’s way. She did it herself, he thought bitterly. The irony.
Jason Todd did not do dates, or relationships, or coming home to someone, or growing old with someone. The last woman he felt strongly for was a mother who betrayed him. With everything that had happened to him after the Lazarus Pit, distrust and guilt continued to plague him. He still felt that he had to earn love.
“Yeah, well, nothing’s changed there! So, don’t you for one second think that I forgot about how she almost ruined our friendship! I can’t believe you just -”
“Will you please keep it down? She’s still asleep -” Way too much drama for 2:30 AM.
“- brought her into the safe house! Our safe house! Not a hospital, or a precinct, or a dumpster -”
“Roy, why the heck would I leave her in a dumpster?”
”- but in the one place we keep hidden from everyone else -“
"Nightwing and Red Robin crash here, like, every other week -”
“- so that bloodthirsty d-bags like Black Mask wouldn’t have our asses handed to us so freakin’ easily!”
“Will you please…” Jason began rubbing circles on his temples. No mediation technique from the All Caste could quell the headache that was building up. They had been going at it for almost an hour and the worst part was that Roy had a point.
“You have any idea what the cops would do to us if they found out we were harboring a potential state witness? Dude, I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda enjoying being on their good side for once. A ‘working relationship’ with the cops, Jay. How may vigilantes do you know can brag about that?” He held up a hand, “And before you say Batman -”
"It’s not safe for her. We don’t know which cops are on Roman’s payroll. Besides, we can probably ask my old man to have a word with Gordon if it came down to it.”
“Yeah, because Daddy Bats gives in to all your demands, right?” Roy scoffed, reminding Jason of his precarious standing with his adoptive father. “In case you didn’t know, the role of irresponsible, overly trusting crime-fighter has already been taken. By me. You’re supposed to be the level-headed one in this safe house, Jason.” Full name. This really was serious. “Safe house? Should we even call it that anymore -”
“Just shut. Up. Roy. Please.”
The finality in Jason’s tone made the tirade stop. A soft thump indicated that Roy had slumped down on the giant beanbag across from the couch he sat on.
“Look,” Jason said, resigned, “None of this is… ideal. And I’m so sorry for dragging you into this. You have every right to be angry with me. You’re one of the few people I trust with my life, but I guess I wasn’t ready to talk about this thing Ima and I have -” This thing? “…If it’s anything to begin with, that is. It’s… new territory to me, man.”
It was his turn to stand up and pace, running his hands over the back of his neck. “When you and Starfire started dating, you two could barely look me in the eye every time I caught you alone together.” He paused and looked over at Roy, whose arms were crossed, but now had a softened facial expression, as if in contemplation.
“That kind of relationship was new to both of you. And it was so mind-blowing-ly amazing that it took you a while to process it. Your words. Now, Kory, she’s one of us. She understands what this life,” he said, gesturing to their surroundings, where high-tech gadgets and weapons sat in plain view, “entails. We’ve lost count of the battles she’s fought alongside us. Gangs. Magicians. Aliens. She gets it. But, Ima…”
He paused, saddened by what he was about to say. “This isn’t her world. She was once a street rat just like me. An orphan just like me, let down by the system. Except no one like Bruce came along to offer her a better life. She works herself to the bone for a measly salary, being felt up by jerks twice her size as she fetches them coffee, just so she and her younger brother wouldn’t be out on the streets. Her eyes would light up every time she talked about him. And now he’s gone…
“She never mentioned that he was working for Black Mask. As far as she knew, he worked at the docks. I’d never gotten around to mentioning to her that I was Red Hood, either. The same way I kept putting off telling any of you about her. It’s not that I didn’t trust you. I just… wanted to keep her out of this world of ours. To keep seeing her smile in spite of the weight of everything she’s already been through. She’s become my world outside of this one.”
Roy stayed silent. He had not moved since Jason started his heartfelt confession.
“Right now, she needs my help,” Jason continued. I know I’m not being myself, trusting someone this easily. But she’s not just someone to me anymore. And she needs someone to trust, too.” He headed to his room, to check up on Ima, who was snoring lightly on his queen-sized bed. He did not mind sleeping on the couch for a few days if it meant giving her a little comfort. “I’m not asking for your help. You don’t deserve any more burden from me. All I’m asking for is a little patience until I figure out how to keep her safe.”
And just as he was about to enter the room, he heard Roy stand up behind him. “You’re an asshole, Jaybird.”
"Yep,” Jason sighed. “Glad we got that covered.”
“An asshole who’ll need my help.”
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