Coming Back To You

February 05, 2019:

Jason and Lena continue to deal with their relationship. Badly.

Hood's 'Bat'cave

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: [*\# None.]


Fade In…

*

The Red Hoods hideout is actually lit up…relatively. It is almost like he is expecting Lena. Jason is taking a quick shower, attempting to look presentable for her.
Inside of the hideout, things look normal. Maybe alittle cleaner than normal. The kitten is curled up on Jason's pillow, snoozing with her tail in front of her nose. The Computer seems to be whirling away, going through hundreds off photos and files.

*

Lena sighs, lingering outside of his door. She stares at it with an apathetic gaze, considering her options. Her lips twitch before she finally enters in, closing the door behind herself. She eyes the cat, listens to the noises, and moves to claim a seat off and to herself for the time being. Her boots are on. Jacket, too. She's slick with sweeps of a rain and snow mixture but seems to care little about it.

*

Steam wafts from the open bathroom door. The water cuts off, and Jason gets out to start drying, after abit he steps out of the bathroom, a towell around his waist. "Hello beautiful," He says with a slight smile. He's shaved it looks like, but his hair is still alittle wet. He looks like he was in a hurry. "Sorry, I had to cancel."

*

"You were working." She replies, eyeing him and keeping her seat. "You just…got shot the last time I saw you and then cancelled on me. Only to not talk to me for days on end." Closing her eyes, she sighs and calms herself. "I'll handle it, especially if this is what I should expect."

*

"I'm…" Jason sighs, putting his hands on his hips. "When it comes to the crappy role models I have in my life, I am trying to not be so shitty to the people I care about. Just requesting patience. Which may be more than I am worth, but…" He shrugs.

*

"Don't worry about it. I was just worried about you, is all. Natural when we do what we do, Jason. Besides, we're not officially anything, so I can't really hold anything over your head. I shouldn't judge you either. Just let a girl know you're still breathing from time to time." She suggests, following after him with her chilly gaze.

*

Red Hood walks over to the bed and drops down. The cat looks more than alittle perturbed, at being roused. "Well, I almost got blown up and shot," He says, with another shrug. "But, I shot them first. I couldn't save them all though."

*

"You're alive. I say you came out on the winning side." She shrugs as well, turning her head his way. "You wanted to decompress. What do you want, Jason?" She cuts to the chase, turning the chair now to face him directly.

*

"Just to spend time with you," He says with a shrug. "What do the kids do now, Netflix and chill?" He grins slightly. "Go grab some dinner, or order something in?"

*

"You got shot last time we did that. I'm working to correct that issue." She states. "Last time we tried dinner, you had to work. And as you said, it'll never be over." A pause. "Why do you need to decompress? You seem ok to me."

*

Red Hood looks away for a moment, blinking, attempting to find a way to say what he is thinking. He points to the computer, whirling away with ID shots and mug shots. "See all those people?" He says quietly. "Each of them was executed. Point Blank. While they coward, unable to fight back."

*

Lena sighs and closes her eyes. "I'm leaving." She decides, moving to stand. "I told you, I'm not judging you for what you do. I get that. But I'm not coming here just because you need something from me. Out of me. I did enough of that as a kid and I'm not doing it ever again."

*

Red Hood stands. "What do you mean?" He says standing. "I wanted your help." He looks genuiely confused. "Help me get away from this and not get pulled into it like…" He sighs.

*

"I can't do that." She tells him, glaring now. "I can't 'make you' pull away from it. You have to do that on your own, Jason. I told you that when we first met. What we do isn't up to someone else. It's on us, and only us. We can't blame anyone else, and we can't expect anyone to save us. I help you however I can I just…" Growling, her hands turn into fists. "Forget it. This is bullshit."

*

Red Hood grows silent, letting her talk and get everything out. His face goes impassive. "I'm sorry," he says quietly, his voice hard. "I was not thinking. I don't mean to put any of this on you. Thank you for everything so far. I would like you to stay, but I understand if you leave."

*

"The bullshit part is my reaction." She mutters, rubbing at her eyes. "It's just you, Jason. It's your city. It's your life. It's your job. I'm always going to be on that outside and I know that. I don't mean to be impatient with you, but you don't…" Sighing, she looks at him once more. "I hate that when you call, I come running anyway."

*

"I do like it when you come," Jason says with a nod. "I like having you hear. Just seems like every time I go to New York, someone wants to kill me." He looks back to the computer. "Maybe…one day…" He shakes his head. "I'm sorry that I've asked you to make that sacrifice."

*

"I'm not sacrificing anything. I do what I want, when I want to. Just you…" Another breath, she starts to settle. Her fingers become slack, and her joints ache from the tension being released. "You realize we'll never agree on things, don't you? I can listen, but I can't offer advice. You won't follow it because you have your own code. I don't want you to think I don't care about you. I do. Like crazy. And it drives me mad." Frowning, she bites her lower lip. "I don't know what to do anymore."

*

"Tell me what you think," Jason says simply, as though what he is asking is as easy as breathing. "Tell me what you feel." He goes back to sit down, gesturing for her to sit across from him. "We may not ever agree, but I will so my best to listen."

*

"Jason. I hate that I give a shit about you. I don't do that. I never did that. It doesn't lead to anything good. A fun time. A little bit of a breather and…you leave it behind, y'know?" Licking her lips, her eyes roll up before finding him again. "I've told you this before, though. My thinking hasn't changed. But you call when you need something and…here I am."

*

"Do you want me to stop calling you?" Jason says arching his eyebrow. "Do you want me to just stop talking to you. I asked you to come by to make up for the fact that I had to go fight a Sentinel rather than see you. I thought a break could help us both. You know you are allowed to have a heart, right? Unless you want to turn into Deathstroke."

*

"That's not what you said. You said you needed to decompress because of some shit you saw." She informs, her face twisting up slightly before sinking a bit within her jacket. "Maybe I don't want one. Maybe I don't want to be hurt." She pauses. "This hurts. I'm talking to you and your answers is…to never talk to each other again."

*

"That isn't what I want," Jason says, giving her an intense look. "I want you and I to be together. Like, actually together. Not, two and a half kids with a white pickett fence, but…" He shakes his head. "I want to be about to talk to you about my work, and have you talk to me about yours, and just have an agreement to not get in each others way. I want to stop dancing about how we feel about…." he gulps. "…each other."

*

"What I do isn't work, Jason. It's me. I didn't go to an interview, or talk to someone about it. I do it because I'm good at this game. I have a goal. I know you have a goal, too. What does talking about it matter? You're good. I'm bad. That's just the way this world works." She declares flatly. "I don't know what together you mean. I offered support and…everything already. I listen. I show up when you want me to be here. I stitch you up. I try to make sure you eat. Sleep. Don't die in some gutter because you had to act on something. So what is 'together' for you?"

*

"It may not be a job you interviewed for, but it is an occupation," Jason chuckles. "Its a career. Both of us have that. Both of us deal with that, and its not like I can talk to anyone else about it." He sighs and cracks his neck. "Us not having this conversation. Us having an understanding maybe that we do care for each other, and…" He trails off. "Maybe pretending that we are really a couple?" He shakes his head. "I don't mean to keep calling you like this. I don't mean to put all this on you, or make you feel like I am taking advantage of you…"

*

"It's not a fucking career." She snaps. "This is me, Jason. I can't quit and I won't, just like you won't quit what you're doing, either." Shaking her head, she inhales steadily. "You asked me to talk…so I'm talking. But you'd rather not be having this conversation…I…I need to go. I'm glad you're not dead. I'm sorry people died, but I need to breathe or I'm going to scream."

*

Red Hood sighs and looks away. "Alright," he says quietly. "Breathe. I will be here, if…" He sighs and looks back to her. "If you want to come back to me. We can talk more, or just sit in silence or…" He shrugs.

*

"Stop it." She warns him, finger up and pointing his his direction. "It's not about coming back to you. Fuck sake…" She yanks up her hood and walks to the door, opening it with a yank and slamming it behind herself.

*

Red Hood looks up to say something, but she is gone before he can. He slumps back with a sigh. Jason turns his head to look at the cat who gives him the "You Fucked Up" look. "What are you, spying for Selena now?"

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