DC Imagines

othello pt 1 - jason todd

a/n: sorry if the formatting looks a little off, I'll probably fix it later lol

You liked studying at Gotham University's library for the ambience.
Whether you got any actual "studying" done depended wholly on your mood and whatever being that may or may not have been watching you from above, but even if you somehow managed to procrastinate the entire time you were there, at least you could walk back to your dorm with the comforting fact that you had gotten in your cardio for the day.
The place itself was gorgeous with its overarching ceilings, long hall lined with pillars supporting a seemingly endless array of books, the cozy golden glow of the lights, and the generally pleasant atmosphere provided by the myriads of students sitting around its tables and lounging on its couches. The entire campus was stunning - but it would only be surprising if it wasn't thanks to the very generous grants from patrons of the Gotham elite, most notably people like Bruce Wayne.
You had a particular spot you liked near the edge of the library, in a little corner mostly surrounded by shelves with enough space for a few usually-unoccupied couches. Aside from you, the only regulars to sit there mainly just consisted of one other guy who recently had started to drop in every few days or so to listen to music and do his own work. You didn't mind him - he never bothered you, and you both kept up your mutual solidarity towards maintaining a very comfortable silence.
That was, until one particular day.
"Is that Othello?" You glanced over the book in your hand and saw the guy's startlingly green eyes gazing right at you over his dark-rimmed reading glasses. He wasn't wearing his earbuds as per usual, so you figured your agonized sigh of boredom must've come out a little too loudly.
"Yeah," you finally answered, slowly lowering the book a little. "Unfortunately." He cracked a slight grin at that.
"What, you're not a fan of Shakespeare?"
"I don't hate him," you started with a fairly nonchalant shrug, "I just think this book in particular is just kinda-"
"Boring as fuck?" he finished very eloquently, causing you to grin back despite yourself.
"Yeah. Pretty much."
"I can agree with that," he said with a nod towards the book. "Definitely not one of my favorites, that's for sure. Good premise, dynamics were pretty interesting, but I couldn't really get into it either." The fact that he was discussing Shakespeare's works in a way that suggested he did fully read the book (without wholly relying on CliffNotes) and that he did perhaps genuinely enjoy some of them suggested to you that he was probably an English major. "And Iago was a bitch-"
"I know!" you nearly exclaimed, throwing your hands up in very evident frustration. "Iago was shady as hell, and I don't get how Othello never saw it coming from him. Like, no one can be that oblivious, come on. I wouldn't have listened to him." RIP to Othello, but you were different.
He was actually laughing at that point, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You and me both. You an English major?" You shook your head, holding up your Psychology Twelfth Edition textbook that had been resting on the table beside you.
"Psych." He raised a brow and you inwardly sighed.
"Jeez - at GU? I'm impressed."
Being a psych student at your particular Gotham-based university was both a blessing and somewhat of a curse. The classes were phenomenal and your professors consisted of some of the best and most experienced in the nation - but that also came with the downside that the city you lived in had some of the biggest psychopaths and the largest insane asylum in the nation as well.
You win some, you lose some.
"It's not that bad," you tried to say, but the smirk playing at his lips proved that you weren't convincing anyone. "Let me guess, you're an English major."
"What gave it away?" he deadpanned, chuckling regardless as he closed up his own book and extended a hand out. "Name's Jason Todd. I've seen you around a lot, but we never really talked, huh?" You smiled as you reached out to shake his hand, introducing yourself as well.
"I guess not. You usually look like you're pretty busy."
"Something like that," Jason grinned, leaning back against his chair and sliding off his glasses. Without them, the lights somehow gave them an almost glowing effect. "I just figured you wouldn't want me to bother you."
Bantering over Shakespeare with a cute boy wasn't exactly your definition of being bothered, so you shook your head.
"Believe me, that was a lot better than Othello was."

You saw Jason at your spot again the next day, then the day after, and the next, lounging across from your couch and always seeming rather out-of-place with his black leather jackets and ripped jeans, but a welcome sight to you nonetheless. And just like that, suddenly, your visits to the library weren't just for the sake of cardio and the ambience anymore.
He was surprisingly amusing to talk to, whether it was complaining about more books for your respective English courses or just ranting to each other about the struggles of being a student at GU. It was easy to bond over things like getting your midterms interrupted by random threats from the Riddler, or arguing over whether or not the city's latest vigilante, some guy named Red Hood, was actually cooler than Batman himself.
He had been particularly passionate about that last debate.
Aside from being easy-going and annoyingly attractive, you also figured out that he was ridiculously smart, especially when it came to helping you with your English class. Whether it was explaining the deeper societal message behind a particular reading or helping you research topics for your thesis, Jason had a knack towards figuring out exactly the things you yourself seemed to struggle with.

"How do you figure all of this out?" You asked one day out of sheer disbelief after he connected The Catcher in the Rye to themes of disillusionment about innocence and one's childhood. "Seriously, I thought I was pretty decent with this stuff, but you blow me out of the water."
He shrugged it off like it was no big deal, sliding off his reading glasses and setting it on top of the wooden table you were at. You had grown fond of the way they looked on him.
"It's nothing special," he dismissed in response, lifting his gaze from the book to fixate it back on you. "You do great by yourself, I just kinda give you a little push with my interpretations."
"Still, thanks for helping me out," you insisted, eliciting another slight smile from him. "It means a lot."
"Oh yeah?" His tone had gotten cheekier as he leaned closer to you. "How much is a lot?"
"That's up for you to decide," you smirked, moving back and closing up your laptop. "Not me."
"You know, if you really wanted to thank me, you should get a coffee with me sometime."
"We get coffee together like every week," you deadpanned and he sighed.
"Not like that. Like a date."
It hit you like a truck.
"A date," you repeated, like you hadn't heard him the first time.
"Only if you were into that," he added, trying to play it cool as he moved to pack his things into his bag. "I'm not working tonight, so I thought you might wanna give it a shot." That was even more surprising, because he always happened to have a mysterious night shift going on.
You were still letting it process.
"...if you don't want to-"
"No, no - that sounds great," you interjected, already starting to smile. At the sight of it, he managed another grin himself, an evident hint of relief flashing across his face.
"Right. Yeah. Cool." He cleared his throat and shot you another grin as he tossed his bag over his shoulder. "Let's head out. And I'm telling you right now, I'm not letting your brokeass pay for it."
"Jason!"

At least Othello had managed to lead you to one good thing.