Red Hood

16. Five-Second-Rule

(2-ish days later)

Different juicy fruits, all chopped up and sliced, lined Danny's cutting board; apples, bananas, strawberries, and blueberries all perfectly cut by Jason himself. 

But he wasn't quite sure why he was so good with knives, though he wasn't going to question it: he had a feeling he wouldn't remember anyway.

"Careful!"

"I'm trying!"

Sizzling sounds of butter in a pan filled the house as squeeze bottles of pancake batter were strewn across the counters, all different colors. But it wasn't all in the bottle, evidence showing as Jason dropped another blob on his shirt.

Again.

Danny and Jason were doing 'pancake art', though less could be said about Jason, his turning more into thick messes half the time. It was 50/50. 

But Danny was busting them out left and right; she did one of each of her pets, and they all looked amazing.

"It's not that bad," He tried to convince himself as Danny giggled, "I mean, it could've been worse?"

"Mhm," She smiled up at him, flipping her perfectly perfect pancake, "I'd say for a first timer you did well. I remember my first time, and oh boy was it messy, fun, but messy," Danny shuddered in fake horror as Jason rolled his eyes.

He looked back down at his monstrosities, then to his friend, "Yeah right, how could you possibly do worse than this."

The two looked down at Jason's squiggly attempt at a gun, the grey and black running together like mascara running through a crying woman's makeup.

Though Danny kept that thought to herself.

"I haven't done this since my uncle passed, but," She nudged him with the spatula handle, "my dad was an expert in pancake-ery so he started teaching me when I was 5. I somehow managed to get a pancake stuck under the fridge."

Danny's laughter rang out and Jason couldn't help but chuckle himself, trying to imagine the scene.

"It took a week to get it out," She doubled over with a snort, him following suit with a laugh of his own.

But it hit Jason; this was something she did special with her family.

A family tradition she hadn't had the heart of doing, yet had chosen to do with him; A random person she decided to help with her kindness. It must have been hard with the memories it brought up, but as he looked at the grinning girl beside him, he saw the strength in that grin.

"You know," Jason smiled softly, touched, but covered up the emotion by bowing in defeat, "you win with that one."

Danny curtseyed perfectly in return without hesitation, "Why thank you, kind sir."
___

"Tada!"

Startled, Jason dropped his actually-not-too-bad-looking pancake onto the floor, a groan coming from his deepening resentment for pancake flipping.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry," Danny swooped up the food, putting down her own spatula. She was excited to show Jason the pancake she made in likeness of him, but she didn't expect to ruin the mood. He looked so proud of it too.

"Five-second rule?"

His lips twitched, "I won't tell if you won't."

"You've got a deal, Mr. Todd," Danny held a hand out for a shake.

Jason gripped her fingers with his own, "Pleasure doing business with you Ms. Walker."

The two turned back to their pans, chuckling as they gazed upon their 'masterpieces' spread across the plates. An easy-going and comfortable atmosphere filled the kitchen, both were content with flipping their food in silence.

Danny's smile grew just a little wider, realizing that the awkward silences were becoming less and less common. It was nice. And since Jason was technically her responsibility, she felt she needed to make his stay as comfortable as possible.

She'd be terrified if she had no one to turn to if she lost her own memory.

"This is nice," Jason looked up at Danny, a softer laugh lightening his features, "my family used to do this every once and a while. Alfred would ban them from it though, they would burn the kitchen down if we let them anywhere near it."

The two froze, a look of hope on Jason's face, "I remembered something?"

He looked down at his hands, "I-I remembered something!"

Danny could see the child-ish excitement on Jason's face as he danced around, a full-blown smile widening across his face.

He had a nice smile when the weight of the world was off his shoulders.

"I'm so happy for you," She grabbed his hands, feeling them tremble in her grip, "this is good! This is awesome, Jay."

He looked up at the ceiling, slowing down as his eyes became glassy, "This feels... really good."

"I bet it does, just make sure to let them come to you naturally," She clapped her hands together in excitement, "this is a really good sign."

As Danny smiled, spreading more butter into the pan, it finally hit Jason that none of this would have been possible without her.

"Thank you," He pulled her into his arms, "thank you."

"I'm your friend now, Jay," She hugged him back tightly, happy tears coming to her own eyes, "I'm just glad I could help."

Jason squeezed his eyes shut, the piece of memory he remembered playing in his head over and over again. He was another step closer, he could feel it.

Thank you.