ILLUSION || Jason Todd

THIRTY-NINE

❝IT'S NOT THAT I WANNA WATCH YOU LEAVE

BUT IT'S ALL ENDING NOW

I HAVE TO LET YOU GO❞

TEDY, IT'S OVER NOW

Waking up in Jason's arms felt more reassuring than comforting that morning. With the clock showing it had been no more than ten AM, the young mage let out a tired yawn as she turned towards the young Robin.

The natural feeling of waking up beside him dawned upon Lorelei as she let out a small smile at the sight. His hair, as always, had become a mess, his chest slowly rising and dropping with every breath and snore he let out. It was always nice waking up beside the blue eyed boy, it had always felt so right; this morning just held a little extra spice with the events that followed last night.

Jason should have died last night, the miracle that they were both breathing in a warm bed was something she couldn't overlook. Her guilt still remained with a dance around her other emotions and thoughts of calling Leslie but she kept still. Her mind could only poison so much when the view of Jason became so heavenly.

Lorelei could not deny how attractive Jason really was. It was something she didn't let herself delve upon in the name of keeping their friendship - a standard she suspected Jason held himself to in parallel, his flirts were all those on a basic level and ruled off as his flirtatious - which ironically pulled him no one - humour.

This morning felt different, like she was allowed to indulge in the moment of feeling rather than thinking, her heart taking over her soul as she examined Jason's sleeping body. It was weird, she knew that, but she couldn't stop. The young mage was far too grateful for him to live. Watching him sleep, watching him breathe was calming.

A calm and relief she desperately clung to in a focus away from her pessimism and self blame. It was still there, lurking in the shadows of her frontal lobe. But she ignored it. The guilt would be something she would always carry; she had to learn to live cohesively with it.

The ice blonde mage had to learn and figure out other things, too. Like her building bond with Jason. Kory was right, sometimes you had to make your own choices. Lorelei had, once before in her decision to leave Centia. An impulsive decision she wrote for herself, burning it into her destiny.

His voice escaped sleep, the boy awaking from his rest with a sudden grip tightening around Lorelei. "What are you smiling at?" Jason whispered with a flutter from his eyes drowning into Lorelei's.

"Nothing." Lorelei whispered in reply, not daring to bring her voice louder than the octave Jason settled on. There was no reason for the hushed words, nobody piled around them in an attempt to steal their moment in privacy.

Still, there was a certain type of solace in wanting the world to drift away and for them to simply exist together. It was becoming addictive and the one place Lorelei felt truly safe.

Her smile dropped as a soft sigh escaped her lips, the dark haired boy watching Lorelei's every move; no matter how miniscule the change, he was studying her, almost placing her to memory. They couldn't blame one another, their night almost ending far differently; the pair needed this. The reminder they were both alive.

The young mage sat up, Jason's arm falling onto her lap. He would let her go, no protest behind but he refused to be the first to pull away and stop their embrace. Her lips quivered upwards, her face giving a playful stare into his blue eyes. "Come on, we're going out today."