no rest for the wicked [jason todd]

twenty

THE GENTLE AND RHYTHMLESS

staccato of the rain was what woke Tye up later in the afternoon that day, and it was through that experience that she realized Jason had fallen asleep next to her. She scanned his face. It was motionless; peaceful, maybe. From the door came a heavy, intimidating-sounding knock, and Tye gently pressed a hand to his cheek. "Jason?" She whispered.

When he didn't stir, she figured he needed the rest. She stood to her feet, heading toward the door and gently pulling it open. She wished she hadn't, sort of, but she couldn't help the surprise that covered her face when she realized who it was. She'd seen his face so many times on TV, magazines and she was pretty sure she'd heard his name more than her own. Bruce Wayne, the fancy guy with all the money and a passion for the city he lived in.

He seemed just as surprised to see her, although that wasn't shocking. After all, she wasn't the permanent residence of the apartment.

"Is this-- Am I in the wrong place?" He asked after a beat, and she only blinked toward him, as if confusion was strangling her brain. "I'm sorry, where are my manners?" He continued, shaking his head. He stretched out a hand toward her and the smile he gave looked strained. She took a mental note of that."My name is--"

"Bruce Wayne, sir," Tye said immediately, and she didn't know why her voice immediately rose in pitch. "I'm-- My name is Tye Melrose, who were you expecting to see? It's, uh, just me here right now." She leaned on the doorframe, and she didn't know why she'd lied, but she couldn't take it back now. Maybe she could, she thought, as she heard the bed creak. Jason, probably, getting up.

Bruce Wayne paused. "I'm... Not sure what I was expecting," he told her. "Are you sure there isn't someone else inside?"

Tye nodded. "Confirmed," she said, "there's no one else here. It's just me for the moment. I mean--" she waved her hand. "I'm cat-sitting, but I don't think that really counts as another person being in here. She's not that smart." She felt someone grab the door and push it open, and yeah, Jason had just purposely made her look like a liar.

"Oh?" Bruce replied toward her, his eyebrows raised, "Not a single soul?"

"What're you doing here?" Jason was immediately demanding. He gently used a hand to grab onto the doorframe, blocking Tye from viewing the conversation, but also blocking Bruce from seeing her now. "No one -- You shouldn't be here. I don't want to see you," he said darkly, "that should have been obvious to you already. You should have figured that out, World's Greatest Detective."

Why did Bruce sound so lost when he said Jason's name? Like he was pleading for something, begging for something that was just out of reach.

"Jason," he began, and there were other words seemingly planned, but they seemed to fail when he was truly standing there now. "It's not fair that you think poorly of everyone. If you're blaming someone, it should be me. Alfred--"

There was only the slightest of twitches in Jason's lips. God, she didn't even know who they were talking about, but she reached for Jason's hand despite that. He didn't even turn around to look at her, didn't flinch or pull away from the contact. Instead, he laced his fingers with hers and squeezed gently, as if she was the one who needed reassurance now.

"If you'd like to come for dinner tonight," Bruce told him, offering another strained smile, "I'll make sure we set out a place for you -- and your friend."

Jason scoffed. "Not likely, old man," he replied sharply, and after stepping back, he slammed the door shut. Turning the lock into place and sliding the other one across, he turned briefly toward Tye. "Hey," he said, "look, Tye, I'm sorry about all this, okay? I didn't think..."

Tye pulled her hand away from his, saying, "so, mind explaining why Bruce Wayne just invited us to dinner? I'm confused, and somehow, you aren't."

"Fuck it," she heard him say, and she scanned Jason's face for a moment. "Bruce Wayne, he's Batman, Tye. He took me in. He let me die. He was the one who—" He broke off, rubbing a hand across his face. "He betrayed me, he left me there to die, Tye. I can't forgive him--" He sounded like he was going to cry. She reached for his torso and pulled him close.

He shook slightly, but she didn't hear him crying.

"It's okay," she said softly, pulling back to look up at him. "Jason, have you talked to him?"

He clenched his jaw slightly, but he didn't say something for a moment. "If I ask you to go with me," he began, and she nodded before he'd even finished.

"I'd go anywhere with you."

--

hey! would you prefer me to make this book really long or have it split into other books?

lemme know!

been saving this chapter for today so i'm super pumped to post it!