no rest for the wicked [jason todd]

thirty six

THE MINUTE THEY KNEW THE TRUTH,

it became a closely guarded secret. Tye almost wished it was a secret Jason wasn't aware of, but he knew the truth already, and she couldn't take it away. He didn't seem to worry for her, didn't immediately go to the idea of limiting what she did with her life. Instead, he held her close for what seemed like hours, humming a lullaby close to her ear.

They were shocked out of their positions when the door was opened. Jason wiped the tears from her face and looked toward Dick. "Hey," he said, "Dickiebird, what do you need?"

Dick's eyebrows were raised and he glanced at his watch, lips parting slightly. "Dinner's gonna be done soon," he told them, "you guys have been up here for awhile. I honestly thought I was gonna walk in on something a little risqué, but.." He broke off, as if he didn't know how to explain anything at all. "I'm gonna go downstairs. I'll put some coffee on for you guys, and uh, yeah..." He tapped the doorframe before he pulled the door shut, his footsteps retreating down the hall.

Tye kept her face in Jason's shirt for a long, long moment. It was a soft cotton, a burgundy with a tweed-like pattern in it. She was trying to memorize the feeling of his chest, the sound of his heartbeat drumming in her ears. "Jay, I don't think I can do it," she said quietly, "see everyone."

He brushed her hairs back and then put his hands on her shoulders, pulling her back. "Hey," he mumbled, "then we don't, babe. It's fine. I'll braid your hair if you want." He shifted backward and reached for a brush, pressing his lips to her cheek. Then, he pulled the elastic out of her hair. She leaned forward to grab the TV remote and switched it on, sitting still and flipping through the channels while Jason started on braiding her hair.

She was surprised he knew how to do it, but she didn't question it. It was relaxing her from everything she thought was happening.

It was about an hour later. Jason and her had sat back on the bed, booted up the new laptop and laughed over funny things they googled, among other things. There was a knock on the door. "Master Jason, Miss Tye," Alfred said from the other side of the wood, "I brought plates up for the two of you. No one is going to starve in this house while I'm alive."

"Hey, yeah, come in, Alf," Jason said, pausing a video on Tye's laptop and pulling her close as the older man opened the door. He set down the tray with both plates on the desk near the door, turning toward them.

"Master Dick has returned home and Master Bruce has retreated to his office," he informed them, folding his arms behind his back, "but Master Timothy requested I tell you two that he is 'open to sharing his cartoon time with you' if you'd like to accompany him."

Jason smiled a little and the older man left, presumably to finish the dishes from dinner. "Hey," he said softly, leaning his head toward the platter, "Trust me, it's good food. You aren't gonna wanna pass it up. You still have to eat. I know you feel like shit and this is the worst time for news like this, I mean, Christmas? But... It's okay, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere any time soon, princess. No worries."

However, after they'd finished eating and she seemed to be less shaky, he wanted to go somewhere. "Home," he told her, "let's go home, Tye. We deserve it."

She confirmed his thoughts with nothing but a nod, suddenly not able to hear her thoughts away from the tick-ticking of a clock on his nightstand. She hadn't noticed it until it had begun to drive her absolutely insane. "I feel bad," she spilled when he was tucking his things into his bag, "this was Christmas. I ruined your Christmas, Jason, and I'm so sorry. I didn't... I shouldn't have done that. It was selfish of me — I'm always so god damn selfish."

She was near rambling, so he cut her off and moved close to her, leaning in to press his lips to hers softly. He pulled back and her eyes were round with shock. "You — You just cut me off!" She accused.

He laughed, turning away and grabbing her shirt off the ground to pack it up. "Princess," he said after a moment, "do you... Not that you have to decide anything any time soon, really, but do you have any idea what you're going to do? I'm gonna be there no matter what you choose, I promise. I'm just curious about it — Nevermind, it was a bad thing to ask."

"Right," Tye said, folding her hands in her lap. There were decisions to be made about this whole situation. She tried not to think of before, with Jonny — and she even winced at the thought of it. She didn't usually talk to anyone about that, she'd almost forgotten before this all. "Jonny — Jonny Harrelson, he was one of the guys at the shootout we ended up at with the mini-golf place. When we were kids — I mean, I was probably sixteen, he was nineteen — I got pregnant. I never had the kid, he made sure of that, I—" She broke off.

She'd felt guilty, but she reminded herself it was all for the best. She wouldn't have been able to raise that baby, and she didn't want to throw another kid at the foster system. "I don't know if I can still do that," she told him, "all over again."

"Okay, okay," Jason's voice was soft as he kneeled close to the bed, reaching for her hands gently. "Then you don't, Tye. You don't need to do that again, no matter what." His fingers brushed over her knuckles, eyes resting on her face. "Babe, I need you to understand —  Jonny, that asshat? He's not here with you, I am. This is us, this is our life. I'm not gonna force you to do shit, okay?"

Tye's expression turned soft and she curled her fingers around his, the tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I'm so sorry, I'm such a—" She broke off, shaking her head. "Let's talk later," she told him, "I'm getting tired."

He took her home.