ICARUS BLAZING ✦ jason todd

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕.

[ then ]

Jason sticks out like a sore thumb.

       Despite wearing the same uniform and attending the same classes as everyone else at Britehaven, there's a stark difference between him and the rest of the student body. It's in the way he carries himself — the way his speech is inflected with that Bowery accent he never acknowledged until now — the way he slouches to make himself as small as possible so as to not draw any attention. That's perhaps the main difference between him and the others; they preen and flaunt their wealth and looks as if their lives depend on it. Jason's life always depended on being invisible.

       The school itself, however, isn't so bad. Jason makes quick work of settling in. Wayne Industries gives him a generous weekly stipend, so he stocks up his dorm with books of every kind. It's a single dorm, which is a relief. He really doesn't like sharing.

       Classes are exactly what one expects from the top private school in Gotham — hard. It doesn't help that Jason joins right in the middle of the semester. He spends the first couple of nights pouring over every past assignment. Every break he gets is spent studying, playing catch-up to the rest of the students in his class. Jason's bright enough to understand the material fairly quickly; while he didn't go to school for the past few years, he still read everything he could get his hands on, from literature to textbooks. Like Valentine said, this is his opportunity to make something of himself, and he's not going to waste it.

       Speaking of Valentine — he hasn't seen her since he arrived. They're not in the same year so he understands that their schedules are completely different but even after his classes, Jason can't find her. He doesn't dwell on it too much — he's swamped with homework anyway — but he finds himself messaging her more often, updating her on his whereabouts, hoping she will show up and distract him, even if for just a little while.

       She doesn't.

       It's Friday night and Jason's in his dorm, typing up a Biology report on his laptop, courtesy of Wayne Industries. By midnight, he's halfway through both the report and his extra-sweetened coffee, when a thud at his window makes him yelp and jump out of his chair.

       Crouching on his window frame is Valentine, cackling at Jason's reaction.

       "Holy shit, Jaybird, you should have seen your face!" she wheezes.

       "Good to know I amuse you," he huffs as Valentine jumps down silently into his room. "What are you doing here?"

       "I came to spend time with my favourite person," she says. It sends an indescribable warmth through Jason. He's her favourite person?

       "I was beginning to think you forgot about me," he admits, rolling his desk chair towards her. Valentine takes a seat, bringing one leg up under her. Despite the cold November weather, she's wearing shorts, and they ride up her thigh as she settles in.

       "You seem to think that a lot these days," she comments. "Don't worry, I wouldn't have snuck in here if I didn't miss you."

       Jason walks over to the window and peers down. "How did you even get up here?" he asks. "My room's three floors up."

       Valentine shrugs. "I climbed." She stretches animatedly and reaches for the coffee on his desk, taking a sip. Her eyes widen. "Wow, this is sweet."

       "Uh, yeah, I have a sweet tooth," Jason explains sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, what do you wanna do?"

       There's a glint in her eye that sends a tingle down his spine. It's gone just as quickly as it came. "Just hang out. Catch up. What are you working on?"

       "A report for Bio," he answers.

       "You got Carnaby or Rydell?"

       "Carnaby."

       Valentine laughs. "Lucky. Carnaby's an easy grader." She takes another sip of his coffee — her coffee now — and raises an eyebrow. "Why are you just standing there? You look nervous."

       Jason is a little nervous, but he doesn't want to let that on. It's one thing to hang out with Valentine on the streets of Gotham, but it's a whole other thing to have her in his dorm room, alone. For all the bravado he's put on working for Maroni, nothing's got him more weak than Valentine.

       "You're sitting in my chair," he reminds her.

       "I can sit somewhere else." She gets up lithely and easily swings herself on top of his bunk. She settles in on a pillow in the corner, beside his storage shelf. "Come up."

       Jason doesn't need to be told twice. He climbs up on his bed and sits on the opposite end. It's a little awkward; they're not too far apart but he wishes his bed were smaller so she'd sit closer to him.

       "There," Valentine sighs happily. "Much better." She leans back against his pillow and shuts her eyes. Jason finds her beautiful like this, all relaxed and carefree. He's glad she made herself so comfortable in his bed already; his sheets will smell like her when she leaves.

       Valentine opens her eyes again, the ghost of a blush on her cheeks. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

       Jason shakes his head, smiling. "No."

       "Then, what is it?"

       He debates telling her the real reason he can't keep his eyes off her, but he's afraid of what she'll think. The last thing he wants to do is alienate her from him for good because he can't keep his thoughts to himself. A part of him hopes that he's reading the signs right — that all the touching and flirting mean something and that they're not just a side-effect of Valentine's infectious personality — but Jason knows better than to assume. They may have started out as Bowery kids but unlike him, she deserves the whole world, which is a whole lot less than he can give her.

       Jason shakes his head again. "Nothing."

       Valentine scoffs. "What's with you? Did I come at a bad time?"

       "Of course not. I'm just tired," he lies.

       "I'll let you sleep then," she says, trying to scoot past him.

       Jason reaches out and blocks her way down. "Don't go," he says. They're close now, so close he can see the flecks of amber in her eyes. He could stare in them all day if she let him.

       He's about to apologize for the situation they're in when Valentine cups his face and presses her lips to his. Jason is stunned; his brain is overloading and all he can think is she's kissing me, she's kissing me, she's kissing me.

       Valentine pulls away — it leaves Jason feeling empty and panicked — and frowns. "That was horrible," she says. "Jason Todd, do you or do you not know how to kiss a girl?"

       It's this snark that brings him out of his thoughts. Jason grins and lifts her chin with his finger, bringing her mouth to his. Valentine's hands find his hair and lose themselves in it; his hands grip her waist and pull her closer against his body.

       This isn't Jason's first kiss but it's the first that makes him feel. Valentine is everywhere — in his heart, in his head, in the blood coursing hotly through his veins — everywhere. In that moment, he forgets where he's from, who his parents are, what he's done. There's no gravity in Gotham strong enough to take him away from her.

       They don't talk. They just kiss. And when their eyes begin their struggle to stay open, they fall asleep in each other's arms.

       Jason Todd can't be happier.