ILLUSION || Jason Todd

TWENTY

❝YOU'RE SO CAUGHT UP❞

5 SECONDS OF SUMMER, DISCONNECTED

As it turned out, finding Jason wasn't actually that difficult. In fact, Lorelei had found him with nothing but a hot knife slicing through butter. The second her hand opened the rotting shed door, the young mage was faced with Jason standing in his civilian gear, his Wayne Tech case sitting beside her own as he stood against the wall.

The boy looked up at the opening of the door, his face previously latched onto his feet with his arms crossed against his chest. He seemed less angry, chilled, even. That was a good sign for Lorelei.

"Waiting for me?" The young mage asked, taking her mask off as she ventured further into the small shed. Opening her case, her mask slipped into its place above her suit with no resistance, bringing the case to a close without complications.

Pushing himself off the wall, Jason brought himself closer to the young mage. "Couldn't leave without saying goodbye." He admitted, picking up his case with his blue stare burning down to Lorelei's purple pools of vision.

"Even though we just met?" The ice blonde mage teased, ignoring the slight warmth to her cheeks from the intensity of his look. Yes, Robin could be intimidating. Even if he wasn't intending to be.

"I do have some manners."

Lorelei nodded, picking up her own case. "Well, I'm glad you stuck around for me." She didn't mean for her admittance to come out in such an intimate way, she truly just meant it saved her time. It would only take her a few seconds to correct her sentence, to emphasise that to the young Robin. But she couldn't.

Jason let out the smallest smile, a shy smile - and it was adorable. She couldn't take that smile away, selfishly. Why did she have to like this side of Jason? The real Jason. No ego, no pity, no trying to impress Dick. Just Jason.

"Yeah?" Jason breathed out, blinking at her small confession.

"Yeah." She said, chewing away the small smile. Walking out the shed door, Jason followed the young mage closely. "I'm coming back to Gotham for a few days." Lorelei announced, noticing Jason grin from her peripheral vision before he recollected himself.

"Does Bruce know?"

Lorelei scoffed. "He should expect it, he's one hell of a detective." He could bench her for all Lorelei cared, what would he do? Take the suit she can't wear? Not let her go on patrol? She would shake in her boots, devastated; because that was totally not any different from her everyday life!

"What about your stuff? At the safehouse?" Jason asked.

"I was hoping you wouldn't mind a pit stop." She hinted, glancing up to Jason as they walked. Lorelei didn't know where they were going - how does one get to Chicago from Milwaukee without it taking so long when you don't have a car? -, she was hoping for the best.

Or for Jason to suddenly admit he had a vehicle or was a master at directions and knew exactly how to get to the safehouse.

"For you? We could stop anywhere, babe."

"Don't make me regret this, Todd."

"Don't call me Todd." Jason shivered, physically rejecting the nickname. Was there a story there? Lorelei wanted to find out.