Faye Feng → Dick Grayson ✔

Extra: Jason

He doesn't care how much it hurts Dick; Jason would rather than die than meet his brother's girlfriend.

The first time that Dick brings it up, Jason shuts him down immediately, because he remembers kids who wore clothes that cost more than a yacht, who had hair that was perfect and immaculate, who were doted on by their parents and were told that the world was theirs to bully. Jason grew up with those kids sneering at him, spitting on him, and their bodyguards beating him senseless just because he dared to fight back. From what he'd heard about Faye, she was all those kids combined and then some, so he'd be damned if he ever welcomed her into the family.

Dick's a good brother – he doesn't mention it again, and Jason tries to ignore the pained look on Dick's face.

It's not until they're on their first patrol in years in Bludhaven, just the two of them together, that Dick slips up.

They're sitting on a rooftop, munching on burgers from a stall that's open 24 hours, and Dick says that Faye adores these. He immediately realizes what he's done and mutters an apology, afraid to look at Jason, because he can't take the hatred that he's sure he'll see directed at the girl he left his home for.

But Dick hears a sigh instead. "Okay, I'll bite. Why does she like burgers instead of caviar or something?"

And Jason watches as his brother lights up as if someone flicked a switch. His eyes are the brightest he's ever seen and he's talking like a child on Christmas day, going on about how their present's exactly what they wanted. Dick tells Jason about Faye – yes, she's proud, she's arrogant and she's rude, but she's also funny and kind and brave and heroic...

Jason cuts him off, saying he doesn't doubt Dick's opinion, but his brother tends to see the best in people, and disregards their faults.

Dick falls silent. For a second, Jason thinks he's offended him, but he knows Dick, and he's not quiet because he's hurt. Dick's quiet because he's deciding whether to tell Jason something he's probably never told anyone else before. Not completely.

Jason's right, because Dick then asks, in a voice that reminds them both of their Robin days, "Promise me you won't tell anyone? Bruce knows, but I don't want to bring it up again. He gets...frosty."

Jason nods. He's kept secrets before – he has plenty of his own. He might be a blabbermouth, but not where it counts.

So Dick tells him the reason why he left Gotham. He tells Jason the reason why Faye's with him in Bludhaven instead of with her family. He tells Jason who she's killed and why and the nightmares she sometimes gets when everything's asleep, her conscience drowning her with the blood that's on her hands, and how he has to hold her to make sure she doesn't choke to death on tears that keep coming till the sun rises.

It's not until Jason knows the identities of the people Faye's killed that he understands why Dick left Gotham for her, that he realizes the two of them have more in common than he thought.

Because Faye killed to save, to make the world a better place for everyone who didn't live like her, who couldn't buy whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, who had to live paycheck to paycheck to keep apartments the size of cardboard boxes that were filled with rats. Jason can respect that, because he does the exact same thing, albeit his methods involving more bullets and bruises.

"Okay," Jason thinks for a moment, wondering if he's going to regret what he's about to say. He says it anyway. "I'll meet her."

The look on Dick's face is worth it in the moment, but not when he's sitting in the booth of a diner, waiting for the two of them to show up for lunch. As Jason drums his fingers on the side of the table, he realizes that he's never been nervous meeting someone before. Normally, he's just angry. Or tired. Or annoyed. Or some strange combination. But now, he can feel his heart beneath his shirt hammering away.

A bell rings as the door opens, and Jason hears a voice that's sharper than jagged glass:

"...I'm always nice, I don't know what you're on about."

And in walks the smallest person Jason has ever seen. Faye is a pixie, her feet barely making sounds as she makes her way over to him. But even being a head and then some shorter than Dick, she moves like she owns everything she walks on.

What shocks Jason the most, though, is that Faye's wearing a hoodie and sweats, no designer brands anywhere to be seen. She flashes Jason a wicked smile. "Have you finally gotten over it?"

He blinks, glancing at Dick's abashed expression. "Over what?"

Faye slides into the booth, and it only takes one look at her eyes for Jason to realize why his brother fell in love with her. They're the color of honey, bright with intelligence and swimming with charisma. "Over your fear of me. That is why this," she gestures to the two of them. "has taken this long, isn't it?"

Jason snorts involuntarily, and conversation flows like a broken dam. The diner is filled with Faye's snickers, Jason's laughter and Dick's loving looks at his girlfriend, which are somehow audible even though they shouldn't be.

Once the food arrives, and Faye's too busy eating to make another joke, Jason realizes that Dick was right. Faye is funny and charismatic; she just happens to be rich, which isn't really such a bad thing after all.

She's also just as kind as Dick said, which Jason finds out after she pays for the meal and leaves a five-thousand-dollar tip – in the form of a hundred-dollar bills. 

A lot shorter than my usual updates; present tense isn't as hard as I thought it would be to write. Red Hood might have made it easier - if I ever had a second crush from DC, it would be Jason Todd. His character is so incredibly complicated, I love him so much.

That being said, this will probably be the last update on Faye and Dick's story. I hope you've enjoyed the extras, even if they are just the results of boredom or things that got cut. I've got some ideas concerning other fandoms, so another project about either Percy Jackson or Sixth of Crows (or both, you never know) might be coming out at some point.

 See you then and stay safe.