Rites of Passage | Damian x OC

15. Leaps of Faith

"It only takes one idea, one second in time, one friend, one dream, one leap of faith, to change everything forever."

~ Mike Dooley

Chapter 15: Leaps of Faith

Jason Todd brought a lot of girls back home to his apartment.

Well, more specifically, they were women, beautiful women he usually met in bars who laughed at his crappy jokes—though some were bold enough to tell him upfront, which was hot, too—and ten out of ten times, they were there for one thing and left the next morning. Few of them ever got to lay in his bed a couple times but never more than that, and neither did they become anything more than a distraction to him.

Because things like "commitment" and "relationships" didn't exist under his roof as of late, and not even "friends with benefits" could get him to approach those territories.

He didn't need to watch a rom-com to know even that stuff was dangerous, no matter whether there were strings attached.

However, any plans of finding someone to keep him company had gone out the window the moment he'd realized this random girl he saved wasn't going to wake anytime soon. As he carried her in his arms, walking in the pouring rain under Gotham's dim streetlights, he wondered how the hell he'd managed to get himself into this one. It wasn't like it was unusual for teenagers and young adults to get into some questionable situations around here, but it definitely wasn't often that he ended up having to... figure out a way to keep them safe while they slept off their heavy hangover.

She was just a kid. She was seventeen, just shy of legal adulthood... yet her incapacitated state had reeked, literally, of too much alcohol, leaving him no choice but to bring her back to his own place. That made her the only actual girl he'd taken there, a first in many ways and for many reasons. Who would've thought?

Definitely not him.

Though he'd figured there was no way she'd wake before him, Jason had laid her across his worn couch and draped a random blanket over her before changing into dry clothes and dropping into the recliner nearby. Instead of sleeping in his own bed, he'd be right next to her when she awoke for obvious reasons. One of his trusty handguns had sat on the table next to him, ready for anything sudden should someone try to kill him while he slept—the girl would probably freak out once she woke up, plus, he'd been targeted in his sleep before anyway.

And he always slept with one eye open.

Despite the unexpected presence of this Jessica girl in this small place he called home, with its minimal and mismatched furniture, Jason had quickly knocked out, sleeping a dreamless sleep but not one that was peaceful. He rarely slept peacefully; living a life like his, and after so many years of it, kind of did that to you. Maybe a few hours passed or more, but some time later, he was woken up by the sound of a pained sigh, one that jolted him from his slumber and made him wrench his eyes open.

From his slumped position in the recliner, he could see the girl was still laying back on the couch, her hands to her head like she was trying to keep it from exploding. I know how that feels all too well, Jason thought to himself, watching as she opened her eyes. Confusion and alarm took over her features, and she bolted upright (bad idea). He could almost feel the nausea and intense headache she was probably experiencing as she wobbled a little in her seated position, palms pressed to her eyes.

Straightening himself up and stretching briefly to relieve the kink in his neck, Jason drawled, "Feel like shit, don't you?"

Her head snapped towards him as she dropped her hands, eyes half-successfully focusing on him. Though they were bloodshot and accompanied by dark circles and smudged makeup, he could see they were big and doll-like, trying to make sense of her surroundings and him. Her realization seemed to pierce through her hangover, her eyes then widening as she looked down at herself and threw off the blanket.