Chapter Text
There were few things Alex loved more than the morning light that would hit Park’s during Spring, even better if it was after rainfall. This was one such morning, the type of morning when the sidewalks are damp, puddles filling the potholes that were never fixed, early flowers that had been torn from the trees before reaching full maturity squished under muddy footprints. Alex would’ve liked to walk, to breathe in the fresh air, but she had too far to travel from her dorm to Park’s. She didn’t mind it, she also loved riding through Gotham on her bike, manouvering between cars in heavy traffic with the same pleasure she found swinging between skyscrapers. She sometimes prolonged her journeys, enjoying the freedom she felt in the speed. She reached Park’s at some point, having lost track of time, and came in through a back entrance, the one she’d used to sneak out of so many times in her early days as Gotham Girl.
Alex climbed a steep and squeaky metal spiral staircase to the main floor and heard banging sounds coming from one of the changing rooms.
Uh-oh… – She thought turning herself invisible and walking cautiously towards the sounds.
“Goddamit stupid-...” – Bruce was on his back under a sink, water from a leaky pipe he was trying to fix dripping on his face and wetting his shirt. He paused his complaining, he knew he wasn’t alone anymore. – “Alex?” – He asked sitting up.
Alex appeared to him, a mix of confusion and amusement on her face.
“How did you-?” – She asked handing him a towel and smiling at the scene she’d walked into: Bruce Wayne, playboy billionaire, Batman, drenched and filthy under the ever leaky sink of the girl’s changing room of Crime Alley’s very best, Park’s Taekwondo Studio.
“Smell. You need to remember that. Gum too, you didn’t wear perfume last time I saw you as Gotham Girl but you were chewing something extremely fragrant, could spot you from a block away.” – He said, always eager to turn any conversation into a lesson.
“Noted. Though I doubt most people have the ability to smell someone’s chewing gum from a few feet away, never mind a block…” – She replied giggling. – “What are you doing here?” – She sat down on one of the benches in the middle of the room, taking off her scarf and jacket, it was still cold in Gotham, a bit chilly even for Alex.
“The new belts and patches are in the office ready for the next belt ceremony, you need new sparring equipment too I could-”
“Yeah yeah…” – She said in a mocking tone, unbreaking eye contact, smiling and squeezing her eyes at Batman. She knew that wasn’t the reason behind him being here, all this he’d just said could’ve been a text message.
Bruce lowered his head and put the towel on the ground beside him.
“Alex… Are you keeping an eye on Melissa?”
“I keep tabs on her…” – Alex said quietly, her stomach in a knot.
“Alex… Your decision to help her after all she’s done to you is admirable… But what was your plan? After helping her that night?” – Batman knew where Melissa was of course, he wasn’t worried at all about her for the time being, but he didn’t want Alex to forget she became responsible for Melissa the moment she saved her.
“I… I don’t have one… I mean, I know what she needs… She needs… Purpose, people to care for, to be cared for… I can’t do that though…” – Alex tracked Melissa’s movements with Tim. It seemed she couldn’t stay in one place too long before her family would find her. Lucky for her she had friends who were willing to take her in… for now at least…
“You are very good at taking care of the responsibilities you want, Alex… But you are also very good evading the ones you don’t. You can’t evade this. You made your choice when you hid her from the police.” – He looked away, knowing the true weight of the words he spoke. – “It doesn’t end at deciding to be kind, at deciding to give your enemy a second chance. You refused to send her back to prison – it is now on you to help her not cause any more hurt… But you know this… You practice it in this very building, the tenants you teach…”
“I know! I know…! – Alex closed her eyes and rubbed them, a headache creeping in whenever she thought of Melissa. – “I’ll… I’ll come up with something… I know this is a temporary fix I just… I need more time… I know she’s my responsibility, I know if she fucks up it’s on me… I just don’t have time…”
Bruce smiled a bit, ready to change topics. He crossed his arms and relaxed his shoulders.
“Speaking of time… How have you been managing school?”
“Fine enough… I get good grades if that’s what you’re asking…” – Her attendance had somewhat dwindled as of late but she was putting in the effort, cramming for exams and making sure she was not failing any classes.
“Alex, have you started looking for internships?” – He asked looking up at her and folding one knee, it was surprising how easily he fit in in any environment he found himself in considering who he was.
“What?” – Alex asked widening her eyes, confused by his question, confused by the sudden change of topics.
“University encourages it, no? Practical experience…” – His smile was genuine but also hiding something.
“No… No… I…. God I can’t even begin to imagine something like that… I mean, this is my practical experience, this is… This is too much already…” – She said waving her arms at her surroundings: Park’s. It was her home, her dojo, her job, her passion, and the source of many headaches.
“That leads me to my follow up question: Why aren’t you hiring anyone to help you?” – He asked without missing a beat. He’d come prepared, he had an agenda to discuss, Alex just hadn’t expected it to be her.
“...” – Alex was silent.
“Don’t say it’s because of money, you have money, and if what you have now runs dry I can snap my fingers and you can get more funding, you know this…” – She rolled her eyes, afterall where was all that when she had to steal, when Park had to gamble to keep the place open? She knew the answer… money was always there, Park had been stubborn, proud… snubbed many offers for help… he was stubborn but a great teacher…
Don’t bite the hand… – She thought, rejecting the part of her that was most like the worst parts of Park.
“I guess I don’t trust anyone to run Park’s like he did… I think it’s more my style to try and make sure it’s done properly on my own…”
“Make some of your students teachers like he made you once…” – Alex propped one knee up and hugged it, resting her head sideways on it, considering his words.
“I know you’re right… I… I promise I’ll think about it…”
“There’s something else I want you to think about.” – Bruce said getting up and wiping his hands gently on the towel Alex had given him . – “What would you say to an internship at Wayne Enterprises?”
“Are you…? What?” – Alex straightened up her spine, even more confused by his proposition than she was by his initial questions.
It still surprised her the most overworked man she’d ever met still found the time to keep track of her life, Alex’s life. It wasn’t just him keeping track of her activities as Gotham Girl, hell, she put the suit on less and less since she’d met him, and yet he became a growing presence in her life.
“The Gotham City Planning and Development department is one of my most cherished, something that was dear to my father.” – There was a moment of silence. – “I believe there is much you could learn there… and much you could contribute with. I can see you fitting right in.” – He smiled, Alex couldn’t help but notice how similar he looked to Jason at that moment, a smile that held back a little, not shy, just hesitant. She’d noticed it a few times before, it was almost a cruel twist of fate how much they looked alike. So similar in so many ways and yet incapable of seeing it, or accepting it.
“I… I don’t know what to say… That’s extremely generous of you to offer…” – Alex stumbled on her words, struggling to figure out what to answer. Bruce interrupted her.
“Think about it, then say yes anyways. Choice is yours of course, it would be the company’s loss if you didn’t join.” – He stepped forward, closer to her now.
There was something immediately attractive about his offer, she found herself feeling excited about it – and then came a wave of shame. Was that all it took? A job offer at a fancy company, at Wayne Enterprises, and she’d run for it? What about Gotham Girl? What about the Castle and the soup kitchen, the kids at the orphanage and the homeless she protected and cared for? It was one thing to not be as present because she was so busy with Park’s, that was a part of Gotham Girl’s mission, it was her way of honouring Park. An internship at Wayne Enterprises could prove life changing though, it could lift her out of Crime Alley… she could move up, get a real good job with real good money… A betrayal to Gotham Girl, but then again… The whole point was to make it better for good, wasn’t it? She’d decided to go to university because this was the natural next step in Gotham Girl’s plan to help the city… Maybe this one was the next one…
“I’ll… I’ll really think on it, I promise…” – Alex started making her way out of the changing room when she suddenly stopped and turned. – “You know, you could’ve just made yourself a cup of coffee and sat in the office waiting for me… You didn’t have to start fixing up the building yourself, you know?”
“I could’ve, but that’s not my style.” – Bruce said as he walked by her into the main room, sunlight warming up the spacious dojo he’d been slowly rebuilding with his own hands.
-
Suit was tight, uncomfortable. Jason moved differently with it on, he felt different too. He stood in front of the mirror in the crowded bathroom fixing his tie, loosening it up. Bruce would’ve chastised him for it, how good of a spy can you be if your clothes wear you? Talia would’ve made a joke about the spot he’d missed when shaving. She would’ve reminisced on how Bruce used to miss that same spot too, right where the jaw bone ends and the soft tissue leading to the ear begins. Jason’s thought spiral was interrupted by a loud businessman bumping into him after finishing doing a line on the black marble of the Iceberg Lounge’s bathroom.
Watch it! – He thought. He didn’t say anything though, he just turned around and left the bathroom.
“Dick.” – He said under his breath opening the door to the frenzy of a Friday night at the Lounge.
Jason moved slowly, as though he was intoxicated. He wasn’t, but the room was overstimulating and he found himself struggling to stay in character, to stay on mission. He’d never been the best at blending in, even as a young Robin. It had only gotten worse after the pit, his stature and build made it hard for him to go unnoticed – he wondered how Bruce did it so well. He still felt somewhat out of place in his body, even after the weight and muscle he’d lost in Mongolia he was still so much bigger than he’d been while living on the streets or before his death.
The Iceberg Lounge was one of those places one either fits in or not at all. The nightclub featured a blend of spaces and styles, a glimpse at Gotham through the ages. Private rooms and booths featured leather couches and dark wood, dark wallpaper and mirrored ceilings. Lighting was smoky and soft. Mob bosses congregated in these rooms and drank expensive whiskey from heavy glasses, an iron smell lingered on dark green carpets. The main room with its dancefloor and gambling was an overstimulating mess of sounds and bright lights, an attack on the senses. Here any furnishing was more modern, cheaper, easily replaceable. Metal replaced solid wood, cold and impersonal. There was more to it though, the place featured a maze of back corridoors, dressing rooms, private rooms and much much more. One could be a regular and never have explored half the Lounge: much of what you saw was by invitation only, another way in which the club operated as a microcosm of Gotham.
Jason made small talk with a girl who worked at the Lounge, leaning over her and speaking into her ear. It looked like flirting, it looked like a negotiation.
“No no!” – The girl said giggling. – “I was Melody first! She just took over some nights! We thought they wouldn’t notice but she was a bit too greedy if you ask me… Penguin knows though, he knew it wasn’t me.” – Melody said laughing. Jason knew the girl outside of work clothes, a friend to Alex, a Crime Alley local. He’d been surprised to find her wearing the red wig Alex had told him about, calling herself Melody like Alex had called herself.
“Alright then, so the boss won’t get mad if I come home and tell her Melody was working tonight?”
“Not at all!” – She giggled again. Jason’s tone was playful.
“All right, point me to this guy then. Was it the one in the trenchcoat? Blondie who smells like he eats cigarettes?”
“That one there, at the roulette table… Brown curly hair and dreamy eyes…” – Melody said looking over at the man she spoke of. – “Don’t hit him on the face ok? And put in a good word for me… I like the pretty ones…” – She said looking at Jason with dreamy eyes herself.
“Thanks Mel, will do. Can’t promise you he’ll be available tonight though…” – He said stepping away from her and fidgeting with his collar.
“I can think of someone else in case he’s out of commission…” – She grabbed his tie and fixed it, the glittery eyeshadow she had on reflecting the changing lights in the room.
“Thanks. Sorry Mel, close enough but you’re the wrong Melody…” – He joked moving away after giving her a gentle squeeze on the arm.
Jason crossed the room, moving towards the roulette table slowly, keeping his eyes on the man, analysing him. He was around Jason’s height, maybe taller, but skinnier. His skin was pale and dotted with freckles, his hair a dark brown and wild. His eyes were brown too, a shade so dark his pupils blended in with his irises, much like Alex’s eyes when she had contacts on. He’d never seen Alex’s real eyes. Damian had told him about how golden they’d look in the sunshine, how he’d seldom seen a shade like that.
Jason had lost his focus yet again, his mind wondering, his mission taking a backseat. It happened a lot these days, he’d been training with Zatanna, learning more about his magic potential but it came at a cost – reaching deep inside, understanding his emotions, materialising and wielding them: It made him scattered.
He locked eyes with the man, or maybe not, he wasn’t sure until the man smiled at him and placed a chip on the number 8, black. Jason approached the table and joined a small group that was watching the game. The dealer spun the bowl and tossed the small ivory ball inside, it jumped and spun wildly until it settled: black 8. The man smiled, celebrating with a small group he had around him, kissing a short woman on the cheek with enthusiasm. Jason noticed tension around the table, the dealer exchanged looks with a security guard behind Jason, who in turn exchanged looks with another security guard behind the lucky winner. The man was approached, his arm tugged by the security guard. Jason could see movement around the room, security was closing in. The man raised his arms as he argued back, smiling, his body language relaxed and playful. Jason mapped out the room, the dealer disappeared into the crowds of the Lounge and the smiley man kept backing away from security until he backed into a much, much larger thug. The punch came out of nowhere and the man bent over in pain, still smiling and laughing. He was dragged away, and Jason blended back in with the crowds, making his way to where he knew they’d take the man, he hoped.
-
Jason lost the suit jacket and tie, moving quickly through the maze of narrow corridors that clients never got to see. He wrapped a red piece of cloth around the bottom half of his face, a gift tossed by one of the girls working at the lounge as he made his way through their dressing room to reach the back of the house. He could hear the man laughing and complaining as he was dragged deeper into this labyrinth ahead of him. His voice sounded young and playful, it made Jason uncomfortable. Why wasn’t the man panicking? Afraid? Anxious? Staff paid no mind to him as he moved towards the cheerful winner, most immediately recognised him as Red Hood, one of Crime Alley’s protectors. Most of the people working at Gotham’s nightlife lived in the Alley, or knew someone who did. Security though, that was a 50/50 chance on whether they’d let him through or not. Pretty good odds overall, and it seemed like luck was in the air on this night.
Jason reached the deeper levels under the Lounge, the corridors were wider here, dotted with junk and messy piles of old chairs and boxes of wine filled with anything but. The air smelled moldy and stale, the lights flickered rhythmically in dissonance with the muffled sound of music spilling from upstairs.
“What the fuck you think-” – The thug had no time to finish his sentence, Jason hit him with a sidekick on the knee. The man dropped and Jason muffled the man’s scream with his hand, reaching for a pressure point on the man’s neck that rendered him unconscious.
Jason took out another two of Penguin’s thugs like that, quiet and near effortlessly, until he reached the room the unlucky winner had been locked into. He made quick work of the two security guarding the door. Inside, the man leaned back on a chair he’d been handcuffed onto, listening in curiously to the fighting sounds outside. He tapped his feet rhythmically and hummed a melody to a song waiting for his rescue. The door slammed open.
“You happen to place the keys to these handcuffs before you knocked them out? Any chance?” – The man asked with a smug look on his face.
“Don’t need them.” – Jason said entering the room and taking out a lockpick from a small box of utilities he had in his back pocket.
“Ah I see, you’d rather waste precious time fidgeting-” – The man stopped talking – the cuffs fell to the ground. – “Impressive.” – He said rubbing his wrists.
“Come on, we don’t have time for your yapping.” – Jason said leading the two out of the room. They moved quickly and silently through most of the way out when the man started chatting.
“You were watching, upstairs… What made you follow me down here?”
“Know what Penguin does to those who get too lucky. Wasn’t gonna let that happen on my watch.” – That and the fact Jason was on a mission to follow the man and discover as much as he could about him. Zatanna had been strict about not engaging him directly but… Oh well…
“Damn, that’s… very kind of you…” – The man said sounding genuine for the first time since Jason had laid eyes on him.
“Right here, this door will get us out the building.” – Jason said running up a short flight of stairs right behind the man, who was reaching for the handle of a metal door that would lead out to a side alley – should be pretty empty this time of night.
“That’s my queue then.” – The man said looking back at Jason and smiling. – “Thanks a lot for that, Jason.”
The man opened the door and stepped out. Jason rushed after him, confused and surprised the man knew his name. He ran out the door and looked around. He didn’t see the man, instead he saw Batman tying up a sad busted robber with a black beanie covering his face, clumsy holes cut out for his eyes and mouth. Batman turned around hearing the door slam open and was equally as surprised as Jason to see the other. Jason’s hair was messy, his dress-shirt loose and sleeves rolled up, his pants creased and half his face covered in a silky red scarf.
“Where?” – Jason asked looked around the alley confused, the man had disappeared right before his eyes, right after calling him by his name. – “Where did he go?”
“Who?” – Batman asked standing up, the thug complaining quietly behind him.
“Brown hair, black long coat, opened the door!” – Jason shouted exasperated. – “Ah fuck me!” – He exclaimed looking at his fist, bloody, small tears on the knuckles of his index and middle fingers. Batman followed his eyes and focused on his hand.
“What did you do?” – He asked inching closer to Jason, his tone flat.
“Saved an invisible fucker from getting his balls tied into a bow.” – He shook his fist, letting the cold air soothe the tingling sensation.
“Yo Hood? You care to save me from the Bat?” – Shouted the man Batman had been busy with when Jason had burst through the door bloody, sweaty, and raving.
“Why did he run from you?” – Batman asked.
“He didn’t, he… He fucking disappeared I don’t know…” – He leaned back against the wall feeling defeated.
“What did he do?” – Batman asked stepping further away from Jason and looking around the alley.
“Why are you interrogating me?” – Jason asked crossing his arms, annoyed Batman’s first question had been what he’d done, annoyed at the slew of subsequent questions. He looked away, still uncomfortable being around Batman.
“An interrogation would not look like this.” – Bruce replied, annoyed at Jason’s accusation.
“Fine. Carry on arresting whatever poor fucker you just caught looting a rich fuck’s car or whatever.” – He was spot on, the man had been trying to break into the car of a wealthy Gotham lawyer, who would be too intoxicated to drive, but would drive home anyways and crash on a street light. Batman didn’t know, he couldn’t have.
Fuck off. – Jason thought.
Jason started walking away clumsily, no longer trying to blend in, slouching a bit and kicking an empty beer bottle.
“I’ll get out of the way…” – He said under his breath.
Batman didn’t say anything back. It took a lot to surprise him, but Jason always did, always had. They hadn’t been in touch since they’d worked together to save the kids in the orphanage. He’d kept an eye on Jason, but kept his distance. He watched as Jason walked away, annoyed at his annoyance at him.
“Now let’s talk.” – He said turning back to the man he’d tied up. He might’ve just been a poor fucker breaking into a car, but Batman knew someone had given him the tip for that job for a reason, and Batman needed to know why. Nothing was ever cut and dry in Gotham, no matter how much Jason insisted that it was.
-
It had been a slow day for Alex, a rare one. She’d stayed in her dorm all day, she’d slept in and done all the homework she had and got ahead on her readings, she always did so when she had the time, always feeling like she could get yanked out of her routine and need to step into her Gotham Girl boots without warning. She was now in bed, she’d tucked in early and was falling asleep when Jason knocked on her window.
She got up and opened it for him, rubbing her eyes.
“Hey.” – She said quietly, getting out of the way so he could step in, turning on a light.
“Hey, sorry I woke you.” – He said closing the window behind him and turning to face her.
“It’s fine I wasn’t fully- What happened to you?!” – She asked noticing blood on his white button up shirt, his hair messier and face paler than usual. She lunged at him picking up his hand in hers and examining the cuts on his knuckles.
“I’m fine, it’s just some cuts on my hands. Got carried away, forgot I had no gloves on.” – He said exhaling loudly, Jason didn’t feel pain the same way a normal person did. Years of training and dying and being resurrected made his less sensitive to it, he hurt himself easily these days, pushed himself too hard.
Alex led Jason to her small bathroom and spoke to him while he showered, sitting over the toilet lid, a part of their routine now. The space was cramped, but it didn’t stop them from spending every moment they had together close to each other. They switched after he was done showering. Alex helped him wrap up his hand, his legs spread open wide, Alex standing between them. David had taught her well, no one dressed a wound like she did.
“So he just vanished?” – She asked furrowing her brow, finishing up with wrapping his hand.
“It was like he was never there. It wasn’t even like when you do it, it was literally like he hadn’t been there at all. Felt like I was going crazy.” – He had his other hand holding her ass tightly. He leaned over and rested his head against her stomach, closing his eyes.
“All done.” – She said putting his hand down and caressing his head, tangling her fingers around his messy curls. – “And then Bruce was there?” – She asked.
“Batman was there. Talk about a fucked up night.” – He pulled Alex even closer, both hands now holding her against him and started kissing her over her clothes, pulling her tshirt up and kissing her skin, soft and warm.
“That tickles.” – She said giggling. – “But what are we gonna do about this? He knew your name!” – She said trying to push him away.
“So? So he knows I’m called Jason. Jason Todd’s dead. Not much he can do with that.”
Jason got up and picked her up in one fast movement, taking her out of the tiny bathroom and into her equally tiny dorm room. He put her down on her bed and started removing the clothes he’d just put on a minute ago.
“Don’t know why I even bothered putting these on.” – He said smiling, Alex busy removing her own.
“Oh you know, manners and all that. We’re civilised folk.”
“Nothing civilised about what imma do to you.” – He joked back laying on top of Alex on the bed, kissing her passionately. She ran her nails down his back, hard enough he felt ecstatic pain. Jason moaned.
“Bet.” – She whispered into his year, speaking quietly. She bit it softly and sucked on his neck, leaving a hickey right under his ear.
He would’ve moved down and tasted her, played with her until his fingers were so wet he’d slip them in and turn himself hard seeing her back arch and her hip twitch. It had been a long night though, and being patient was not one of Jason’s defining characteristics. He moved his hand down, running it along the curves of Alex’s body and then held himself, guiding his dick inside her. He entered her effortlessly, no foreplay needed, she was yearning for him as hard as he was yearning for her. The two exhaled in pleasure and Jason held Alex tightly, moving first slowly, and then faster and harder.
She moved up, leaning against the bedframe and holding on tightly to it with one hand, the other holding Jason steady against her body. It was almost too much, her breasts bounced and pressed against his torso until she pushed him back on the bed. Alex mounted Jason and moved her hips up so that only his tip was inside her. She bounced quickly up and down, lowering her upper body so she’d be close to him. He propped up one leg and tried holding onto her, but the sensation was so intense he couldn’t help but drop both arms back, one resting against his forehead as he furrowed his brow.
“That’s too much…” – He said struggling to hold back.
“Shh…” – Alex said, enjoying seeing him completely at her mercy.
Jason mustered his strength and held both sides of her hips tightly and dragged them down, a throaty growl escaping his lips as he did it, Alex’s too. He gave his all in a few deep and hard thrusts while Alex held onto him tightly, struggling to catch her breath for a moment. Jason came as Alex laid on top of him, her eyes closed and muscles spasming. There was a knock on the wall followed by shouting.
“Keep it down!” – Said an angry neighbour. Alex and Jason laughed.
They cuddled up in bed, ready for some well earned sleep. Alex’s head was facing Jason’s chest, his arms enveloping her tightly. Her lips felt warm and wet against his skin, it was a comforting feeling.
“You know… It’d be nice to have a place of our own…” – Alex said quietly, caressing his back where not long ago she’d scratched him. – “Like, after I’m done with studying and all that… It’d be nice to have a space of our own…”
Jason agreed, he’d thought about it. He loved it when she stayed at Kate’s, but neither could shake the feeling they were not ‘home’, that they were borrowing the place.
“I’d like that too…” – He said, his voice sleepy. He fell asleep thinking on it, picturing what an ‘adult life’ with Alex would look like. He fell asleep comforted by thoughts of living with Alex, and woke up the next morning feeling like he’d sobered up: Jason had no money, no way to make money legally, and most of all, he was dead. Matter of fact was, if Jason wanted to live a normal life, he’d need to find a way to come back from the dead for good – somehow.