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thejusticelounge2013-02-06 08:26 am
bossymarmalade) wrote in thejusticelounge2013-02-06 08:26 am
Entry tags:
sweater shopping, batbrat style
Jason sent his thanks and hardly a minute later got another message alert. Stephanie’s address. He moved the message to a ‘Saved’ folder but he knew it was not going to get forgotten any time soon. Not bothering to double check it, Jason still managed to get to her place on time despite having set off later than schedule so as not to seem too eager.
He parked up and went to her door, shaking his limbs a little whilst he waited, he just could not seem to relax. Come on get a grip, Jay, he told himself. After all, how many times had he gone out with girls in the past few months before coming home?
And this was Stephanie. Not even a date. Just Stephanie.
Whoa…where had ‘date’ come from?
Steph heard her doorbell and checked her hair again in the bathroom mirror. Why the hell was she nervous? She and Jason were just hanging out, no big deal. No big deal. She took the stairs two at a time when she realized she was keeping him waiting and let him in. “Hey, stranger. Is this a home invasion?” she greeted him. Giving him a hug, she ushered him in. “Let me grab my shoes and we can go.”
She slipped her shoes on and grabbed her purse. “So you’re driving? I’m honored you’d let me touch your bike.” Steph picked up the to-go coffee cups and paper bag she picked up earlier. “Hope you don’t mind, but I wasn’t kidding about coffee being on me. The blueberry muffin was an impulse buy, though,” she told him a little sheepishly.
Following her in Jason could not help but notice the homeliness of the place, he instantaneously felt comfortable. Just what he needed. He did not venture into the living room as he still had his shoes on, unsure of how dirty they were. No wrong steps here today, my friend!
“Those for now or later?” He asked, eyeing up the cups in anticipation. Coffee sounded good. Coffee was familiar. Coffee was safe.
As he watched her rush around to put on her shoes and keep liquid in the cups Jason’s shoulders dropped and his posture became less uptight, her presence was comforting as ever. If he stopped being such an ass they might actually have a great time. They always did, why should today be any different?
“No racing today I think, especially if those are for later.”
Rolling her eyes, Steph tugged Jason into her house so he wasn’t awkwardly standing in her doorway anymore. “I don’t bite much, Jay,” she joked, handing him his cup to try. “I was thinking we could drink these as we go. Most stores really don’t care much if you’ve got coffee. Do you mind driving us on your bike? I’ll carry the drinks and stuff. Racing wouldn’t be as fun today,” she agreed, locking the place up.
Following him out to his bike, she sat on the seat behind him and tucked the cups away safely. “I bet you missed riding her while you were gone, huh?” Steph admired the motorcycle scooted forward and wrapped her arms comfortably around Jason’s waist. He was every bit the speed demon she was, so this wasn’t weird, right? She did, however, smile to herself at the smell of his jacket as he began driving.
“You got it.” Jason said after sneaking a sip of the still-hot liquid, it did not take a genius to guess he took his coffee without sugar but Steph had figured he was a cream kind of guy. Damn her and her wondrousness.
The ride there was not as brief as the one there, and from where she was sitting, Stephanie could not see the faint but goofy smile on Jason’s face which confirmed he was only doing this on purpose. They reached the city centre and passed a few decent stores before he found a spacious parking lot that he could not ignore. Reluctantly, he parked the girl up and held out a hand to take the cups from Stephanie.
“Nice work, you didn’t scold anyone.” He was a little impressed but this was one of his own he was talking to so it wasn’t exactly a shocker. He held out his arm, this was not a date but there was definitely a vibe of one, he thought the best way to diffuse the situation was through jest. Obviously.
He held out his arm for her and balanced the cups in the other, “Where to first, ma’am?”
The ride ended and Steph climbed off the bike with a reluctance she didn’t fully understand, keeping the cups steady as she handed them off. They’d ended up in the shopping district, Halloween decorations covering every inch of available space, the whole block festively spooky. And just like that, whatever awkwardness she’d felt dissipated at Jason’s proper Englishman tone. Smirking, she took his arm and pointed at the first store she recognized, American Eagle. “Onward, my good sir!”
The store was packed and in full swing for Autumn: sweaters, coats, and boots galore, toy spider webs hanging from the ceiling and a couple of cauldrons full of tootsie rolls on the various displays. Nudging Jason, she told him, “I do believe we’ve just hit pay dirt. What do you think? Should we go for funny or normal sweaters?” Nearly every visible sweater was one she’d wear out in public, but Steph gestured to a rack of sweaters with big, obnoxious patterns on them. One of them had a reindeer on the front and when she pinched its nose it lit up bright red. Oh, they were definitely going to have fun with this trip.
Besides the reindeer jumpers was a woollen top, grey with an upside-down bat on it. A grin had appeared on Jason’s face before it could register in his mind. He reached up and strokes it, it was softer than it looked and though he laughed at first he gave the item some thought. “What do you think?” It was a genuine question he wanted an answer to but he though he should look at other things so as not to seem too eager. Though he did hope she liked the idea. Or was it too obvious? Would it break any rules?
He dismissed these thoughts by fiddling with some knitted hat on the lower rails opposite so he was not looking at Steph or the sweaters. Jason wondered how it would look on and he tried one on, a dark emerald beanie. I look like a douchebag, he thought, not entirely bitterly mind. His sense of fashion was getting a little ‘jerk’-ish for his liking lately and it was tempting to blame Stephanie for this too ever since she had complimented him on his taste in sweaters. That’s why they were there after all.
Either he was more easily influenced than he thought or Jason thought there ought to be a term such as ‘catching Steph’.
Steph looked over at the sweater Jason was pointing to and found herself grinning right back at him. “If you don’t buy it, I am. It’s freaking perfect,” she told him, flipping through the rack until she found a size she guessed would fit him and one for herself. Admittedly, this place was a lot preppier than she would usually go, but if the rest of the racks were this quality of novelty, she’d make an exception.
She’d found herself a cobalt sweater with a winking polar bear on the front when she noticed Jason was examining something. Steph looked over at him and saw him staring daggers at a dark green knit beanie. When he’d put it on, she tapped on his forearm and told him, “I wouldn’t have taken you for the beanie type, Jaybird. But it makes your eyes look really … Pretty.”
Crap, what guy wanted to be told he had pretty eyes? But come on! Blue eyes like that and a green cap? She wasn’t wrong. Feeling her cheeks go a little pink, Steph turned back to the rack and held up a sweater for him. A very dark knit material with a corded design. It wasn’t silly, but she thought it was definitely up to the Red Hood persona in the frosty months.
Unsure of how he felt about matching, Jason went along with Steph’s enthusiasm. He could be quirky. He could totally be quirky and interesting and funny.
“Um…thanks.” He said after she paid her compliment. An awkward silence followed and Jason quickly took the hat off and stared into it. Would she be offended if he put it back? Better play it safe and buy it, she liked it right?
He immediately warmed to the idea of the dark sweater she was holding up, dark colours were safe. No stupid patterns or reindeer or emotionally-confusing upside-down matching bats. Better get that too. He took it and thanked her, mirroring her pleased face when he did and deciding that the garment had already paid for itself. Oh God why did he care? He really shouldn’t care but he did and crud.
He turned twice on the spot pretending to look around at everything in the store at once. His eyes landed on those looped scarves that have no end, he briskly walked towards one and grabbed it.
“Ever wonder who came up with these?” he said without really choosing his words, “I mean, what’s so wrong with tying a scarf? I got no problem with regular linear scarves, you know?”
Quirky. Interesting. Funny. Smooth, Todd.
Whatever Jason’s mood had been before seemed to grow fidgety as he tried to preoccupy himself and Steph just smiled back at him, eyebrows knit together. Confused, but amused. She’d picked out a couple of other sweaters for them both (hers a mix of a few styles and his much more toned down) when he’d said something about scarves.
Her smile widened and she walked over to him. “I know, right? Linear scarves allow you to get creative with the knots, like tying a tie. They’re just classic, you know? Endless scarves just feel like training wheels, like velcro sneakers for a teenager!” He had this awkward stance to him, like he was trying to be nonchalant and cool when he in reality was completely uncomfortable. Was it something she’d said? Was he not having as much fun as she’d hoped?
Steph picked up a brown knit beanie and put it on. It was designed to look like a moose’s face, complete with snout, button eyes, and felt antlers. She turned back to Jason and grinned, striking her best Superman pose (shoulders back, fists on hips, etc.). “What do you think? I’m all ears.” She shook her head a little so the antlers and ears wiggled.
Luckily Stephanie saved the day with a logical - if not desperate - response to his stupid question, he resisted the urge to bang his forehead in the space between the railing. He was acting like a fool, he realised he had to accept what was going on or keep acting like an awkward teenager for the rest of their days. One massive blow to the pride this month had been quite enough.
The hat she put on was goofy but cute as heck and more importantly did just the trick to break the ice.
“Now that is a Steph-hat,” He grinned, tugging at the knit-braids on either side of her head,”Really suits you, kiddo.”
His hands lingered there and his grin shrunk whilst he mouth remained open, somewhere between a smile and a gawp. He just stared for a moment and everything around them started to slowly turn as it faded out of focus, his eyes travelled to her long, wavy blonde hair with all its natural highlights and volume, then back up to her soft chin, full pink lips… Jason took them gently with his own pair.
Whatever smartass comeback she’d had prepared evaporated when Jason kissed her. Steph froze, nearly dropped her almost empty coffee cup in shock. Her heart skipped a beat and face caught fire. A tingle ran through her and her pulse went into double time. When he pulled back from what was maybe a five second peck, she felt herself grinning dopily up at him.
She set the coffee and sweaters down on some display and got on her tip-toes, a hand on the back of his head to pull his mouth back to hers. Steph kissed him back eagerly and would swear she felt weightless. Jason Todd: All dimples and strong arms and cheeky grins and hopelessly blue eyes set into a baby face. Everything else was static and entirely unimportant in that moment as she pressed into him, running her nails along the nape of his neck.
They kissed for a moment longer before Jason stopped it, a) not wanting to get thrown out of the store for getting carried away, b) to gauge Stephanie’s reaction. He did not wait to display his own. He was positively luminous, teeth all on show and eyebrows raised to emphasise his happy-puppy eyes. He resembled a boy half his age but in a much other way than he had done before.
It was inevitable he thought, then he wondered if that was just his ego making excuses for his actions. Stephanie had not been single all that long,then again Jason had only recognised his falling for the girl in the past five minutes. No one could say he didn’t step up to the game.
“Sorry.” He lied, letting go of her then looking to see if anyone was giving them looks, fortunately they were too deep into the store for anyone to notice.
“Anyway yeah, you should get the hat.” Jason took a swig of his now cool coffee, feeling rather pleased with himself.
Steph laughed breathlessly at the boyish expression on his face and shoved him half heartedly. “Only if you get that red sweater, you smug bastard,” she replied, taking her hat off and running a hand through her hair to tame the instant flyaways. The moment caught up to her and Steph couldn’t ignore the high buzzing through her. When rginfs had shifted between them she couldn’t be sure, but she’d have been lying if she said she hadn’t had an inkling. Despite the not yet fully understood jumble emotions, this was the first time in almost a month she could honestly say she was happy. Elated even.
Her stomach was doing backflips worthy of a Flying Grayson and Steph put most of her sweaters back, suddenly not interested in shopping anymore. They went ahead and got their purchases without a word, and she followed him back outside to the mostly deserted sidewalk. Suddenly and unreasonably shy, Steph toyed with some hair behind her ear and looked off to the side at nothing. Hadn’t she just planted one on him in a crowded store? Where had her guts gone? “So … Where do we go from here?” She felt her cheeks flush when she steeled herself to look him in the eye.
In all honesty Jason had not actually planned this far ahead. He was impulsive and that he prided himself on, his organisational skills in this field were lagging in comparison to his usual standard. On top of that he was still feeling the rush from his decision to kiss Stephanie Brown, one of the cutest girls on the planet if not the, his mind was a little foggy in terms of what was okay.
“Shopping seems a little redundant right now.” Not that either of them were unaware. “We got some cool stuff.”
Jason knew that was not what Steph was asking. There was that silence again but it was somehow different to before. It wasn’t completely devoid of discomfort but it was much more knowing, it was not the mystery of what the other was thinking that held the tension in the air but the understanding that they were both on the same page. Stephanie had wanted this to happen just as much as he had, there was no denying that kiss of hers. And wow, that girl had a kiss on her.
However the time to be selfish had passed, time to at least try to act like a responsible adult.
“Listen, I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t wanna. I know ‘baggage’ is practically our family name but I’d understand if you didn’t want to get involved with me at this point.”
In the awkward silence that lingered between them, Steph’s stomach seemed to drop down to her toes. She hadn’t given this much thought, but there was no denying anymore how he made her feel. When Jason tried to give her a way out, a chance to walk away like nothing had happened, she shot him a look like he’d told a cheesy joke, equal parts amused and exasperated.
She snorted. “Why? Because I’m Little Miss Spotless Track record?” Steph made a point to look him in the eye and lace her fingers with his in the space between them. “I like you. I’m not totally sure what that means or what’ll happen, but I’d really like figure it out because now I’m hoping we could turn this into a date.” She grinned. “Unless of course you’re too chicken… ?” she baited. And just like that, they were back to razzing each other like on their infamous pizza night.
In truth, to her, Jason was funny and interesting and amazing and fucked up. And they just got each other. That wasn’t something that happened for her often, and Steph realized somewhere between their kiss behind the sweater display and where they stood now that she wasn’t all too keen on passing that up. She hoped fiercely he felt the same way.
Steph’s words were undeniably true. So he did not want to land her with any unwanted issues but did that mean he had to be alone the rest of his life? That’s what he had been telling himself and yet that had not stopped him from going on meaningless dates. Dates that had left women - people he had not really considered beyond their professionally-dyed hair and extortionate handbags - in tears. He never got used to his company being of a positive nature when influencing others. But now that he actually truly cared for someone enough to want to be with them, well, he was entitled to that at least. They both were.
“I think I can handle it.” He said squeezing her hand, “Correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t really have you down as the wine and rabbit food type. Did you have anything in mind?”
They did not have a plan but everything just seemed so much easier now. Jason wondered being selfish was not entirely a bad thing, in this case it seemed to benefit more than one party. She looked so happy and confident in herself. He thought she should always look like that.
She felt herself grinning at his answer, a little part of her sighed in relief that he hadn’t taken the way out she’d offered. Steph sidled up next to him and replied, “I’ll have you know I only partake in Gotham’s finest cuisine, Mr. Todd. And besides, I had that for breakfast yesterday. What are your feelings about milkshakes and bacon burgers, though? Steak & Shake is the best there is.”
Steph was already tugging him along, shopping bag in hand. She ended up putting the moose hat back on pressing into his side. If you’d asked her the last time she’d felt so weightless, as if in free fall, she wouldn’t have been able to tell you. But she was happy, her face reflected as much. So far they were a frazzled, dazzled pair, and that excited her a little. Steph liked that they didn’t have to plan things out or have to go over the top with self declarations. Jason made her her smile till it hurt and that was more than enough. They arrived at the ’50s restaurant and they were assaulted by the chrome and bright colors and sounds of the wonderfully tacky restaurant.
Jason practically swung their clasped hands when they started off towards Steak & Shake. “I love that you’re a fast food gal!” he yelped, then realising he might have embarrassed her he added, “I mean what’s the point in eating something you don’t like for the sake of appearing demure?”
What that meant in Toddlish was ‘we can be ourselves around each other and you have no idea how glad I am about it’. They seated themselves at a booth and Jason handed Steph a gaudy menu and looked at his own. Garish writing boasted greasy delights but it was not registering for Jason, he was still buzzed from the whole afternoon.
And yet, where they were and how they were acting suggesting nothing had changed. Was that alright? Or did it simply confirm the inevitability of the situation?
“Uh…that escalated quickly.” He said with a breathy laugh.
She choked out a laugh, his enthusiasm was adorable. “Beats the hell out of me. I mean, I get it. Sometimes you want to treat yourself to something special, but when push comes to shove, I think we all need to appreciate comfort food more often. Case in point: Waffles. You wouldn’t believe how good the waffles I serve at the diner are every weekend.”
Steph scanned through the menu she already knew pretty much by heart, politely waiting on Jason to pick something out. She looked up from her color explosion of a menu at Jason and smirked, shrugging nonchalantly. “I know, right? Things don’t normally move that quickly for me, for the record,” she told him, setting her menu aside. “But if I’m being totally honest, I’ve kind of had a major crush on you for a while now.” She winked, not giving him a chance to reply just yet, the waiter dressed as Elvis came by and asked for their orders. “I’ll take a Mint Oreo shake, bacon cheeseburger, and side of shoelace fries, please, Mr. Presley,” she joked.
“I didn’t know you worked at a diner. Or had a day job for that matter.” Jason felt bad for having to admit this, he felt it was something he should probably have asked about. Then again neither of them had real time for small talk previously. Luckily the fact they were dating now - whoa, dating - had this looking like a thing of the past.
He did not appear so, but he was taken aback by Stephanie’s confession. He gave an aside to the waiter; an order of a large coke, double-cheeseburger and large curly fries. He gave the two customers a wink and pointing of each index finger which Jason missed, still half-smiling and half-staring at Steph.
“How long’s a while?” he wondered why that sounded familiar, only hoping it wasn’t a line from some cheesy film he’d forced himself to forget. “You’ve peaked my curiosity.”
“Yeah, I only just got the job, so not a ton of people really know. It doesn’t usually come up casually when you’re out heroing, you know?” The Elvis waiter came back with their drinks and Steph shot her straw wrapper at Jason, hitting him on the chin. “It’s called Miller’s. Probably ten minutes from here, actually. I waitress there after school most days now. I’m just glad the uniform isn’t all sequins or chiffon like these,” she laughed. “Mine’s just a black skirt and white t-shirt. Totally doable. What about you? How do you pass the time between nights of villain punting?” Now seemed as good a time as any to talk about the basics.
Steph shrugged nonchalantly, smiling to herself as she thought about it. “Mmm … If we’re talking about that first moment of ‘Whoa, I kind of like this guy and he’s super cute,’ I’d say a couple of days after our pizza night,” she answered him. Looking back up at him with an impish smile, she asked, “What about you? Was that on that on the spot earlier, or have you been using your old Bat skills to stalk me?” She nudged his shin with her sneaker, totally joking.
Totally doable. A twinkle unwillingly entered Jason’s eye and he tried not to dwell too much on those two words. Or from wondering if Steph’s uniform skirt was of the pencil variety. Or if the t-shirt was particularly tight. Rolled up sleeves and completely bare arms. He would not wonder thoughts like this. To confirm this his eyes wandered to another sparkling waiter who was serving two school kids. Unfortunately this waiter was rather tightly dressed, in all senses of the word, and for a moment Jason replaced it’s wearer with his date. He laughed to himself and swigged his coke. “I don’t know. You could pull it off.”
Now the fun part, Jason lapped up everything Stephanie had to say about crushing on him, it was palpable. There is nothing like hearing the object of your desire describe the moment they first started to walk on your wavelength, especially if it was earlier than assumed.
“Wait…pizza night? But wasn’t that when… you still…” His voice trailed off. Shit. Enough could be taken from those words to guess what he was going to to ask. He bit his lip. Stephanie was not available back then and Jason did not believe it should be held against a person to have noticed others during a relationship, he couldn’t prove he thought that though. It may just seem like he was being a dick again. A gift he had from day one.
Something in the way Jason was looking at her, like he had just before he’d kissed her, made Steph’s face suddenly go hot and she grinned back at him. “Shut up! You couldn’t pay me to wear that getup. You could stop in sometime, though, if you want to check out my not totally embarrassing uniform,” she offered, making a note to actually put an effort in this week when she went to work. Just in case.
A twinge of shame hit her and Steph looked away, running a hand through her hair absentmindedly. “Look … When I’m with someone, I go into total Penguin Mode; I don’t think about other people, I’m with that person 100%. I still notice when I feel a connection with people, though. I knew it wasn’t familial exactly, and it was a bit more than friendship. I felt it, but I didn’t really understand it, or at least I didn’t try to … Does that make any sense?” she rambled, suddenly a little defensive. Steph hadn’t even considered cheating on Barry, but she’d still felt that spark with Jason. She didn’t want him thinking she was easy, but she also didn’t like that he might think less of her for admitting what she had. She suddenly felt the sinking feeling that she might have just fatally wounded things with Jason.
Realising how uncomfortable he was making her, Jason leaned over and clasped her hands in his, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make things awkward.” He searched her eyes, hoping she wasn’t too upset as the date to be ruined, “I just…well, honestly, I can’t believe my luck is all.” It was true and it would be the black sheep’s luck for him to mess it up when they had been an item for less than two hours. The corners of his mouth held a ghost of a smile but he still appeared serious; “The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
Their intimate moment was cut short when the waiter returned with their food, Jason let go of Steph and sat up straight, nodding when asked if the correct order was his. Needless to say he felt significantly less hungry than he had been.
And that was all Jason really needed to say, she really couldn’t help but smile. When the waiter left them, it was Steph’s turn to lean across the table. She planted a firm kiss on his lips and pulled back with a soft pink tint to her cheeks. Something about him made her feel like a dopey teenager. ”Thank you. I don’t want to hurt you either,” she told him, sitting back into her seat.
She ate a handful of fries and asked him casually, “So what is it that Jasons do when they aren’t striking fear into the hearts of bad guys at night? Any hobbies or job to keep you busy?” She was trying to play it cool, but on the inside, Steph’s stomach felt like a bunch of pterodactyl demons were battling it out Star Wars style. She was positively giddy over this guy.
Jason was left pouting very slightly after the kiss, his lips lingered in a pucker as his muscles relaxed. It was then Jason noticed the corners of his mouth were differently positioned on his face, they had been all day. He’d been smiling a lot but even now as he was simply content to have narrowly avoided offending Steph he wore a ghost of a smile.
Hobbies. Gosh. There was a question and a half. “Um….” He drove. He slept. He fucked. A man of simple means of passing the time. Yeah, that would do. “I don’t really have any hobbies, I just kind of go with the flow. Like, just about all the time.” He took a bite of his cheeseburgers, chewing and covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he did so as a way of implying he had more to say, therefore was not completely incompetent. “What about you? What keeps your cogs ticking?” Not only did he have so little to say about himself but he felt like Stephanie was not divulging to his liking She was not closed and she was talking the most of the two, but for Jason it wasn’t enough. He wanted her to tell him more, so he may know more, he wanted to know everything. In fact he was starting to creep himself out a little, he tried not to care.
She slurped her shake loudly as she listened, curious. Jason didn’t seem to keen on talking about himself just yet, and Steph understood it might take some doing. “Well aren’t we cryptic?” she asked, smiling teasingly. She stole a fry, despite having plenty of her own. It was always weird when you suddenly had to explain yourself to another person, even casually. Like, how did someone talk about themselves without sounding conceited or weird or like a dumbass? ”Hmm … Okay. I love to cook and play piano and dance and read and train. Oh! And watch movies. I’m a sucker for chinese take out and spelunking my Netflix,” she told him.
“What about you? Do you like any of that? Wait, quick: Favorite and least favorite movie!” As she listened to his answer, Steph nudged her shake closer to him with her knuckle to try. It was less a suggestion and more an ‘I dare you to day no’. “Try it. Their earthquake shakes are killer.” She was trying to get him to relax some more, to get him to open up, even a little bit. She wanted to crack the carefully built up wall that was Jason Todd because she wanted him to want her as much as she did him. Come Fly With Me began playing and Steph found herself humming it absentmindedly, polishing off her fries.
Jason winced (how many people had called him ‘cryptic’ now?) and turned his attention to his double-cheeseburger again, it was much bigger than he thought it would be, just as well really, he figured he would still have room for the the fries and soda when he was done. He had grown accustomed to eating only one meal a day, two small ones on occasion, he had been less inclined to eat after leaving the Asylum. Even if his one meal was as generous as the one in front of him he was still not back to his usual considerable appetite, however, slowly and surely he was making progress.
As he chewed he wondered if he had misheard her, the list had seemed so neat until… doing what on what now? Net-flicks? “Do I even want to know what spelunking is? Is this an Internet-child thing?” He teased, sitting back and downed half his soda in one long gulp.
Steph patted his hand at the face he’d made. “I’m just teasing, Jay. I just want to get to know you a little better,” she told him, smiling sweetly. She laughed a snorty laugh, though, at his confusion and shook her head. “No, it’s this deal you buy for your tv. Like an app for a cell phone. It gives you unlimited access to almost every tv show and movie out there for at least five months for a monthly fee. Spelunking is cave exploring. I just meant that sometimes I like to look for random movies and marathon them, good or bad,” Steph explained easily. “That settles it. You’ve got to come over to my place for a movie night this weekend. You bring the popcorn?” she asked, batting her eyelashes dramatically to get a laugh.
It was easy to joke with him. No pressure, just fun. It was an extremely attractive quality, she decided, as the Elvis waiter came back with their bill. She rummaged around in her purse for a $10 for her share and put it on the table. “You want a doggy bag for that so we can split? It looks like it’s going to storm, and I’ve never driven a motorcycle in the rain before.” Steph polished off her shake and fries, burger half-eaten, and put her moose hat back on as they got ready to leave. In truth, she was less than thrilled to cut their date short do to the weather.
“That sounds amazingly awful.” said Jason, “Bad Movie night sounds great.” Not meaning to get presumptuous, Jason confirmed his suspicions that his and Steph’s relationship would not change due to romantic circumstances. This he was thankful for.
Once they had paid Jason went with the doggy bag suggestion and headed outside with Stephanie, each still clutching their leftovers. They’d likely need them before dark. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and reeled her in for a quick kiss, “I’m gonna let you go before I end up keeping you through the rain,” he said, already regretful. “I’d just feel better knowing you got home dry and safe for sure.” He planted another kiss, this time on her cheek, “I had an amazing day though.” With that, he led Stephanie to his bike, handing her a helmet.
She was smiling dumbly after the kiss. Leaning into him on the bike, Steph mumbled, “Soaked and in trouble doesn’t sound so bad right now.” She tucked away their leftovers and hugged him from behind on her seat, arms around his waist and thighs pressing into his. The ride was way too short for her liking, but the rain had started to pound down Mother Nature was being a bitch today, apparently.
They came to a stop outside os Steph’s dinky townhouse and she climbed off the bike, leaning down to kiss him. It was slow and bold and made her insides flutter. Pecking his upper lip, she told Jason, “My place, Saturday night. Come with low entertainment expectations,” she joked. The rain was soaking through their hair and jackets by now, but she wasn’t exactly ecstatic over the idea of stopping now. Reluctantly, she stole another kiss and said, “I had an amazing day, too. Call me?”
Like in the diner, Jason’s lips were puckered slightly after the kiss wishing it would linger but realising he was probably keeping Steph from getting dry and warm. His lashes fluttered a little as he opened his eyes, “Good, glad to hear it and I will, just get inside, kiddo.” He kissed her forehead and revved up the bike again, watching her half-jog to her front door. He only took off as he saw her take shelter in her house.
The rain was forgotten for most of the journey there and he did not realise how hard it fell until he was in his safe house, shedding his leather jacket off his shoulders and flopping onto the bed with a long and contented sigh.
He parked up and went to her door, shaking his limbs a little whilst he waited, he just could not seem to relax. Come on get a grip, Jay, he told himself. After all, how many times had he gone out with girls in the past few months before coming home?
And this was Stephanie. Not even a date. Just Stephanie.
Whoa…where had ‘date’ come from?
Steph heard her doorbell and checked her hair again in the bathroom mirror. Why the hell was she nervous? She and Jason were just hanging out, no big deal. No big deal. She took the stairs two at a time when she realized she was keeping him waiting and let him in. “Hey, stranger. Is this a home invasion?” she greeted him. Giving him a hug, she ushered him in. “Let me grab my shoes and we can go.”
She slipped her shoes on and grabbed her purse. “So you’re driving? I’m honored you’d let me touch your bike.” Steph picked up the to-go coffee cups and paper bag she picked up earlier. “Hope you don’t mind, but I wasn’t kidding about coffee being on me. The blueberry muffin was an impulse buy, though,” she told him a little sheepishly.
Following her in Jason could not help but notice the homeliness of the place, he instantaneously felt comfortable. Just what he needed. He did not venture into the living room as he still had his shoes on, unsure of how dirty they were. No wrong steps here today, my friend!
“Those for now or later?” He asked, eyeing up the cups in anticipation. Coffee sounded good. Coffee was familiar. Coffee was safe.
As he watched her rush around to put on her shoes and keep liquid in the cups Jason’s shoulders dropped and his posture became less uptight, her presence was comforting as ever. If he stopped being such an ass they might actually have a great time. They always did, why should today be any different?
“No racing today I think, especially if those are for later.”
Rolling her eyes, Steph tugged Jason into her house so he wasn’t awkwardly standing in her doorway anymore. “I don’t bite much, Jay,” she joked, handing him his cup to try. “I was thinking we could drink these as we go. Most stores really don’t care much if you’ve got coffee. Do you mind driving us on your bike? I’ll carry the drinks and stuff. Racing wouldn’t be as fun today,” she agreed, locking the place up.
Following him out to his bike, she sat on the seat behind him and tucked the cups away safely. “I bet you missed riding her while you were gone, huh?” Steph admired the motorcycle scooted forward and wrapped her arms comfortably around Jason’s waist. He was every bit the speed demon she was, so this wasn’t weird, right? She did, however, smile to herself at the smell of his jacket as he began driving.
“You got it.” Jason said after sneaking a sip of the still-hot liquid, it did not take a genius to guess he took his coffee without sugar but Steph had figured he was a cream kind of guy. Damn her and her wondrousness.
The ride there was not as brief as the one there, and from where she was sitting, Stephanie could not see the faint but goofy smile on Jason’s face which confirmed he was only doing this on purpose. They reached the city centre and passed a few decent stores before he found a spacious parking lot that he could not ignore. Reluctantly, he parked the girl up and held out a hand to take the cups from Stephanie.
“Nice work, you didn’t scold anyone.” He was a little impressed but this was one of his own he was talking to so it wasn’t exactly a shocker. He held out his arm, this was not a date but there was definitely a vibe of one, he thought the best way to diffuse the situation was through jest. Obviously.
He held out his arm for her and balanced the cups in the other, “Where to first, ma’am?”
The ride ended and Steph climbed off the bike with a reluctance she didn’t fully understand, keeping the cups steady as she handed them off. They’d ended up in the shopping district, Halloween decorations covering every inch of available space, the whole block festively spooky. And just like that, whatever awkwardness she’d felt dissipated at Jason’s proper Englishman tone. Smirking, she took his arm and pointed at the first store she recognized, American Eagle. “Onward, my good sir!”
The store was packed and in full swing for Autumn: sweaters, coats, and boots galore, toy spider webs hanging from the ceiling and a couple of cauldrons full of tootsie rolls on the various displays. Nudging Jason, she told him, “I do believe we’ve just hit pay dirt. What do you think? Should we go for funny or normal sweaters?” Nearly every visible sweater was one she’d wear out in public, but Steph gestured to a rack of sweaters with big, obnoxious patterns on them. One of them had a reindeer on the front and when she pinched its nose it lit up bright red. Oh, they were definitely going to have fun with this trip.
Besides the reindeer jumpers was a woollen top, grey with an upside-down bat on it. A grin had appeared on Jason’s face before it could register in his mind. He reached up and strokes it, it was softer than it looked and though he laughed at first he gave the item some thought. “What do you think?” It was a genuine question he wanted an answer to but he though he should look at other things so as not to seem too eager. Though he did hope she liked the idea. Or was it too obvious? Would it break any rules?
He dismissed these thoughts by fiddling with some knitted hat on the lower rails opposite so he was not looking at Steph or the sweaters. Jason wondered how it would look on and he tried one on, a dark emerald beanie. I look like a douchebag, he thought, not entirely bitterly mind. His sense of fashion was getting a little ‘jerk’-ish for his liking lately and it was tempting to blame Stephanie for this too ever since she had complimented him on his taste in sweaters. That’s why they were there after all.
Either he was more easily influenced than he thought or Jason thought there ought to be a term such as ‘catching Steph’.
Steph looked over at the sweater Jason was pointing to and found herself grinning right back at him. “If you don’t buy it, I am. It’s freaking perfect,” she told him, flipping through the rack until she found a size she guessed would fit him and one for herself. Admittedly, this place was a lot preppier than she would usually go, but if the rest of the racks were this quality of novelty, she’d make an exception.
She’d found herself a cobalt sweater with a winking polar bear on the front when she noticed Jason was examining something. Steph looked over at him and saw him staring daggers at a dark green knit beanie. When he’d put it on, she tapped on his forearm and told him, “I wouldn’t have taken you for the beanie type, Jaybird. But it makes your eyes look really … Pretty.”
Crap, what guy wanted to be told he had pretty eyes? But come on! Blue eyes like that and a green cap? She wasn’t wrong. Feeling her cheeks go a little pink, Steph turned back to the rack and held up a sweater for him. A very dark knit material with a corded design. It wasn’t silly, but she thought it was definitely up to the Red Hood persona in the frosty months.
Unsure of how he felt about matching, Jason went along with Steph’s enthusiasm. He could be quirky. He could totally be quirky and interesting and funny.
“Um…thanks.” He said after she paid her compliment. An awkward silence followed and Jason quickly took the hat off and stared into it. Would she be offended if he put it back? Better play it safe and buy it, she liked it right?
He immediately warmed to the idea of the dark sweater she was holding up, dark colours were safe. No stupid patterns or reindeer or emotionally-confusing upside-down matching bats. Better get that too. He took it and thanked her, mirroring her pleased face when he did and deciding that the garment had already paid for itself. Oh God why did he care? He really shouldn’t care but he did and crud.
He turned twice on the spot pretending to look around at everything in the store at once. His eyes landed on those looped scarves that have no end, he briskly walked towards one and grabbed it.
“Ever wonder who came up with these?” he said without really choosing his words, “I mean, what’s so wrong with tying a scarf? I got no problem with regular linear scarves, you know?”
Quirky. Interesting. Funny. Smooth, Todd.
Whatever Jason’s mood had been before seemed to grow fidgety as he tried to preoccupy himself and Steph just smiled back at him, eyebrows knit together. Confused, but amused. She’d picked out a couple of other sweaters for them both (hers a mix of a few styles and his much more toned down) when he’d said something about scarves.
Her smile widened and she walked over to him. “I know, right? Linear scarves allow you to get creative with the knots, like tying a tie. They’re just classic, you know? Endless scarves just feel like training wheels, like velcro sneakers for a teenager!” He had this awkward stance to him, like he was trying to be nonchalant and cool when he in reality was completely uncomfortable. Was it something she’d said? Was he not having as much fun as she’d hoped?
Steph picked up a brown knit beanie and put it on. It was designed to look like a moose’s face, complete with snout, button eyes, and felt antlers. She turned back to Jason and grinned, striking her best Superman pose (shoulders back, fists on hips, etc.). “What do you think? I’m all ears.” She shook her head a little so the antlers and ears wiggled.
Luckily Stephanie saved the day with a logical - if not desperate - response to his stupid question, he resisted the urge to bang his forehead in the space between the railing. He was acting like a fool, he realised he had to accept what was going on or keep acting like an awkward teenager for the rest of their days. One massive blow to the pride this month had been quite enough.
The hat she put on was goofy but cute as heck and more importantly did just the trick to break the ice.
“Now that is a Steph-hat,” He grinned, tugging at the knit-braids on either side of her head,”Really suits you, kiddo.”
His hands lingered there and his grin shrunk whilst he mouth remained open, somewhere between a smile and a gawp. He just stared for a moment and everything around them started to slowly turn as it faded out of focus, his eyes travelled to her long, wavy blonde hair with all its natural highlights and volume, then back up to her soft chin, full pink lips… Jason took them gently with his own pair.
Whatever smartass comeback she’d had prepared evaporated when Jason kissed her. Steph froze, nearly dropped her almost empty coffee cup in shock. Her heart skipped a beat and face caught fire. A tingle ran through her and her pulse went into double time. When he pulled back from what was maybe a five second peck, she felt herself grinning dopily up at him.
She set the coffee and sweaters down on some display and got on her tip-toes, a hand on the back of his head to pull his mouth back to hers. Steph kissed him back eagerly and would swear she felt weightless. Jason Todd: All dimples and strong arms and cheeky grins and hopelessly blue eyes set into a baby face. Everything else was static and entirely unimportant in that moment as she pressed into him, running her nails along the nape of his neck.
They kissed for a moment longer before Jason stopped it, a) not wanting to get thrown out of the store for getting carried away, b) to gauge Stephanie’s reaction. He did not wait to display his own. He was positively luminous, teeth all on show and eyebrows raised to emphasise his happy-puppy eyes. He resembled a boy half his age but in a much other way than he had done before.
It was inevitable he thought, then he wondered if that was just his ego making excuses for his actions. Stephanie had not been single all that long,then again Jason had only recognised his falling for the girl in the past five minutes. No one could say he didn’t step up to the game.
“Sorry.” He lied, letting go of her then looking to see if anyone was giving them looks, fortunately they were too deep into the store for anyone to notice.
“Anyway yeah, you should get the hat.” Jason took a swig of his now cool coffee, feeling rather pleased with himself.
Steph laughed breathlessly at the boyish expression on his face and shoved him half heartedly. “Only if you get that red sweater, you smug bastard,” she replied, taking her hat off and running a hand through her hair to tame the instant flyaways. The moment caught up to her and Steph couldn’t ignore the high buzzing through her. When rginfs had shifted between them she couldn’t be sure, but she’d have been lying if she said she hadn’t had an inkling. Despite the not yet fully understood jumble emotions, this was the first time in almost a month she could honestly say she was happy. Elated even.
Her stomach was doing backflips worthy of a Flying Grayson and Steph put most of her sweaters back, suddenly not interested in shopping anymore. They went ahead and got their purchases without a word, and she followed him back outside to the mostly deserted sidewalk. Suddenly and unreasonably shy, Steph toyed with some hair behind her ear and looked off to the side at nothing. Hadn’t she just planted one on him in a crowded store? Where had her guts gone? “So … Where do we go from here?” She felt her cheeks flush when she steeled herself to look him in the eye.
In all honesty Jason had not actually planned this far ahead. He was impulsive and that he prided himself on, his organisational skills in this field were lagging in comparison to his usual standard. On top of that he was still feeling the rush from his decision to kiss Stephanie Brown, one of the cutest girls on the planet if not the, his mind was a little foggy in terms of what was okay.
“Shopping seems a little redundant right now.” Not that either of them were unaware. “We got some cool stuff.”
Jason knew that was not what Steph was asking. There was that silence again but it was somehow different to before. It wasn’t completely devoid of discomfort but it was much more knowing, it was not the mystery of what the other was thinking that held the tension in the air but the understanding that they were both on the same page. Stephanie had wanted this to happen just as much as he had, there was no denying that kiss of hers. And wow, that girl had a kiss on her.
However the time to be selfish had passed, time to at least try to act like a responsible adult.
“Listen, I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t wanna. I know ‘baggage’ is practically our family name but I’d understand if you didn’t want to get involved with me at this point.”
In the awkward silence that lingered between them, Steph’s stomach seemed to drop down to her toes. She hadn’t given this much thought, but there was no denying anymore how he made her feel. When Jason tried to give her a way out, a chance to walk away like nothing had happened, she shot him a look like he’d told a cheesy joke, equal parts amused and exasperated.
She snorted. “Why? Because I’m Little Miss Spotless Track record?” Steph made a point to look him in the eye and lace her fingers with his in the space between them. “I like you. I’m not totally sure what that means or what’ll happen, but I’d really like figure it out because now I’m hoping we could turn this into a date.” She grinned. “Unless of course you’re too chicken… ?” she baited. And just like that, they were back to razzing each other like on their infamous pizza night.
In truth, to her, Jason was funny and interesting and amazing and fucked up. And they just got each other. That wasn’t something that happened for her often, and Steph realized somewhere between their kiss behind the sweater display and where they stood now that she wasn’t all too keen on passing that up. She hoped fiercely he felt the same way.
Steph’s words were undeniably true. So he did not want to land her with any unwanted issues but did that mean he had to be alone the rest of his life? That’s what he had been telling himself and yet that had not stopped him from going on meaningless dates. Dates that had left women - people he had not really considered beyond their professionally-dyed hair and extortionate handbags - in tears. He never got used to his company being of a positive nature when influencing others. But now that he actually truly cared for someone enough to want to be with them, well, he was entitled to that at least. They both were.
“I think I can handle it.” He said squeezing her hand, “Correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t really have you down as the wine and rabbit food type. Did you have anything in mind?”
They did not have a plan but everything just seemed so much easier now. Jason wondered being selfish was not entirely a bad thing, in this case it seemed to benefit more than one party. She looked so happy and confident in herself. He thought she should always look like that.
She felt herself grinning at his answer, a little part of her sighed in relief that he hadn’t taken the way out she’d offered. Steph sidled up next to him and replied, “I’ll have you know I only partake in Gotham’s finest cuisine, Mr. Todd. And besides, I had that for breakfast yesterday. What are your feelings about milkshakes and bacon burgers, though? Steak & Shake is the best there is.”
Steph was already tugging him along, shopping bag in hand. She ended up putting the moose hat back on pressing into his side. If you’d asked her the last time she’d felt so weightless, as if in free fall, she wouldn’t have been able to tell you. But she was happy, her face reflected as much. So far they were a frazzled, dazzled pair, and that excited her a little. Steph liked that they didn’t have to plan things out or have to go over the top with self declarations. Jason made her her smile till it hurt and that was more than enough. They arrived at the ’50s restaurant and they were assaulted by the chrome and bright colors and sounds of the wonderfully tacky restaurant.
Jason practically swung their clasped hands when they started off towards Steak & Shake. “I love that you’re a fast food gal!” he yelped, then realising he might have embarrassed her he added, “I mean what’s the point in eating something you don’t like for the sake of appearing demure?”
What that meant in Toddlish was ‘we can be ourselves around each other and you have no idea how glad I am about it’. They seated themselves at a booth and Jason handed Steph a gaudy menu and looked at his own. Garish writing boasted greasy delights but it was not registering for Jason, he was still buzzed from the whole afternoon.
And yet, where they were and how they were acting suggesting nothing had changed. Was that alright? Or did it simply confirm the inevitability of the situation?
“Uh…that escalated quickly.” He said with a breathy laugh.
She choked out a laugh, his enthusiasm was adorable. “Beats the hell out of me. I mean, I get it. Sometimes you want to treat yourself to something special, but when push comes to shove, I think we all need to appreciate comfort food more often. Case in point: Waffles. You wouldn’t believe how good the waffles I serve at the diner are every weekend.”
Steph scanned through the menu she already knew pretty much by heart, politely waiting on Jason to pick something out. She looked up from her color explosion of a menu at Jason and smirked, shrugging nonchalantly. “I know, right? Things don’t normally move that quickly for me, for the record,” she told him, setting her menu aside. “But if I’m being totally honest, I’ve kind of had a major crush on you for a while now.” She winked, not giving him a chance to reply just yet, the waiter dressed as Elvis came by and asked for their orders. “I’ll take a Mint Oreo shake, bacon cheeseburger, and side of shoelace fries, please, Mr. Presley,” she joked.
“I didn’t know you worked at a diner. Or had a day job for that matter.” Jason felt bad for having to admit this, he felt it was something he should probably have asked about. Then again neither of them had real time for small talk previously. Luckily the fact they were dating now - whoa, dating - had this looking like a thing of the past.
He did not appear so, but he was taken aback by Stephanie’s confession. He gave an aside to the waiter; an order of a large coke, double-cheeseburger and large curly fries. He gave the two customers a wink and pointing of each index finger which Jason missed, still half-smiling and half-staring at Steph.
“How long’s a while?” he wondered why that sounded familiar, only hoping it wasn’t a line from some cheesy film he’d forced himself to forget. “You’ve peaked my curiosity.”
“Yeah, I only just got the job, so not a ton of people really know. It doesn’t usually come up casually when you’re out heroing, you know?” The Elvis waiter came back with their drinks and Steph shot her straw wrapper at Jason, hitting him on the chin. “It’s called Miller’s. Probably ten minutes from here, actually. I waitress there after school most days now. I’m just glad the uniform isn’t all sequins or chiffon like these,” she laughed. “Mine’s just a black skirt and white t-shirt. Totally doable. What about you? How do you pass the time between nights of villain punting?” Now seemed as good a time as any to talk about the basics.
Steph shrugged nonchalantly, smiling to herself as she thought about it. “Mmm … If we’re talking about that first moment of ‘Whoa, I kind of like this guy and he’s super cute,’ I’d say a couple of days after our pizza night,” she answered him. Looking back up at him with an impish smile, she asked, “What about you? Was that on that on the spot earlier, or have you been using your old Bat skills to stalk me?” She nudged his shin with her sneaker, totally joking.
Totally doable. A twinkle unwillingly entered Jason’s eye and he tried not to dwell too much on those two words. Or from wondering if Steph’s uniform skirt was of the pencil variety. Or if the t-shirt was particularly tight. Rolled up sleeves and completely bare arms. He would not wonder thoughts like this. To confirm this his eyes wandered to another sparkling waiter who was serving two school kids. Unfortunately this waiter was rather tightly dressed, in all senses of the word, and for a moment Jason replaced it’s wearer with his date. He laughed to himself and swigged his coke. “I don’t know. You could pull it off.”
Now the fun part, Jason lapped up everything Stephanie had to say about crushing on him, it was palpable. There is nothing like hearing the object of your desire describe the moment they first started to walk on your wavelength, especially if it was earlier than assumed.
“Wait…pizza night? But wasn’t that when… you still…” His voice trailed off. Shit. Enough could be taken from those words to guess what he was going to to ask. He bit his lip. Stephanie was not available back then and Jason did not believe it should be held against a person to have noticed others during a relationship, he couldn’t prove he thought that though. It may just seem like he was being a dick again. A gift he had from day one.
Something in the way Jason was looking at her, like he had just before he’d kissed her, made Steph’s face suddenly go hot and she grinned back at him. “Shut up! You couldn’t pay me to wear that getup. You could stop in sometime, though, if you want to check out my not totally embarrassing uniform,” she offered, making a note to actually put an effort in this week when she went to work. Just in case.
A twinge of shame hit her and Steph looked away, running a hand through her hair absentmindedly. “Look … When I’m with someone, I go into total Penguin Mode; I don’t think about other people, I’m with that person 100%. I still notice when I feel a connection with people, though. I knew it wasn’t familial exactly, and it was a bit more than friendship. I felt it, but I didn’t really understand it, or at least I didn’t try to … Does that make any sense?” she rambled, suddenly a little defensive. Steph hadn’t even considered cheating on Barry, but she’d still felt that spark with Jason. She didn’t want him thinking she was easy, but she also didn’t like that he might think less of her for admitting what she had. She suddenly felt the sinking feeling that she might have just fatally wounded things with Jason.
Realising how uncomfortable he was making her, Jason leaned over and clasped her hands in his, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make things awkward.” He searched her eyes, hoping she wasn’t too upset as the date to be ruined, “I just…well, honestly, I can’t believe my luck is all.” It was true and it would be the black sheep’s luck for him to mess it up when they had been an item for less than two hours. The corners of his mouth held a ghost of a smile but he still appeared serious; “The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
Their intimate moment was cut short when the waiter returned with their food, Jason let go of Steph and sat up straight, nodding when asked if the correct order was his. Needless to say he felt significantly less hungry than he had been.
And that was all Jason really needed to say, she really couldn’t help but smile. When the waiter left them, it was Steph’s turn to lean across the table. She planted a firm kiss on his lips and pulled back with a soft pink tint to her cheeks. Something about him made her feel like a dopey teenager. ”Thank you. I don’t want to hurt you either,” she told him, sitting back into her seat.
She ate a handful of fries and asked him casually, “So what is it that Jasons do when they aren’t striking fear into the hearts of bad guys at night? Any hobbies or job to keep you busy?” She was trying to play it cool, but on the inside, Steph’s stomach felt like a bunch of pterodactyl demons were battling it out Star Wars style. She was positively giddy over this guy.
Jason was left pouting very slightly after the kiss, his lips lingered in a pucker as his muscles relaxed. It was then Jason noticed the corners of his mouth were differently positioned on his face, they had been all day. He’d been smiling a lot but even now as he was simply content to have narrowly avoided offending Steph he wore a ghost of a smile.
Hobbies. Gosh. There was a question and a half. “Um….” He drove. He slept. He fucked. A man of simple means of passing the time. Yeah, that would do. “I don’t really have any hobbies, I just kind of go with the flow. Like, just about all the time.” He took a bite of his cheeseburgers, chewing and covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he did so as a way of implying he had more to say, therefore was not completely incompetent. “What about you? What keeps your cogs ticking?” Not only did he have so little to say about himself but he felt like Stephanie was not divulging to his liking She was not closed and she was talking the most of the two, but for Jason it wasn’t enough. He wanted her to tell him more, so he may know more, he wanted to know everything. In fact he was starting to creep himself out a little, he tried not to care.
She slurped her shake loudly as she listened, curious. Jason didn’t seem to keen on talking about himself just yet, and Steph understood it might take some doing. “Well aren’t we cryptic?” she asked, smiling teasingly. She stole a fry, despite having plenty of her own. It was always weird when you suddenly had to explain yourself to another person, even casually. Like, how did someone talk about themselves without sounding conceited or weird or like a dumbass? ”Hmm … Okay. I love to cook and play piano and dance and read and train. Oh! And watch movies. I’m a sucker for chinese take out and spelunking my Netflix,” she told him.
“What about you? Do you like any of that? Wait, quick: Favorite and least favorite movie!” As she listened to his answer, Steph nudged her shake closer to him with her knuckle to try. It was less a suggestion and more an ‘I dare you to day no’. “Try it. Their earthquake shakes are killer.” She was trying to get him to relax some more, to get him to open up, even a little bit. She wanted to crack the carefully built up wall that was Jason Todd because she wanted him to want her as much as she did him. Come Fly With Me began playing and Steph found herself humming it absentmindedly, polishing off her fries.
Jason winced (how many people had called him ‘cryptic’ now?) and turned his attention to his double-cheeseburger again, it was much bigger than he thought it would be, just as well really, he figured he would still have room for the the fries and soda when he was done. He had grown accustomed to eating only one meal a day, two small ones on occasion, he had been less inclined to eat after leaving the Asylum. Even if his one meal was as generous as the one in front of him he was still not back to his usual considerable appetite, however, slowly and surely he was making progress.
As he chewed he wondered if he had misheard her, the list had seemed so neat until… doing what on what now? Net-flicks? “Do I even want to know what spelunking is? Is this an Internet-child thing?” He teased, sitting back and downed half his soda in one long gulp.
Steph patted his hand at the face he’d made. “I’m just teasing, Jay. I just want to get to know you a little better,” she told him, smiling sweetly. She laughed a snorty laugh, though, at his confusion and shook her head. “No, it’s this deal you buy for your tv. Like an app for a cell phone. It gives you unlimited access to almost every tv show and movie out there for at least five months for a monthly fee. Spelunking is cave exploring. I just meant that sometimes I like to look for random movies and marathon them, good or bad,” Steph explained easily. “That settles it. You’ve got to come over to my place for a movie night this weekend. You bring the popcorn?” she asked, batting her eyelashes dramatically to get a laugh.
It was easy to joke with him. No pressure, just fun. It was an extremely attractive quality, she decided, as the Elvis waiter came back with their bill. She rummaged around in her purse for a $10 for her share and put it on the table. “You want a doggy bag for that so we can split? It looks like it’s going to storm, and I’ve never driven a motorcycle in the rain before.” Steph polished off her shake and fries, burger half-eaten, and put her moose hat back on as they got ready to leave. In truth, she was less than thrilled to cut their date short do to the weather.
“That sounds amazingly awful.” said Jason, “Bad Movie night sounds great.” Not meaning to get presumptuous, Jason confirmed his suspicions that his and Steph’s relationship would not change due to romantic circumstances. This he was thankful for.
Once they had paid Jason went with the doggy bag suggestion and headed outside with Stephanie, each still clutching their leftovers. They’d likely need them before dark. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and reeled her in for a quick kiss, “I’m gonna let you go before I end up keeping you through the rain,” he said, already regretful. “I’d just feel better knowing you got home dry and safe for sure.” He planted another kiss, this time on her cheek, “I had an amazing day though.” With that, he led Stephanie to his bike, handing her a helmet.
She was smiling dumbly after the kiss. Leaning into him on the bike, Steph mumbled, “Soaked and in trouble doesn’t sound so bad right now.” She tucked away their leftovers and hugged him from behind on her seat, arms around his waist and thighs pressing into his. The ride was way too short for her liking, but the rain had started to pound down Mother Nature was being a bitch today, apparently.
They came to a stop outside os Steph’s dinky townhouse and she climbed off the bike, leaning down to kiss him. It was slow and bold and made her insides flutter. Pecking his upper lip, she told Jason, “My place, Saturday night. Come with low entertainment expectations,” she joked. The rain was soaking through their hair and jackets by now, but she wasn’t exactly ecstatic over the idea of stopping now. Reluctantly, she stole another kiss and said, “I had an amazing day, too. Call me?”
Like in the diner, Jason’s lips were puckered slightly after the kiss wishing it would linger but realising he was probably keeping Steph from getting dry and warm. His lashes fluttered a little as he opened his eyes, “Good, glad to hear it and I will, just get inside, kiddo.” He kissed her forehead and revved up the bike again, watching her half-jog to her front door. He only took off as he saw her take shelter in her house.
The rain was forgotten for most of the journey there and he did not realise how hard it fell until he was in his safe house, shedding his leather jacket off his shoulders and flopping onto the bed with a long and contented sigh.