jason todd x gender neutral reader. 473 words.
notes: based on real news about the black hole in the center of the milky way, which you can read about (and see!!!) in this article!! (you can also take a look at what this might mean for our understanding of black holes going forward in this article.)
besides the event horizons telescope team, this post was also brought to you by a darling anon <3 hope you enjoy, lovely, and thank you so much for requesting!
warnings: none that i can think of!
"hey," jason said, pulling your attention away from the book in your hands, "remember the conversation we had last night?"
"about the black hole thing you heard about?"
he hummed an affirmative, his eyes still scanning his phone. "i found the photo, if you want to see."
you set the book on the table beside you and shifted across the couch, looping an arm around his and resting your chin on his shoulder. he tilted his phone towards you, giving you a better view of the blurry orange and black image.
"apparently it's a composite of a lot of different images," he explained, interest clear in his voice. "it was done with this big network of telescopes that work together to basically make one giant telescope."
"that's really cool. this is our black hole, you said?"
he nodded. "the center of the milky way. pretty crazy, huh?"
he scrolled down, continuing to read the article, and you let your eyes slide shut. his breath was soft and steady, moving his shoulder with every inhale and exhale.
the room was otherwise quiet, with only the muffled sounds of city outside the window. between the calm motion under your chin and the peaceful setting, you felt a wave of sleepiness wash over you.
not long after, you woke up to jason sliding out from under your chin, gently supporting you with his hand.
your fingers caught his shirt, gently tugging on it as he stood up.
"go back to sleep, gorgeous."
you grumbled, blinking your eyes open and meeting his gaze. "where are you going?"
"i need a drink of water, so i was going to give you my spot so you can stretch out some."
"why don't you nap with me?"
he smiled softly, taking his hand away from your shoulder to brush it against your cheek. "do you want me to?"
"mhm," you mumbled. "you're comfy."
"let me get my water, and then we can nap."
he came back to find you stretched out across the couch, groggily smiling when he walked in.
"c'mere," you requested, arms open. "nap time."
he set his water on the table next to your book. then, slowly and carefully, he joined you on the couch.
"hi." you tucked yourself under his chin this time, bunching his shirt up in one hand. "are you tired?"
you frowned slightly, grip on his shirt loosening. "oh. you don't have to stay, if you don't want to."
"i don't know, baby. i think i'm past the event horizon."
"the point of no return-"
"oh," you said again. "a black hole joke."
"just for that, you do have to stay for nap time."
he draped an arm across your waist, pulling you closer to his chest. "i can live with that."
