posting my fics to Tumblr because i'm tired of scam bots being the only comments on my uploads
Ship: Jason Todd/Original Female Characters
Tags: Fluff and angst, Mild Domestic Fluff, No smut, Domestic Fluff, Batfamily, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd-Centric, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Teenagers, Vampires
Love Me Better Than All The Others Do
Chapter 1/?: Call My Name and Save Me From The Dark
As Jason exited the warehouse, I made my mark. I jumped from the roof and landed in front of him. He yelped and fiddled for his gun.
“Who are you?” He yelled. I dusted myself off.
“Someone you’ll have interest in,” I said.
“Yeah, right. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t shoot you here.”
“My mother is Valeska Nox. You just spoke with her.”
“What, is she making her kids do her dirty work?” He laughed.
“I have my own plans,” I smiled. He sheathed his gun and walked past me.
“You don’t wanna do that,” I called. “You want me on your side.” He couldn’t help but turn around to argue.
“I don’t need anyone! Do you know who I am? Red Hood.”
“No, you’re not. You’re Jason Todd. Nothing but a rich adoptee. But I can make you great. Don’t you want to be great?” Before he could respond, just when the recognition displayed across his face, I used my magic to whisk us away.
As Jason woke up, he struggled with the binds around his wrists.
“Where am I?” He grunted. “What did you do to me?!” I was in the kitchen making tea across from him.
“Don’t be nervous. We just need to talk.” I carefully walked the cup over to him. “Drink.” He pulled his head away, prompting me to grab him by the chin. “It’s okay,” I soothed.
“What did you put in that?”
“Just some sugar,” I said calmly. His lips puckered under my touch. “Are you going to drink?” I asked. I put the tea to his mouth and he complied, slowly sipping. I sat back in front of him when he was done.
“Where did you take me?” He demanded.
“This is my apartment. We’re not far from the warehouse.” I kept my tone light and calming.
“Why?” Jason asked, confused.
“I just needed to talk to you,” I informed.
“You could’ve talked to me earlier,” he argued.
“So what’s your motive?” He shifted in his restraints, seemingly forgetting they were there.
“You want to fuck over my mom and her crime friends. I want in.” He laughed.
“I don’t want to fuck her over, I want to take her business. When I’m done, I’ll be the greatest threat Gotham has ever seen,” he whined. I quirked an eyebrow.
“I see greatness in you, I really do, Jason. But you’re not equipped for this. You don’t have the resources.”
“I’m not working alone. I have-”
“Jonathan Crane, I know,” I cut him off. “Listen, Crane is a nobody. He used to have it all, but anybody who gets thrown in Arkham for that long has lost their game.”
“Yeah, and who are you? How do you have more than him?” It was his turn to cut me off. I sighed.
“Alright, fine.” I stood up. “Just, don’t freak out, okay?” I debated which of my abilities to show him. Turn into a bat, show my fangs. I decided that I had to go all in to prove I was the real deal. I manipulated the space around him to show him petrifying images of vampiric history- the hunts, the pillaging, the feeding. It was my childhood, and yet it frightens me. When it was over, Jason was struggling in the rope, almost falling backwards.
“What are you?!” He screamed. I knelt down in front of him, stabilizing the chair.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you, Jason.” I used some of my magic to calm his nerves and his breathing slowed. “I’m sorry this is so frightening, but I need you.”
“Why? You’ve been so vague this entire time. What the hell do you want from me?!”
“I want to work together,” I finally admitted. “You want to rise up in Gotham? So do I. When do you see Crane next?”
“I’m on my own for a while. Jason Todd is dead so he can’t visit Crane in Arkham.”
“Then keep me by your side until you can meet with him. You can stay here, if you'd like,” I offered.
“You kidnapped me and I'm still tied up. I don't trust you enough to live with you.” I gasped a little in surprise and waved my hand, causing the ropes around his wrists and ankles to fall.
“There you go.” I stuttered when he came towards me and summoned a protective barrier. “You don't want to hurt me. I'm on your side, we have common goals and common enemies.”
“Enemies?” He asked. “I don't have any enemies.”
“Yes, you do, and so do I. Batman, Dick Grayson, the Titans, they're all people who should've put a stop to Valeska and Perez and all of them a long time ago. But they refused. They moved on to extraterrestrial threats, leaving the rest of us to fall victim to the monsters that live next to us. And, they failed to protect you. I know what happened in San Francisco, and I'm sorry. Your father, your brother, your friends, they should've protected you but instead they made you weapons. The mere identity of Robin being Batman's son is barbaric,” I went on.
“How do you know all this?” Jason questioned.
“I have my ways of obtaining information. My mom taught me a lot, but I'm self sufficient.” Jason stood by me awkwardly. “I don't really believe you have a place to stay, judging by your reliance on an imprisoned Crane. Stay with me until you can speak with him.”
After a few weeks of coexisting with Jason, Crane escaped with the help of Dick Grayson. Jason fell into his brother's trap, bringing me to the cabin as backup, and off we went to the place where Crane invented Red Hood.
“Are you ever going to tell me who your girlfriend is?” Crane asked.
“She's not my girlfriend,” Jason replied sheepishly. I could tell the gas was wearing off.
“My name is Evelyn Nox,” I said.
“Nox. Is your mother Valeska?” Crane asked as he whirred with something. “Here, take this.” He handed me an inhaler strapped with his anti-fear toxin. I pushed it away.
“I don't need that. Fear doesn't stop me.”
“Yes, yes, I've heard about your abilities. It doesn't surprise me that the mob is headed by a vampire.”
“We need to gameplan,” I insisted.
“All in due time, my child.”
“What about getting the drug on the street?” Jason beckoned.
“You children are so impatient.”
“On the street? What the hell are you talking about?”
“The plan is to get the fear gas on the streets so everyone can have them,” Jason explained.
“No,” I shouted. “That's insane. Innocent people will die. This was never about hurting people, this was about regaining power.”
“No, that's what you wanted it to be,” Crane yelled. “This whole thing started with me!” He cried. “You are nothing but a pawn in my game.”
“You're just going to stand around and kill people?” I questioned.
“That was always the plan, princess,” Jason confirmed. In a huff, I used my power to bring myself back home.
Later that evening, Jason came knocking on the door.
“Why are you knocking? You live here,” I pointed out. I opened the door to let him in and walked off.
“I wanted to make sure you wanted to see me,” he noted.
“I hate you when you're like this,” I pointed out.
“You're so intimidating and full of it when you take Crane’s toxin. But when it wears off, you're so sheepish and impish.” I turned to him and grabbed his hand. “Have I taught you nothing? You are special, Jason. You are something. Leave Crane behind,” I begged. “Branch off with me. We can do this the right way.”
“I'm scared,” he whispered.
“Of course you are. You don't have any gas left.”
“It's more than that,” he added. “I take the gas because I'm scared. I don't know what I'm doing, I don't have a plan. You inspire me. You're the only thing I'm sure about.” A tightness formed in my abdomen, rising to my chest. He put his hands on my arms, inching them upward until they were on my shoulders. My chest heaved. He leaned closer, and I moved forward, closing the gap between us at the lips.
The kiss felt like nothing I'd ever felt before. I grabbed him by his face and smashed him into me. It was a long moment before we pulled apart.
“You're the only thing I'm sure about,” he repeated.
“I'm sure about you. But I'm sure about this being a bad idea. Leave Crane and join me,” I pleaded.
A couple hours later, I was in bed but couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about Jason. Did he care about me? Was it just a trauma bond? After more tossing and turning, I got up to investigate. It seemed he had the same idea, because I opened my door to see him about to knock.
“Could I sleep with you?” I laughed but opened the door for him.
“Did you take more fear gas, or are you just being brave?”
“Haven't had any since I saw Crane. This is just me.” I smiled to myself. I climbed in bed and so did Jason. “It's quiet now,” he said after a while.
“My head. Since I kissed you, it's quiet. No more racing thoughts and anxiety. Maybe I don't need the gas. Maybe I don't need Crane.”
“You don’t,” I quickly agreed. “You never did. He's using you, using us as pawns. We’ll have a better chance at success if we’re on our own.”
“I can’t,” he admitted. “I can’t fail Crane. I’m sorry.” I sighed and turned over. “You don’t get it. It’s more than the drugs.”
“I know,” I said. “You have to prove you’re worth this. But to me, you are.” There was silence for a moment.
“Let me take you somewhere,” he offered. “Please. It’ll be nice.” I reluctantly agreed and got dressed into better clothes. Jason took me to his car and we drove for a while, stopping on a dirt road overlooking the city.
“I used to go here a lot before I left for San Francisco. It’s quiet up here.” We sat on the hood of his car, leaning back.
“Take a lot of girls here?” I asked. He laughed.
“You’re the first. Tried getting all sappy with a girl before but it didn’t end well.” I turned to prop myself up with my elbow, facing him.
“So why are you trying again with me?”
“You’re different. You’re special. You’re the first person to see me for what I am. You’re honest with me and I can tell you actually care about me.” Jason turned his head to look at me.
“Run away with me. We don’t need Gotham. We can go to somewhere like Berlin and make a new life for ourselves.”
“Maybe,” was all he said. Crane had really sunk his teeth into him. One moment he was his own person and the next he was a shadow of Scarecrow, playing out his sick games.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt. Especially not by Crane.”
“I won’t. And if I did, nothing compares to what I’ve been through. I’ll be fine.” I pulled my jacket up to my face to protect me from the cold. Jason turned and put an arm around me. “I have another meeting with Crane tomorrow. Do you want to join me?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered after a moment. All of this was becoming real too soon. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this.
“I’m done, I’m so fucking done! You were right, Evie, you were so fucking right. I never should’ve partnered with him,” Jason shouted as we entered our apartment through the balcony.
“I know, but stay still, I need to patch you up,” I said.
“You seriously don’t have any healing powers?” He sat on the couch, taking his suit off in the process. We had just been attacked by the Titans, and they stopped the production of the gas. It pains me to say, but I’m glad they did. I still had qualms about putting it on the street. I went to get first aid supplies and I returned to Jason in nothing but his boxers. His scars were an unruly but enticing sight. When he leaned forward to give me access to his wound behind his shoulder, I saw markings that the Joker carved into him.
“This is gonna sting.” I put some rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad and pressed it to him. He winced and seethed in pain. “See? It’s all done.”
“You don’t have to baby me,” he argued. “I’m a grown man, I can take a little antiseptic.” I struggled to stifle a laugh.
“Jason, you’re eighteen. Barely any older than me, pipe down.” Jason turned around to look at me, interrupting my work.
“Seventeen,” I confirmed. He let out a noise.
“Damn. All this time I thought you were older than me.” I smiled and got back to patching him up.
“I may act like I’m grown, but if you look closely you’ll see I’m just a kid and I kinda don’t know what I’m doing. I think Crane saw that.”
“Is that why you don’t like him?” He quipped. I pressed a little harder as I bandaged him. “Ow! Be careful.”
“That’s what you get for being a smartass. Alright, you’re all done.” Jason threw a shirt on and grabbed a beer from the fridge.
“I’m going for a smoke,” he told me.
“Be there in a minute.” I went to my bedroom, which really was our bedroom nowadays, and changed out of my suit and into some pajamas.
“Those are my clothes,” he said after a drag when I entered the balcony.
“And?” I asked. He didn’t have anything to add. I sat next to him and held his hand. “Are you really going to leave Crane?”“Yes,” he confirmed. “I don’t know what I want anymore, but I don’t want to work with him.”
“Do you ever think that maybe this isn’t worth it?” I wondered. “Ever since starting this, I’ve ended up worse. It’s so stressful and we’re still not on top. It took a long time for the Joker to become the prince of Gotham, and Batman still never stopped going after him. But I don’t want to be someone worthy of Arkham. I want to take drug money and use it for good. I’m not a villain, just a vigilante.”
“You wanna be Robin Hood,” Jason pointed out. “That’s noble.”
“Should we stop?” I blurted out. I curled up into Jason, practically sitting on his lap.
“I can’t say I haven’t thought about it.”
“Sometimes I imagine a better life. Maybe my mom is a mob boss, maybe not, but in this life my mom and my brother and I are a family- a real, normal family. I don’t know what happened with my brother. He stopped coming for Christmas a few years ago and mom called him a traitor. She gets scary sometimes.”
“I feel you. I know it’s not the same, being adopted and all, but I get it. Sometimes in San Francisco Dick went too far. It’s why the team split up in the first place. Maybe we should move to Germany.” I smiled and closed my eyes, letting the nostalgic scent of cigarette smoke consume me.
Fire, smoke, ash, everything consumed me after another grenade went off. Between Jason, Crane and his men on PD, and the Titans, I didn’t know who I was fighting. I couldn’t see Jason in this mess. All I knew was trying to get to him in the chaos. I heard people running towards me, and in a huff, I grabbed a gun off the floor. The crowd was Crane’s officers, headed by Fletcher.
“Put it down, Evelyn. I won’t hesitate to shoot,” he said, and yet he was. More footsteps ran up behind me.
“Evelyn. Jason’s with us, he’s fine. You can still come out of this.” I turned to Dick and back to Fletcher. Before I could make a decision, a gunshot rang out and my eyes went dark.
I woke up in a hospital bed, in a hospital gown. The bright lights hurt my eyes. I saw someone outside my room mill about and shortly after, Dick Grayson walked in.
“Glad to see you’re awake, Evelyn.” I shuddered when he said my name. “I’m not supposed to be in here, so I’ll make it quick. Who are you?” I groaned in response.
“You know who I am. You know exactly who I am. You just want to hear me say it.”
“Alright, fine. You’re Evelyn Nox, daughter of Valeska Nox. You’re seventeen years old, enrolled at a local high school. Your attendance records show you haven’t been in since eight months ago. Your mother said she hadn’t heard from you in a while when Kory talked to her. Yet you haven’t been reported missing. Trouble in the home?” He prodded.
“My mother is a mob boss selling drugs to children. Of course there’s trouble.”
“I don’t think anyone’s told you this yet. When Kory and Blackfire met your mother, it went awry. I’m sorry for your loss.” Despite all the drugs in my system, I snapped to attention.
“What do you mean by that? What the hell do you mean by that?!” I shouted.
“Your mother,” he started. “She demanded to meet your brother before she’d provide information. When he was brought to her, she shot him. Kory burned her in a fit of rage.” Thousands of thoughts went through my mind. My mother was dead. I was free from an abusive matriarch. And yet, my mother was dead. So was Mikey.
“Get out,” I grumbled. “Get out!” Dick nodded and left silently. Tears streamed down my face.
A week after I entered the hospital, Bruce Wayne came to visit me. I was eating lunch when he came in.
“Don’t call me that,” I interrupted.
“Evelyn,” he corrected. “I assume you know who I am. I know you as well.” I stared at him until he continued. “I’ve been made aware of your… situation. With your mother and brother gone, I take it you have nowhere to go when you leave the hospital?”
“Yep. My mother and brother are dead, thanks to your minions,” I seethed.
“I want to offer my condolences, and a place to stay. The Titans are getting ready to head back to San Francisco soon. It’ll just be us.”
“By ‘us,’ you mean me, you, and Jason. Aren’t you afraid of us being close?”
“I’ve heard about your motives, that you tried to get Jason to leave Jonathan. I’m not scared in the slightest.” I hummed in response.
