a match made in gotham
PAIRING: jason todd x fem!disabled!reader
SUMMARY: An impulsive grocery shopping trip at night results in an interesting meet cute between feared anti-hero, Red Hood, and a girl who sees the good in everything and everyone (even him).
WARNINGS: fluff, slight angst (?), violence, reader gets mugged, sunshine reader (she’s very positive), awkward jason, reader has a disability that requires physical aids (wheelchair, walking frame), reader and jason are both awkward idiots, people pleaser reader, very inspired by the veil manga
WORD COUNT: 2.4k
A/N: this is my first time writing a fic and my first time properly writing in years so please have patience with me, i’m sorry if the dialogue is a bit cringy, i’m still trying to figure out my writing style and i’m very rusty, ngl i’m not sure if i like this fic or not, i decided to expand on this idea and i would also like to add that the reader’s disability is based off of my own, i based how she acts off of my own experiences with living with a disability, i’m thinking of turning this into a series and if i do, updates will be slow because i am a full-time student, but lmk what you think :)
Winter in Gotham was always beautiful. Snowflakes danced around in the air, gently embracing one another in a waltz led by the wind before resting on the already white ground below. Darkness blanketed the city, only illuminated by the orange tinted street lamps that gave the illusion of warmth. A bitter chill ran through the air, the kind of chill that made your breathing feel clear and tight at the same time. Houses and apartment buildings with rooftops covered in snow blended into the shadows, the lights in the windows all turned off, signaling that the residents of the city were all wrapped in a warm slumber.
There was a calming yet eerie silence in the city, interrupted occasionally by the whistle of the wind or a car beeping faintly in the background. A gentle yet repetitive crunch of footsteps echoed throughout the street as a Y/N made her way to the nearby grocery shop. She was bundled up in a winter coat and a scarf, as well as thick ugg boots. There wasn’t much covering her legs, only a fleecy pair of tights and a skirt that went down to her ankles.
Every time she exhaled, her breath would fog up in front of her, proof of the coldness of a wintery night in Gotham. Y/N knew that realistically, being out this late on a winter’s night in Gotham of all places wasn’t the smartest idea she’d had, but she had taken a long shift at work and hadn’t had any time to shop for food for her dinner.
The snow beneath her feet was thick and cold, it was a fresh layer meaning it hadn’t been shovelled away just yet. To walk through it, she had to put in a lot more effort and strength due to its thickness. She briefly registered a faint yet familiar dull ache in her calf after every step she took but she tried to ignore it for now, she was almost at the shop anyway.
The warmth of the shop hits her instantly as she steps through the doors, the little bell above chiming a cheery melody. She takes a moment to adjust to the temperature change before grabbing a shopping cart and making her way through the aisles. Y/N’s eyes scanned through the different items, her cart filling up as she made her way through the shop. By the time she’d reached the checkout counter, her straight posture had started to slouch, causing her to lean against her cart. The dull ache in her legs had gotten a bit more persistent and harder to ignore but she couldn’t do anything until she was home.
“Next.”
Y/N looked up as the voice loudly spoke, it belonged to the cashier. He was a bored looking boy, probably in his teens, his eyes were staring at her with a deadpan look, his eyebrows were creased in a nocturne of irritation and tiredness. She quickly straightened her posture and walked forwards so the teenaged boy could scan her items.
A few long (and awkward) minutes passed before Y/N found herself back outside, with two very heavy shopping bags in her hands. A deep sigh left her mouth as she began the trek home. The snow was still falling from the sky and it seemed like the snow that was on ground had gotten even thicker, making it even harder for her to walk back. If her legs weren’t protesting before, they definitely were now. The dull ache in her muscles worsened every step she took, her energy was running low and the fatigue was creeping in.
Her arms were heavy and a similar ache traveled through them, her muscles protesting against the heavy bags she tightly gripped in her hands. The cold wasn’t helping either, on top of the fatigue she felt deep in her muscles, the shivering was making it worse, the energy she had left was depleting at every step she took and she briefly worried that she might not be able to get home.
She shook that thought out of her head quickly, that thought was a slippery slope and she knew it would be better to not go down such a negative spiral. Instead, she tried to distract herself by focusing on the warmth of her apartment, how nice it would be to get some warm food into her stomach before drifting off into a deep slumber. Her thoughts had been so distracting and her body so overwhelmingly fatigued, that she had failed to notice a man very quickly making his way towards her.
Y/N was snapped out of her thoughts, her body coming to a halt the moment she felt something cold and metal pressing against her back, a hand gripping her arm painfully as she stood there frozen. This was not good.
“Slowly put the bags down and hand me your purse.” The voice said roughly in her ears, she cringed as she felt the warm breath of mouth hit the side of her face. Her heart raced with panic, a frantic rhythm as she did what the aggressor said.
The bags hit the snowy ground with a quiet rustle as she slowly reached into her pocket and grabbed her purse, the gun pressed harder into her back, a silent warning not to try anything. Her legs were shaking even more now, whether it from the constant fatigue she felt or the fear for her life was unclear now.
She didn’t dare to speak as she handed her purse to the man, she didn’t want to risk getting herself killed. Or worse. His hands eagerly grabbed the purse as he backed up from her. The moment she felt the gun and the man move away from her, her legs finally gave up and buckled under her, causing her to fall to her knees, her hand holding her chest as she calmed the adrenaline rushing through her veins.
She dared to look behind her and spare a glance to her attacker as he ran, only, he didn’t get very far. He’d only run a few metres before a flash of red appeared out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground. The mysterious new figure stood over her attacker menacingly, his tall, muscular body casting a shadow over the mugger. Now that she had a clearer look at him, she recognised the red helmet with the white eyes. Famed anti-hero. Feared by criminals. Some girls in her work even referred to him as the Prince of Gotham as they giggled over lunch.
Red Hood.
Her attacker scrambled to get up, and Y/N wasn’t sure if he was stupid or had a death wish as she watched him lunge for Red Hood. The fight was a blur of fists, punches being thrown left and right as her attacker had yet to land a solid hit on the notorious vigilante. The fight didn’t last long, Red Hood had managed to make the criminal drop Y/N’s purse before bashing his head onto a nearby wall, effectively knocking him out.
Y/N cringed and looked away, not wanting to look at the blood staining the snow. Instead she focused on standing up. This proved to be a little bit of a challenge, her fatigue still hadn’t gone away and her muscles were protesting every movement as she finally managed to stand on wobbly legs. A sigh left her lips as she looked over to her discarded bags, there was a slim chance she would be able to carry them all the way home on her own. Her eyes moved back over to the Red Hood as she contemplated her new idea. She feared she resembled a baby deer who’d just learnt how to walk when she took a slow step towards the infamous vigilante.
“Excuse me ? Mr Red Hood…sir…?” Her voice was soft and slightly shaky as she addressed her masked saviour. She was still a little shaken up and she wasn’t entirely sure how to address someone with such a…violent reputation.
He silently turned his head towards her, even though his eyes weren’t visible she could feel the heat of his gaze on her. She wasn’t scared of him, not really, he only hurt criminals but she couldn’t deny how she felt a little intimidated by him. She was shorter than him by around a head and a half, not to mention his physique was a lot bigger and stronger than hers.
Her eyes landed on her purse as it lay there in the snow, it was damp from where the snow around it had melted slightly. Before she even had time to reach for it, Red Hood had bent down and picked it up before handing it over to her. Her fingers brushed his gloved ones as she took it from him, thanking him softly as she put it back in her coat pocket. She let out a deep breath as she carried on speaking.
“Thank you for getting my purse back, but may I ask for a quick favour…?,” She sheepishly looked up at him before averting her gaze to her nearby shopping bags, “Do you think you could help me carry them to my apartment ? I promise that it won’t take long, it’s only a few minutes away.”
There was an awkward silence between them that stretched over a painfully long few seconds before Red Hood finally spoke.
“Yeah, I don’t mind.” His voice was deep and raspy, however it was slightly distorted due to his helmet modulator. Red Hood didn’t even wait for a response as he grabbed the bags in one hand. Y/N almost felt envious at how easy it was for him to lift them, but she was too giddy over the fact that he was helping her.
The walk was filled with even more awkward silence as they both made their way to Y/N’s apartment. It was laughable, big bad Red Hood holding shopping bags and walking with a girl who was nervously looking around. The silence was overbearing and Y/N found herself talking before she could stop herself.
“I normally would’ve been fine carrying the shopping home but I’ve had such a long day and the snow was making it hard for me to walk, I’m sorry again if this is inconveniencing you. It would’ve been easier if I brought my walking frame but there’s no way I would’ve gotten it through the snow.” She internally cursed herself for being too open with the masked anti-hero next to her, she felt like she had to say anything to fill the silence.
Red Hood turned his head towards her, she avoided looking at him. Unbeknownst to her, underneath his helmet, his eyebrows had gone up in slight interest at her words though he chose not to mention it. He was about to say something however Y/N carried on before he got the chance.
“Don’t get me wrong though, I do love the snow, especially in Gotham. In a weird way, it makes the city feel so magical, like something straight out of a fairytale,” She spoke fondly, a small smile made its way onto her lips as she looked around at the snow covered houses.
Red Hood faltered slightly at the sight of her eye sparkling so bright as she took in the winter wonderland that was Gotham. He’d never see anyone speak so fondly over a place like Gotham. Not even Bruce spoke about Gotham like this. And before he could stop it, a sound similar to a laugh left his mouth.
“I wouldn’t call it magical, I mean, I did just bash a guy’s head in.” His modulated voice held a faint bit of humour and mocking, however the joy of the girl next to him was infectious and he couldn’t fight the soft smile that made its way onto his lips.
At his words, Y/N let out a small laugh of her own as she turned to face his helmet.
“True,” She drawled out as a teasing smile made its way onto her face, “but on the bright side, you did it to stop him from running off with my purse.”
Red Hood let out a huff in response, “Your positivity is killing me.” His voice was deadpan as he said it yet Y/N could still detect the humour underneath. She laughed lightly, soft and melodic and oh so contagious that Red Hood didn’t even try to fight the chuckle that escaped his lips.
The awkwardness had faded now, leaving behind a warm bubble as the odd pair laughed. Unfortunately, this comfortable bubble wouldn’t last forever, and it popped when Y/N realised that they were already back at her apartment building. A small pang of disappointment made its way into her chest at the realisation that she had to cut this meeting to an end.
She tried not to let the disappointment show as she turned back to Red Hood, “This is me.”
He gave a nod in return as he handed her the bags gently, making sure they were firm in her grip before letting go. His touch lingered for a second as his hand hovered over hers before he pulled away and stepped back slightly.
“Will you be okay from here ?” His modulated voice sounded almost…gentle as he spoke to her.
Y/N gave him a smile and nodded her head, “I should be okay now, I’m only on the second floor anyway.” She paused for a second, “Thank you, for getting my purse back and carrying my bags, I really appreciate it.”
He gave a singular nod in acknowledgment, “It was nothing.”
The two bid their farewells as they both turned and walked in opposite directions, Y/N couldn’t help but sneak one last glance at Red Hood before making her way into her building. The rest of the evening was pretty mundane, she made herself some dinner, took her medication and got ready for bed. However she couldn’t stop thinking about her bizarre encounter with Red Hood. Even as she got into bed and slowly drifted off to sleep, her thoughts were occupied by the masked vigilante.
The next morning as Y/N got ready and left her apartment complex for work, her walking frame wheeling in front of her, she couldn’t help but notice that the snow outside her apartment had been shovelled, leaving a neat path for her to comfortably walk along.