Zee curls into a plush chair, allowing the bottle of pomace brandy to reappear, "If you get to drink, I get to drink." she calls to Jason.
Jason lets out a little huff, the closest he's going to get to a laugh as he searches through the bar. He settles on two bottles, one of whiskey, and one vodka. One tucked under each arm, he walks over and sinks down into another chair. "Sounds fair to me. Nice work on the bubble thing. Think I owe you one for helping me not get vaporized."
Zee takes a quick swig straight from the bottle, "Uh-huh."
Jason glances at her and then sips from her own bottle. "So, you're either not feeling super chatty, or you're pissed at me... or both."
Zee points at Jason, "Option B, mostly."
Jason takes another, slightly longer drink, because he's got a pretty good idea why she's pissed. "Cause I brought Talia here?"
"No duh." Zee takes a long drink before she adds, "The way you look at each other doesn't help any either."
Jason cocks an eyebrow at her. "Why's it matter how we look at each other? And how exactly do we even look at each other?" Because he's pretty sure Talia's saving the longing looks for someone that definitely isn't him.
Zee waves a hand, "Alright alright, it's probably more you than her with those big lovestruck eyes." tapping her nails against the bottle she shrugs, "You obviously know we hate her. We each have our reasons. What's ticking me off is that you just ignore all the vile thing she's done, and hang around her like a lapdog."
Jason makes a face at being described as 'lovestruck'. "I don't ignore 'em, I know about the shit she's pulled... but that doesn't change the fact that the only reason I'm even here now is cause of her," he says, shifting in his seat to bring his knees closer to his chest. "And unlike the rest of you, I know what the Joker likes to do to captured birds, so fucking excuse the hell outta me for thinking we need all the help we can get."
"So sleeping with her is your brilliant plan to get her on our side?" she laughs, but there's not a drop of joy in the sound, "You slept with a fucking snake in order to help us get your brother back from the Joker. That's just fantastic."
Jason runs a hand through his hair, face going a little red. "That--it wasn't a plan. It just happened, okay?" He stares into the depths of the vodka bottle, finding it much easier to talk to. "Wasn't trying to make her do anything with it, just... knowing all the shit she's done doesn't change how I feel about her. Doesn't make me stop needing her," he admits, voice softer than before.
Zee feels her heart sink at Jason's quiet words, but she doesn't ease up. She turns away from him, her hard gaze set on the wall, on some painting Bruce Wayne had probably paid a disgusting amount of money for, "I feel sorry for you. That you think you need her. Because if anything, she needs you. The people she lies with, they're her tools. They're better than any weapon she'll ever wield." she turns back to Jason, "She's so damn powerful, and that power works the best when you forget she has it."
Jason keeps his gaze on the liquor as his lips press to a thin line. "Maybe I don't mind being her tool," he says very softly. "I know what she's capable of... and I know I'm not the one she really wants, but none of it matters. None of it changes anything. Can't just shut off how I feel."
"I know you can't. But still, you'd really prefer being her's even when you know what that means? You want to be her consolation prize?" she asks him softly, "I think it's because you know where you stand with her. You know she wants Bruce, has had Bruce...it's safe, and probably the only love you've really experienced." she takes a long sip from the bottle. "Can you tell I really hate her yet?" she asks with a small smile. "I really really hate her."
Jason shrugs. "Dunno if it matters what I want. And I'm her tool, not hers." He lets out a bitter huff of a laugh. "Not deluded enough to think we're in some kinda relationship. It's not love, there's affection in there, and I care about her, but... she doesn't love me, never thought she would." Exhaling, he rests his head back against the seat and then takes another long drink. "Yeah, I kinda worked out that part. The hell is with her and Ollie though? Cause, I picked up on the hate, but was it just me, or did that hate get a little sexy?"
Zee sighs, "The way you talk about her, makes it feel like you wanna be hers. If that was an option, you'd take it." she stretches out in her seat, letting her legs dangle over the armrests, "Talia stayed with Bruce after she got hurt in an attack during a gala. And she kind of seduced the both of them if I'm remembering correctly..." Zee waves a hand, "The details are foggy at best, you'd do better to talk to him about it." she drags a hand across her face, "It's an absolute mess, honestly."
"But it's never gonna be an option, so why's it matter? Maybe I'd take it, maybe I wouldn't, but it's not gonna happen." He idly picks at the label of the vodka, trying to peel it off from one corner. "Yeah, don't think that's a conversation I wanna have with him. Think he's just as pissed at me as you are."
Zee swings the bottle in her hand, letting the alcohol inside make that soothing swish sound, "Maybe I should clarify, I am not pissed at you. I am pissed at your choices, and disappointed that you are aware of them and yet continue making them. That's what this is." she closes her eyes, letting her biggest knot come loose for Jason, "She slept with Kyle."
"I am my choices." It makes sense in his head, but he's already had what's probably several shots of the bottle in his hand. Maybe it's time to stop... and switch to the whiskey. His eyebrows rise at the admission. Well, that makes things make a bit more sense. "And that's why you hate her? On top of all the other shit, I mean."
Zee grins, "That sounds like it's from a fucking fortune cookie." she slowly turns back to Jason, trying to sit up but she's feeling dizzy already, "On top of everything else. Of course."
Jason only asks his next question because he's just taken a rather big gulp of whiskey. "So... there's not any kinda jealous thing happening here, is there?"
Zee glares firmly at Jason, snapping, "I am not jealous of Talia! You don't even know half of what she's done. What she's still doing."
Jason immediately shrinks back in his seat, knees pressing in closer to his chest. "I know plenty," he counters, though not nearly as firmly, his gaze dropping to the floor. "Know she seduces people when she's not killing 'em. Know she's pulled a ton of shit that's gotten lotsa people hurt or worse... But I also know that she found me when I was brain dead and starving, and that she's the only reason I didn't stay that way."
"You know the surface of what she is, then." Zee hisses back, "You don't bother digging any deeper because you like what you know. You're content to have her be your savior."
"What d'you want me to do, Zee?" He lets his head rest on the back of the chair again, face finally showing how exhausted he truly is. "I owe her everything. I care about her and no terrible, god awful thing she does can change that... and I've pulled some shit that's just as bad. It's fucked up, and I know it, but this is the best I'm ever gonna get. Kinda think me and her deserve each other..."
Zee slides out of her seat, and pulls herself over to his, "I need you to stop thinking that bullshit, because you've been trying to be a good person for a consistent amount of time, Jason Todd." she cups his head between her hands, "You deserve what good you put out, and she is not good. She does not deserve what you're still becoming."
Jason flinches when she draws closer, as if expecting to be struck, though he doesn't pull away from her hands. "Doesn't change what I've done. Trying to be good doesn't make me good. Doesn't make all the bad shit just go away. None of you get that," he says, shaking his head weakly. "She does. She knows me, all of me... doesn't gloss over the shit, doesn't treat me like a monster."
"Trying to be good makes you good, why is that so hard to believe Jason?" she sighs, "There's no erasing your past, but there's moving forward from it, taking account of where you've been and where you want to go- where you need to go. Talia is a part of your past, but why does she have to stay with you?" Zee brushes back Jason's bangs with a gentle touch, whispering, "Who treats you like a monster? Fuck them."
"Cause I don't believe in the good stuff I'm doing, still don't believe in letting scumbags live." Swallowing thickly, he tries to look away, fingers still absently tugging at the label of the bottle."Cause she... c-cause I'm in--" he cuts himself off, biting his lip hard, not trusting himself enough to let the confession slip out, because if it does, he knows he'll fall apart. "Cause I need her." Is what he says instead, and his voice still almost breaks on the words. "It's sad, and it's wrong, but I can't make me stop needing her."
"Then why are you here. Why do you keep helping us if you don't believe in the way we work?" she asks in disbelief, dropping her hands from his face, "You need her because you love her." is all she can think to reply to Jason's confession, "I need to stop thinking that I'm supposed to fix you." she frowns, realizing that she's probably one of the people who thinks Jason's flaws make him a monster, but to her- the Jason she's gotten to know isn't one, he's curable. She thinks she's right.
"Cause I still wanna help people, and... I wanna believe it, someday." He squirms in his seat, more than a little uncomfortable with her saying what he won't. What he can't. "D-don't tell, Bruce, or Ollie. Or her. It's wrong and I'm wrong, but I can't make it stop." Shaking his head, he takes another long drink, though the burn doesn't numb the feelings nearly enough. "Too broken to fix," he mumbles.
"I won't say a word." she promises him softly. Brushing her hand through his bangs once more she sighs, "You're not broken, Jason. You're just beat up. But you're getting there. Even if you love her."
Jason lets out a shaky breath as he leans into the touch. He doesn't believe her, but it's nice of her to say. "M'real bad at picking people to like," he muses. "S'just bad people and taken people."
Zee begins to stand, but quickly ducks back down to press a kiss to his cheek, "I think that just means you have a big heart. You love too much for your own good." she shrugs, "It's a better way of looking at bad luck anyway." she picks up her pilfered alcohol from Bruce Wayne's bar and leaves it at the side of Jason's chair and she returns to her seat, "All yours, because I need to go pass out." She's barely gotten comfortable in her armchair before she's completely collapsed into sleep.
"Dunno 'bout that." He grabs the offered bottle, cradling it against his chest. "M'kay. G'night, Zee," he mumbles. And since he left the talisman in his other jacket, he's just going to drink himself to sleep, just like old times.
[Txt] No, I don't like it. I'd prefer to go back to being the magic world's sexy sweetheart. But I think that's kind of a given considering everything that's sort of swirling.
[Txt] No, no reporters need to get another story from me sending you out to handle my problems.
[Txt] Although I might change my mind if my holiday shows get canceled from all of this BS.
