Falling Through The Hourglass | Jason Todd x Male Reader

Chapter Twelve

( A/N- I am not dead! I have less than a week left of school, and I'm ready to start writing again! My stories should update more regularly, and I also have a few one-shot projects that'll be posted later in the summer. I thank everyone for your patience and understanding, you guys are actually so nice and I couldn't have asked for better readers. You guys are the best! Update, fixed spacing issues.)

You ended up in a hotel for that night. In the morning, you made yourself look as presentable as possible with what you had so you could go talk to a landlord about getting a new apartment.

What you had was vigilante gear that you had to make look like civilian clothes. The landlord didn't seem to care much, letting you know that reviewing your application and processing you would take at least forty-eight hours.

With that information, you moved onto your job interview at the cafe just a few conveintent blocks away from your soon-to-be apartment. A few days later and you had a more or less fresh start.

You got your apartment up and running, though you had rented under a name different from your own. New furniture, new arrangements, the works. You also had a new job, though it paid far less than your job as goon for the Gotham rogues did. Go figure.

You hadn't given up the vigilante life, either. Was it dangerous? Yeah. Would you know what to do if you came face to face with Jason? Absolutely not. Is this your brightest move? Still less risky than working alongside the rogues.

Admittedly, you were tired a lot. You often lose track of how late you're out every night between the muggings and robberies. Then you get up in the morning and head to your job. You were, once again, living a very formulaic life.

One you were relatively happy with. You sigh in exertion as you open your bedroom window, the thing having a problem when it came to sticking and refusing to open. You managed, though, climbing into your bedroom and finally having a moment to breathe.

You take a deep breath, closing your eyes as your muscles lose their tension. You're even lightheaded for a second. You turn around, removing your domino mask and rubbing your eyes as you take another deep breath. Only for all tension to return at the sight of Batman in the corner of your room. You flinch. Does anybody ever get used to him doing this?

"Jesus," you start, walking up to him, "it wouldn't kill you to say something. A simple 'hi' or 'hello' would be great." Batman doesn't answer right away, narrowing his eyes at you after a moment. "You haven't told me anything about Jason."

"Yeah? Well, he kicked me out. He doesn't work with me anymore." "That was sudden. You two worked together one night. You were getting along at least somewhat. What happened?" "He threw a bomb at me before ditching me on a rooftop." You say it matter-of-factly as you head to the kitchen, getting a kettle out for tea.

Batman watches as you fill the kettle with water before placing it on the burner, turning the stove on. There's a moment of quiet before Batman speaks again.

"Why did he do it?" You avoid looking at him, instead focusing your gaze on the stovetop. The metal of the burner was turning a shade of red-orange. "We got into an argument." "About? What led up to said argument?" The kettle starts heating. "Doesn't matter." "It matters when you were the one person who was in direct contact with him."

As the kettle gets hotter, you turn the temperature of the stove down a little. "...I had accidentally killed someone..." "...Who?" "I don't know. They were a goon and we left the building after." "How did you kill them?" The kettle warms up a little more as you shuffle through your different teas, settling on vanilla Chai.

"I have this ability. I can inflict bad luck onto other people, both on purpose and from a build-up effect. I know you noticed the fact that I would use it when I myself was a goon. Well, I cursed this person and then a piece of rubble fell from the ceiling and crushed him.

Then we got into the argument." The kettle heats up further, almost ready. Batman studies your face for a moment, his head tilting to the side slightly, "the argument wasn't about the goon dying." You say nothing, allowing Batman to finish his thought. "That's what led up to it. What was the argument about?

You turn your face away from him again. "He asked me of that was the first time my curse had killed someone." "And was it?" "..." "Who was the other person, [Name]?" You hadn't noticed that you had taken ahold of the edge of the counter. Your grip on it tightens anyway, your breath quickening.

"It was Jason!"

The kettle whistles.

Batman actually seemed surprised at your outburst, though his expression stayed pretty mild.

Then his face went to its narrow-eyed rest, though something was softer in it. The silence in the room is deafening. Well, that and the ever-screeching kettle on the stove. With another deep breath, you look away from Batman again.

You flip off the stove, moving the kettle off it and getting ready to steep the tea. You clear your throat, facing Batman once more. "This is going to be a lot and may take the rest of the night to explain. Would you like some tea?"

Batman remains still for a moment before nodding, the tension in the room still thick as iron. He takes a seat at your dining room table one more time. You come over, pouring tea for both him and yourself. Then you place the kettle in the middle of the table, taking a seat across from him.

Even the small teacup in your hands felt like it weighed multiple tons as you hold it. Almost as much as the stiff pit in your stomach. Your leg twitches as you speak.

"Do you want me to start at my upbringing, or should I skip to where I first met Jason?"