Blackfire/red X – Three word prompt for KurenaiAkanexX
The words were jealousy, impulse and addiction
A/N: Okay, for the sake of storytelling purposes, let's just pretend that the episode 'Sister' where Blackfire first shows up is well after when Red X shows up. In other words, the episode where Red X appears is before Blackfire's first appearance.
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The first time he sees her, he's on the roof of an abandoned apartment building and she's a streak of violet light, being sent rammed into a building on a construction site at eleven thirty eight pm, right on the edge of jump city.
She's like a hurricane
He whistles, impressed as he assesses the damage from afar, sipping on his straw containing his cupped soda in curiosity. His eyes follow the streak from the building and isn't the least bit surprised when an alien probe is zooming in after her.
Typical Jump City bullshit.
A small smirk plays at his lips because in all honestly, he's loving the adrenaline rush he's getting despite not even taking part in the battle itself. He finds himself clenching his drink in anticipation.
Jason Todd's eyebrows shoot up in interest as he sees her soar back up and shoot two more violet lasers at the thing, leaving it stunned for a brief second before shooting its (what even were those?) purple tentacles at her and capture her in a tight hold.
She's screaming at it in a language he can't quite place and is thrashing, but whatever the hell's captured her didn't seem to be wanting to let go anytime soon. It pulls her closer towards itself and her hands resume glowing bright purple.
His jaw clenches on its own and Jason finds that he has to mentally count down from ten to withstand the desire to step into the fight.
He doesn't even have a suit to wear, or a proper mask to protect his identity with but that pink-machinery-alien-looking-octopus seemed to be winning so he pulls the window back up and flips inside.
He shouldn't do this. He's supposed to be on a mission, stealing some priceless artefact that could sell for a pretty hefty price on the black market.
The soda he was drinking is left spilled and abandoned on his roof top and Jason's already unzipping his bag frantically. Dumping its contents on the grimy wooden floor and spreading them out, searching.
He really, shouldn't do this
It's when he finally finds what he's looking for, does a wild grin spread across his features
This was impulsive and stupid as fuck
There's a large part of his brain that keeps telling him to that this is a terrible, terrible idea but an even bigger part of him is saying fuck it.
Guess which part wins?
He's got practically zero gadgets left but he's using his old grappling hook and is already at his windowsill.
Leaping out, he manages to climb onto the roof. Despite his current housing predicaments in Jump City, he's managed to keep in very good shape. It's almost too easy leaping from the different roofs in order to get closer towards the battle.
His eyes finally land on the back of the sorry excuse of an octopus and Jason can practically feel the adrenaline pumping around his body as he leaps off the nearest balcony and lunges on top of it, catching both, the other teen and the monster he's on off guard.
"X marks the spot" He grins, pulling out a red 'X' shaped adhesive and slamming it on top of the alien's head.
It activates immediately, transforming and growing into goop, attaching itself onto the pink octopus like alien and halting its movements.
Unfazed, Jason's already reaching for the dark haired beauty who seems stunned when a complete stranger seems to grab her by the waist and pull her into his chest "Hold on, cutie"
Unleashing a grappling hook from his utility belt, he aims it towards another building and the two are swung, creating some distance between the pink alien, now thrashing and attempting to rid itself of the bright red glue-like substance.
It isn't until the window sill his hook had occupied gives out and the two are left falling. Jason finds himself cursing as his eyes dart frantically for another source of leverage.
Turns out, he didn't have to
His not so damsel in distress leaves him pleasantly surprised as she starts lowering them down at a much more sensible speed, saving them both from their impending doom.
Bright violet eyes change from surprise to amusement as a small snicker escapes her lips. Pulling herself away from the other teenager once he's safely touching the ground, she soars back up, raising her hand with one eye closed as she takes her aim towards the creature.
X realises she definitely knows what she was doing when her violet energy beams hit the creature dead on.
She's suspended in the air, staring with a sense of satisfaction as blue sparks of electricity dance across her attacker, signifying a malfunction. She flips her hair back before finally meeting the eyes of her sudden partner in crime.
When she lands is when he can finally get a good look at her and his breath gets caught in his throat—she's fucking glowing
Long ebony hair, and bright—bright violet eyes that he finds himself transfixed with
Seriously, who even has violet eyes?!
Finally, she smirks. Throwing her hand on her hip and shamelessly looks him up; head to toe.
"What, no thank you?" he asks, tone light but his body stance is tense.
She raises an eyebrow and tilts her head in question before rolling her eyes and walking straight towards him.
Jason stares at her levelly. He's seen her shoot lasers through her hands and eyes, and judging from the truck that she'd thrown at the alien who attacked her, stronger than your average teenage girl.
He's got no gadgets, no weapons, and no plan. The most he has is his store-bought mask for the sole purpose of hiding his identity and a half-finished pack of gum in the back pockets of his pants.
His eyes widen briefly as he mentally connects the dots.
"Wait, hold on. Are you…are you a Tamaranean?" he blurts out
It would explain why she hadn't said a fucking word to him since he entered the scene
Her eyes seem to light up at the word and before he's able to so much as breathe, she's filled the space between them and grabbed him by the collar, pulling his mask above his lips and face towards her own and pressing her lips against his.
She tastes like blackberries and something else that he can't quite place so when she pulls away he can't help but stare at her, speechless as she smirks, delighted by his response.
"What the hell?!"
She tilts her head at his response, eyes shining with amusement "So, do you mind if I stay with you tonight?"
The situation he's presented with is so absurd that he can't find it within him to say no.
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Later, in the rundown apartment he's crashing at, he learns that his sexual assaulter is, in fact, form Tameran and that her name's Blackfire.
"You…You live here?" her tone practically screams 'I've made a terrible mistake' and Red X finds himself inwardly groaning
"Temporarily" he rolls his eyes, understanding her distain as he gives the rundown apartment another look over.
There's wallpaper peeling off of the walls and the wooden floors don't look like they've been cleaned in a good solid decade or two. A green couch that looks like its seen better days and there's a bed he's stolen from an old mattress store, the only clean thing in the entire room, along with a laptop on a bedside table.
"Temporarily, huh?" she asks, bemused as she gently kicks an empty beer can out of her way
He shrugs, uncaring as he grabs bottled water from his bag "Let's just say, I'm staying here for a job"
"A job?" she blinks, tilting her head to the side "As in working? What are you employed for?"
He just grins "That's something for me to worry about, doll face" he grabs a random shirt and sweatpants and throws it towards her
Blackfire snorts, but her interest is piqued
"So what do I call you?" he asks, looking through his bag distractedly
She scrunches her face up "Ko- uh, Blackfire" she says, instead
Jason just smirks "That's cute. You wouldn't happen to be related to a 'Starfire' would you?"
"Oh? You know of my darling sister?" She's smiling playfully but her tone is sharp
He grins even more "Oh of course. After all, I'm related to her 'darling boyfriend'" his tone matches with hers so much that she's easily putting two and two together.
"We really should visit them together" she purrs dangerously
"Sounds like a fun night out, cutie" he responds casually and she smirks
Her interest is especially peaked when he's pulling his shirt above his head and throwing it to the side offhandedly, giving her a spectacular view of his abs.
"You can take the bed" He offers, yawning "I'll take the couch" He's about to go into the kitchen to give her at least some privacy to change and grab another bottled water when her words leave him standing still
"I don't mind sharing" she smirks
Jason gulps. He wonders if he'll get any sort of sleep that following night.
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Blackfire finds that earth isn't really that bad when X manages to get her a pretty good haul of clothing.
She's practically glowing. Skipping along the sidewalk with several bags in tow, carrying them like they weight practically nothing.
Jason, stares at her back in mild annoyance.
Seriously, why the hell was she still hanging around him?
He's convinced that she's just a distraction, she's just boredom relief- really because why else would he be this amused by her fascination with earth?
On to more pressing matters, he doesn't really comprehend how he's managing to get away with wearing a mask in public but his thoughts are suddenly disrupted when Blackfire spins around, long dark hair whipping around and motions towards the photo booths lined up on the side in curiosity.
"What're those?"
"It's nothing" he dismisses "They're just photo booths"
And suddenly, she lights up "I've heard of those! You get your paintings or whatever drawn in there right?"
Oh boy
He snorts "Not exactly. Know what a photo is?"
Her blank face is all he needs as an answer
"Alright, let's do this" He sighs, already exhausted. Digging into his pockets for change while making his way towards the booth.
Blackfire blinks, floating close behind in curiosity. A smirk morphs onto her features upon seeing just how cramped the inside was once he had moved the curtain out the way for her.
"Well this should be fun" she purrs and X really doesn't know what to do when she grabs his arm and pulls him inside, forcing him to sit down before shamelessly sitting onto his lap—all of her shopping bags surrounding his feet.
The booth is just as ridiculously cramped as it looks and was clearly only meant for passports or visas to different countries, but with the way Blackfire's gazing at the screen with so much curiosity and excitement he finds that he really doesn't care anymore.
No, it had absolutely nothing to do with how she looked undeniably precious with how her eyes had lit up
No, it was nothing to do with how ridiculously close they were and that she was practically curled into his chest.
No, it had nothing to do with how red his cheeks were getting- it was the mask and the small space making the air stuffy!
Blackfire blinks as she watches Jason touch the screen, selecting the options and the automated voice appears, instructing the two to look straight ahead, into the camera.
"Fascinating" She breathes and Jason realises that it's the first time he's heard someone say the word without sarcasm leaking from their entire being.
He smiles
"Wait! We're not taking a picture together with that mask on" Blackfire makes a face
"No"
"X!" she pouts
"Do you want a picture or not?" he asks and she frowns, compiling.
"I just want to see your face" she mutters
Jason finds himself softening as his shoulders relax "Look, I'm sorry."
"Whatever. I'll get you to show me what you look like one day"
He snorts "Good luck with that, Princess"
She grins, accepting the challenge
"Please stare straight ahead into the camera. No smiling, harsh makeup permitted. Long hair must be either tied back or behind the ears"
The two blinked, startled before X snorted
"You picked the passport setting?"
"Was I not supposed to?" she furrows her brows together in confusion
He snickers "Nah, its fine. Ignore the instructions she said, it'll flash six times so make sure you post in between each flash"
Blackfire nods a grin forming onto her features before spinning back around to face the camera.
X finds that there's really no point in him even trying to smile with his face behind his mask, so really just focuses on posing.
Blackfire however, was a different story.
In the first photo, she's grinning wide with a peace sign that she's seen, imitating the model on the outside of the photo booth.
He can't help but smirk. Cute
Somewhere after the third photo, where she's pulling his figure closer to her own by wrapping her arms around his neck and mushing their faces together, he figures that Blackfire really doesn't have a problem with getting into his personal space.
The photo after, she's cupping his face and pressing her lips against the side of his face and he realises that despite the fact that his face is fully covered, the shock in his eyes are as readable as an open book.
When whips round to look down at her she's smirking, her fingers prying at the material of the mask, lifting it up just enough to make out his chin
Oh for the love of—fuck it
And with that, he grabs a hold of her waist firmly, and she squeals with laughter as he pulls her front against him and she's giggling while lifting his mask up enough to find his lips and press them against her own.
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Jason learned that she's a total party freak, so he figures 'what the hell?' and takes her to a club downtown.
Bad idea
Jinx sips her drink, pink eyes shining in amusement "Weren't you the one she wanted to dance with?"
He's amazed that his teeth haven't cracked yet, with how hard his gritting them "Oh yeah, clearly" he almost snarls out, glaring at the way Blackfire grins and dances with the nameless teen.
This was ridiculous
The witch of bad luck whistles, resting her chin in her palm as she silently watches the scene unfold before the both of them.
"Maybe you should get involved" she suggests, smirking
"Why would I?"
"Cause at this rate, you're gonna throw somebody across the bar with how bitter you are"
There is a mild sense of horror that rushes through X upon a sudden realisation. It's absolutely absurd, how much of a jealous human being he actually is.
Seriously, what the hell?
"'She's a big girl now isn't she? She doesn't need me showing her how earth works anymore" He says bitterly, forcing himself to relax back into his seat. But his body is still tense and his eyes are narrowed into slits when he sees his hands go lower and lower and-
Oh hell no
All of a sudden, it's like a dam has been broken and Jinx practically falls off her chair cackling, as Red X bursts out of his bar stool and storms towards where Blackfire is on the dancefloor.
He's so pissed that he blatantly shoves everyone in front of him towards the side and out of his way, the majority much too drunk to even comprehend X's actions while the remaining few sober figures glared at him in annoyance.
She's totally in her element, wrapping her arms around the guy's neck with eyes so bright and energetic it's like he's watching a supernova and he hates it
How could she possibly be having this much fun dancing with that nameless loser?
He's trying—he's really trying to ignore the rage that was bubbling because no. This wasn't him.
He was calm, he was collected, he was—about to grab that nameless motherfucker by the throat and throw him off of the goddamn roof! His lips curled into another snarl, alarmed upon seeing how he pulled her closer towards him own figure by the hips.
Her face morphs from flirtatious to surprise in an instant as an arm is suddenly thrusted in-between herself and the drunken teen she was dancing with.
For once in his life, Red X is genuinely annoyed that he's wearing a mask because he was sure that if this drugged up teen had a good look at his actual face he would have wet his pants due to the intensity of his glare.
"What the fuck?!" the fool yelps
"X?" Blackfire asks, raising an eyebrow in confusion but right now, he's not focused on her
He's focused on the lanky scum, who thought he had the right to touch what was his. And quite frankly;
He was never one for sharing
Grabbing the waste of space by his collar, X finds himself ramming him into a wall with such force that the teenager's head bangs backwards against the wall with a satisfying bang.
With the music pounding and drugged up teenagers around, they're barely being given a second glance.
Perfect
Raising his fist before slamming it into the bewildered teen's face he's spluttering.
X manages to reward himself with seeing his busted lip before the teen finally decides to flail his arms, attempting to free himself from X's grip.
Yeah, kind-a unlikely
"What the fuck!?"
To his credit, the drugged up teen seems to have some spite within him, and attempts to knee X in above his shins.
Funny
Jason effortlessly grabs his knee before his hand frees itself from his neck and manages to locate an almost empty beer bottle and smashes it against his head, successfully knocking him out.
Releasing the limp figure onto the floor carelessly, it's only then does X realise that his surroundings have gone suspiciously quiet.
Seriously, just what the hell—oh.
It was the bottle smashing wasn't it?
Dropping the remains of the bottle, with drips of liquid still tipping out, X pockets his hands into his leather jacket and casually turns around, only to be greeted with the many eyes of the club participants, and several smartphones pointing their cameras at him.
Peachy
Even then, X manages to retain his relaxed composure, despite the sudden bouncers making their way in front of him.
But before either of them can make any sort of communication, Blackfire's grabbing his hand and almost immediately begins dragging him outside
"Out of my way" she snarls, eyes glowing bright as she effortlessly shoves the security across the room with one hand and throws the backdoor open, almost ripping it off its hinges.
"What the hell was that?!" she only demands, when they're down several yards away from the club and in the alleyway between a bowling alley and fast food restaurant.
Jason uncharacteristically gulps, because in all honestly he has no idea either
"I was pissed" he says, instead. Taking care to keep his tone casual as though they were discussing the weather.
Unfortunately for him, Blackfire isn't amused and glares, eyes glowing lavender "So you take it out on my dance partner?!"
"He's the one who pissed me off" X shrugs and Blackfire finds herself gaping
"How!? Ugh you earthlings are so unreasonable! He didn't even speak to you!"
"That wasn't the problem" He scowls
"Then what was?!" they're both screaming at each other now, glaring
"He was touching you!" he finally snaps and for once, the Tamaranean princess is left speechless
"Wha—"Her cheeks are flaring up before finally finds her words "So you were…What the word you earthlings use? Jealous? You were jealous?"
It's X's turn to feel his face suddenly burn as he just glares, unwilling to give a proper response.
Blackfire's features seem to soften as she finds herself stepping forward, hands suddenly grabbing a hold of his face and tracing the jawline underneath the material
"Hey, let me see your face"
X doesn't make a move to stop her as she slowly raises his mask, her breath getting caught in her throat when she finally removes it and drops it to the ground with a muffled thud
Her tanned hands raise, resuming their previous position onto his face as she smiles "Well don't you have a pretty little face?"
Jason snorts, despite himself and finds his body finally relaxing from its tense state as he grabs a hold of her waist and pulls her against him
"So?" Blackfire asks, breathless and eyes narrowing "What're you going to do now, hotshot?"
He kisses her of course
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He's so twisted she can't help but marvel at it. She finds herself breathless
She breathes in deeply. Chaos radiates off of him in tidal waves and she can't seem to get enough. Or was that his cologne? Whatever the hell it was, it made her smile almost in a drunken manor as her violet orbs watched him roundhouse kick boy blunder into a stairwell while she kicked her feet.
She's sucking on a grape flavoured lollipop with his black leather jacket (probably stolen) draped over her shoulders, still warm from his body heat and Blackfire finds herself absolutely intoxicated with both, the smell and the scene unfurling before her.
She had the best seat in the house after all
She's seated in an empty office building, still under construction. There's no window so her legs are draping as she sits on the edge of where a window should be, unconcerned with the fact that she's twenty stories above ground
She licks her lips, violet eyes shamelessly racking over and over and over again because- damn. She really does have a great view.
That suit would be doing wonders for his ego if he could see her now.
Thankfully, he's preoccupied by the titans and Blackfire can't help but smirk as she watches Red X easily slip away into the shadows and out of sight after throwing a smoke bomb.
Raising to her feet, Blackfire stretches. Barely sparing a glance towards the defeated group of teenage heroes. Her eyes linger onto her younger sister's trapped form for a few seconds longer, admiring X's handy work in keeping her stuck to the ground with his red glue-like-substance
The 'X' on her mouth that was preventing Starfire from speaking was a plus too.
Chuckling, the dark haired princess began taking off in the opposite direction of the titans, a satisfied smirk on her features. From the distance, she could still hear Robin's cursing before it faded away.
Landing back into a familiar alleyway, Blackfire isn't alarmed when a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her waist and spin her around. She grins and throws her own arms around his shoulders
"Enjoyed the show, I take it?"
"Of course. I had front row seats" she purrs out, nuzzling her cheek against his own and feeling the familiar coolness of his Red X mask
"You know, my English has gotten way better from kissing you all the time" She hums out "It's funny because my sister's been here longer and her English hasn't improved at all."
"She's probably having problems with our boy wonder"
She smiles when she hears him chuckle, before he pulls out a diamond neckless from his utility belt with one hand.
"For moi?" Her eyes light up
"No, I stole this for my dog, Chester. He loves priceless jewellery" he deadpans and Blackfire snorts before spinning around and lifting her long dark hair out of his way.
She's doesn't think she's ever smiled so much on Tameran.
Smiling so much her that cheeks hurt when she feels the weight of the neckless around her neck, and after a few moments of him fumbling with the clasp he's finally able to click it into place.
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She's intoxicating enough for him
"Are you- are you high?" He asks, incredulously one Saturday night, laughing as he takes in her dishevelled appearance.
"Only when I'm with you, sweetheart" she tilts her head towards the side. Locks Long dark hair being twirled in her fingertips.
It's a cold October night, so cold- in fact that X can see the condensation of his own breath when he breathes but Blackfire just stands there, smiling coyly in her usual getup of a tight-tight short skirt and thigh high boots.
And With the way the streetlight illuminates her features, he's hit with the realisation that he's come to terms with.
She's effortlessly made him into a pawn of her game and by doing so his world expands.
Sometimes, she was like fire. Sometimes she was like ice
Either way, it didn't stop the thought of how she would be so much better off wearing nothing but his winter jacket and her thigh high boots.
Jason's almost disappointed that he's in costume. If he had came dressed normally, it could've been an option and he's eighty percent certain that she'd be more than happy to oblige wearing anything of his.
She doesn't know about his civilian life- let alone his name.
Blackfire's extended her hand to brush her fingertips along his cheek, a dangerous smile playing at her lips
"You really want to make out with me at the back of some club, next to the dumpsters, huh? Damn" he whistles "Didn't think you'd want me this bad"
But he's the one grabbing her by the waist and moulding their fronts together, smiling as she pulls his mask off and slams their lips together.
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She stares, transfixed as her fingertips brush up and down his arms.
"Humans are weird" she breathes, but he can tell she's amazed
"They're just tattoos" he rolls his eyes, but smiles when she gently flips his arm over to examine more.
"Why do you need so many?"
He shrugs noncommittedly, he doesn't really have an answer.
She continues to stare at his body before suddenly smiling and placing a kiss on his shoulder blade, staining it with a perfect imprint of her lips in blackberry lip-gloss
"There" she says, satisfied "go over that in ink when you go to get your next tattoo with my name in cursive"
He snorts "that's cheesy as fuck"
They're quiet for a while, the only noise being heard was their breathing before he finally asks "You want Blackfire or Komand'r?"
She smiles
Fin
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