A/N) I don't know where I've been.
Motivation is your Superpower so - um - Motivate me please? I think I'm depressed . . .
The night had all but gone to hell pretty fast.
Jason's actually surprised he managed to get to his nearest safe house at all for the pain he was in from his wounds. That human trafficking ring had set protection for their cargo with heavier artillery than he'd expected. Sure, he figured there'd be a few guns and muscle heads holding those guns but when they started shooting freakin' lasers at him - he just about nope'd right out of there. course he did finish the job, got hit a couple times for his troubles and the smell of burnt flesh under his nose wasn't exactly pleasant but it wasn't a new scent for him either. Be it his own flesh or otherwise.
Whatever, he put a few hole in a few chests of a few creeps, didn't matter - he was home and all he wanted to do was get washed up and in bed, he's exhausted enough to hope he could actually sleep without any nightmares for once. Trudging through the entrance with heavy sluggish feet, he lets out a small sigh of relief, his leg ached and his laser burns were going to be a bitch to take clothes off around them - he liked this hoodie man. Oh well.
He undoes his helmet, lets it drop to the threadbare rug under him with a soft thunk, the place was dark, no window overlooking anything, it wasn't big - one of his smaller hideouts really - he didn't care much - expect for the occasionally claustrophobia attack he'd get if he thought about it too hard - it was fine. Juuuust fine.
Jason's way too tired for this crap.
He hobbles, the adrenaline having worn off and now his legs are screaming at him to sit the hell down or else risk a face plant, and he's pretty sure his side has a bruise the size of Kentucky on it too - hurts. All of him hurts.
He won't reminisce about the times he had someone to help him with his injuries. besides - they aren't that bad - he'll just - wash them and - worry about them tomorrow. Yah. He ignores the invisible look of disapproval Alfred would give him if he could hear his thoughts right now.
Jason's too tired for any of this.
Besides - he's been through worse.
After a painful attempt to undress, he showers - the hot water burns like hell on his laser cuts - nope nope - he switches to freezing cold, it still sings but after a while it's numbing his skin and he's shivering like a featherless penguin on ice. He laughs at himself faintly and climbs out of the shower. The mirror is foggy - he sees a blur of the image of the human he is supposed to be - dark hair, flesh colored smudge, some green blue and pink smears where his eyes and mouth were supposed to be respectively - he's tired.
He carefully pulls on loose PJ pants, the ones with the Wonder Woman symbol on them, and ops for a tank so his wound on his arm can breathe, maybe he should check that side bruise? Because it was starting to hurt to breathe - meh. Who cares, he's had worse.
Jason hobbles out, flicks on a light in the hall as he goes and carefully aims for the small side bed in the corner.
He flicks on the light in the room - just to check for - um - bugs and - and stuff. Yah.
A black clad figure sits on the bed and Jason may or may not have let out a decidedly feminine shriek of terror and almost passes out from the pain his ribs where giving him for how hard he jolts.
"Holy fuck Cass! Give a guy a heart attack, why don't you! Tell me you don't try this crap with Alfred!" He gasps and clutches at the spot over his stitched up heart. He was tired, he was exhausted and in pain and he didn't - for all his 'just in case checking' - actually expect anyone to be in here. When did she get here?
The little girl, for her part, just looks up at him from her position on his sleeping spot. Out of them all she was the least annoying member of his self-proclaimed 'family members'. Quietest too.
"I - I don't know what you're doing here, but I am waaay to beat to care. So either move over or get out. I need'ta sleep." He grumbles and trudges to his bed. Cassandra calmly fits herself in the corner at the foot of the bed, tiny as she was, and watches him in silence as he moves, forcing himself to hide a wince - he doesn't want to let her know how badly he's hurting, the laser burn on his arm was nothing - he tilts himself out of view from her just in case.
Cassandra would tell Alfred on him- he didn't want that. She could be stubborn about him keeping his health too. That annoyed him about her.
It's silent as he tries to settle in the bed without letting on how freakin' badly his side hurt. Seriously, he didn't think he landed into those crates that hard. His body armor should have absorbed most of the impact - but then - that laser had all but burned through the armor anyway so - man, first chance he gets, he's finding the fucker that sells those guns and ending his career in painful pieces.
"Check that first."
He jolts at her soft voice in the dark. Having her watching him so hard even through the dark was starting to irk him.
"M'fine Cass, just - go already ok."
She's silent. He hopes that means she'll leave him alone. Then she moves and her hand is ghosting over his legs. He can tell - she's going to be difficult about this one this time. He astutely ignores her and his pain.
Then she pokes him in the side, it wasn't even a hard poke - and he lets out a pained hiss through gritted teeth and throws her a dirty betrayed look.
Cassandra just blinks back at him through the dark.
"I said, check that. It hurts you." She says simply and climbs out of the bed and heads for the bathroom.
Jason lets out low groan. "But I'm too tired! Besides, who gives a crap!" He snaps as she walks back in, flicks on the light calmly, with a clear plastic box in her hands. Alfred's own set up first aid - he had everything a first aid kit needed plus extra for the vigilante on the go.
"Cass it's no big deal. Stop your hounding and - "
She yanks his arm towards her and gives him a glare worthy of the Batman. "I care. You're hurt. You'll die if you fight hurt like this."
Jason refuses to acknowledge the lump in his throat at her firm insistence. He could almost accept that he's worth her worrying. Almost. But he's died once already and well – he refrains from that comment.
"Forget it Cassandra. I'll deal with it tomorrow." He pulls away - he's really, really tired and he was not ready to add emotional struggles on top of his physical pains. Not tonight anyway.
She narrows her eyes at him and yanks his arm back, spreading Alfred brand antiseptic on it and Jason lets out a yowl. It burns all the way down to his fingertips now. "Deal with it now or I tell Alfred." She says flatly.
Jason pales a bit through the pain. "You - you wouldn't dare." She would, he knows she would - Cass has taken it upon herself to do things like this lately, like check in every once in a while 'to make sure you're not dead. Again' or force him into actually bandaging his wounds 'because it's dangerous to have them untreated.' He can't get why - he doesn't' stop her sure but - why does she bother still.
"Because." She says softly, diligently peeling back his shirt and grimacing at the large purple black bruise that was forming up his sides - huh - hopefully he didn't break a rib again - she starts touching around the area carefully. "I love you." She finishes and he flinches, both from pain and the unexpected jolt those words send through his patched together heart.
People didn't love him. Not - not really. Why should they? He hardly cared about himself and -
Cass pokes his bruise.
"Hey! That hurts!" He snaps, eyes stinging a bit.
She smiles, her face gentle as she reaches around to wrap him up to provide support. "I know. No broken ribs. You'll be ok." She's been spending time with Alfred, that's for sure.
"Thanks doc. What do I ow ya?" He grumbles, joking obviously.
But then she stands, and he can't help the strange warmth that floods him when she looks directly into his eyes and he sees nothing but serious consideration and actual concern - not - not blame - or pity - or even disappointment. Just pure concern. Like Alfred does sometimes when he can catch it. She's worried about him without judging his actions or his mistakes and - aw hell - if that didn't make his throat feel like it was closing up and his eyes glitter a bit at the corners . . .
"Pay me by taking care of yourself." She says easily, like that was the only thing she could want from him. "Ok?"
Jason swallows. "What're you doing here anyway?" He changes the subject - emotional pain - he didn't like it - he didn't like it - he didn't want to deal with it right now. He was too tried for this.
"I heard you had a - fight - Red Hood saved those women." She smiles and pats him on the head, sitting down his face came level with her face and he could see her expressions clearly.
"Yah well - Batman missed that memo, I'm sure." He bites out of habit more than anything else.
Cassandra shakes her head, he notices she has her hair a little longer than last time he saw her - probably Stephanie's influence - "He didn't. He was - proud." She wrinkles her nose, thinking of the next words and how to arrange them. "He didn't say it - but I saw, in his face."
Well, damn it all. He didn't not want to know that.
"Um - yah. Sure." He mutters and looks away from her, he knows she can read him like an open book - Jason wasn't one for hiding emotions anyway. He wasn't good at it in the long run. Cass told him once he was her favorite. He'd asked why.
'Because you're the clearest one for me to read.'
"He asked if you were ok too."
Jason's eyes flicker back up to his sisters face and he suddenly has the insane urge to just scoop her up and squeeze her and tell her to shut up because his insides can't handle anything else right now and his gut hurt real bad and -
Cass leans down and presses a kiss to his sweaty forehead and Jason flinches. His mom used to do that when he was a kid.
"Take care of yourself? Please?" She's asking now.
Jason looks up into her face and bites his tongue. Cass - aside from Barbie - she was probably the only one he couldn't really say no to. "I'll - uh - I'll try, I guess." He might, for a while - at least for however long he can ride on this memory of having someone care about him without any expectations or conditions for that affection.
She nods and smiles, it's tiny this time as she pats his shoulder and collects the first aid. Jason doesn't look after her as she leaves the room. He suddenly feels this place is too big and empty - he's alone - he'll be alone - in the dark - like - like -
"I'll stay."
He jolts and looks up at her, eyes feeling bloodshot as she leans against the door frame, she's reading him - he can see it in her eyes. He's being too obvious, too open . . .but he's just so tired - his bones ache, his head hurts, his skin fells like it's been peeled off, pounded, and sewn back on and - he just - he doesn't really want to be alone after all, now that someone was here already anyway.
"I'll stay." She says again, because he doesn't answer, he doesn't need to for her to understand anyway, and flicks off the light, she reaches for another blanket in the drawer beside her and nudges him to lay down before settling on the floor beside the bed.
It's silent. Jason still doesn't say anything but he listens, her breathing is soft and familiar, comforting, he listens to his heart, it's still there - he forgets he has it sometimes - it's aching a bit now. The dark isn't so empty though - for once. And he feels a bit grateful for not being alone. For once - and he's really tired, and his brain is done thinking for the month and his heart ached and - well - he can't be faulted if he reaches a hand over the side and lets Cass grab it while she falls asleep, he really can't. Besides - it's nice to actually sleep and not be afraid of being alone when he closes his eyes. For once.
In case anyone was wondering, this series was a set of pointless fluff shots between Cass and her Fam - um - I don't know what to write for Dick and Bruce. Any angsty ideas for those two? Let me know.