Shadows and Roots

by JeffC FTW

There is a gift of joy for every pain, to a season's celebration in the heart. Midnight is when things go bump in the night...and masks come off. (Jason Todd/OC)

Was meant to be exactly on Halloween, but life happened, yet still, I bring all of you a treat for Jason Todd and my OC Kristine Crane. :3 Inspired by my other fic "A Lifetime and Beyond", but done slightly differently. Just read and enjoy, and hope everyone had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN. :D

Warning: mentions of past underage rape and discussions of drinking.

Kristine belongs to me, everything and everyone else to DC. Fic title is a combo of two songs by Woodland. "Roots" lyrics inspired parts of the story, whilst the ones of "Shadows" play during the seductive Halloween dance you'll be treated with... ;D

I hope I get to see him tonight. He promised last time we met.

Her mysterious savior, for reasons which escaped her, remained a distant but important part of her life ever since that past summer, and it took what weight she'd had for years off her shoulders little by little.

Since then, there would be random, stolen moments in various forms: their dialogue consisted of exchanged witty bantering back and forth. A couple of times, he'd left her flowers when she never asked for them, which she'd thought was charming and chivalrous. A few times, he'd stay with her and Becky in the flat to watch movies - yes, you heard right. Without ever removing his mask, since they both respected his boundaries, and Kristine Crane was content with things being the way they were.

Months later, the month of October had arrived. Plans made to get costumes this year, almost a month of the Universal Monsters, the great slashers, independent classics like Creepshow the movie, Trick 'r Treat, and the holiday-themed animated shorts, with Disney's Legend of Sleepy Hollow being her father's favorite, having gotten her into that first before she was old enough to read the original story many years later.

With a passion, she'd loved Halloween ever since she was a child. Everything to do with it: the costumes, the sweets, the horror movie marathons, and parties - not the kinds where you might get in trouble with the law over, though. But for five years now, it felt like a bittersweet, half-filled hole. Losing someone she just had to realize her love for after he was gone did the trick. Becky was still there, but...

But this time feels different because someone else is gonna make up for that void. Someone unconventional but exciting. I used to want that as a younger girl with no experience.

"What do you think, Kris?"

Her roommate and childhood best friend since elementary years stood there, trying on her costume for the party tonight, and she had yet to put hers on. Rebecca Langstrom was such a classy dragon lady, based on those arm warmers patterned with shimmering scales which were colored brighter than the emerald velvet skirt attached to the satiny black corset, touching the floor. Becky also had a black velvet choker stitched with golden heart motifs, going to a heart-shaped green jewel within a frame and draping with chains, finished with matching earrings but without said chains. That's a vixen who's gonna have heads turn more than me.

Because while she'd received compliments on how lovely she was, even believed half of it, Kristine didn't see herself that way to the point she obsessed over herself in the mirror.

"Chances are Bruce will have competition before he sweeps you off your feet," she told the blonde as she set about getting her own costume on. By Bruce, she meant the son of Harvey Dent and NOT Bruce Wayne, to avoid confusion. "He's so nice he can just be shy sometimes, right?"

Becky turned her attention to the TV then, scoffing at her words and also whistling at the latest headline: RED HOOD DETAINS PENGUIN'S MEN IN LATEST SMUGGLING OPERATION. "Whoo, he strikes again. Maybe if you're lucky, he might catch you at the party as promised, or after. Wonder how you'll recognize him, Kris." The redhead shrugged; he would recognize her based on the costume she'd told him about before now - and the package which arrived on her and Rebecca's doorstep was a solid indication of the solemn vow.

An enchanting ceramic pumpkin of white with orange roses and alstroemerias, yellow chrysanthemums, white Queen Anne's lace, red roses, and oak leaves of yellowish-brown.

And with it came the note written with red, parts of the word dripping seductively like blood, which was probably the pen leaking: Midnight is when all the things go bump in the night.

~o~

The element of surprise would be on his side, as he surveyed the scene from atop the building across the street.

He was more than glad it was not one of the functions the old man hosted for the holiday; that would be pushing it a thousandfold. This felt more like a haven than the home he could never go back to.

Part of him wished Harper was here, but he was needed elsewhere tonight. That was fine with him because as he said in the note, this was where "things go bump in the night". He would still be wearing a mask, but not the one which would give away his most wanted identity. Just coming in the color which anyone could rock.

Speaking of the color red, he spotted HER when she got out of the nice-looking dark car along with her female friend and the attractive, dark-haired young man with the cut close to his head. Good to know she and Rebecca Langstrom were still tight, and back when he first learned this, it was nice to have some of that weight taken off his shoulders. It just meant she had a familiar link in her happiness, which he had returned to without her knowing, remaining far from her and behind his mask.

At least that scumbag of an ex hasn't tried anything again. If anything, he's gonna screw up and get killed by his bad boss's hand for a slight mistake. That would make my day.

She'd never forgive me if I break the promise to her.

It happened to be the Botanical Gardens, where the greatest of attractions in the city and across the globe flourished. The scene of Eden's garden, it was. Jack-o-lanterns of various sizes were scattered about, though great care was taken to not have a fire started by mistake should any of them be knocked over, and all had traditional characters along with anything from popular culture - and that did include members of the Bat family and the Justice League. Seeing the latter two made him swallow the bile down his throat.

Fairy lights dominated the tree branches overhead, but more on the one that was at the heart of the place - the one called Aiyana. It was the last of its kind and said to have resided here since before man roamed the earth. It could very much have connections to other beautiful but deadly, mythical trees in every culture across the globe. Dr. Isley could call this one the source of great power if she were here. But despite the signs of green and life, turning because of the autumn season, there was evidence of many decades' worth of man-made pollution.

And all these kids had come to party around it, keeping distance but also being respectful because of the garden's regulations.

And the fact they were celebrating a holiday based on ancient Celtic traditions around a figure of old, pre-primitive days.

These young people today...really, from when he was younger, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Except looking at these young men and women who were around his age, it brought a pang to his soul. He never lived to even apply to college and create his future. He was being mocked once again, seeing the world he could have lived in had he'd listened to Bruce and not gone after the clown.

He could have had all of it with her.

He paid no attention to the other girls in slutty nurses' outfits, Disney princesses, anime girls, and so on. She wasted no time going right for the drink and food table, getting what looked like sweet tea and holding onto it until she finished drinking it. Her dad had taught her well. Wonder how the old doc is doing, even if we were never close before I died. She was enchanting and elegant, ever sweet and youthful as he remembered, in that satin which blushed like her skin. Flowers and vines crawled up the exposed expanses of skin over the collarbones to the throat in a modest illusion. Fiery amber hair cascaded down her back, revealing metal works of colorful, lush blossoms in her ears, and crowned with rosy preserved leaves and snowy baby's breath. From that alone, she stood out amongst the sexy try-hards and could have been the garden's goddess walking among them, in his humble opinion.

Red Hood - no, Jason Todd - lost patience then and there, after making sure his gear and bike were stowed away from sight, keeping enough hidden toys on his being in case something happened, and pulled the leathery red domino over his eyes so that he could slip into the partygoers' midst.

He maneuvered around, ducking behind smaller trees and shrubs, slinking in the shadows. He was in black so that it would help: a comfortable leather jacket, a button-down shirt, and semi-flexible jeans which were ripped at the knees, finished with combat boots that had soft soles for stealth. In a way, he felt like a hunter seeking its targeted prey, and he planned to take her by surprise, slipping behind her in no time after making sure Rebecca Langstrom and her date, in particular, weren't looking.

Not like she didn't know of his acquaintance with her friend anyway.

"Guess who, sweetheart."

Kristine stiffened when he crept behind her and put a hand, no gloves, over her eyes. "It's you, isn't it? Only one man calls me that."

He let her go and allowed her to turn around, plastic cup with less than an inch of tea left in her hand. Her eyes widened as she took him in from the head down. "Oh...hello to you, without the -" She stopped there from saying helmet. Her cheeks flushed, and he was certain the smile he gave her did that job.

"Yup, still in style without the big red thing," he husked, leaning in and staying a few inches from her face, lowering his gaze back to the cup in her hand. "And you're here having a drink while everyone else - including your friends - are having a grand ole time. Waiting for me?"

She shrugged. "Want to dance, but not all the cool kids can get out on just the dancefloor." He chuckled at her flattery of herself, agreeing. "So, here I am with a good sweet drink, though I can't wait to have my first taste of something strong next year - with Becky, my dad, and Aunt Pam present, of course." Kristine grinned then, finishing off her cup and putting it down on the table to reach for her mobile, which happened to be cleverly hidden within her cleavage cups, and that was enough to send some sparks to certain parts of his body. "Dad and my aunt are having some fun of their own - at Wayne Manor." And at that, her face fell. He felt his do the same.

We both agree that's the very last place we wanna be.

To this day, she still did not know who he was behind the mask, claiming she was content with the way it was, which relieved him to no end. But half of him wished she knew so that there was nothing to hide from her - except, that meant she'd be endangered any time in the future.

Every day, his resolve was breaking in taking his mask off...tonight. She knew not to endanger him in any way by now.

"You'd rather be here than over there," Jason stated. She nodded, scoffing.

"Complicated, as I always tell you. The boy I told you about, who had been like a son to him even though he was adopted...over there in Europe with him...everything was an accident, and I was young back then. But I still can't bring myself to forgive him." When she first told him all of this, he suspected she knew who Batman was, that the old man had told her the truth - or at least a version of it, twisting some of the facts - and it pissed him off more than the hottest fires of hell. Screw Bruce for believing she deserved to know anything she wasn't a part of.

He didn't want to talk about anything to do with Bruce Wayne or a dead boy who gave her that robin egg pendant she wasn't wearing tonight because of her costume. "I'd rather you not get your panties in a twist tonight over this again, so show me some shots if you got any." Jason nodded at the device in her hand.

There it was: her father, the renowned Dr. Crane, just as he remembered, but there were deeper lines around his dark eyes which he'd passed onto his daughter. His auburn hair seemed longer and in a short ponytail behind his head. Surprisingly, he was dressed up in the ragged, earthy tones of a scarecrow of all things. Funny thing was that he heard from Kris that her dad had been called that since he was very young, due to the characteristics in his lanky frame especially.

Pamela Isley, brilliant and sexy botanist - damn, did she ever seem to get old? Must be whatever secret herbal serum she uses that no one else knows about. Her hair was also auburn red, though darker than Jonathan and Kristine's, and crowned with intricate, two layers of swagging gold chains centered with a brilliant red glass piece blooming like a rose...just like the ones that looked so real and seemed to grow, along with green ivy, from the hem of her skirt and made way up to her arms and chest. She glowed in autumn golden silk with a blue-green sheen, the corseted bodice embossed with matching "metal" to give a baroque vibe.

The two of them together made a freaking odd couple, if you asked him, but also naturally fused.

He decided to tease the poor girl. "Have they gotten together THAT way yet?"

She huffed and drew back, squaring her shoulders. That was one of the damned cutest things he'd ever seen of her. "Not that I know of. That woman has been like a mother to me since I lost mine years ago, but Dad hardly paid attention to other women since then. Told me that he couldn't bring it in himself to love another who wasn't Mom - and believed I was more important." For his mistrust of young Jason Todd, that information told just how much of a good man Jonathan Crane was despite any flaws he had. "But Aunt Pam, her best friend, was always there and not replacing her, so I'd have thought they'd..."

She stopped talking as soon as she heard the song that began playing over their heads: "Shadows, shadows, dance away the fire, from summer green to fallen leaves. Oh, light the sylvan pyre, for the day is red and ripe upon the branch; leaves of autumn turn to gold. Shadows, shadows, dance away the fire..."

"SHIT, I LOVE THIS SONG!" Kristine squealed, turning her phone's screen off without holding down the power button and putting it back where it belonged. Her left breast jiggled a little with the action, drying his throat. "One of my favorite groups!"

For there is a summer in each life,

until the shadows ride the Samhain wind

to a twilight celebration;

and there is a shadow to each light,

a dusk to every morning spring,

to a season's celebration in the dark.

He'd wasted no time in taking her into a semblance of a waltz onto that soft, slightly uneven terrain amongst the other couples who gathered; others were free-flowing, naughtily doing things with their hips as well as women doing so with their breasts they partially popped out. Now the spirit of Halloween was here, with the lot of these sexually promiscuous young people. He wasn't having better luck than they, but it wasn't to say that he didn't enjoy the sight and sensations.

The soft, shimmery rosy satin was nothing compared to her skin which seemed to make his warm just as much as hers as if done by sitting before a hearth; he knew damned well the leather was NOT doing that. She intoxicated him like a blend of ripe wine and herbs - hell, scratch that because even though that description made sense from others' mouths, he never had a drop in his life and didn't plan to anytime soon.

Still, when we're like this, it's as if our pains are washed away.

For there is a winter in each life,

'til springtime blooms carry us

to a maiden's celebration;

and there is a fire in each night,

a sleep unto awakening

to a season's celebration in the light.

Seemed they finally caught the attention of her friend and Becky's date, both of whom had knowing sparks in their eyes. Jason ignored them and kept his attention on the unadulterated, sanguine rose in his arms, her small and plush body against his larger, hardened one. He closed his eyes behind his mask, inhaling through his nose and exhaling sharply so she could hear. Her arms latched around his shoulders as her hips slowly and subtly gyrated against his...

...and his pelvis clenched as it took a life of its own.

Shadows, shadows, carry us to rest

to roots of willow and beds of stone,

to hillsides where our ashes are blown.

Time, time, dance away the cold,

feel the starlight in the wintery hood,

the summer's gift, the fire in the wood.

"You okay?" she breathed upon noticing the tension in his body, and then looked down upon feeling it herself. Her skin had grown much darker to match her hair; biting her bottom lip added one more feature to that palette. "Oh, crap, I'm sorry if it's ruining a stimulating moment - oh, shit." He had to laugh hoarsely at both her language and the fact the moment was ruined, while also feeling good and unplanned. But they were young people, so this came with the turf.

For there is a season to each life,

a hope for sorrow and despair.

Shadows, shadows, dance away the fire,

for there is a season to each life,

a gift of joy for every pain,

to a season's celebration in the heart.

Kristine sealed their fates with her query. "Want to get out of here as soon as possible? Go someplace where it's just us...and where Batman won't find you and take us both in?"

~o~

Alone at last...and from the power of the darkness and the starry sky, anything will happen. Just like roots sprouting from the ground when they can't be contained any longer.

She let him blindfold her so that he could take her to what he told her was his safehouse. She trusted him to not harm her, but how long had she'd interacted with him? How many deep conversations had they'd had? How often did they enjoy the things she loved - which turned out to also be a passion of his, making her feel a sense of déjà vu?

He led her up the stairs, urging her to watch her step, his large hand against the small of her back - after an intense, tingling ride on his motorcycle, in which she held onto him from behind - and when he removed the cloth from her eyes, she was saddened by the sight of sparse items in the place. No personal effects, except for the dull black leather sofa and recliner, and the simple black-and-steel coffee table, the kitchen of plain white tiles and peeling gray cabinets, and finally what looked like his bedroom.

It was befitting for someone who didn't intend to remain permanently, would immediately pack up and go on the run if and when the time came.

When Kristine asked for a place where the Bat wouldn't get them both, she never thought about THIS.

They were here for one thing, and he knew it. He shrugged off his jacket, revealing broad shoulders and his slim waistline, keeping that back to her. He was slow and methodical, despite being as eager as she was.

This wasn't their first time together. That had been several months ago when spring was crowned. The sweetness bloomed within her when he came to her and asked her what she wanted out of anything in the world, besides being happy and safe, surrounded by her friends and loved ones. Honestly? Her answer was this:

"I was afraid to have the third time being the strike, especially after what Leon tried to do to me - and would have had you'd not been there - but there's one thing I want you to be honored to receive, Red."

His eyes had widened behind that helmet, shocked as he never saw this coming, before striking her cold to the core with his response. The slight tremble in his body had also given it away, as the mentality she inherited from her dad and learned to master since a very young age picked it up without stress.

"Kristine, you don't know what you're asking. You don't want to give an important part of yourself to someone like me."

~o~

Memories he'd rather keep suppressed had come dangerously close to rising to his brain. Memories his mind recalled if his body had long forgotten the sensations.

Memories of purple and green, combined with the hideous red-lipped Cheshire smile and comments on his "springtime youth".

The crowbar ripping away everything on his underage yet well-honed form and being in and out of it while his abused body erupted with the aftermath of broken bones, a collapsed lung, and blood exiting his lips.

The bomb going off, then waking up to green, more hellish suffering, and all the recollections.

For obvious reasons, he couldn't tell her all of that without exposing what was under both masks.

He'd tried to hide it from her, but as always, she could read a person's body language. She knew, gently informing him that she could tell sexual assault, wasting no time in slipping into a professional mode when she didn't have the license her father possessed. Jason remembered getting defensive when she tried to pry, snapping at her that they were memories no one else should know of. And as usual, she didn't take the shit while also respecting the bounds.

"You don't wish to tell me, I won't push anymore. But know that it wasn't your fault even if you feel that way. I'm the only one here for you, so you have no right shoving me away to wallow in what you're feeling. It never helps anyone. I almost had that happen to me, in case you forgot. Ignoring it won't make it go away. I cannot take it away, but if you'll let me, I'll tell you what you can do for yourself..."

She was right, and his anger slowly subsided as a result. He felt helpless and powerless despite using what he had to exert control over the underbelly of Gotham. He felt power over his murderer for just a time; he could have finished off Joker himself had he'd known to expect that his plan would backfire on him.

Look where he was now. The entire Bat family knew of him being alive again, on his ass despite some members like Tim trying to understand him, Damian to an extent, but it was real unease at its finest against Bruce and Dick. Barbara even threatened to turn him in at one time herself.

He lived in intense paranoia at being brutalized by the Joker again if he ever saw that demon spawn again. As a consequence, he lived off comfort foods like the cheapest takeout, had difficulty sleeping a full eight hours, and obvious depression. He didn't need to be a psychologist to know any of that. When he told this info to Kristine without giving away the names of those involved, her eyes glazed over, and a tear rolled down one cheek like a clear glass ball on a string.

"And you dealt with this all alone." He'd nodded mutely and avoided eye contact altogether, taken aback a little when she threw her arms around his shoulders. "God, it still stands. I'll be here when you need me, and you don't even NEED to ask, Red. Real friends - no, not just that. So much more. We're supposed to look after each other without asking for anything in return."

Jason was assaulted with the memories of her offering her hand when he didn't even dare to ask her, feeling like he was taking advantage of her, or taking her for granted. She'd always been a bleeding heart, and she was doing it now, in the present day.

When he told her that anyone who used to be part of his life was after him all because he didn't think or function like them, when he said they likely wouldn't understand his pain and suffering, her face was tight without an expression, but her eyes burned with righteous spitting fire. She'd said if that was the case, then nobody like them deserved him. Being disbelieved does more harm than good - truer words have never been spoken.

Very slowly, he began to take everything she said under advisement.

The only support system he had? Generally, it had been her, and soon would be Roy and then Starfire when the three of them formed their new Outlaws team.

When he did finally encounter Bruce and the others from time to time, he'd be allowed into the Batcave after uneasy truces were drawn, but it was nothing like him, Kristine, and the Outlaws. Not the way it should be. He was just existing, doing shit society hated just so he could help the ones suffering and not involved.

With Kristine, he felt alive again. Just like now.

He faced his fears and felt himself move forward again. Making progress he couldn't with his so-called family.

Joker was still out there, but he would get it someday, one way or another. The thought was comforting enough.

In the present, if there was one thing he did learn to live with, it was taking one day at a time. He had Roy to thank for that. His first time with Kristine - his childhood best friend and secret-identity-love - was the same.

After he got his grip on the panic attacks and erratic thoughts bringing up the memories best kept locked where they belonged, they both decided they were ready.

He had felt like a small kid vulnerable out on the streets of Crime Alley again, and also because this was his best friend since those days he was gonna do this with. He had to remind himself it was someone he loved, but couldn't tell the words out of the fear that lingered.

Becky had been gone for the night on a date with some guy she'd tried at the time, before Bruce Dent, and this was the perfect opportunity as Kristine's friend had spent the night with guys before, but there was always the chance that the blonde could return unannounced.

Kristine had first asked him how he wanted to start this, and the truth was, he hadn't thought of anything of the sort, out of fear of disappointment if his expectations hadn't been met. This made her smile brightly and confidently as she sat down on the foot of her bed, which was covered with his colors of red, gray, and black, with some white - and splashed with ironic cherry blossoms. She'd asked him if he wanted to keep his mask on since time had passed enough that she still would keep who he was safe. While he believed her, he did agree to remove his helmet finally, but she would see the domino and its white lenses beneath. This saddened her, although her skin inflamed with burning pink at the man she saw, taking in the bangs which fell over his eyes and curled inwardly, his slim and firm jawline. Her brows furrowed as she studied him longer than he wanted her to...

"Why do I still have that feeling? You remind me so much of my friend..."

She'd meant the one who'd died after giving her that pendant she wore around her neck even now, that dainty clear jar with the sole blue egg and its mossy nest. Little did she know. He'd then proceeded to undress in front of her eyes, feeling too strange to let another strip him after last time. She'd watched the entire time, also stealing glances to the floor as if wanting to be surprised by what she'd see.

He had left his clothes and weapons on the chair near the window, then walked back to stand before her. She'd still hadn't looked at him yet even when he paused before her, so Jason had to reach down and take her face into both hands, desperate to know if he was fine aside from the patterns of scars that showed in white outlines within his flesh.

Her dark irises had widened both in shock and amazement. First at the faded but still visible Y-shape across his chest - as though an autopsy had been performed - and she'd traced that with wonder and mortification, connecting the dots but also wondering how the hell he was walking about like her and other people. This he had been scared of the most, because of fear of her not believing him as this would sound like it had come from those movies and fantasy books they'd loved.

"I was dead, but then I awoke in this thing which is the stuff of legends and mythos," he'd told her, expecting laughter and disbelief, but no.

"Superman and Kryptonite, Wonder Woman, the Flash - what is there not to believe anymore? Weird shit happens in Gotham all the time. But still, the fact you died before your time, whoever you are..."

He had to chuckle nervously; how could he have doubted she'd believe a fact like his? But he would have to tell her more another time, instead of that night when his nerves were about to grate more. Add the fact she was piecing things together little by little.

Talking done, his heart had beat the way it should when she looked him over and touched every part of him, feeling him and whispering how he was so much like a god amongst men - a god with battle scars of the worst kind. He took her breath away just like everything else, and it rendered him speechless. His skin had crawled over his muscles just as his spinal nerves electrocuted the rest of his system, going right to his hardening nipples, his most intimate areas, and his uncontrollable heart which picked up its pace with every word leaving her ripe lips.

His back muscles had flexed beneath her palms when she paused in the rear, exploring his freshest of lavender bruises from being hit by blunt objects, some rough pinkish scars that were healing, but then stopped just above his ass. Rounded and perked outwards from narrowed and tapered hips, firm in appearance. He'd held his breath when there was a pause, turning halfway to see that she was so red she might as well be a tomato. Her embarrassed and admiring eyes lowered from his gaze had said it all: mighty fine.

Kristine had then torn her gaze from his ass and held her head high when she came to stand in front of him again, proceeding to undress in front of him so that they were equal and he didn't mistake this as a power play.

The loose-fitted dark gray sweatshirt dress studded all over like stars in the pre-dawn sky had come off first, showing semi-sheer light blue with what looked like dots. She did all of that faster than he did if you asked him.

This magnificent, adorable, beautiful woman - so many words that I just can't pick one alone - who's a fresh piece of fruit in the night...this was the little girl who could have called the cops when I broke into her family home just to take something and sell off for something in my stomach, that one summer.

This was the first time she'd seen a naked man, just like it was his first time properly, seeing a woman in the same state, and about to do what they had been made for. Despite the fact he was trembling and burning all over, Jason was unable to tear his eyes away as he took in her hourglass waist and the soft bounce of her stomach, her thighs which tapered downwards; her breasts could each fit in his palms neatly, but to look down at the most personal domain of her body had made him itch to crawl into a private place of his own. She'd taken his face into both hands like he'd done to her, making him look at her, and smiling. "Hey, it's okay. Whoever did THAT to you, think of me and not them."

She had been right. And as soon as she took his hands into hers and guided him over to her bed, whispering for him to lie back so she could give him his gift, he was at rest in an element he never knew he had before.

Jason had laid flat on his back as she did what she promised. She had knelt over him, continuing her exploration of what she'd called the "most beautiful landscape I've ever seen", and it had unwittingly brought tears to the corners of his eyes. Her body had laid against his as she kissed both sides of his neck, the shivers making him close his eyes and sigh. She'd traced her lips over the outlines of his collarbones, her hands all the while caressing and massaging his pec muscles as though they were like her breasts. His eyes had remained squeezed tightly shut as his senses were taken to new heights, his nipples first pinched and then lapped upon by her tongue.

She'd slithered downward, kissing each line between his abs. The pleasure she was giving him as she painfully took her time to lavish him, making him feel like the god she said he was, who deserved every ounce of worship without asking for anything in return...

The tears in the corners of his eyes had been coming dangerously close to escaping and dampening his domino. Taking shallow breaths, he'd calmed down before gasping at his heart suddenly leaping against his sternum when the lower half of her face reached the source of his desire. He was hard and leaking a little, so deep a red it was like pepper. She'd ravished him, leaving nothing untouched, but for some reason seemed to be extremely fascinated with his pubic hairs. Her nose had nudged at the curls in the sides, inhaling and exhaling like they were a drug she took, even kissed and suckled little parts separately until his entire sex's tuft was moist with beads from her mouth.

Jason had felt his lips part as harsher gasps left him. It was as if she was loving him instead of this just being a fling, however long it would last.

He'd thought she was going to finish him off this way, but she'd just left him hanging while resituating herself over his groin, wiggling her hips until she had him enveloped in her tight, virgin heat. He'd gritted his teeth as he groaned, both at the sweet sear and at how deliciously snug she was around him, but then the alarm went off at the whimpers she'd tried to swallow down by the time she was comfortably wrapped around him.

He'd felt it, too: the tip of his manhood had touched something inside before breaking it off to a side he couldn't pinpoint.

He'd breached the barrier that was her purity. God, he had sounded like those old-fashioned manly men from way back in the day.

A haze had followed as soon as they relaxed together, her legs on either side of his waist, his own limbs stretched out and sometimes bending at the knees in the rapture of their passionate cradle, defying the despair that existed outside this little world they'd created together. She had taken both of his hands into hers and stretched them out to either side of his head, lips locking numerous times with his that no count was needed.

At some point, the position had been switched so that they laid on their sides, legs interlocked with each other's, though one of his had come on the outside to latch onto her waist, his head and face lowered so that her breasts were all for him to feast upon. Her dark rosy nipples had bounced up and down with each thrust they kept up, though slower this time, but he was able to nibble and love on them just as she'd done to his sex. She'd moaned, one hand holding onto his shoulder while the other went into his hair, massaging his scalp.

And in the present, within his safehouse, he bottomed out for her once again because her tiny self made him feel safe.

~o~

History repeated itself as it had done before several times.

Kristine never got tired of exploring his scarred, jealously corded beauty which might have come from the masterful hands of Michelangelo. And rivals the heaven of stars. He gave and gave to the people of Gotham when the Batman couldn't be there, so someone should give him something in return. It had been the greatest, gravest decision to give him her maidenhead many months ago, but she had no regrets. It should have gone to a dead boy she still mourned and carried inside her to this day, but being with the Red Hood was like Jason again in some ways. She was content to never know his real face and name so that the disappointment impact would be less.

It broke her heart that Red felt he didn't deserve her. Whoever hurt him deserved hell.

Tonight, on this Halloween night, the roots of their mysterious but thriving secret relationship - secret except to Becky - had stretched far enough to settle in place. Kristine found herself laying back in his recliner while he straddled her and rocked her world to the moon. She didn't pay attention to an estimate of how huge he was, because she didn't give a shit if it killed her. Only that he did what it was made for, like now.

She threw her head back as far as the recliner would allow her when he filled her up to the point of stretching her to the limit. It was so much that it was causing her to see the Milky Way. His potent thighs trapped her on either side, her own limbs stretched out underneath him and flexing up and down every time he hit that sweet spot within her. She couldn't even close her eyes if she wanted to, because she wanted to absorb the way every supple ounce of muscle flexed as he towered over her; she could just imagine his perfectly formed ass bouncing, making her wish there was a mirror around while they did this, and to look over his shoulder so she could see that and his majestic back together...

Being in and out of it thanks to Red, she barely heard what words he could manage, but interpreted it as her thighs keeping his manhood lodged inside her aside from her "cave of wonders" - it was enough to make her floodgates open.

She still couldn't ever get over the first time when she saw his tears down his cheeks, streaming from underneath the domino he still wore. One of the biggest, baddest masked men ever had CRIED because of her, because no one ever did anything like this for him.

"Time to...unmask..." she heard him rasp out, and the light bulb went on in her head at the same time they peaked their shared climax. The white flashed before her vision after she'd managed to look over into the kitchen doorway and catch the time on the microwave clock.

Midnight.

When she came to from the freefall, she was aware of the feeling of his entire face buried into the crook of her neck. He'd chosen to remove his mask without ever asking her if she was ready, and her heart beat with numerous emotions clashing with each other. She would finally see him, but how would she take it?

Back when he first removed his helmet, she was stricken by his dark and handsome features, and the way his hair fell over his eyes reminded her of a certain someone, so maybe Jason's memory had rubbed too much into her. A handsome young man like this one had taken her off then, pleasantly surprised her as she'd been ready for a somewhat middle-aged guy, based on the way he ran things.

Now that his domino was removed, she heard herself gasp when he lifted his face from her throat after kissing it where her pulse throbbed, still sheathed within her, and now she wondered if this was all a dream. If this was just fate being cruel to her once again. "Oh, God, you're..." She couldn't stop her heart from beating, and he felt it, drawing back slightly so that he still hovered above her, expression hesitant, which just made things slowly grow cold as ice when moments ago, everything was wild and hot as summer's record-breaking temperatures. The reveal and their lower bodies still connected caused her to subconsciously clench around him, making his body shudder again and emerald orbs blink once while keeping her black ones locked in place.

"Yeah, it's me...Kris."

Jason Todd, her lost best friend whom she'd believed to be dead, was alive and in her arms, naked as she was, and was the infamous Red Hood.

Aiyana is the name of the ancient tree in the Arkhamverse, for those who've played Arkham Knight.

REVIEW! :3 Would have been better if I'd posted it on Halloween, but life sucks that way when it affects your thinking. Plus, this had to be as perfect as possible and not average and rushed. Also working on a prequel and possible sequel, into a short oneshot or short story series. That is if life will allow me to do things as I wish, and hopefully, imaginary criticism (like past ones I used to get) doesn't stress me out and doubt myself.