Recent comics in terms of Jason and Bruce's relationship are causing a slight shift in Jason's thoughts, therefore in my writing nowadays that the sweetness that is still present in "Into the Deep" is struggling to remain here. It's still raw and fresh, RHATO #25 (and the next couple comic issues after that), that I and others had not recovered; others feel it never existed, for the sake of their sanities.

This is the movie, however, and not the comics, but some things are easier said than done. Rest assured, Bruce ain't getting off THAT easy when Jason sees him again.

A couple of chapters at most are left in this story. :D

Chapter Fourteen

Waterfalls

"About damned time, Nightwing."

Both hands were held up in front of the body placatingly. "Hey, I could have said the same of you." He'd gotten in through the ventilation systems and wound up kicking the floor-level passage open himself, after using his hand-held laser to melt the rims and edges. "How did you get in, anyway? Walk right through the door?"

Red Hood shrugged casually. "What if I did? No big deal in taking down the ones upstairs - without firing a single bullet, for once," he said, reaching behind himself and tapping his lower back where they both were.

The other man's eyes widened through the lens of his mask before they reverted to normal, replaced with something mischievous. "Yeah - what's the deal with you and Kristine Crane?"

Talk about...goddamned timing. "Nothing that's of concern to you," Red Hood said through his teeth.

"Beg to differ, Hood," the man in blue said with a snort. "But okay, you owe me later at a better time, if we ever get that." And here, at this moment, they were where they were needed. The voices in the air, upon hearing theirs, were of fear and exhilaration at being rescued at last. They must have recognized that the ones coming into their vicinity were not the guards or their torturers.

Light shone on the faces - men and women, from the youngest to the eldest in all ages, making Jason Todd's heart crack in places only to enflame with lava rising from volcanic depths - only to reflect off tears which seeped in rivers down cheeks, several crying out as though angels had come for their salvation.

"Heaven's here and rains with sorrows past!" a middle-aged man called out from somewhere in the middle right section, countless arms reaching out through the bars in physical pleas to match. The voices rose in volume and intermingled to the point of becoming white noise.

It was then and there that the clicks of guns could be heard; guards had hidden well enough to pop out of nowhere, but the idiots got what came to them. Before a shot could be fired, the suckers - and by suckers, Jason meant the barrels that got the treatment a certain someone's batarang gave his gun a while back - got foreign bullets in them to make them backfire on their users. One pistol and two shots were all it took, and it gave Nightwing and his maxed-up sticks the opening while Red Hood took care of freeing the prisoners with the ring of keys he'd been tossed.

The cheers and cries mingled with visible tears added literal ones to the scar tissue around his heart. He'd never set out to receive anything like this, and yet...

"Red Hood and Nightwing are here, but not the Batman!"

This told him everything, and everything Kristine had preached to him: they were happy he was here to save them, because while Batman's intentions were still good, little did that ever do for any of them.

Like a lot of things, it was a heat of the moment and an immediate strike to his heart: perhaps he could do something for these people and all the others like them after tonight, and it didn't involve his previous plans for a garage-type job, even though he would have been good at something like that. If only there was time tonight to dwell on that further.

Based on the memories of that night with the Joker and what he was seeing now, as well as no trace of the Batman - or yet, anyway - Jason began to further plan on bringing himself back from the dead after tonight.

And if Roman Sionis lived after this night, the son of a bitch would be included in his campaign, and not on Red Hood's hit list.

He will just be out of jail either in one hour or much sooner, if not later, once we hand him over to the cops. Then there'd be a judge in his favor. That means not only more people to suffer and die, either under his direct employment or simply caught in the middle, but Kris and her family will be targeted for his revenge - just like me.

If he didn't kill Black Mask himself, then someone else should finally grow a pair, or Jason could use this as part of his new plan that began to formulate as he finally opened the first cage and then the next...

"Hood."

"And I almost thought I'd never see you again anytime soon," he stated icily, not looking his way as he began to lead the people out of here. "But about damned time you showed up when these people needed you the most, Batman." He spat the name with the utmost venom that made a few of the men and women flinch.

Why did he expect a similar reaction from the man who was now emotionally constipated at its finest? "You've been undercover to take down Black Mask's operation, haven't you?" Without waiting for an answer, Batman turned his attention to his other former Robin. "And you show up again without letting me know this time."

Dick scowled at him. "Really, you're gonna lecture me at a time like this, partner?" Sarcastic drawl right there. "Many of these people are from Bludhaven, so this does involve me, too. Remember you didn't need my help last time? I didn't think I needed yours now when our 'new friend' -" Jason swallowed; he was taking a huge ass risk calling him a friend after just a couple nights, and after last time which resulted in his ankle being sprained. "- has been getting closer to the man behind these people's kidnappings. There's no time to argue, because we gotta get them out of here, and Gotham Police Department is likely here by now."

There was gonna be one hell of a conversation after this, but glad the big man agreed with both a grunt and a single nod.

"Besides that, B-Man," Jason sneered back as they began to make way for the staircase, "I wonder if you've told Wing about the fact you blew my hand up when you chose Joker over me and the people who died, the ones who suffered, and who are in future danger if not already? Not like this city has someone who hasn't been traumatized directly or indirectly because of that madman."

"Yeah, bastard bat!" To his surprise, a young man of early adult years shouted from the middle of the crowd, ignoring the warnings of his mother who had been snatched with him. "My dad died because of that maniac, but he still lives on because you and the system won't kill him and spare us all!" Other voices continued to rise, and not only was the Clown Prince of Crime a part of the vocal agony but so was the man responsible for their position at the present.

All of this caused Batman to halt in his steps in the middle of the staircase; him avoiding looking at all of them just made it worse.

~o~

Batman was the last one both he and Nightwing expected, but it wasn't a surprise, at the same time. This was his city, after all.

As soon as he saw the man, the one he once called a father unlike Willis Todd, all the memories came rushing back to the forefront of his mind. Especially the last time they encountered each other.

The batarang in my gun, blowing up in my hand, saving Joker's life - but then he chooses to save me from the blast, letting himself and the clown take the brunt. Yet they both lived on.

If only he could have seen Nightwing's face when it was thrown before his face, just as the horror on the visages of the prisoners was exposed. And if only there was satisfaction in Jason's veins, because the fantasy of the guilt on his former mentor's face had been fun while it lasted that night. He had forgiven him for not coming to save him on time but didn't have it in him as soon as they encountered each other once again.

When everyone reached the beginning of the basement stairs after the exodus came to an end, there the police department was, along with an amusing sight that was sure to make headlines with no time wasted.

Roman Sionis screaming like a little bitch as he clutched his red-stained groin area and was loaded onto an ambulance stretcher, handcuffed in the process? That was a story that would make his night.

Guns were pointed at him right away as soon as he made his entrance. "Stop where you are, Red Hood!" Detective Harvey Bullock shouted, hating costumed freaks the most but putting up with the Bat because his superior partner trusted him. Yet he does care about doing his job and keeping this city safe. Men like him and Gordon matter, and others like them.

"No, he's fine!" Nightwing protested, both hands held up as he stood in front of Jason. "He didn't kill anyone this time. Commissioner -" There was Gordon himself, brows furrowed but ready for an explanation. "- he's been finishing taking down the man known as Black Mask. All these people are both from this city and Bludhaven; they'll share their stories and tell you all everything."

Murmurs arose amongst the police officers around them; who knew how many of them wanted to finish off the man in the red helmet who was just as much as the criminals he finished off himself, and who knew about the rest who quietly approved of his faster methods of keeping the underworld in line.

"Everyone, stand down, and take the civilians out of here," Gordon ordered, lowering his weapon and putting the safety back on. "Batman?"

"I showed up, but these two spared the trouble...for once. I was on Black Mask myself. They both did well - but what about the Cranes and Rebecca Langstrom?" Exactly what Jason wanted to know.

The commissioner chuckled, looking over his shoulder. "Well, Kristine Crane put four bullets into Sionis' spot real good. Not sure yet what parts exactly, but I could only imagine if it hurts." And that was enough to make everyone have a good laugh, especially Nightwing. Expected that Batman wouldn't give one, since that would scare some. Did to me that night we first met.

"They're all going with us to give their testimonies, but we need to start closing everything up immediately and round up what's left of Black Mask's men. You three - or two of you -" Gordon added, giving a somewhat nervous nod, the hint not spoken aloud: if you intend to be on our side, prove it.

Jim Gordon really knew to give people chances.

"I will leave everyone be, Commish," Jason said, bowing his head. "I did my part, but so did Nightwing. Though really, he did more than I have, so I'm not taking all the credit." He held up a finger. "Best thing I ever did was get directly inside the empire to earn Mask's trust, and kept Kristine Crane safe while we both looked for her father and the prisoners."

"No, wait up!" Bullock shouted. "He's a nut job, a felon; we should take him in, Commissioner. Just give the order when we know the evidence is against him, and then we rip off that helmet -" He shut up immediately when Batman loomed in front of him. "Hey, out of my way, Bats. You going to add aiding and abetting a gun-toting hooligan to your already-long list of dirt?" he sneered, earning a warning reprimand from the commissioner in the form of his name.

Batman blinked once, but that was it. "Yes, Red Hood is new here, made himself as high as Black Mask, maybe any of the others -" Or are you just telling him and everyone else what they want to hear, Bruce? "- but there's a lot about him that makes him different. I don't approve as much as you don't, but no doubt that...he did save innocent lives in the process. Like tonight."

Jason blinked in disbelief. His former father was saying he didn't trust him in the slightest, understandably so, but wouldn't allow his "son" to be taken in. He was grateful for the latter.

He wasn't going to be let off the hook just because the Batman said so since their field was technically illegal.

The second their eyes locked, Jason forced himself to break the contact, feeling Nightwing's gaze on both of them, and the last time rushed his blood to the front of his brain, painfully forcing him to pull a Batman and get the hell out of here. Regretfully not seeing Kristine as she was the final one to step into a police car, escorted by Renee Montoya, to be taken to the station.

~o~

"I'm doing it because..." His eyes burned in the corners and spread to the rims around the balls, threatening to loosen his mask around the edges, and his throat felt like it was being pressured into cutting open. "...because he took me away from you."

Why - why did it have to come to this? They wouldn't be here if the monster lying on the floor before his feet was dead before now. No more Robins after him, which made him grateful due to the fact a CHILD had been endangered. Never meant to be a mantle until Jason Todd came along -

"I can't. I'm sorry."

His eyes quivered with righteous, bloodthirsty fury as the naïve black-and-white morals remained in place. The man who saved him from Crime Alley, from that life, had tried and couldn't get to him in time...he couldn't make this one exception out of a fear of loss of control. Control was all he cared about, in Jason's mind. And not just that, but he was ready in case the refusal set in as it did. Joker's mocking of the "sweet" moment was the final straw.

The gun in his hands clicked as he removed the safety after it had previously been locked back in for the clash of views. "Well, you don't have a choice," he hissed, reaching behind him and pulling out his other weapon, throwing it right in Bruce's direction.

The blank yet grim shock on the man's face had to be a deeper version of the night his parents had been murdered right in front of him. Perhaps Jason WAS being insensitive, but that wasn't what this was about.

He kicked down on the chair and ropes the clown was bound to, picking him up afterward and holding him captive with just the one arm, and pointing the barrel into the side of his head. This was what they were gonna do: if Bruce wouldn't make the difficult choice of showing he could get rid of the ones who truly deserved it - especially this one who caused the most damage to all of them - then Red Hood would do it for all of them.

But if Bruce refused, he had no choice but to kill Jason here and now with his own bullet, put him out of his misery. Not like he asked to come back to life, anyway.

He never would have calculated this, when he should have. He should have predicted the gun being dropped to the floor, the holder walking away with his back turned only to whirl around with a batarang and throw it right into the other pistol. He won the argument, but no one got what they wanted.

I wanted my father, wanted him to seize this one opportunity to do what he should have done a long time ago, but he keeps allowing what happened to Barbara, to the Crane family, to the others living with it, and the rest in the ground, to me, to keep repeating because he was truly a coward. If he ever loved anyone, it isn't enough to change this.

Yeah, you're still my dad, Bruce, but you chose the mission for the last time.

Hell, if shit didn't go as planned, then the last resort was all three of them going out with a bang. Joker would get a dream come true with dying next to his favorite toy, Batman would no longer have to live with his guilt except for the last thing he'd see: his son holding his injured hand as he slid down against the nearby kitchen wall, holding his gaze with a betrayed glare.

And Red Hood would receive the fire to his flesh, as would they, and then the unknown called death that he could not recall upon his resurrection except the painful return. He'd go with the flow and be carried away like the River Styx.

He intended to distract himself from the Clown Prince of Crime's cackling of victory, from the blood on his fingers and the torn pieces of flesh that would have healed on their own in days in another time, with the memory of a certain girl with hair burning like fire and eyes black as night...who had taken a risk with a starving, orphaned boy from Crime Alley and made him a friend before the green-haired devil tore their lives apart, and whom he'd never see again in this life. Who he never got to say goodbye to the first time.

~o~

In the weeks that passed, Jason wasted no time getting to work, and he didn't just mean the nightlife. You could call what he was going through the epiphany he never thought he'd admit to himself.

It began right after Nightwing of all people sought him out once again, some days after everything that had happened.

Jason was sitting in the diner waiting for a certain someone as he recalled that particular conversation.

~o~

"Thought I'd find you here - outside the ladies' apartment of all places."

He scowled and turned to narrow his eyes at Nightwing, who crouched down beside him to the same level. "Why am I not surprised you're in my business again, Dickwing?" Hell, might as well. Goldie found him here, so what was the point of hiding it anymore?

The shift in the body language coincided with the playful retort. "It's really you...Little Wing," Dick said after a long pause, breathy.

"What gave it away before?" Don't think I gave too much away here, but no way Bruce could have trusted you with the info; that's him to a tee. Unless...

"Barbara and I got into the system of the Batcomputer, after what you said to B kicked in all the way. He had a -" The man in blue hesitated for a split second that turned into several, the lump visible in his throat. "- blood sample under Red Hood attached to Jason Todd as Robin, and it was a definite match. And I confronted Bruce after that, demanding why he couldn't even bother to tell me this. Wanna know what he said?" Jason shrugged noncommittally, because why not? "Quote, 'You and Barbara didn't deserve to know; Jason died five years ago. I still see my son somewhere underneath what he's become, but he has a lot to answer for'." That was enough to make Jason look away and straight ahead just as Kristine's bedroom window went dark for the night. At least she and Becky were safe, for now.

"It's too late for anything to go back to the way it was, Dickie bird," Jason said quietly, half-closing his eyes beneath his helmet. "I don't enjoy doing what I do, but I HAVE to. I don't expect you to understand. I made it clear when I said his ways have done nothing but make things worse despite his intentions. You and I were both just kids when he took us in; we're just soldiers, sons second place." He jerked his gaze back to meet shocked domino irises. "You can't say I'm wrong, or are you gonna take his side?"

"...I'm taking no one's side, Jaybird. But you're wrong in some of those places. You were - and still are - more his son than I was. He officially adopted you unlike me, and I was fine with that, as soon as he and I made amends. I was happy to call you my little brother and give my ear when you needed it," Dick whispered, "only to not be there when Joker ripped you away. Which is why I was so close to smashing his entire head into the concrete myself." His tone darkened. "Bruce was never the same after we lost you. He changed into another man than the way he'd started out, and he never made another kid Robin again. It was me, Babs, and Alfred to keep him from completely falling, but he was more Batman than Bruce Wayne at that point."

He was done hearing excuses. As much as his heart was aching to be back with his family, it wasn't as easy as feel-good films in every category. If Bruce really wanted his son back, if there really was the possibility of moving on from the past - the differences between the Batman and the Red Hood always shadowing above their heads - then he had to bust his ass to earn his trust back. No way in hell would Jason agree to ultimatums.

"What about me, then? You can't expect a brotherly hug-and-make-up to sweep the blood on my hands under the rug."

Big brother looked at him sadly, almost puppy-like that it hurt too much. Damn it, why did Dick have such power over anyone like that? "I wish it was that simple, but I know better now." He stood up and turned to walk away, halting with his back facing Jason who was still in the kneeling position. "Jason?"

"What?" he asked, letting his attitude seep into his tone.

"Bruce said Ra's is why you're here. I believe him, but I want to hear it from you." Dick turned halfway. "And take off that helmet so I can see my little brother when you answer."

Jason did just that, rising on both legs, thumbs pushing on the clasps in the back, and taking the thing off before whirling with speed to lock his gaze with his non-blood brother. "Yeah," he answered, "it was Ra's and his fountain of youth. But like I told Asshole of the Year: was it the Pit, or is this really me? Or better yet...was it both?" Now he got a major flinch, but that didn't balm his inner turmoil.

~o~

He hadn't seen Dick again lately since then, nor did Barbara reach out to him, or even Alfred. He was fine with that, as much as it did hurt, but he needed his own time.

He wondered if they tried and he just ignored them because he was far better than they were, or if it was a choice they made themselves.

He also knew that he should talk to someone, like his brother who he worked with and who had admitted to desire killing his murderer at one time, both for that and what happened to Barbara. Dick had been there for him this time, had found out who he was on his own, and didn't judge him, but didn't choose between him and Bruce either. Made valid points on both of them, was willing to give him a new chance if Jason wanted.

It was all too much, even though Jason wanted it.

In the meantime, there was the matter of Black Mask and his crumbling empire.

In the norm, someone like Sionis, the Penguin, or anyone else would just walk out after one hour following bail. They'd get a hearing, but even that wouldn't end everything. And all that changed, for once, with none other than the first full-control kingpin himself, and with none other than the testimonies of all the trafficked victims, the presentation of the drug compounds, and finally, the Crane family and Rebecca Langstrom giving their stories.

Red Hood had to take the time to ensure everyone had total protection from being silenced by someone on Black Mask's payroll so that he could get off easy again. By silence, it was obvious what that meant.

He expected Batman to show up, but it seemed that fate was being kind and on his side. If God existed, he could say the same.

Or does Bruce intend to keep his distance from me because it seems to suit him? Or did Dick and Babs get to him themselves?

He got all of those answers when he met up with HER one day when summer was reaching its later weeks, and his birthday was on the horizon. It made his throat form a lump just dwelling on it.

"Jason."

He was here in the diner just when the day was drawing to a close, at the same time SHE had just gotten done with classes and came right here, still in her black blouse but with her hair tied behind her neck. Jason smiled up at her. "Kris," he answered, suddenly losing his appetite for even the smallest morsel in this place.

She took her seat across from him in the booth, leaning across and spilling her tail over one shoulder, both hands stretched out on the table surface. "I missed you so much I fantasized jumping you across this table, just to show you how much - and cry at the same time."

Jason was happy she could still smile and laugh, but they had a lot to get across this table. "Stupid to ask, but how's all of you been?" And that was when the shadows fell across her sweet features.

"Well, everyone knows Dad was forced into this. He got through to the jury and the rest in court, and the news has covered it. You must have heard." He nodded somberly. "Dad is gonna be fine, his practices still ongoing. I was afraid for the worst when it all got out in terms of what he did before I was born. It's a miracle his license wasn't revoked."

Yeah, your dad is a badass, and you got that from him. Everything he's done for people who needed his help - I would have happily annihilated the ones who destroyed him just for you both.

"Becky's parents were all over her as soon as she was returned to them safely. Bruce Dent is all right, too," Kristine added with a forced grin, cheeks pink. "He didn't have to stress through testifying much, but because she was Daddy's intern and doing this with him, she came close to collapsing...and so did I." You could almost hear her heartbeat from where he was sitting. "I still wonder how we all made it through in one piece; I expected someone to shoot us dead, which has happened to snitches and survivors." Her eyes shone like stars in the night sky, holding him in the limelight.

"Thank you for keeping us all safe," she finished quietly, for his ears only.

"You don't have to thank me." Jason shook his head, leaning forward at the same time. "It needed to be done. I'm still surprised HE never showed up on my ass."

She scowled. "Yeah, I got shitloads to say about him. In the mood?" Kristine shrugged her ponytail behind herself, rolling her shoulders once and popping the blades.

Why was he not surprised that Batdad confronted her? Or -? "What happened? Did he give you a loudly worded lecture about taking on Black Mask yourself, even though your dad and friend were with you?" Jason sneered. Bruce should know better than anyone that the asshole abducted her family AND her. We won't always be there; heroes aren't God.

"More like - oh, thanks," Kristine said to the waitress who came by and handed them their menus, sweetly telling them both she would be back for their orders in a bit. "More like," Kristine repeated, looking down at the beverage section, "he asked me if I was working with a wanted criminal, and I might have put myself in the line of fire when I demanded if he'd really call his own son that. When it was just me and him...only for my dad to come into the picture and overhear everything. And I had no choice but to tell him everything." And that meant everything he'd told her.

Just when his blood couldn't boil past its limits.

"Dad now knows who he is, because I mentioned your name," Kristine whispered. Jason didn't need to ask who she meant by "he", because of the people around them from the after-work hours, and a few off-duty cops a little farther away at the counter. "He is still trying to work this out in his head, but he wanted to thank you for everything." And that was coming from the man he didn't get along with at one time. "Even the man himself didn't deny it. He sat down with both of us here one night to tell us..." She swallowed, the lump in her throat.

"...he told us everything about when you first arrived, up to that night with the Joker. The last time it was the two of you, until recently with Black Mask."

And that wasn't the end of it: Jonathan Crane told Bruce that if they had been elsewhere, rather than this diner where they had met before for neutral ground, he would have told him he should have elaborated on obtaining a god's power to make him look deep into his own soul over his actions. Honorable as he might be, he didn't realize he'd done more harm than good, Kristine's dad had said. And as for the daughter herself...

"I demanded the asshole if he did love you as his son and not a crook based on your actions. If you were truly his boy he'd lost and deserved back, rather than a punching bag for future needs." Her eyes ghosted like coals before the embers. "Dad and I both damned him for saving the clown's life when he blew your gun up in your hand, and I wish I had given him the treatment Sionis deserved." Whoo, that exists on the same level as people on the Internet think of you for that. "Never mind the fact that he saved you from the bomb this time.

"And finally," Kristine finished with a malicious smirk, "I went right for the kill, and if it had been the wrong time, no shit."

His emotions swelled within his heart, gathering like a storm in the sky, ready to unleash its fury. She and her father defended his honor. Although Jonathan had numerous theories as to how he could be alive, no doubt, and the fact he hadn't even seen Jason yet. "What did you tell Bruce?" He asked her this right after the waitress returned with his Pepsi and her root beer. He was DYING to know.

She took a long sip through the straw before baring her teeth in a perfect Cheshire-like grin. "Before that, I gathered my strength to match that of the ocean tides, when I told them both that I wasn't afraid to admit that I loved you. You, and not the boy you were."

That had to be before the heavy shit. She wasn't going to let this go, and as for him, after all that transpired, he didn't feel the fear latch around his throat and heart. "You told your father and the man who claimed to be mine that you loved a criminal mastermind who wrecked the image you all had of me," he stated blandly, while the inside was a different story.

"No way in hell did I use the words you did. In fact, Dad did ask me if I was absolutely sure since there are still too many complications before we take that plunge into paradise. I said this was Gotham, and anything could happen. Bruce even told me that if you toed again, I could go down with you if I defended you," she seethed. "And that's where what I said comes in."

This was it. "I asked if he intended to make you, Jason Todd, legally alive again. To give you a second chance and truly help you, not provide an ultimatum only to throw a tantrum when he doesn't get everything his way. I also wanted to know if he would further destroy you while keeping himself 'holy' - with your recent history in mind - and then disown you just because of one occasional error where you are backed in a corner," Kristine finished heatedly, scowling as she glared at the drink she seemed to wish had been stronger because of this conversation.

"I won't let him have it, and I think he might be thinking about it. But if he keeps being that stubborn god complex he is, then we are all gaining on him: you, me, Dad, Alfred, and Dick and Barb. Just like the sea's anger against the pirate ship while we are all on a perfect golden beach shore."

Her and her passionate verbal warfare - he was unable to think straight. He all but lost his appetite but in a damned good way. Suddenly, he had better ideas for them in mind, but not the immediate plunge off that cliff which would end in regrets.

"I think we should take to-go boxes," Jason rasped without thinking.

And so they left Pauli's with their takeout as soon as it arrived, but the awesome aromas were nothing compared to Kristine's and her blush due to whatever ideas in that brilliant, pretty little head of hers.

"There a reason you decided to drag us both out here, in the closest alley there is, where random thugs could pass by?" she asked worriedly, batting her lashes at the same time.

Jason shrugged; he was armed beneath his sweatshirt made for summertime, and the temperatures dropped at this time of night. Not only that, but it wasn't like he couldn't take anyone on. "The fact I won't beat around the bush any longer," he answered without a beat. He took a deep breath, calming his heart by just a little. He could have chosen a more romantic setting, but everything was natural and on the fly. He would have no regrets, as far as he was concerned.

"Kris, I...I love you."

There, he said it himself. It wasn't a favor to return, but it was long overdue. Her eyes widened when she straightened against the brick wall they both stood against. "Y-you -?"

"I do. I think I waited long enough to tell you in return. I have no idea when it started, or how long it's been, but it doesn't matter. And everything I went through with you was more than enough to make me man up. I'm going to fix my legal status with or without Bruce's help, one way or another. I'm considering changing some ideas about what to do with my life, but nothing is in stone. I just know that none of it will mean anything without my best friend who's always made the effort to help me in every way she could."

She seemed to be dangerously close to dropping the white to-go boxes in both of her hands but clutched them close to her abdomen as he went on, his esophagus closing in.

"There are times when I can't find the air to breathe. Except for when we first met, I have felt nothing but gratitude for you making me happy. I've given to so many people who just broke me in return - you never did. I thought our story ended when I died in the warehouse, only to wake up in another place far from you and home, with nothing but revenge and justice on my mind...but I never stopped thinking about you, either." Jason reached for her with both hands, body turning to face hers at the same time. He put his fingers on her forearms and carefully pulled her closer to him. "I want to start a new chapter and keep this promise between this two walls, the sky above us, and to YOU that I'll stay with you, protect you and teach you to fight back if I'm not around, and make Gotham safe so that vigilantes will no longer be needed, and people like Black Mask, Joker, and the rest will cease to exist."

Jason was sure that he started shedding tears of his own, based on the hot wetness in his skin when hers showed on her sweet cheeks. She bit her bottom lip as she whispered back. "And I'll say what Khalid wrote to Shahrzad at the end of The Wrath and the Dawn -" You finished it during the time we were apart. "- before lighting the letter on fire and sending it out to the skies: I love you, a thousand times over, and I will never apologize for it."

She vowed to love him forever, even if she had the strength to carry on one thousand times, just to make it stick. What more could a man ask, and a man like himself who never believed he deserved this kind of happiness?

They were both young suckers and romantics at heart, but before they could even seal it with their first real kiss, there was shouting at the other end of the alleyway, making Jason roll his eyes.

Of course, a group of drunken assholes had to make their way in their direction, intruding on this life-changing moment of his and Kristine's life, but he winked at her. "Don't worry, princess." Because I got this for both of us, without needing guns.

Oh, God, 14 chapters, and he FINALLY says he loves her. :3 Who's proud of Jason here, and after everything he's done with the help he had? And what he plans to do next?

His dialogue is inspired by Khalid's confession in "The Wrath and the Dawn" episode 67 ( I hadn't read the real novel it is based on), and Kristine recited the final lines herself.