"And that's the last of the boxes!" a booming voice awoke Jason from his post patrol nap that turned into a dreamless sleep.
The vigilante glanced at the windows and yep, it was morning already. Why was it morning? He didn't want it to be morning, he wanted to sleep a bit more. Lately he didn't have much time, being in the middle of seizing absolute control over Gotham's underworld.
"Does my Jazzy-princess need anything else?" said the same voice. It was male, adult, and clearly not from this part of the town or even from Gotham.
Jason rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and his face and stood from the couch. Last night he had the foresight to take off the suit before collapsing, but not enough foresight to put everything away before sleeping. So now he had to shower, clean the suit, clean the weapons and ugh -
There was a loud bang from the apartment next door, followed by a loud "Danny!" and a "I'm fine, I'm fine."
Oh joy. New neighbors.
Jason was ecstatic. (Not really)
Still, he needed to make sure that this new neighbor, who for some fucked up reason had decided to move in close to the East End and next to the only other one apartment occupied in this floor, was not some kind of criminal going after the Red Hood. Of course there shouldn't be a single reason one would connect this run down apartment with one of Gotham's most famous (anti) heroes, but being paranoid paid off.
No, he was not like Bruce. He just took care of wild cards and loose ends.
Before going to the kitchen to make breakfast, he decided to look through the peephole to get a glimpse of the people moving in next to his latest safehouse.
It took a minute or so, but he saw first a woman with short red hair walk past his door. She was wearing a full blue hazmat suit, with heavy boots and everything. In Gotham no one would turn to look with so many capes and people in costume, but it was weird seeing it from someone from out of town.
Next, a big man, about as big as Bruce, walked past his door, this time with an horrendous orange suit. Look, he wasn't a fashionista or anything, but he had eyes and those suits were a crime against fashion.
It was another few minutes, and he was about to give up and make some breakfast, when a new person walked past his door. Weird. He didn't hear any footsteps, and with the cheap linoleum of the hallway it was an amazing feat.
The person stopped right in front of his apartment door and turned with a tilted head, as if he were listening to something. It was a kid. Well, not exactly 'a kid' but he was younger than him and it was enough for Jason to consider him a kid. Probably twenty or something like that, but he fell on the scrawnier and shorter side. He only guessed his age because his face wasn't as round as it would be for a younger person.
"Everything okay, Danny?" A voice he recognized as the one that screamed earlier called from outside of Jason's field of view.
Danny's eyes zeroed on the man's, as if he could see him or something. It was impossible he knew he was there - Jason was skilled in stealth and knew how to control his breathing for cases just like these. Why did the kid's blue eyes burn into his as if he stared right into his soul?
"Danny?" The voice said again, and this time Danny broke the staring contest, walking away from his door and walking back
"Yeah, everything's fine." He smiled at the owner of the voice. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay for a few days?"
"It'll be fine, really!" Said the unnamed voice, female, young, also from out of Gotham. "If I need you I'll just call."
"And I'll fly here right away."
So they lived far enough from Gotham. Enough to require a flight there.
Whatever. They'll be gone in a week. A month, tops.
Around the three weeks mark since his new neighbor moved in, Jason ran into a young woman at the elevator. He didn't know her, so he just nodded in greeting and ignored her as he waited for her to click the button of her floor in the elevator panel first. It was the same as his. But nobody lived in -
Huh. That's right. He had new neighbors.
He looked at her from the corner of his eye since this was the first time he had seen this mysterious person up close.
She was young, but older than the kid he saw through the peephole the other day. Older sister, maybe. Redhead, too, like her mother. Thin but strong, she held herself with the confidence of someone that worked out, but not built like his sisters.
And she was looking at him.
"So this is my stop." She said with a smile. When both walked out of the elevator she stopped and blinked. "Oh, you also stop here?"
She didn't know they were the only ones on that floor?
"Yeah." Jason tried not to be too friendly or too unfriendly. People remember your face if you are either of those.
They walked in relative silence to their door, the young woman (he needed a name soon at least to call her something less creepy in his head) stopping first at her door and looking at him when he pulled out his keys at the same time.
"You live next door! That's fun." Ugh, she smiled just like Dick. Was it an annoying older sibling trait? "I didn't know someone lived there, it's always so quiet."
He used the apartment mainly to sleep, eat and recover from injuries; and he was usually pretty quiet when he was alone. But she didn't need to know that.
Jason shrugged. "I don't like the noise."
"I know right? I also like the quiet - especially while reading. I know some people listen to music but I just can't concentrate on the words if there's too much noise."
To be honest? She struck him as someone that read a lot. She had this librarian vibe. Or maybe a teacher? He wondered what she was doing in Gotham, and why hadn't she left already.
"Read anything interesting?" He couldn't stop the words from coming. It was automatic - interrogating and subtly getting information from this mysterious non-Gothamite that had the balls to move to this building.
"Oh, well, just stuff for my work. You'd think it's boring." She laughed it off, playing with her keys. Eyes down, biting her lip. Someone she cared about dismissed her passion.
That rubbed Jason the wrong way. "Try me."
She smiled a little bit. "I'm currently halfway through 'Into the Mind of the Murderer: Why did I do it?' by Steven Morrison. It's riveting! It is written by this dude that killed his abuser then decided to become a serial killer. He was caught, of course, but in his memoirs he explains the reasoning behind why and how. Also the perspective of time and reflection on his part allows for a more complete picture of - And I lost you, right?"
Jason blinked a few times, his mind kicking into overdrive. He was speechless, but not because he was bored by her review of the book. He was aware that true crime was all the rage right now and people read about famous serial killers for fun - but she said it was for her work.
"What did you say you work at?"
"Oh, um. I am a therapist. I mean, a psychiatrist that specializes in therapy. Uh, I focus more in criminals and their reinclusion into society."
Fun. A fucking shrink lived next door. He hadn't had good experiences with those.
When he didn't say anything, she continued rambling. Nervous habit, it looked like. "I'm doing an internship at Arkham, actually. I guess you know what that is, since you are from here." Then she laughed nervously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
"And you are still alive?" Jason managed to say, unable to process that this soft looking, smiley cinnamon roll could be a therapist at Arkham. They would devour her in mere days.
And yet, it has been three weeks.
His neighbor giggled. Honest to god girly giggles. "So far so good, Mister neighbor. I can take care of myself, but thanks for worrying."
"Oh shit, I haven't introduced myself, right?" He hoped his expression was sheepish enough. "I'm Jason." He extended his hand for her to shake.
"I'm Jasmine, but call me Jazz!" Her grip was firm, brief and professional. She wasn't afraid of taking the lead.
Jazz smiled again, pulling her hair behind her ear, eyes confidently fixed in his. He didn't get creepy vibes from her somehow. Instead, he felt like she was analyzing him as much as he was doing her.
His phone decided to ring in that moment, ending the conversation. He looked at who was the caller. It was Dick, so he had to take this, since his brother would throw a fit if he ignored his calls.
And so, the two said goodbye and Jason entered his apartment, preparing himself for the conversation. It could be a friendly call to 'catch up' or asking for help with a case with Bruce. Either way it was going to take a while.
Any thought about redhead neighbors that are therapists at Arkham left his mind after the hour and a half long conversation with Dick.
