The guns were out and trained on one another before the two men even locked eyes. A knife wouldn't even have been able to cut through the tension. As Jocelyn watched, she felt a deep-seated dread. She knew how this looked. It was going to be a hell of an effort to get out of this situation.

"Your reflexes aren't bad," Connor remarked. "Mind telling me who you are?"

"You don't need to know," the Red Hood shot back. "Jo, you wanna tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"Jo?" Connor looked at Jocelyn. "You know him?"

"Hey shut it, asshole," the Red Hood snapped.

"Jason, stop," Jocelyn said. "Connor… this is him."

"Him?" Connor lowered his gun. "Jason Todd? Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"I said shut. It." It was then the Red Hood noticed the red stains across Jocelyn's torso. "What is…? What the fuck did you do?" he growled accusingly at Connor as he crouched down next to Jocelyn.

"It was Killer Croc," Jocelyn explained. "He pulled me into the water and bit me."

The Red Hood lifted Jocelyn's arm away from her stomach and inspected the wounds. "And what were you doing by the water?" There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Do you think this was some kind of fling? I'm in my Specter suit!"

"You really want me to answer that?"

"Connor is an old friend!"

"Oh sure," the Red Hood hissed. "They always start out as friends, don't they?"

Connor spoke up. "Hey now. I have no interest in her, okay? I have my own family, my own child. Jocelyn and I worked together in the past; we were just partners."

"Just partners," the Red Hood repeated in a biting voice. "I've heard that before."

"Jason!" Jocelyn snapped angrily. "Connor and I were both a part of Ax—." She stopped abruptly. She couldn't mention Axiom to him; she had taken her vow of silence right before they disbanded. They all had. "It's… it's confidential. But he called me out here to talk about something. Then Killer Croc snuck up on us."

"And you couldn't tell me about any of this because…?"

"I told you. It's confidential."

The Red Hood stood up. "This is bullshit. Just straight fucking bullshit," he seethed. "You guys want to talk? Fine! Talk away! Talk as much as you want! I'm out of here." As he left the convenience store, he slammed the door so hard that the glass panels shattered. Jocelyn leaned her head back against the wall, squeezing her eyes shut. "He's always like this," she whispered to herself.

"Always like this?" Connor quoted. "You mean between you and him?"

"I…" Jocelyn opened her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that. It's complicated, Connor. Both of us have been through a lot. Him especially. Sometimes… sometimes we just get frustrated."

"And you take it out on each other?" Connor guessed.

"No—well, there are times when we do things that irk each other. Sometimes, when I'm around him, it's like trying to balance on a tripwire. But that's just sometimes," she added quickly. "Other times, we're happy. We have one another, and that's enough."

There was a long pause as Connor considered her words. "So… it sounds like you both think the other is the problem. That's not a good mindset to have."

"I know. This whole thing is just… messy… complicated."

"All relationships are kinda like that. I was married for seven years, remember?"

"You weren't married to him," Jocelyn grumbled.

Connor laughed. "That's true. But everyone's the same when it comes to falling in love. It's so easy. Staying in love is the real tricky thing. When was the last time you two went out on a date?"

"We clean out a few bad guys every now and then," Jocelyn pointed out. "Though lately, fighting together has been the source of our arguments."

"No, I mean like a real date. You know, going out. Doing something quiet and intimate together."

"Oh. Um…" To be honest, she couldn't actually remember. When she thought of actual dates, all that came to mind were the ones they went on when Jason had still been Robin. Was it really that long ago? "I can't remember. Jason doesn't really like going out when his mask isn't on." She looked up to see Connor watching her with a concerned look. "I know," she said meekly. "We're pretty dysfunctional, aren't we?"

"Dysfunctional? Spec, dysfunctional doesn't begin to even scratch the surface for you two."

Jocelyn looked down at her lap. Having the truth spelled out to her face now by Connor was painful. Deep down, she had always known that things weren't exactly working out between them. But a larger part of her chose to ignore it. "I still love him," she argued. "And I don't want to be alone."

"So that's the flimsy glue that's been keeping you together?" Connor asked softly.

"Love isn't enough, is it?" Jocelyn said cynically. "Maybe it'd be better if we just cut it off and go our separate ways, instead of torturing ourselves with this sorry excuse of a relationship." Even as she said the words, that large part of her fell once again into heavy denial. "No, I can't," she mumbled. "I care about him. I do. What would I do without him?"

There was a quiet scuffling noise as Connor rose to his feet. "Just rest here, okay?" he said. "I'll be right back." Jocelyn didn't even seem to notice.

The night was cool and, for once, quiet. The Red Hood watched the blinking lights of the antennae tower, one leg propped up and the other dangling off the edge of the bridge. The gas station was a smudge in his peripheral vision, but he refused to look in that direction.

The rage that had ignited every cell in his body simmered down a little now that he had a moment to sit and think. He had to admit; he figured the worst when he had first come upon Jocelyn and Connor. But Jo, she wasn't the kind of person who would do something like that. Not to mention the Specter suit and Killer Croc wound definitely matched with her story. But what infuriated him was how she reacted when he found them. She had taken his side, that Connor guy, and made Jason out to be the bad guy. Why would she do that? It had hurt. There was no use in denying that.

'You should have known,' he thought to himself. 'It's happened before. The closer you let someone in, the deeper they can cut.' Aloud, he sighed. Why, exactly, was he sitting out here mulling around like some moody teenager? Why hadn't he gone home? What was he waiting for?

He wasn't waiting for anything. Fine. Time to go home. The Red Hood rose to his feet and turned. As he did, he spotted a man standing a few feet away, silently watching him. He regarded the man for a few seconds, and then started to walk past him. "That's a good way to get shot," he mumbled.

"Hey, I need to tell you something," Connor said.

"Well you can tell someone else, because I'm not interested."

"Jason." The older man's voice was suddenly imbued with a certain sternness, like a parent scolding their child. "This isn't the first time you and her have been like this, is it?"

"Did she tell you that?" the Red Hood scoffed. "Let me guess. You heard all about how terrible I am to her, how bad my temper is, how insensitive I am, right? I'm the bad guy."

"Both of you are the problem," Connor insisted. The Red Hood kept walking, but then Connor reached out and blocked him with an arm.

"I know you won't give a shit, but I lost my wife a decade ago. The thought still hasn't stopped crossing my head where I regret all those times I could have told her I loved her, or made her smile a little more, and didn't. One day, if you two keep on like this, you might lose her, whether she walks or something happens. And I guarantee you there won't be a day that goes by without that same regret."

Who the hell was this guy? Barging in, acting like some kind of relationship expert with his goddamn nose raised so high. "Uh, who asked you? I would've if I wanted to hear your sob story advice, but I didn't, did I?" He shoved Connor's arm aside and continued walking.

"If not for your sake, then do it for hers," Connor blurted out. The Red Hood slowed his steps. "You have no idea how much that girl cares for you. What she shows you is just the tip of the iceberg."

"How do you know?"

"After she thought you'd died, she left Gotham and joined Axiom," Connor replied. "That's when I met her, and I've never seen such a broken soul trying to put on a braver face. I saw what she was like when she thought no one was looking."

The Red Hood stopped, his eyes trained on the ground. "Who are you?"

"Just an old friend."

So he says. The Red Hood wasn't sure what to make of this man. "Is she still in there?"

"Yeah." Now Connor started to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"This is my first time in Gotham. Gonna do a little sightseeing. Go on."

What was with this guy and ordering the Red Hood around? Grumbling something inaudible under his mask, he turned back and headed towards the gas station. As he drew near the store, the bits of glass on the ground crunched under his feet. The door swung open, scraping glass across the floor. Jocelyn heard the noise and looked towards them. When their eyes met, they quickly looked away. The Red Hood walked over and sat down next to her. For an uncomfortable minute, neither said a word. Finally, Jocelyn piped up. "I'm sorry about all of this. Are you still mad?"

"A little," Jason replied. He wrapped an arm around her. Jocelyn leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "You all right?"

"Yeah."

Addendum: I wrote this entire chapter in one quick go, so I'm not sure if I got my point across. I'm trying to make both Jason and Jo equally at fault (ie. Jason being an ass and Jo being tight-lipped and defensive). If I didn't achieve that and one party seems more 'evil' than the other, then whoopsy daisy.

Also Connor be all, "Y'all need Oprah or something."