Putting a little warning here: there's smut in the middle of this chapter.


So fucking pissed off.

Jason marched his way through his safehouse, nothing but red blurring his vision as someone he had called a brother thought it was okay to bring up such a sensitive topic. His death would always be something that followed him, but who killed him and who didn't save him would instead be marked on his skin in the form of scars. He never asked to die, but he pleaded and pleaded for Bruce to save him. Even when the barbed wire pierced through his costume and dug into his skin, even when that crowbar came swinging down on him, even when that hot rod of iron was pressed against his face...Bruce, why didn't you save me?

He had flung the door open when he noticed that Alias wasn't in her bed, and the light to the bathroom was on, and sighed as he carefully closed the door behind him. Alias. Has to be her, huh? "You alright in there?" he asked, nothing but her presence alone easing away his rage as he made his way to the edge of the bed and collapsed onto it. That's when he realised his mistake. Getting angry around a Meta who specialised in sensing heat was stupid.

"I could say the same about you, hot head," she called from the bathroom. "Your signature's hotter than usual. Even your face and fists are red. Don't tell me you two fought again?"

"Verbally."

"That's still fighting. Words hurt more than actions."

He almost laughed, "Can't agree with you there, Alias."

"But you're still angry, aren't you? What did Grayson say that got you so vexed?"

"What he said was irrelevant so just forget about it."

"It's not irrelevant if you want me to just forget about it." The door was pushed open and Jason tilted his head to watch her exit the bathroom with her hands patting at her cheeks, her kimono loosened around her waist so that her cleavage was on display. She combed her hair back and cocked her hip to one side, staring down at Jason with a suspicious look. "You're...you're not jealous, are you?"

"What kinda question is that?" he snorted.

"A very serious one considering the circumstances. You don't think I wouldn't notice? Every time Grayson is around, you're either passive aggressive or aggressive-aggressive." She sighed, "Jason, please...just tell me what he said."

"I said it's nothing for you to worry about," he spoke more assertively this time and she rolled her eyes before moving towards him. Since he wasn't looking at her he almost flinched at the sudden weight at his hips and glanced down to meet Alias's cloudy eyes; she was straddling him, her hands firm around his wrists, but for reason.

She remembered when Jason got her in this exact position, pressured her emotions to expose themselves by only using his voice and his hands. The strength on her wrists were scary and his voice even more, but she wasn't going to shout him to oblivion. If she couldn't get him to speak up, then she'll just use his own methods against him.

"Alias, what are you doing?" he asked, a smirk stretching onto his lips but he let it fade when he noticed she didn't exchange the look. Oh no, she's gone all serious. For some reason seeing the scorn on her freckled face made his heart stutter, and he wasn't sure how to take that.

"Jason, I'm going to be very honest with you," she started. "I'm glad we're both aware of where we stand in this relationship, but even as I'm talking to you I know you're hiding something from me. I don't know what it is, but if you can't even say what Grayson said about who knows what, then you'll never fully open up to me."

"Alias―"

"I'm not done, Jason. You haven't told me what you did when you left...why you left…" She fidgeted and released his wrists from her hold, resting her hands on his chest as his stayed where they were, "You'd think that the first person you'd reach was me...instead you're out there as the Red Hood because all you see is red. You're gonna tell me exactly what he said to you, or I'm not moving."

"You're so cute when you're mad," he smiled.

"Stop changing the subject. I've shared my life with you because I believed in you. There's no more of me to share because you already have all of me. What more do you want? Tell me because I...I don't know what else you want from me. Just tell me, Jason. What did he say?"

Jason looked deeply into her eyes for a moment before exhaling and propping his upper body off the bed with support from his forearms, "He said the truth. I left you, Alias, because I didn't wanna hurt you. But Dick said the truth. He said that while I was AWOL, you confessed how you felt about me to him. How a mercenary set to kill me had her heart stolen by him instead…" He chuckled once, "Even when I say it, it sounds stupid."

"Do you love me?" The question was quick, short, direct. Jason was just as shocked as she was embarrassed when she asked, her face flushed red and her once serious expression reduced to pouting, and it was in that moment he realised something. Alias's breathing deepened when Jason sat up completely and closed the gap between their bodies, his calloused hands gliding up her thighs and ass in such a manner that she actually squirmed in his gaze. Everything he thought was true, what was not, and the tethers that kept his life together he put aside for this moment, because by the haze in her cloudy eyes Jason knew where this night was going. It was up to him whether he'd initiate this sleepless night.

"I have always loved you, Blake," he whispered but that was all she needed to hear. She immediately cupped his face and pulled his lips to hers, in case he suddenly took his words back. It was needy, desperate, selfish, Alias dropping her hands from Jason's face so that she could wrap her arms around him and pull him as close as physically possible. Goddamn his lips felt breathtaking. She needed him now, more than ever, as close as she could get him and as heated as she could get him. He loved her. He loved her. He finally said it. If it wasn't enough for her to realise he fell back onto the bed with her on top, his hands exploring the curves of her ass while their kissing deepened. That's when the haze began to surface in the room, dulling their contact with the outside world and their senses kicking into overdrive; their attention was solely on each other.

Alias moaned when Jason nipped and sucked along her neck, biting back another moan when his hand dipped into her shorts and felt his hips grind up into hers. She imagined how much he wanted her, imagined his own excitement building, imagined how perfect he felt against her. As she sat up and stripped herself of her kimono, she fantasised of being dominated by Jason, thanking him over and over as he'd give her exactly what she'd beg for. Jason was a man of emotion, however, so even as she found his lips again and they rolled so now Jason was on top, he eased away a little. Afraid of passing the point of no return. "Are you sure about this?" he whispered, his glassy eyes locked completely in hers. "We can stop, you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"Did you seriously stop to ask me that?" she laughed, running her hand through his hair before cradling his head. Of all the times to ask and he decided to ask now? Huh, maybe the man between her legs was the real Jason Todd after all.

"Just wanna be sure that you really want this."

She can see that look of pain in his eyes and her expression of cute amusement softened into yearning. "I don't want this. I need this. I need you, Jason...but can I have you?" That was all the confirmation he needed.

His lips fell heavy on hers as a haze settled in their minds, a haze fuelled by desperation. He pulled back to rip his shirt off, throwing it somewhere away from them, then reached down for the waistband of her shorts. Jason could feel her eyes burning his scars, the marks of his history slandering his flushed skin but this wasn't about him. Alias deserved every second of his affection and he started at her collarbone, patterning little kisses down her bare body as he helped her out of the rest of her clothing. Then she weaved her hands through his hair and his head shot up, staring hard at her bottom lip pulled taut between her teeth. She was getting impatient, she needed him, and whatever he was doing needed to stop. "Jason," she breathed, "Stop teasing...please..."

He cocked his brow in surprise. Seeing Alias like this, utterly surrendering herself to him with blood rushing to her cheeks, was a heavenly sight to behold. He did exactly what she asked for: he whipped off her remaining clothes and sunk into the mattress, keeping his eyes locked on her as he wrapped his arms around her thighs to keep her stable. Alias's breath hitched in her throat as Jason stared right into her soul, teasing a shudder from her as he nibbled and sucked at her inner thighs. He had placed her under a spell with his eyes alone, those sharp, hungry eyes. There was something about how he looked at her. Never wavering nor faltering. Until a wet line made her eyes flutter.

The haze was honeyed, from the rocking of her hips to the firm grasp on her legs. Her moans, suppressed and otherwise, were sounds of praise and encouragement to Jason's ears. He continued, with the intention of being gentle swirling into a pearlescent pool of selfishness, his tongue exploring and delving. The haze was decadent, her hands tugging hard at Jason's hair as the sweetness at her hips began to build. The pleasure was addictive, his tongue and his mouth and his fingers and his hot breath, it was addictive. Jason lifted his head for a moment and smirked, keeping his two fingers slowly pumping inside of her, "How am I doing, Blake?"

Words to Alias lost its weight, the haze draining her mind of coherent thoughts, but she pushed through and shuddered, "Do―don't stop, oh God, please don't stop, Jason―" She hummed out another moan and opened her mouth for an audible exhale, her back arching against the bed as his tongue teased a few more circles and lines out of her. She wanted more, he could tell she wanted more, so when he pulled out his fingers a frustrated groan sounded from her lips and she lifted her head up as she felt his weight move from the edge of the bed. "Jason...where the hell are you going?"

He chuckled, "I can't leave you for a second, can I?"

Jason walked over to the door first, locking out the world from a haze that crawled underneath his skin, and turned his attention to his dresser. Not without catching a glimpse of Alias on the way there and biting back his hunger. She was lost in the haze, in a trance, kneading her breast with one hand while the other was busy working slicker muscles and her jaw was relaxed to let out breathy moans. With a bottle of lube in hand Jason began to finally rid himself of his jeans and underwear, a pang of pleasure hitting his hips at the sound of Alias calling out his name, begging for him.

"Fuck, Blake...you're so good to me." Jason sauntered back to the bed squeezing out some lube and palming himself as his eyes drank in the sight of Alias welcoming him with parted legs, and noticed her hips were raised by the pillow she tucked underneath the small of her back while he was fiddling with his underwear.

He smirked; it was going to be a long night.

The haze was drowning the two of them, Jason wasting no time surrounding himself in her heat and leaned forward as much as he could to watch her face twist and tense with every thrust. Her brows were furrowed and her eyes were closed as they rocked, her hands reaching under his arms to grasp onto his shoulders, her building peak turning her hands to claws as they raked down his back and oh god the pain was delicious that a low growl bubbled at the base of Jason's throat. Alias was vocal, more vocal than Jason imagined, her voice more raspy as she burned his name on every surface in the room. At one point she encouraged him to move faster, her light-headed gaze earning a sexy smirk as he sat up and pulled her hips towards him, and his rhythm became more insistent, more animalistic when he fixed his intentions on getting Alias to reach her peak.

Alias was pleading at this point, her glassy pupils blown out as her breathing hastened and trembled, Jason's own grunting matching his thrusts with his climax bubbling. But it didn't take long as she stuttered his name and arched her back, Jason moving one of his hands to cup her neck as she tightened around him and stilled. It exploded out of her, her mind short-circuiting and waves rushing through every nerve and muscle in her body, and she sobbed out Jason's name once again as he rode her through euphoric tides. Alias chuckled breathily once it calmed and leaned into his touch, "Thank you...for that."

Jason smiled through his rosy haze, "Oh that? That was nothing, Blake. I'm not done."

"Good…because neither am I." Alias used his arm to pull herself up into a comfortable seated position and kissed him softly, acknowledging his flushed appearance and how much he must be holding back. She was all in his senses, in his hands, his mouth, his ears, burning in his eyes and intoxicating his lungs. With her now straddling his hips and her arms around him she rocked at a steady rhythm, nipping along his jawline and neck and chancing a small tug at his earlobes. Jason groaned lowly and gripped harder at her thighs as she continued to suck and lick behind his ear, his hips bucking up to meet hers in a desperate attempt to keep the sensation simmering.

The haze kept them going long after that, and it wasn't until Alias found herself nestled in Jason's warmth that she caught up with reality.

Alias glanced at the man underneath her, his face so relaxed and devoid of the memories that marked his body in anguish, betrayal and hopelessness. It was beautiful seeing him like this. He was beautiful like this. She even let herself curl the white lock of his hair between her fingers before stroking his cheek, and shone a genuine smile when Jason attempted to find his own. "How long...are you gonna keep staring at me, Blake?" he groaned her name, finally finding his smile when he tiredly opened his eyes, and holy hell his morning voice was...his morning voice was crafted by the gods themselves. Damn, was he always this hot? "What, is there something on my face?"

"And how did you know I was staring?"

"When everyone in Gotham's trying to kill you, you develop a sixth sense."

"Then that's an impressive sixth sense because I just woke up."

"Well I'm surprised you did," he hooked his free hand under his nape as he looked up at her. "You're a really heavy sleeper. As soon as you fell asleep, you didn't move at all. Also, you snore, I thought you should know."

"Oh no, I was snoring?" She reeled back, her face a mix of shock and disappointment, and he chuckled at the way she scrunched her nose. While she was scowling at herself, he took the time to admire her beauty and the sheer determination of loving somebody like him. He was Jason Todd, the Boy Wonder that was killed by a psychotic man in a suit to then be dipped in green, magical water that essentially resurrected him, empowered by hatred and revenge. And she was Alias, the Meta Merc who can manipulate ice to a disturbing degree so much so that she involuntarily killed herself and still be able to hush an entire room with her presence alone. He didn't want to drag her into his life but it was fate that brought them together, because without her, he wouldn't be lying in bed with the woman who stole his heart. He'd be out there, as the Red Hood, chasing the shadows of his past to find absolution far from reach. So when the conversation died down Jason reached up to cup her face and sighed.

"You're so beautiful, Blakelyn." She blinked in numb response but gradually reacted by closing his eyes and leaning into his touch. It was almost as if the room suddenly brightened when she smiled, every freckle that danced across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose bringing out another level of beauty within her. Beauty he'd never get tired of witnessing. Beauty he'd cherish for his lifetime. Alias dropped her head to plant a tender kiss on his lips before reaching down to pull the blanket over their bare skin.

"Let's stay here for a while, Jason. Syndicate can wait."

He squinted and pushed his lips to one side, appearing to be thinking about what she said, and almost instantly recognised the codes between the lines. This might be the only time they could forget about life before having to face Syndicate and it seemed like she wanted to stay here more than he did. Not like it mattered. A day off sounded amazing.

"Yeah." He responded casually, tracing lines on her shoulder blades. "Let's."