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elektrae · 4 years

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Christmas is all around

a/n: Hello everyone. If you stumbled upon that fic, first of all: I am sorry. Second of all, I haven’t written anything other than essays in like 4 years, and this is my way to try to write fanfics again. I may be rusty, like a lot, and I apologize for that. Also, English is not my first language so again, I am sorry for any typo or weird sentences, I try my best skskjsj. Finally, did is my first Jason Todd fic ever (or DC fic, for that matter) so dont expect too much ig? Anyway, I just miss writing fanfictions so I’m gonna try to post some from time to time, even if they suck. That’s okay<3

Pairing: Jason Todd x y/n (she/her pronouns used, sorry about that)

Word count: 3,759

Warning: some drinking, too many paragraphs, slight cringe ig, uhm maybe some ooc Jason idk I’m not so sure about how I want to write him yet!

The title is from the cover Sleeping At Last did for their Christmas album, I was listening to it while writing.

“Tell me the truth now.”

You took the baking tray out of the oven, careful to not burn yourself as the dish towel between your hand and the tray was barely thick enough to protect you from the heat.

You hummed absent-mindedly, organizing the cooling cookies on the dish you decorated specially for the event. You bit the inside of your cheek as you felt a pair of eyes on you, waiting for you to give a clue – anything, really– away. You took the final baking tray from your fridge and put it in the oven, closing it and putting the timer on twenty minutes.

“What have you planned?"

You let out a tired sigh as you turned around, going to a cupboard to grab a pack of chips and a bowl to pour them in. You carefully ignored the other person in the kitchen who was supposedly here to help you, but was rather doing an investigation of a new genre. Poking at your mind tirelessly was apparently more interesting than putting together a Christmas Eve’s eve party for your friends.

"Won’t you give up and help me with those?” You pointed at the appetizers that were already ready, then pointed at the empty table in the living room.

As to prove her previous point that she can do two and more things at the same time, I swear, Barbara grabbed two plates and moved over to said table. She mumbled a couple of indistinct sentences, but since she was finally helping, you let it slide and simply rolled your eyes at her antics.

“I just know”, she grabbed a plate of stick crudités with their condiments. “I just know”, she started again, “you’re plotting something and I don’t like it."

"I am most certainly not”, you scoffed loudly, putting a hand on your chest. “I have no idea, and I mean no”, you gave her a bowl of peanuts and she went back to the table, expertly avoiding several presents messily put on the floor, “idea why you would say that.”

“You have that glint in your eyes since I-”.

She stopped herself from finishing the sentence, but you could feel a smile coming back on your face. “Since you’ve told me you were desperately and hopelessly in love with the one and only-"

"If you finish this sentence I will embarrass you on every social media for the next decade”, she warned.

“-Dick Grayson.”

“I am not desperately and hopelessly in love with him.”

“Helplessly and irrevocably?” You tried, raising an eyebrow as you spare a glance her way and see her smiling despite your teasing.

She shook her head which prompted you to try new adverbs, as idiotic as they sounded. “Terribly and blissfully?"

"What does that even- you know what”, she shook her head and took the last plates and some decorations to put the final look on the table. “Why don’t we talk about you and our dear Jason?"

"Oh no, no, no, we don’t talk about this”, you yelled at the same time she was finishing her sentence, practically running after her while still being mindful of the dozen of glasses you were carrying in both your hands. “I am not the hot topic of discussion for this Christmas."

"Well you should, because you being into Jason is way more gossip worthy than my crush on Dick.”

“Well it’s my apartment, and I say I am not worthy of anyone’s attention, but you definitely are.”

“Not even Jason’s?” She laughed quietly as you avoided her gaze, keeping your attention on the glasses you were carefully putting on the table in a shape of a snowflake. Fuck it, it’s Christmas after all.

“Not even Jason’s”, you confirmed a few minutes later, but Barbara couldn’t ignore the tone of sadness in your voice.

*****

“Y/n, they are here”, Barbara yelled, drawing the ‘e’, right after the bell was rung.

“Coming!"

You heard new voices coming from the living room and you smiled to yourself as you put on your outfit for the night.

The bell rang once more, and more voices started to fill your apartment. Among them, you clearly recognized Dick’s as he told some joke, which was followed by Barbara’s laughter. Donna and Wally joined her as Roy added his own take on the joke. There was a quiet grumble you could without a doubt attribute to Damian, and three more voices you guessed, more than knew, were Tim’s, Steph’s and Conner’s entered the conversation.

After fixing your hair one last time, you came out of your room and walked towards your friends. Donna is the first one to see you and she immediately put you in a hug.

"Your apartment looks very nice”, Dick complimented you, hugging you sideways as he said so once Donna had let go of you.

“Barbara helped”, you informed him as you glanced at the key player of this whole thing, who was currently glaring daggers at you.

“I don’t doubt it."

Barbara blushed slightly at Dick’s comment. You resisted the urge to tease her a bit when you noticed her eyes shining with happiness.

"Well, blue is the new”, she stopped for a second, her eyebrows knitting together, “red, I guess?"

"Yeah, it works for Christmas, Babs”, Roy affectionately said as he ruffled her hair, earning an eye roll.

You watched with a knowing smile, as well as everyone else in the room but two persons, as Dick’s smile grew wider and his cheeks a little warmer. You wished these two could see just how much they meant for each other. But no, Richard Grayson and Barbara Gordon were two idiots. Two idiots who definitely needed a push in the right direction.

“Oh, by the way”, Roy caught your attention as he walked to the table to grab an appetizer, “Jason and Kory are swinging by later, they had a thing.”

“A thing, uh”, Steph wiggled her eyebrows in his direction making Tim and Conner choke on their drinks they shouldn’t have already.

Barbara sent an apologetic look your way but you simply smiled back, grabbing two bottles of Champagne from the fridge.

“Who’s ready to party?"

*****

You made your way towards the kitchen to grab more appetizers and a new pack of chips. You smiled as Stephanie and Cassandra were lively talking near the Christmas tree, pointing at various presents. Damian was clearly starting to enjoy the night as Jon, who Clark had dropped off half an hour ago, was showing him a new toy Lois had bought him mere days before Christmas.

You stopped dead in your tracks when your eyes landed on Dick who was observing a customized Christmas decoration. One that has been created by Barbara, a deep blue bird with mechanical wings that fluttered every so often. He had the cheesiest smile on his face and he kept swinging the bird with his right hand. As he stood under the threshold of the kitchen, right above his head was one of the two mistletoe branches you had put in your apartment.

Just as the doorbell rang for the umpteenth time this night, you sprung towards the door, unwilling to let this great opportunity go to waste.

"Babs, could you grab a new pack of chips please?” You sent her a warm and what you hoped was an innocent smile. “I’ve left some on the countertop!”

“Alright”, she replied, excusing herself from Donna and Wally. Once you reached the door, you discreetly pointed at Dick who was right on Barbara’s way. A knowing look was shared before you finally opened the door, barely registering the people in front of you.

“Hey”, you greeted the two new guests, glancing back and forth between them and Dick and Barbara who were currently having a nice conversation if your eyes weren’t to lie. “Nice to see you could make it! Roy said you’d be held back for a while.”

“Sorry about that”, Kory smiled a little for an unknown reason. “We did our best.”

“It’s fine! Please, just come on in.” You opened the door a little wider to let both her and Jason walk in.

“So, is something going on?” Kory asked after several seconds of you being oblivious to Jason’s stare on you.

“Well”, you waved in the general direction of your friends having a conversation under the mistletoe near the kitchen, “I think something is working there, don’t you think?”

“Did you set them up?” Jason’s question sounded a lot more like an accusation, but you didn’t really mind at this exact moment.

You turned your head to reply to him but, before you could open your mouth everyone around you started cheering loudly, making you whip around right when your eyes locked with Jason’s.

There, under the mistletoe by your kitchen, Dick and Barbara were finally kissing, smiling through it.

“Tim, you owe me 20 bucks here”, Steph yelled over the clamor and Tim clearly huffed loudly at that, although the smirk on his face was still present.

“Same over there Wally, and you too, Roy”, Donna added while collecting the money both men already had put out from their pockets.

“Jason”, you could hear the smile in Kory’s voice as she turned to Jason, her hands awaiting the bank bills. “I believe I get something too?”

“Did you all bet money on us?” Dick eventually said, catching everyone’s attention.

“Anyway, more champagne?”, you changed the subject after a couple of minutes of silence and glances exchanged between everyone.

A chorus of “yes please” and two “orange juice, please” was your answer and you swiftly walked to the kitchen, Barbara following close behind from the moment you walked past her.

“Proud of you?”

“Mad at me?” You shot back, the smile apparently ever so present on your face.

“No”, she confessed, her voice as close as what someone could expect Barbara’s dreamy voice to be. “I could have done it without the help though.”

“I don’t doubt it”, you put three new bottles of the bubbly alcohol in your fridge as you grabbed the last two. “But I wanted the girls to have their money.”

“Makes sense”, she blocked your way, letting you know something else was going on. “Now, about you and a certain someone-”

“Nu-uh”, you waved a bottle in front of her face, “I am not stealing your thunder tonight.”

“Or ever”, she mumbled but you decided to ignore her.

“This is your night.”

“It’s also supposed to be a Christmas party”, Tim chimed in, pushing his glass in front of him, expecting you to pour him a new one. You gently grabbed it before filling it with water, handing it back to the younger man. He gave you a face before chugging it, awaiting once again the champagne. “Are we gonna open those presents or what?”

“Let’s do it.”

“Presents time everyone!”

*****

People were slowly filling out of your apartment with new gifts falling from their arms.

You waved bye at them as you slowly picked up the wrappers that littered your floor. You simply wanted to throw away everything you could and had already put the plates and glasses in the sink, so you wouldn’t have to do it the morning after, on Christmas Eve, while being slightly hungover and way too tired.

You heard the door shut close behind whoever left last. You went to open the window of your living room to let in some fresh air. Picking up some used napkins from the table, you put them in the trash as well, trying not to make too much of a mess.

“You forgot this one.”

The voice startled you and you spun around, smashing the trash bag into whoever was standing behind you. Some wrappers and napkins you had just put inside the bag flew out, landing all around you.

“Wow.”

“Oh, my god, Jason”, you let go of the trash bag and your hands immediately went to his torso, wanting to make sure you hadn’t hurt him. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

“Fine, fine”, he mumbled back, pushing your hands away a second too late to be considered an outward rejection or anger of any kind. “Can I help?”

“Oh, no, no”, you shook your head and went to stop him. “Go get some sleep. You’re gonna need it for tomorrow dinner.”

“Tomorrow dinner?”

“Christmas dinner?” You raised an eyebrow and waited for him to realize what you were talking about. “Alfred insisted you had to come this year, if I remember correctly.”

“How d'you know that?”

“I was there when you got Alfred’s call?”

“Right”, he drawn out. “Don’t think I’m going anyway. Might as well help you.”

“Oh no”, your hands went on your hips and you stood your ground, not letting him move. “You are going. Alfred would murder you. And”, you picked up the bag from the ground, but didn’t look away from Jason. “You’re supposed to spend Christmas with your family.”

“Are you?”

“It isn’t about me here.” You took several napkins and wrappers in one hand and stood back up, waving them in your friend’s face. “You’re gonna spend Christmas with your family and that’s final. Now go get some sleep.”

He slowly crossed his arms over his chest, giving you a strange look as you kept picking up the mess you had made mere moments earlier. “I’ll go if you let me help you.”

You stopped in your tracks and slowly raised your head, finally locking eyes with him. You weren’t sure how much of what he was telling right now was true, but you knew he had to go spend Christmas with his family. He needed this, whether he knew it or not. Their relationship was getting better by the day, this much was true, and you didn’t want any party, but especially not Jason, to be hurt. “Alright but, I’m warning you dude, you better be in bed in one hour tops.”

With a shrug, Jason walked to your sink and opened the tap, letting the water flow on the dishes. He grabbed the sponge and started doing the dishes, not saying much more.

“So, Dick and Barbara. Your plan, uh?” He broke the silence as you were sweeping your apartment, the cleaning getting a little out of hand without you realizing.

“Well, it was obvious they were into each other, you know”, you moved the couch back towards the wall and kept sweeping your place. “It was bound to happen, you know.”

“You did it for Steph.”

“And Donna”, you laughed and spared a glance his way. He was currently drying all he had just washed. “They’re gonna give me fifty percent of what the guys just gave them.”

“Uh, didn’t think you were after money like that.”

“Why do you think I’m friends with you?” You winked at him over your shoulder, now sweeping under the table.

“Makes sense. Although, I kept telling Roy it was because of my amazing cooking skills”, he put the last glass in the cupboard, closing it while he turned around, looking in your direction. “I know my pastas are to die for.”

“That”, you grunted slightly as you moved the table a little, putting it back into its original place, “they are.” You let out a breath and took a small pause. “Pasta and money. The basis of all healthy friendships.”

Jason let out a raspy laugh, one that took you by surprise. It was a contrast with how quiet he had been all evening. Your smile grew wider and you desperately tried to hide it as you crouched down to collect the dust in the dustpan. You put the dust in the trash bag before tying it and putting it on the small balcony, closing the French window as you stepped back inside.

“Time you go to sleep”, you went to the kitchen, looking around you to make sure everything was more or less clean. You would finish in the morning anyway. “Get your beauty sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Are you finished here?”

“Yep! Going to sleep until twelve, probably.”

“Alright. D'you know where I put my keys?”

“Countertop, the cup”, you dismissively said as you poured some water in a glass. You turned around just in time to see Jason swaying a little as he made his way to the other side of the countertop. “Alright buddy”, you ran after him, putting a hand on his arm before he could reach the keys. “You are not driving home.”

“I remember you telling me to get some sleep?” You could see the tiredness catching up with him as the alcohol left his system. You wondered how much he had drunk and, most importantly, what had made him drink that much tonight. Jason was a close friend, you had hung out together numerous times. You had seen him drink a lot more than you or even Dick or Kory, and he never had been in this state.

“Well, you’re gonna have to get some sleep here.” You locked the door before leading him to the couch, on which you pushed him down. “I’m not letting you go out there.”

“Alright, mom.”

You scoffed loudly, leaving him there with a roll of your eyes. You went to your room to grab a blanket, a pillow and Jason’s spare bag he had left one day, you couldn’t exactly recall when. To be fair, many of the local heroes had been dropping spare bags at your place throughout the years. You made a stop in the bathroom to grab a box of painkillers in case he woke up before you did.

As you walked down the small corridor that connected the living room and kitchen to the rest of your apartment, you bumped into a hard chest. You raised your head a little to meet Jason’s gaze, and you could feel his hands on your hips as he stabilized you so you wouldn’t fall down. You know it was just a reflex for him, but you couldn’t stop your heart from beating a little faster.

“Was wondering where you went”, he mumbled.

“Blanket, pillow, your spare clothes and”, you raised the hand holding the box of medicine in front of his eyes, “this, for the morning.”

“Oh, thanks. You didn’t have to”, you let out a quiet chuckle as he looked around him. You didn’t see him freeze as his eyes landed on what was just above the two of you.

“If I don’t want Alfred and Dick chastising me, yes I did”, you laughed loudly this time, still unaware of both your predicament. “That’s the least I could do, you know. Sorry you have to sleep on the couch, still don’t have a spare room."

"There’s mistletoe."

You hummed quietly, prompting him to explain himself further as you took off some dust from the blanket, holding the painkillers between your chin and chest.

"We’re right under the mistletoe.”

“Oh.”

You stopped what you were doing and let the box of medicine fall on the blanket to finally look up. There, unmistakable, was a branch of mistletoe.

“Oh yeah, forgot to take that one off”, you said under your breath. “You can just ignore that, let’s get you to bed.”

“Well, tradition is tradition”, countered Jason, finally looking at you.

“Sure, but we don’t have to”, you smiled warmly at him, trying to ignore the glint of what your mind discerned as sadness in his eyes. “I put them up mainly for Babs and Dick. And for, you know”, you shook your head a little, “everyone else, so they had an excuse to go at it.”

“Still, tradition is tradition, so”, he trailed off after that, looking at something just above your head.

“Okay."

You took a step closer to him, or at least as much as you could considering what you were carrying at the moment. You went on your tiptoe and, without giving it too much of a thought, you pecked Jason’s cheek, your lips lingering a moment too long on his skin.

"Alright buddy, now let’s get you to bed."

You gently grabbed his wrist and tugged him so he would follow you back in the living room. You tried as best as you could to ignore the fact that he was staring at you with something you couldn’t exactly pinpoint. You set the pillow down on the couch after making sure it was as comfortable as possible.

"Okay, take off your shoes and whatever, I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“I can get it."

"Focus on undressing yourself!"

You jogged to the kitchen, pouring some water from the tap in a glass and in a bottle. Not even two minutes later, you came back to set them on the coffee table, right next to the painkillers.

"Right so everything’s here”, you looked at Jason who was now lying on the couch, in nothing but his underwear, his right arm shielding his eyes from the light. “You know where everything else is. Your phone’s on the countertop where you left it. Sleep tight”, you finished, putting the blanket over his body.

“Hey”, his voice stopped you right as you were about to turn the lights off. “You should come home with me tomorrow. For this Christmas Eve dinner. It would be more bearable with you there."

"Jason”, you sighed and leaned on the wall on your left. “It’s a family dinner. Plus”, you pushed yourself off the wall, your hand hovering above the switch, “I doubt Bruce would be happy if I were to crash. Or Alfred, for that matter.”

“Pfff”, he turned his head so he would watch you, “Alfred loves you, he’d be more than happy. And he always cooks too much. As for Bruce, I don’t really care about what he has to say.”

“Well, I do.”

“You shouldn’t."

"Alright tell you what”, he straightened up a little so he could focus on your words better. “If tomorrow, when you’re not drunk nor hungover, you can assure me I won’t be be a bother during this dinner, I’ll come.”

“What, I just gotta call Alfred and tell him you’re coming? Deal!” He lied back down, eyes closed as a small smile played on his lips. “He’s gonna take care of Bruce.”

“We’ll see”, you laughed as you finally turned the lights off, leaving Jason in the living room as you walked towards your room, ready to drop on your bed and sleep for the next twelve hours.

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