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shewhowillnotbenamed1 · 4 years

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Atrium - Part Two

Part two of the Library AU for @mistkissedmoon

Part one

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Jason walked under the pyramid skylights in the atrium. There was a warm glow filtering in through the large windows on the ceiling. It touched each aisle, filling the rich mahogany bookshelves in turn with sunlight. Funny. It often seemed as though rays of light could only travel through muted grey clouds. Where the library and the manor were concerned. And much of Gotham.

But now, it was radiant. The place hadn’t gotten as much foot traffic or attention in recent years. Though since Raven had come around, it already looked brighter. Alive, even.

It moved him to see the place like this. She had done a fantastic job so far. Jason knew that there was something about her. He could tell from the first time he looked at her that she had come to Wayne Manor with a purpose. Despite the initial mishap about what that purpose entailed, he knew he was right.

Oh.

Speak of the she-devil and she might appear.

Jason could see the slim contour of her body. It was bent toward the desk by the fireplace in the front of the room. Thick, black framed glasses were perched on the bridge of her nose. Fair fingers twining the cord of the old rotary phone as she spoke. She nodded, no doubt, agreeing with the words uttered by the party on the other line. Her profile turned. She was facing him as she replaced the filigree gold and white handset on the switch hook. Scribbling something down quickly. Rachel tapped her cheek twice with the arm of the glasses, before setting them down on the desk.

Black kitten heels echoed through the lofty space, as she drifted over to him. In her black button-down and dark wash denim, she was every bit the picture of casual meets sexy-sophisticated. “Jason.” She had at last dropped the formalities with him. This was something he was increasingly grateful for. Rachel extended an arm with a bag in hand. “Here, for all your efforts.”

“Well, what’s this?” He asked. His fingers furled with deviousness, as he peered into the paper bag peace-offering. Appearing much more enthusiastic, than he should have been, for whatever she handing him. “Looks like I’m getting my compensation in the form of -” He paused. “Is it a severed head? From one of those useless volunteers?”

And surprising him once more, she actually let out a little laugh. “It’s actually lunch. My lunch.” He motioned for her to elaborate, his face split into its usual grin. “Well, Jason. I was wondering if you would split a sandwich with me.”

The grin faltered.

Another fragment of the veneer that kept him concealed, chipped away. There was a surprising amount of vulnerability in that simple request. And in Rachel that moment. She was just a girl standing before a boy asking him if he would… split a sandwich with her. That was it. Yet, he found himself dumbfounded - unable to speak. And it was crazy. It was crazy that a simple request would render him speechless. That he was nearly incapacitated by a single utterance from her. He cleared his throat and repeated her question. “A sandwich - you want me to have your… sandwich?”

Rachel stared honestly and earnestly into Jason’s uncertain and uneasy blue. “Yes…” She nodded. “I get it - Alfred’s food is legendary. Even I know this, with my limited experience with his repertoire… But, I hoped you might still consider it.”

Jason shook his head immediately. “No - no - I… it’s not -” He paused. Then, he tried once more. “Rachel, I would love to share your sandwich.”

The two of them found themselves seated on the hard ground beneath the dark wooden bookcases. Their bodies leaned back on long ladders. Such ladders were normally used for ascending to higher learning. Which, of course, one could take quite literally. After all, wasn’t that the supposed purpose of a library? To allow one to obtain things that appeared out of reach - to make them out of reach no longer.

Maybe this was why it was there they sat. To eat two halves of a pastrami sandwich out of a paper bag.

Jason didn’t mind sitting on the floor at all. He had found it difficult to notice anything aside from the girl next to him, and the richness of the meal she was sharing with him. If Rachel was experiencing discomfort, she hadn’t felt the need to mention it either.

Yet, just across the way from where Rachel had come, was the desk. Not far from it, a ring of comfortable leather chairs situated near the grandfather clock. But, this seemed more fitting. Jason couldn’t shelf certain thoughts in his head. About how normal this seemed. The two of them at ease with one another like this, in one of his favorite rooms in the manor.

“Here…” She fished into the wax paper, and passed him one of the two halves of pickle. “Cheers.” Rachel touched hers to his, a little laughter in the depth of her indigo eyes, and she took a big bite.

Jason took a little bite of his own. “This was, uh, really good, Rachel…” He swallowed.

“Don’t mention it.” She licked the juice from her lips slowly. Unconsciously, his pupils traced her pink tongue.

“I’ve never had a sandwich like this one.” Jason told her. It was true - in some ways more than others. “Did you make it?” He asked her curiously. He was trying not to appear as though he was prying. But he was.

He definitely was.

“That’s because it’s special.” She tilted her head towards him. He could see her loosening up. Her left arm looped through a rung on the ladder. “And no, I bought it. I get these sandwiches from a little store.” The purple-haired girl took another bite of the vert, vinegared vegetable between her fingers. “This hole in the wall Jewish deli my mother used to bring me to when I was young. She’s Jewish.” Rachel’s throat moved as she gulped down a piece. “Every time I need a little pick-me-up, I stop there.” She gestured with the remaining piece of pickle. “Sometimes, I miss it… Those easier times.”

The entire time she spoke, Jason listened to her with rapt attention. For a split second, he stared off into nought. He hadn’t known any of that. Or much of anything about Rachel, really. He hadn’t asked. Until now, he hadn’t asked. But, he knew - he wanted to ask. He wanted to know her. If she was willing, he wanted to know her. But - one thing in particular stood out to him. “Why would you need a pick-me-up?” Rachel stared at the half-eaten pickle in her hand. She took a few thoughtful bites. And chewed it slowly and finished it. “Rachel?”

She turned to him, a somber half smile on her face. “I don’t… know what I’m doing, Jason.”

“What are you talking about, Rachel?” He shook his head. Rachel was the best thing that ever happened to this library. And the single best thing he had seen walk through the manor doors in a long while. She didn’t even know. “That makes no sense to me.”

“Correction - I meant - at all. I don’t know what I’m doing at all…” Rachel sipped from a water bottle, shaking her head slowly. “I mean look around. I can barely find my way around most days and I’m supposed to be the head of the project…” Her voice lowered to a murmur that he could just make out. He slid his own ladder closer, he didn’t want to miss it. “This place, this library - it’s the most amazing private library I’ve ever been in.” Her arms widened to denote its vastness. “It’s been my dream to do a project of this scale. But, this is Wayne Manor - I think I’m in over my head.”

“That's it, Roth.” Jason said seriously and then, he stood up. He dusted himself off and waited. When she didn’t join him, he gave her a quizzical stare. Still seated, she gawked up at him. He tapped his foot, impatiently. “Come on.”

“Come on? Come on, where?” Rachel sounded skeptical. He held out a hand. She lingered for 3 seconds, before she took it. And he gently pulled her to standing, her ponytail fluid with motion; Rachel was within inches of his lips. He followed her line of sight to his mouth. Their warm breath mingled for several moments. Rachel broke first. And she glanced off in the distance, blinking to refocus her gaze. Her other hand slid slowly down his bicep. After a second, his arm reluctantly released her waist. Jason grasped her hand tighter, his fingers weaving tightly into hers.

“I… want to show you something.” He explained.

“Okay…?” She agreed. Though he could tell by the twinkle of mirth in her eyes, that she was more than curious.

“So let’s go - right now.” Without any more warning, he broke into a run. His long legs forced her to sprint along behind him. As he ran, he marveled at his surroundings. Rachel was right, even though he grew up here, the place was truly massive. Like a maze almost. With multiple floors and multiple wings. It had several staircases in each wing and on opposite sides of the atrium.

But its size allowed it to contain its fair share of secrets.

Including his own.

After running for a couple of minutes, darting around shelves, around lamps, and dodging boxes and a book cart, she finally called over the wind in their ears. “Jason, where are we going?” Finally, after two more lefts, he stopped. They were both panting, but he was excited. To show her. “W-what… is this?” They stood before what looked like a large wooden cupboard or pantry.

“You’ll see, Rachel.” He said in lieu of an explanation. “I want to see if I can still get in; it’s been a little while.” He dropped her hand to finger the outside of the cupboard. “Ah!” He exclaimed, as he pried it open. The door opened with a creak. It wasn’t a cupboard at all, it looked like something else entirely. There were pulleys and cables. A small platform. It was large enough to crawl into. It looked like a miniature lift, but not quite.

Rachel was confused, as she watched. “Jason… what is it? I don’t -”

“Shh… it’s a library…” He put a finger to her lips. “And this… is a secret.”

——————-

He stroked a path down her mouth, before he let his fingers fall off the slope of her chin. They silently took each other in for several moments, before he turned back towards the dark, half-sized room.

“It’s my little hideaway - from when I was first taken in as a kid…” Jason offered. “It’s a dumbwaiter - for servants to leave food for anyone in here. All so they could eat without ever having to leave.” Rachel slowly nodded, taking the contraption in, as she peered inside. “I think over the years, it’s been forgotten…” He had never told anyone about this before. But, he was telling Rachel. “I used to have hidden spots all over the manor and all over this place. But this one, was my favorite…” He smirked. “No one ever thought to check the library for a scoundrel like me.” He snorted.

Rachel smiled. She watched him closely before she asked a question. “Why was it your favorite?”

“I liked getting lost in here - in the library.” He shrugged, his feet shuffling. “I would get lost in here for hours reading or thinking… When I was feeling unsure, or like I didn’t belong, I would come here… I’m still glad for it, this place taught me a lot.”

“What… did it teach you?” Her face mystified and awed by his confession.

“Many things. But mostly, that I was wrong.” Jason admitted. “I didn’t need to be in some hole in the wall. I did belong - I was exactly where I was supposed to be.” Jason faced her, his hand on her own. “And so are you.”

She glanced at the dumbwaiter, processing this. Her face angled back toward the ground, before she came up, with a wistful stare.

“I don’t want to say… I get it or I understand… As no one ever quite can - get it - I mean.” Rachel tried. She licked her lips. Rachel hesitantly reached up and skimmed his face with her index and middle fingers.

“Yeah… Tell me about it. Everyone says that, but the truth is, they really don’t.” Jason nodded, he was grateful for this. He was glad that she wasn’t one for generic replies, especially to his admission. But truly, if anyone could grasp what he was saying, he felt she would.

“What I didn’t say before was, well… was.” Jason waited patiently for her to elaborate. “My mother… She was Jewish. "I lost my parents - too…” Oh. He felt a turning in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t hesitate and he pulled her close. Rachel froze, before she settled into his arms.

When he let her go, she spoke again. “Going to get a pastrami sandwich with her, is one of the last true, dependable memories I have of her.” Rachel’s voice wavered. But then, after a moment, it sounded full of something akin to hope. Or was it acceptance? “It’s almost like it gives me guidance, or answers to questions I can’t ask her… It… fills something inside me. More than an ordinary meal does.”

“Food for the soul.” Jason agreed. She did understand… She really did. He knew it as he saw Rachel’s deep sparkling eyes search his.

“But, like you, I found family in unexpected places… It’s so much more than blood ties, isn’t it?” She gave him a soft smile.

“Yes.” Jason thought of Bruce. His brothers. Alfred. Ace. Though it had seemed unlikely at first. And they were the oddest bunch of misfits he knew. They were a family. What they had become and why they had become it, was mixed up in the wonderful and the terrible. But, he wouldn’t trade for anything. “It’s whatever or whomever you need it to be.”

“And that’s what matters.” She finished. He couldn’t have said it better.

“Yes. Yes it is.” She knew what it was like to lose family. How he must have never felt quite right or the same, until he found his place, his people. And if he hadn’t known then, he knew now, how a sandwich could satisfy a different kind of craving. As that meal had sated him in immeasurable ways. It had filled the cracks and fractures inside him in ways no meal before it had managed to. It was his heart that felt sated.

“Thank you for showing me this, Jason.” Her words were measured and careful. But, he could tell that this talk had invigorated her, especially when she said, quietly, “I think I needed that.”

“And thank you - for lunch.” Jason clarified. “That really was some sandwich…” He muttered under his breath, shaking his head. They walked slowly. Ambling around the shelves listlessly. Neither ready to leave each other’s side just yet.

She shifted a lock of hair away from her face. “I told you it was special.” Rachel brushed his shoulder and blushed, when she realized what she was touching him with such ease.

“No, it’s not.” Jason told her. And he could tell by the look on her face that she wasn’t getting it. Or maybe she had yet to figure it out. “It’s not the sandwich, Rachel.” His low voice speaking as he moved closer, the corners of his lips turned up. “It was never the sandwich that was special.”

#jayrae #raex #redrae #jason todd #red hood #raven roth #me #fanfic #writing #fanfiction #au #libraryau #request #raven #ravendc #red x #Part 3 is happening!!!!

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