-Athena's POV-

We returned to one of Jason's safe houses. I let him lean on me, like always. It seemed like every time I was with Jason, he was always getting hurt. I tried to put the thought out of my mind but his wound looked very painful. I wrapped my arm around his waist and steered him towards the couch.

This safe house was actually more of a home. It was the one we both went to when we actually wanted to sit down. I had only one safe house and there was little to no furniture in it, so I hadn't visited it for weeks. Most of Jason's safe houses were modeled like mine, except with more expensive gear.

This safe house was located only a few blocks from Arkham Asylum, so Jason told me he bought it really cheap. He also told me that he only started using it once I came on board. I tried to hide my blush, but I couldn't help it. The house had hardwood floors and white, brick walls. There was a comfy plush couch and one black love seat. There was a tiny kitchen and even a bedroom with a queen bed!

Gently, I pushed Jason's body down into the couch. "Ouch," Jay whimpered. I rolled my eyes.

"I will kill Black Mask with my own two hands," I hissed. Jay chuckled. I whipped my eyes back to face him, glaring over my shoulder. "What are you laughing at?"

"It's not that big of a deal," Jason reclined back, covering his eyes with his arm, "I've dealt with worse."

I stalked over to where he laid and stood over him. He moved his arm slightly, looking at me with one of his eyes. He squinted. "Black Mask thinks he can send assassins after us!? He thinks he can hurt you!? He's got another thing coming. Another fucking thing. Nightingale will be the last word on his lips before I send him off to his maker." I popped my knuckles and envisioned Black Mask dead at my feet. Flames lit my pupils and my lips stretched into a power hungry smile.

Jason just busted out laughing. He continuously cheered out, the sound of his genuine laugh filling the room and making it feel like home. He clutched his stomach and heefed, his face turning pink and tears brimming in his eyes. I crossed my arms and tried to pout. It just encouraged his laughter. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

And then I laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

Within a minute, we were both cackling like we'd never heard a joke before. I was on the ground on my back with my arms wrapped tightly around my aching abs.

"Ow, ow, ow," Jason wheezed, holding his injury each time he let out another chuckle. Finally, the noise subsided and our laughs dimmed into warming smiles. I peeked up over the couch and stared at Jason. He stared back lovingly.

His gaze cut straight through me, lighting little fires in its wake. The feeling inside of me reminded me of Christmas at the circus. My mother would snuggle me close to the fire after the Christmas show, kissing my cheeks and tickling me gently. It also reminded me of the times Ra's would compliment me during my training. It was a feeling of familiarity and comfort. It was a feeling of home, of family.

Jay's fingers wove their way into mine and he tugged gently. My legs bounced me up into the air. I crawled on top of Jason's warm body, pressing my face into his hard chest. His breaths rose me up and down. I looked up and he was still looking down at me. Slowly and tenderly, I inched closer until we shared the same breath. I glanced up into his eyes then back down at his lips. Climbing a centimeter closer, I pressed my lips against his.

Although he would never admit it, Jason Todd loved fall. His lips tasted like pumpkin from the fall treats I knew he enjoyed. Kissing deeper, I could also taste the distinct spiciness of cinnamon whiskey. Kissing him was like jumping into a pile of leaves or carving pumpkins.

His hand slid to my cheek, holding me in place. I smiled against his lips. He pulled away and smirked, then pressed a soft kiss onto my nose.

"Don't think this doesn't mean we aren't going to talk about the assassins," I joked, resting my chin on my hands.

Jason rolled his eyes and pulled me into a kiss quickly. "How hard am I going to have to kiss you to get you to stop worrying about me?"

A fire burned in the pit of my stomach. My toes tingled. I couldn't stop the flirtatious grin from crawling onto my lips. "Pretty fucking hard," I said, my voice barely over a whisper and heavy with lust. Jason's smirk only grew. His hands started to migrate down, but I sat up and got off of him. He sighed dramatically.

"We need to talk about our next actions," I sat down on the love seat, avoiding touching Jason. I really need to talk business without being distracted.

"Well, first things first," Jason sat up slowly, "We're running low on supplies. If we're going to attack and go through with the entire plan, we need to restock. The gangs are getting pretty rowdy now that they know assassins are after me. We need weapons to crack down on them."

I nodded agreement. "I do need to get some things."

"Alright. Let's leave tomorrow. The pain meds you forced me to take are making me drowsy," Jason admitted, letting out a yawn and stretching out his arms. I don't know if it was on purpose, but I could swear he flexed twice as hard as he normal did when he stretched.

"Okay," I walked over to him, pressing a kiss to his forehead, "I'm going to get some things from my safe house before we leave. I'll be back." I grabbed Jason's key off the kitchen counter and swung open the door. As I brought it to a close, I peeked over my shoulder at Jay. "Be awake when I get back and maybe you can stop me from worrying," I winked.

-

I grabbed some spare clothes, miscellaneous weapons, and my last Nightingale uniform. I made a mental note to buy some Nomex wherever Jason and I were going. He hadn't specified where we were going to restock our supplies, but I assumed that it was a huge warehouse far away from Gotham. He had everything. After all, he used to wear Nomex all the time when he was a kid.

Stuffing things frantically into a bag, I dug through my drawers. In the very back, my fingers tangled around a soft, itchy object. I dragged it out. A pair of lace undies along with a black silk bra dangled off my fingertips. A single image of Jason popped into my head. I tossed the two over my shoulder into my bag.

A knock. I ignored it, thinking it was a stone. Since my safe house was in the East End, rocks and bottles were constantly being tossed at my seeming abandoned building. I shrugged and slung my bag over my shoulder.

Two more loud knocks. I wrapped my fingers around the dagger Jason gifted to me and stepped closer and closer to the door. I was centimeters from the door when...

CRASH! My door snapped open, falling flat against its hinges. One hinge was completely ripped off, leaving the door dangling. I rolled behind my single shelf and cocked my pistols. Tucked behind the shelf, I peeked around the corner and surveyed the room.

I was shocked when I met the white eyes of Nightwing. He glared at me. I glared back.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked, stepping out, but still kept my gun aimed at his chest. The cross hair of my gun pointed directly at the bright -- now red -- emblem on his chest.

He didn't skip a beat. "Why did you leave Gotham?" His voice sounded surprisingly normal, like he was playing his usual good cop interrogation routine.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. I had been asking myself that same question over and over again that I had tired of hearing it. Even from Dick. I had answered before, but my answers never seemed to be the full truth. Not even to me. I was just so...tired.

"Oh my god, Dick, seriously?" I pinched the bridge of my nose, lowering my gun.

"Athena." Dick stared straight at me. I was glad he was wearing his mask.

Filing through my mind, I selected the lie I used on Dick. The truth started to bubble to the surface and it took everything inside of me to shove it down. "I made a mistake, okay? I left because my mission was over so I returned to the League of--"

"Athena, fuck!" Dick shouted, throwing his arms into the air, "Just tell me the fucking truth!"

His attitude was justified, but annoying. I had spent so much time with Jason, that I felt naked without him at my side. The thought alone made me feel weak. "Dick, I know you're mad--"

"No, no. You really don't," He reached up and tore off his mask.

"Oh, you're so superior huh?" I was done with his complaints. I couldn't keep up with my own feelings, let alone Dick's. And Jason's. It hurt me to be so cold to him, but I had no other choice but to shut him down and get out.

Dick scoffed. "Do you remember what you said to me before you left?" He paused, generally waiting for an answer. I nodded. I had been replaying that day over and over again in my mind as a form of self torture. "You said I hadn't meant anything to you, that it was all an act. And then you left me standing on that helicopter pad like an idiot. You made me feel like an idiot for loving someone as selfish as you!"

"Dick, I made a mistake. My mission was over. I had no reason to stay. I'm sorry," I repeated. He wasn't satisfied.

That was the thing about Dick. He was never satisfied with my lies. He never ate them up. He just continued to press for the truth. The hard, assassin part of me was concerned why my lies weren't working. The soft, inner part of me was somewhat pleased that Dick refused to give up on me. A chunk of hurt -- one I had been harboring since I found out Dick dated Barbara again -- broke off and drifted away from me.

"If you won't tell me the truth about you, tell me the truth about someone else," He stood up taller and crossed his arms, "who is Red Hood?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A part of me wanted to shout out Jason's name just to get Dick to stop looking at me like he was. But the other part of me remembered how soft Jason's lips were and how his arms felt when he held me. I couldn't.

"Dick, I'm not going to betray Red Hood."

"Ha, and you don't see the irony in that." He seemed to know what my answer was going to be.

I sighed. "You don't get it, do you?"

"Oh, I get it," He stepped closer to me, "You won't betray your fellow criminal, but you'll betray the people that love you."

Love me?

"Dick, I made a mistake and--"

"And what? And now everything's okay?"

The slight murmur in his tone made my insides crush. His words wavered. I tried to ignore the added shininess that had arose in his eyes. I looked at the bridge of his nose instead. I couldn't look him in the eyes. I just couldn't.

"You know, all the other Bat allies tell me about how different you were before you met me. How forgiving you were. You say I'm selective in who I protect, but you're selective in who you forgive. People make mistakes. Why is it every time I make a mistake I have to sink to my knees and beg for forgiveness?" I was talking, but I couldn't believe that I actually was making sound. I was finally voicing what had been on my mind for so long. It was unreal.

Dick's face contorted. "Because you make thousands! There's a difference between giving someone a second chance and giving someone a one hundredth chance. After so many mistakes, one can assume its in someone's character to be clumsy."

I chuckled, sadly. "Guess I really messed you up then, huh?"

"You don't get it!" Dick shrugged off my attempt at cooling the situation, "You don't know what it was like for me! Did you even consider it? You left me. I said I loved you and you told me it was all fake. You smashed my heart to pieces. Not to mention you left with the League of Assassins without a single fucking word.

"Its different than other break ups. I can't just casually see you at work and see that you're okay, no! You go away for almost two years without a peep, leaving my imagination to fill in the rest. And then...then you come back. You come back and I get to see you for the first time. And what? You are completely fucked up! And who do I have to blame? Sure, all the torture was on Ra's hands but how did it get there? It was your choice. You knew what he was going to and you went away. But, while I was sitting, watching your comatose body for three days..."

Another thing I didn't know. He stayed, all that time? Watching me?

"...I blamed myself. Of course I did! Guilt ate me up. Maybe if I could've just loved you more, trusted you more, you wouldn't of left. Maybe I made you feel trapped, like you had to go. I let guilt blame me for what happened to you. But, it's your fault too. That's why I can't forgive you, not this time. That's why we can never be the same." Dick looked down at his feet, his hair flopping down to prevent me from seeing his eyes.

He blamed himself?

"That's not the reason," I mumbled.

"What?"

This time, it was my turn to shout. "That's not the fucking reason! Dick, I know I made mistakes, but so have you! Everything would be different if you...if you...if you came and saved me!" I confessed, meeting his piercing blue gaze.

His mouth opened slightly, his eyes shocked. I tried not to get lost staring in them. I hadn't seen the enchanting blue orbs in so long. They were hypnotizing.

"If you had just done what Bruce and Tim did. If you had come after me too...but no. You were blinded by your own hatred and guilt. If you came after me, you would've found the truth! But you didn't. You never do."

I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder, and charged out the space where my door was. Dick stayed where he was, dumbfounded.

As I drove to Jason's safe house, I felt a small weight plucked off of my shoulders. The words and regrets that had been swelling up inside me had finally been released. I still had a long way to go until I was free -- I still had so much to get rid of -- but it still felt good.

I replayed the argument in my head. Dick's quivering voice still stabbed me. Each time I imagined that look -- that stare of anger, hurt, and...love? -- I steered widely out of control.

I was tired. Inside and out. I had been tired since I left Gotham.

~~~~~~~~~Another chapter you guys! A juicy one ;) I'm just going to remind everyone that I really do appreciate your comments and a lot of you guys are really funny! Even if I don't reply, I do read all of them. I love you guys <3~~~~~~~~~