A/n: This was gonna be a one-shot but then it ended up being 15k words so I broke it into two parts lol I'll post part two tomorrow!! It's fully written and edited!! This is also a scene in my series that I'm writing for Gar but I really liked it and decided to change a whole lot of stuff and make a it two-shot for Jason lol

Titans tower hasn't been kind to Jason, you can see it with every passing day. At first, he was mostly just sucking it up, figured he'd be here for a month and Dick would send him back to Bruce because he'd have proven himself ready to be Robin again. But it's been three months and Dick still won't level with Jason even for a second. But now, it's like he trains a little too hard, he dodges food, barely sleeps. It's like it's tearing him a part.

So, you shouldn't have been surprised when Jason and Gar used the super computer to try to find Dr. Light. Both boys want to prove themselves to the older Titans and Gar figured finding Dr. Light would be plenty good enough. Not Jason though. He argued that the three of you could go find him and just make sure you're all right so you don't look like assholes. You could call Dick right after. He swore it to you.

You can see the desperation in his face. The way his forehead wrinkles and his brows twitch up. It's the way his his voice nearly goes up an octave, almost begging the two of you to go. Jason isn't stupid but he's impulsive. You love that about him but you also hate it, too because it makes him unsafe sometimes. The idea of something horrible happening to him and you not being there, makes you want to crumble into the floor beneath your feet. He's going to go regardless of what you and Gar say..

If he weren't so desperate, he would realize how bad of an idea this sounds. How the older Titans being worried about Dr. Light should be sending a giant flashing red flag in his face. But this is his chance and the one thing he knows he's good at is being Robin. It's the one thing that makes him feel whole, like himself. Being behind a mask and kicking ass makes him happy because he doesn't have to put on a fake face for anyone. He can be whoever the fuck he wants behind that mask and he is so desperate for that again. And Gar can see it, too, almost convinced that if the two of you are there, Jason's odds of getting himself killed go down significantly. So, he agrees, too and three of you head to the tunnels.

The thing about being anything with Jason, friends, lovers, friends with benefits, anything, is that you all know something bad is going to happen. He's hot headed, stubborn as a pack mule, fueled by vengeance, and he has a desperate need to be loved and feel worthy. That's a combination that you just know is going to get him seriously injured or worse. It's great having him but a part of you lives in fear for the mission that takes him from you.

No matter how hard you try to be there for him and show him that someone cares about him, it's always like it's not enough because you're not his parents or Bruce or Dick. You are his friend that worries about him every single day. If it's not the fear you'll have a mission one day to go on, it's the not eating and too much exercise. It's a matter of time before he runs himself right into the ground. And you get sucked into that fear when Jason says you should split up, almost demanding you go with Gar but you won't budge. The universe is going to have pull Jason from your cold dead hands if that's what it wants to do.

"You should have gone with Gar." Jason snips once Gar is out of earshot.

"You said we would call Dick but I know you're not going to." You scoff, rolling your eyes. "You gonna get yourself killed if you go in with a half-assed, impulsive plan with no backup." You try your best to keep snark in your voice and not let the worry creep in.

Jason keeps his head straight. "It'd a relief for you then, wouldn't it?" Jason is growing more annoyed with every passing second and he knows he gets under your skin.

He gets under everyone's skin but he wanted to do this himself, to prove himself and to make sure you didn't get hurt and dragged into it. Maybe if he put a little more thought into it, he would have seen it coming.

You pause, letting Jason walk in front of you. Is he really being serious right now? How can he think you'd be relieved that he died? The past few months, you've gotten closer. You watch movies together, he tries to get you into his music and you humor him. You know more about his past than anyone at the tower and this kid still thinks you'd prefer him dead.

You catch up with him. "I'd be devasted, actually." The snark is gone from your voice and Jason perks up with your comment, barely glancing at you. "I do happen to give half a shit about you." You offer him a cornered grin, small but there.

There's been this flirting thing you guys do ever since you met in Chicago. It's a flirting banter that always almost leads to it going somewhere. Jason resists the urge to drag you into his room when you stand in his doorway, making some comment about his music or his fighting technique that you don't actually know much about. He's terrified you'd reject him if he ever tried anything with you though so he sticks to flirting, holding onto the tension just enough to not let it burst. And you fear Jason will suck you so far into him that you'll suffocate under him. He's so much and so worthy of everything good but he doesn't see it. You're terrified that you could never be enough to convince him of that. Dancing around a flirting table, never committing to anything works for you both. Even when you want more.

"Just half a shit?" Jason pulls a smirk to his face.

"Just half, the other half is in a constant state of annoyance with your arrogance." You shove him with your shoulder.

"Like you don't fucking like it." Jason chortles.

"Eh, could tone it down a bit don't you think?" You tease.

"Got you to come with, didn't it?" Jason plays your game, ignoring the fact he just said he didn't want you there.

"Was it your arrogance or stupidity that made me come though?" You narrow your eyes at him and he looks to you with the shake of his head.

"Now you think I'm stupid?" He picks the argument.

He always does this. He finds the one thing that could be a negative trait about himself, and picks the argument. He doesn't know why he does it, it's like he's fishing to make sure that's what someone meant. Whether it be you or Gar or Dick, he's always so sure you actually mean it and that it's not a joke. And every time he does, he misses the way your face falls and eyes grow sad for him.

"I think this is fucking stupid, not you. Most of the time you're smart and no one gives you nearly enough credit for it but this is fucking dumb and reckless and impulsive. I don't have to tell you that, though." You shrug your shoulders, watching Jason carefully.

"If he'd just let me..." Jason grits his teeth, dropping the argument because you are right. He will never tell you that, but you are. "Do something, it'd be different but he fucking hates me and thinks I'm a waste of fucking space."

Your face softens as you watch his jar clench. "He doesn't think that, Jay. Dick is just...kind of a dick sometimes. Maybe he's mad at Bruce for replacing him and he's taking it out on you, which is shitty." You point a finger at him. "You're not Dick and you shouldn't try to be."

"I don't know." Jason shakes his head.

You let out a sigh and this is something he wants, something he needs. "Look, you find Dr. Light, I'll stand back if you want unless you need my help. I'm here to make sure you don't get yourself killed. This is your thing." You're a bit reluctant in your words. Jason won't ask for help even if he needs it and it'll make you feel a bit useless standing back but maybe it'll actually help him. At the end of the day, you just went to help him.

"I won't get myself killed." Jason scoffs. He wonders why you're so sure that's what's going to happen. What about him makes you think so little of him. "Why the fuck do you think that anyway?"

You shrug and if you're being honest, you're not entirely sure why you're convinced it'll happen. Of course, it's because of his personality but that's not something you'd tell him. He'd just fight with you and refuse to let you explain. But, maybe the other reason you know it's going to happen is because nothing stays too good in your life for very long and despite Jason's attitude, he is a very good part in your life. It's not that you're sure he's going to get himself killed, it's that you're terrified he'll leave you which isn't fair to him.

"I'd tell you but you'll just make fun of me for it." You brush it off, like you always do when things start to get a little too real between the two of you.

Jason looks to you and he lets out a sigh. "Okay, I won't make fun of you this one time." He says it almost mocking you.

You narrow your eyes at him but decide to take the bait. "I'm just scared of losing you, loser." You roll your eyes. "Like I said, I'd be devasted if you died."

Jason looks over to you and you dodge the look, not wanting to see his reaction. "I'm not gonna get myself killed, babe." Jason smirks at you, the idea of you really being that scared of losing him inflating his ego.

You roll your eyes nearly into the back of your head and of course that's how he takes it. "Better not, who else am I gonna flirt with if you die?" You tease him with a crooked smile.

"There's Gar." Jason teases.

"Not as fun," You shake your head with the scrunch of your nose. "You let me get under skin and you're kind of hot when you're mad." A sly grin comes to your lips as Jason looks you up and down and there's no way you're serious.

"Just when I'm mad? I'm hot all the time, babe." Jason pokes a bit at the idea.

"Shut the fuck up." You groan but Jason sees the bashful smile coming to your face. "You babe'd me twice in like thirty seconds, calm down, Batboy."

Jason smirks. "Babe." He says it again and you just laugh.

He knows it doesn't get under your skin, not the way he normally does. You always squirm a bit when he uses the pet name on you and it makes his heart swell. You never tell him not to call you it so sometimes he overuses it, just watch you squirm.

You're ready to say some quip back, fight him on it, mess with him a little more but you can see a flash of light from down the tunnel. Your heart sinks with the sight and it's time for Jason to do his thing. The only option you have is to hope the other Titans are being dramatic about Dr. Light and have a little faith in Jason's Robin ability.

"You're on, Batboy." You state, trying to hide the worry from your voice.

Jason gives you a grin so big you've never seen it before. His face lights up entirely as he stretches his arms quickly. He's not someone that's hard to figure out, not really. Daddy issues, mommy issues, issues with the system. The kid has more issues than you can possibly count but they add up to how he acts and what drives him. But you've never got to see him in action before. You were both possessed by a Trigon the last time you saw him suited up so you don't even remember that really. He hadn't been himself so it doesn't matter but now you see him, walking so confidently up to Dr. Light. You follow behind him, brows furrowed in amazement and interest.

Jason isn't doing too well at first. He went in with too much confidence. It's what you always thought, the confidence will get him hurt one day. He's not cautious enough and for a second, you finally understand why Bruce made him stay with Dick and why Dick won't let him help.

He goes headfirst into something, no thought just does it. But, on the other hand, you wonder if he would be like that if someone just told him they cared about him, cared about his health and overall well-being and actually fucking meant it and showed it. Told him that they're proud of him for what he has done, that he does a good job. Maybe if someone he actually cared about him told him something good about himself, he'd put a little more care into his own well-being. You're never really sure if it would matter coming from you.

Jason pauses, on a knee after Dr. Light shot more light at him, causing him to fall, you dodging from behind and wanting to step in. But, it's just a second, like he was regaining himself but he stands up and calls Dr. Light a lightbulb. It makes you chuckle from behind, rolling your eyes because even in a fight, Jason can't shut the fuck up. You'd argue it's his worst and best trait. But, after you and Jason doge of few light bursts from Dr. Light, Jason gets close enough to grab him and start punching him.

His punches are angry and so are his kicks. When Dick teaches you, when you watch old Robin videos on YouTube, it's never like that. Dick isn't soft or anything like that but Jason has a lot more fury behind his fighting. It's almost obvious that he takes out all of his feelings about the people who abandon him on the villains..

Before you know it, Jason has him pinned down, Jason on top of him while you stand a few feet in front of Jason, just mostly making sure Dr. Light doesn't pull anything. Not that you actually think that, at this point, Jason will need any help.

In the heat of the moment, the worry you had for Jason fades because he definitely has this taken care of and instead all you can think about is how hot it is. Watching Jason train is always something to watch. You catch yourself watching maybe a little too much and when he catches you staring, he always gives you this wink that sends chills down your spine. It's cocky and never leads to anything, he does it just to fuck with you and it works every single time. But this is different, because this is him actually in action. This is Jason in his element, where he feels most comfortable.

"This Titan's back, bitch." Jason states with a heavy breath before punching Dr. Light some more, making you shake your head.

But, it's been a few minutes now and the worry fades back into the back of your head as you're watching and waiting for something bad to happen. This has gone too well. This can't be the guy the older Titans are so afraid of, not when Jason didn't have any trouble taking him down once he calmed down a bit. Jason and Dick were trained by the same person, they were both Robin. How can Dick be afraid of this guy that Jason has pinned down almost like it was easy? Something isn't right and you're about to voice your concern when you feel something small against the back of your head.

There it is.

You freeze knowing exactly what is against your head and you can't even find it in yourself to say anything. Your heart falls to the pit of your stomach and the panic starts to consume your veins. This is not why you came along. You were so certain it would be Jason needing rescuing but now it's you. The thing you judge Jason for, the over confidence, now has you in trouble. You should have been being a better lookout, just in case. But your confidence got the best of you.

A part of you is terrified Jason's going to freak out when he turns around, make a dumb decision of running towards whoever is behind you and get you both killed. And another part is terrified he'll do nothing. But, you can't do anything at all, your face is straight and you just stand there, dreading for Jason to notice while Dr. Light starts laughing, almost a cackling sound coming from him despite Jason's punches.

Jason pauses and the same, gut-wrenching feeling you've had since Jason hatched this spur-of-the moment plan hits his chest like a freight train. He could feel you watching him and maybe that was a bit of motivator for him, catching glimpses of you nearly turning into the heart eye emoji as you watched. But, the energy changed. It doesn't take a superhuman to notice something is happening and it's more than Dr. Light's cackle from under him.

Jason slowly, turns to look behind him, hoping against hope that Dr. Light is just fucking insane and thinks getting punched is funny. He's begging the universe for that to be it but all the begging proves useless as he sees you, gun to the back of your head frozen in place and Deathstroke at the other end. Jason feels the world crumble from beneath him.

He never wanted you in the middle of any danger. The confidence he had going into this, it has you with a gun to your head and it's his fault. He was so fucking sure he could do this, on his own, and now you're the one in danger. The thunder of his heart has him struggling to breathe or even focus on anything else going on. His voice is caught in his throat and for the first time, he has no idea what to do.

Dr. Light takes that moment of Jason freezing to get one good punch in making Jason yell out in pain as he falls off of Dr. Light.

"Stop!" You yell, feeling the tears burn the back of your eyes but Dr. Light laughs again at your pathetic effort before punching Jason again, this time, knocking him out.

You don't have time to process it before Deathstroke takes the gun away from your head and slams it into you, knocking you unconscious as you fall to the ground.

Jason comes to first in a new location. He's hanging from a wooden pole in what seems to be some type of basement. He coughs a few times before realizing his hands are tied above his head and realizing what happened. Flashes of Dr. Light and you with Deathstroke go across his eyes light a bad strobe scene in a crappy horror movie. He's frantic as he looks around for you before he spots you tied the same way, arms above your head, still unconscious and hanging from a second wood pole.

"Y/n." Jason says, trying not to be too loud but you don't move.

Adrenaline pumps through his veins as he lifts himself up on the restraints, quick and hard to try and escape. He's terrified. His biggest fear, ever, has been not being good enough. Amounting to nothing, living on the streets and eating out of dumpsters for the rest of his life but right now, that is nothing compared to the guilt and agony coating his bones at the thought he got you killed just to feel validated. Burning stings the back of his eyes as he struggles, trying with everything in him to break the restraints, hurting his wrists and elbows with the force.

"Y/n!" He yells this time, not able to control the panic as his eyes dart over you. You don't move even an inch and he can't tell if you're breathing from the few feet that separate you.

He struggles and struggles but it's no use and he looks up at his hands, knowing what he can do and should do. If he dislocates his fingers, he could escape and grab you. You could make it out of here if he can do it quick enough or if he waits until Dr. Light or Deathstroke to come back. If he can get one of them to play his game, maybe he can take one of them down. It'll be one less person to deal with and the chances of saving the both of you go up. And as some sort of luck would have it, Dr. Light walks in with a shadeless-lamp.

Dr. Light starts using his powers to light up the lightbulb and a grin comes to Jason's face, trying his best to not look horrified for you.

"Dr. Light." Jason says before bursting into laughter. "Did you come up with that shit yourself or did your parents saddle you with that bullshit? I mean, come on," Jason sucks in a breath. "What a lame fucking name." Jason snarks, trying to get a rise out of Dr. Light. You always said he could get a rise out of the dead if he tried hard enough.

"Shut it!" Dr. Light yells, already growing annoyed with Jason's nonsense.

Jason's confidence grows as if he's fueled by other people's annoyance. "What? Is my talking annoying you, dickweed?" Jason asks before laughing again. He knows it's working and his plan, albeit half-assed, might work. "Cause that's the thing, I can do it all day." Jason's voice is nonchalant with the last statement while Dr. Light makes his way over to Jason. "All night and if you're nice, twice on a Sunday." Jason grins as Dr. Light stands in front of him.

"I said, shut the fuck u--" Dr. Light is quickly cut off.

Jason kicks him as hard as he can, lifting himself with the restraints and nailing Dr. Light in the stomach. Dr. Light is on his knees and Jason kicks him again, just enough for Dr. Light to be in reach. Jason uses his strength to hold himself up, wrapping his legs around Dr. Light's neck and squeezing as hard as he can until Dr. Light passes out. Jason grins to himself with the accomplishment.

"Night night, asshole." Jason states with ease before dislocating his fingers and pulling his hands free with ease.

He lands on the floor before popping his fingers back into place. He looks over at you and runs to you. The relief of getting Dr. Light down doesn't last long as the panic starts to come back at the sight of you. You look dead, completely lifeless and he doesn't know what they did to you after he was knocked out. The last thing he can remember is you standing there, horrified and scared. You told him how you ended up at Caulder House, what you went through before and the torture you endured before you were left for dead. And now here you, held captive in another really shitty situation. He's going to get you out of here even if it kills him.

"Y/n, hey." Jason's voice is quiet, almost soft as he cups your face. "Wake up." Jason lightly shakes your head. "You have to wake, please." He pleads, the feeling of his heart making him dizzy. "Y/n, wake the fuck up." He shakes you a little harder as the panic rises knowing it's only a matter of time before Deathstroke comes back and luckily, you let out a groan.

Your head is throbbing, ears ringing. Your eyes are heavy as you try to open them. Everything comes at you in slow motion. Dr. Light and Jason, gun to your head. It doesn't even feel real right now. Not until you're able to open your eyes fully and see Jason, panicked face and blood coming from his ear and a cut on his lip.

"Ow." You mutter.

"Fuck." He lets out a breath of relief as he stands on his tip toes, using one of the Robin blades to cut you down.

He catches you. Neither of you were far from the ground, only about a foot but he was not risking you hitting the floor because of him. You seem more disoriented than he is. He holds your head in his hands, as if worried you'll disappear if he lets go and he's trying his best to make sure you're okay but only for a second. You can't waste too much time and you've never seen him like this.

You've never seen Jason anything but confident and cocky and angry. A part of you wondered if he could even feel anxiety because he never showed it, not until now. You can feel his hands shaking against your face and his lip is trembling just a little bit. How is he ever going to recover from this?

"I'm okay." You assure him, lying right through your teeth. The pounding of your head and nausea filling your stomach tells you that you probably have a concussion and being wherever the hell you are is bringing flashbacks of your previous kidnappers. But you lie for his sake.

You're terrified and pissed and tired. How the hell does this happen twice? And you have powers this time. At least with your previous abductors, you were tied up long before you had powers. How the hell do you get abducted twice and beaten? At this point, you have to wonder if it's you because no one is that un-fucking-lucky but now is definitely not the time to start freaking out about that.

"Can you run?" He asks.

You nod, not able to say anything else. It's not that you don't have anything to say because you do but when you get scared, you get mean. Being mean to Jason right now, in the heat of moment, wouldn't be fair to him. And you know that despite the boiling river of anger flowing through you. It is not his fault. So, you stay quiet as Jason grabs your hand as hard as he can and you follow right behind him.

You get to the stairs and before you reach the door, Deathstroke appears, a long sword centimeters from Jason's nose. Jason freezes and he's so pissed. You were so close and now you're trapped again. This was the one chance he had to save you both, save you and now he doesn't think you'll get another chance. The older Titans are afraid of Deathstroke, everyone is afraid of Deathstroke, he doesn't think he'll be dumb enough to leave either of you unattended again.

You both back away, Jason standing directly in front of you with an arm blocking you from Deathstroke. It's something he didn't even think about doing, just an instinct as Deathstroke walks down the stairs, you both backing away with every step. Dr. Light comes from behind you, blocking the two of you in against the big bads.

In your head, this literally could not get any worse. Listening to Dick is not something you like to do very often either but of all times, you really wish you would have listened. And listened to Gar about calling Dick or telling him. This is the dumbest thing you and Jason have ever done.

"Grab her." Deathstroke's voice is nonchalant as he says it, your eyes widening as Dr. Light grabs you from behind. On instinct, you scream and kick him, feeling your hands warm as you put up a fight.

This will not be like last time. Not being locked in a basement to rot and being tortured, so you fight.

"Leave her the fuck alone, you piece of shit lightbulb!" Jason yells, about to help you fight Dr. Light but Deathstroke punches him in the mouth before grabbing him.

You take the oppurtunity to put your palm to Dr. Light's arm, your palm glowing a neon green and he lets out a harsh scream in your ears before dropping you. You hold both hands out, one facing Dr. Light and one facing Deathstroke. You don't have the combat skills that Jason does, you never will but you can produce deadly acid. Not a single part of you believes this will work, there is a reason the Titans couldn't take down Deathstroke before, why they're afraid of him but Dr. Light? He is just some stupid fucking lightbulb.

"What the fuck is that?" Dr. Light yells, fury consuming him as he stands away from you, holding his arm, Jason gives you a cornered a grin. He believes this will work but only for a second.

"Do you think that will work?" Deathstroke asks, his voice so calm it sends chills through your blood.

"Worked on him." You state, trying to hide the panic in your voice.

"She'll melt you, asshole!" Jason snarks. You'll melt him? You've never tried that before but in theory, maybe. In practice though? You're more about the chemical burns.

"I'll kill him if you fight." Deathstroke says, holding Jason's arms behind his back, holding the sword to his neck.

He's not bluffing. Deathstroke doesn't seem the type to make a threat and not follow through with it. Jason's looking at you, almost expects you to start fighting for your life. That's what he expects from almost anyone. Save yourself, don't worry about him. But, your palms fade to your usual skin tone and you drop your hands. The risk is too big. You're not letting Jason get killed because you decided to fight. He wouldn't fight if he were you. Dr. Light grabs you again, this time with more force as Deathstroke removes the sword from Jason's throat.

"Fine." You mutter, putting up no fight against Dr. Light. "We'll do what you say." Your voice is defeated as you avoid eye contact with Jason.

It breaks Jason a bit to see you and hear you defeated. When you met in Chicago, you had such a bite to you. It's why he liked you from the start. Sure, he thinks your hot, as he so eloquently put it to Gar, but you don't put up with his shit or anyone's. You're just as snarky as he is and you had so much fight when you showed up but now you're captured again and it's like too much with his life being threatened. And it's his fault so Jason follows your lead, and doesn't put up a fight right now. He swears, he'll find a way to, at least, get you out of here alive.

Deathstroke and Dr. Light tie you both up in separate chairs a few feet a part before blind folding the two of you and putting noise-canceling headphones over your heads. You're beating yourself up over it. Escaping against these guys involves planning and timing, attacking Dr. Light with Deathstroke right there was terrible timing. It wasn't planned at all and maybe had you just let them grab you both, it'd be different somehow. But now you're stuck, unable to see or hear anything that's happening and you're captured all over again. You wanna give up. Jason has enough fight for the both of you.

Jason sits in forced silence and tries to think of a way to get you both out of this. His sight and hearing were taken from him. He's tied up and can't tell where Deathstroke and Dr. Light are, what they're doing. He doesn't even know if they ended up moving you somewhere else once he was taken care of. How is he supposed to get out of this? No training from Dick or Bruce prepared him for this mess as much as Dick tried anyway.

Over the next hour, Deathstroke figures out Jason has a tracker in his leg and that's how the Titans are finding the two of you. When he figures it out, he carves into Jason's leg without warning and digs for it as Jason screams in agony. The blindfold and headphones seem to amplify the pain since that's the only thing there is to focus on. Maybe he should have listened to Dick and taken it out himself. Maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad and now he's stuck with a hole in his leg. He is, however, very grateful that you can't hear what's happening to him because the last thing you need is to know he's in pain. He can't seem weak to you, not now of all times.

Jason heaves for breath once Deathstroke gets the tracker out of his leg, tears brimming his eyes from the pain. Time moves so slow when you're in pain. You know that better than anyone and now Jason gets it. It feels like it's been days when it's only been another hour. The throbbing has gotten a little better but Jason can't tell if that's blood loss talking or if he's just used to the pain now.

Your head is yanked down as your headphones are pulled off and you hear someone talking that sounds a lot like Dick.

"Where's Jason and Y/n?" He asks and you swear you have to be hullicinating right now because Dick is not there unless Deathstroke really called him. Which, at this point, wouldn't shock you very much.

"Oh," Deathstroke says, the calmness of his voice just as chilling as ever as he rips Jason's headphones off. "You mean your little sidekicks?"

"Who the fuck you calling a sidekick, asshole?" Jason yells, venom in his voice.

You're glad to hear that he's still alive and kicking. You don't know how the fuck he does it. Sure, this has happened to you before and you were definitely not pleasant for the first few months. But, you still can't wrap your brain around how Jason is still finding it in himself to fight back, knowing it won't end well for him given the track record so far.

You hear a punch and Jason yell in pain from beside you. You flinch at the sounds coming from besides you. Deathstroke is going at it with Jason again and you can't quite figure out what is with these grown ass men picking on kids. What is with that? Can't they pick on people their own size and age for once?

"Leave him alone!" You find it in yourself to scream back, you can take whatever he gives you. That's how you see it. Jason, you're sure, has had plenty beatings as Robin but you don't think it's ever been much like this because Jason has always been able to fight back.

Deathstroke stops, hitting Jason as you yell and then he comes to you. Punching you once in the face and again in the stomach as you scream out in pain. His punches are definitely worse than anyone else's you've experienced and then you hear Jason screaming next to you.

"You hit girls now, you pussy?!" He spits.

He knows you're trying to help, distract Deathstroke from him but that's what he thinks he deserves. In a way, he thinks he deserves the beatings Deathstroke is giving him, for getting you into this. For not being good enough the first time around. And he'll be dammed if he lets you take a beating for him.

You gasp for breath as Deathstroke hits Jason again.

"You fuckin' bastard!" You can hear Hank over the phone. "Come try that shit with me!"

"Just tells us what you want." Dick says, his voice a stark contrast to Hank's screaming.

You hear Jason struggle to breathe while Deathstroke starts talking.

"As I was saying," You hear the slightest annoyance in Deathstroke's voice. So, he can be annoyed by something. "If you want them back, hand over Rose."

Jason is struggling more and more to breathe and you can tell it's because Deathstroke is strangling him. You can't tell if it's because Jason doesn't shut up or if it's to teach him a less, to scare you, scare the other Titans, maybe all of the above. All you do know is that Deathstroke definitely does not fuck around and the only reason either of you are alive is because Rose is safe is at Titans Tower.

"How do we know you're gonna keep your promise?" Dick asks.

Jason gasps and coughs beside you, and you almost breathe a sigh of relief knowing that he's actually still breathing. Not well, but breathing.

"Tonight, 3am. Embarcadero Plaza. Outside, use this phone to confirm." Deathstroke says before hanging up the phone.

He puts your headphones back on and your heart breaks for the boy beside you. A part of you blames him, blames Gar. It was Jason's idiotic, impulsive idea. He never thinks anything through and you're so fucking mad at him, you could hit him. But, you didn't put up much of a fight against it because as much as you love picking on him, you want him to feel wanted and worthy and loved. You know he thinks this, had it gone well, would have been his thing. This would have been Jason's big win for the older Titans. And you want that so fucking bad for him that you can't say no. So, you blame Gar.

Gar is the logical one, the one who thinks things through. He's the one that listens. When you and Jason are going behind Dick's back doing something he absolutely told you not to do, Gar is doing what he's asked or not getting involved and just not ratting you guys out. He doesn't argue with Dick or fight with Rachel. That's all you and Jason. He's the level-headed one. And he should have known better, too. He should have known better with you and Jason being together because surely, the only thing that comes out of the two of you teaming up is utter chaos. But you know it's wrong to blame him, too.

You have powers and training. You can produce deadly acid at the drop of a hat and your control over it is a win. You could have, at any point, helped Jason take down Dr. Light and you should have. It would have been over sooner, you could have called Dick from outside. It all would have been over, easy. You could have tried to shoot Deathstroke from behind you with the acid. You could have but you didn't. And you absolutely could have not gone. You are your own person, not Jason's lost puppy. You could have called Dick or told him immediately but you didn't. You did nothing. Instead, you froze and Titans aren't suppose to freeze. How can you call yourself a Titan if you freeze? This is your fault.

At some point, Deathstroke finds it in himself to remove both of your blindfolds and headphones. The first thing Jason does is look to you but you avoid looking at him. You know he'll probably have a fat lip, maybe blood on his face and you can't bear to see it. Not when you know you could have prevented it, probably. And Jason's stomach sinks, seeing you not able to look at him, to make sure he's okay. He knows this is his fault for dragging you into it and he has no idea how he's going to make this up to you. How you're ever supposed to forgive him for putting you back in this position. But you looking at him would sure as shit help.

"Y/n?" Jason asks with hesitance after Deathstroke leaves the two of you alone but you're silent.

Part of it is the anxiety creeping through your body, another part is the exhaustion you feel from the pain and the panic. But the other part of it is that you know your voice will sound weak if you even say his name and that's not how you want to appear right now. You're trying to figure out if you can use the acid to melt the restraints and get out with Jason alive before Deathstroke comes back. The odds don't seem like they're in your favor tonight though. He probably has cameras somewhere and is keeping a closer on eye on the two of you.

"Can you fucking look at me or something?" Jason says, the frustration breaks his voice. You look over to him and he gets a glimpse of your own fat lip and the slight swelling starting around your right eye. "I'm so sorry." Jason rushes his words. "I...I should have fucking listened to you."

You shake your head, keeping a straight face. "Is now the time for that?" You ask, your voice coming off cold. You don't want to hear his apology. It's not his fault.

"Are you that pissed at me?" He asks and it's more a whine that comes from him.

You shake your head, looking away from him, afraid he's going to see the pain in your eyes. "No." Your voice is quiet.

"I'm sorry." Jason's voice is desperate.

"Me, too." Your voice remains soft and Jason doesn't understand. How are you not pissed at him? You seem pissed. "I'm gonna get us the fuck outta here and then we're--"

"What?" You snap, turning your head a little too fast to look at him making yourself dizzy. "We're gonna break out of here and kill him? Take him down? Notice Dr. Light hasn't been fucking around. Why do you think that is, Jay? Titans fear this fucker for a reason. We're fucked." You pause watching Jason search for words.

A part of you feels bad but the other part doesn't because it's pointless to try to escape right now. What does he think you've been doing all this time? Playing tik tac toe in your head? There is no hope here. You're fucked and you know it and as the pessimist that he is, you wish he'd know that. But, you also really want him to argue with you. Piss you off and give you a reason to lose control and see what happens. He's so good at pissing everyone off, including you, but now he's just at a loss for words and you know it's because he feels bad. But so do you.

"If he was going to kill us, he would have done it already." You mumble looking away from him. "He wants Rose but Dick isn't gonna give her up. He has a way to kill us in front of him, for fuck knows what sick and twisted reason he's got. We figure out how the hell that's gonna happen and that's how we escape. When Dick is around and hopefully at least one of other Titan." You look back to him.

"What do you think he's planning then?" Jason scoffs as if not believing you and growing stir crazy from waiting for an escape plan.

"If I knew that, I'd have a plan."

"You could use your fucking powers." Jason snaps.

"Gee, hadn't thought of that." You state in a mock tone, widening your eyes. "Didn't I already try that?"

"What's the fucking point if you don't fucking use them?" Jason grits his teeth at you.

"Gee, hadn't thought of that either." Your voice is more annoyed this time as you glare at him. "Do you even." You look away from him, grinding your teeth and you know the reality is that this could be the last conversation you have with him and you don't want to spend it fighting with him. At first you thought it would help but it's not. It's making you feel worse and it's making him feel worse. If you're gonna die, you'd like to not be arguing with the person you care about most right now now. "Nevermind."

"Come on, fucking say it. I know you're gonna go off so get it off your damn chest."

"How scared are you right now?" You ask him and you see his eyes narrow as if it's a challenge. "Don't bullshit me, Todd." The use of his last name tells him this isn't a game you wanna play but a serious conversation.

"I'm not scared of him." Jason shrugs as best as he can, a reflex to the answer. He lies and you know he's lying. You saw the look of fear on his face when he looked at you on the stairs. He's scared but he's lying. Robin isn't supposed to be scared.

"You're allowed to be scared, Jay." You tell him and he just keeps a straight face. "It's normal. It is the one normal thing all of us have in common, fear. Dude is terrifying."

"I'm not scared." Jason insists.

"Well, I'm terrified. I'm scared of him, I'm scared of what the fuck he's gonna do to us, to Dick, to Rose. Scared of all of it." You pause. "You scared of any of that?"

Jason pauses, of course he is. He cares more about you than he has for anyone in almost his entire life. He's terrified of watching Deathstroke even lay a finger on you. Terrified of what he has planned if Dick doesn't hand over Rose and Jason knows he won't. He's terrified, more than anything, of losing you. And he truly, does not want to die tonight. That was not on the agenda.

"Yeah." Jason admits but keeps it short, opting to not go into further detail.

"Exactly, so I just...don't wanna fight with you for once." You shake your head and you're so fucking tired of this.

"I'm just really sorry." Jason says, finally looking away from you.

"Me, too." You suck in a breath and sulking isn't going make this bad situation any better so, you decide to suck it up. Hey, if this is the last conversation you have with him, might as well make it mean at least something. "If we do get out of here alive somehow, wanna do something?" You ask, trying to act as confident as he always is.

Jason snaps his attention to you, narrowing his eyes slightly as if trying to dissect every word of your sentence. "Are you fucking asking me out right now?"

"Am I?" You quip, if you're gonna get rejected, it might as well be now. You already feel like shit about yourself so it's not like you could possibly feel any worse. But, just in case, you also know that you being the one to ask, will drive Jason a little crazy.

Jason pauses, trying to figure out exactly what is going on here. You were mad at him two seconds ago and now you're...asking him out, maybe? If you two get to live after this? What is he supposed to do with that? He kind of thinks it's some sick joke you're playing on him. Like maybe you overheard him with Gar a few nights ago talking about you. He didn't say anything too revealing, just that he'd like if something did happen between the two of you then he brushed it off as a joke, of course. But why bring it up now? That's definitely something you would have brought up to make fun of him the second you knew about it. So what the fuck?

"You're fucking with me." Jason's eyes are still narrowed but the statement has a little bit of hestiance in it.

"I am literally always fucking with you even when I'm not." You wink at him with the wrinkle of our nose.

You laugh softly, watching Jason clench his jaw not knowing if you really asked that as a way to get under his skin or if it was serious. That's part of why he likes you. He can never tell exactly how much you're fucking with him. You give him a run for his money in that department and he loves the thrill of the chase. Never knowing if it'll ever happen but knowing that if it does, it'll be worth it. And he wants to take the risk and play around with it, see how serious you really are about it. But the conversation is cut short when the both of you hear footsteps, Deathstroke approaching with a large bowl.

Jason's charm for you disappears as he starts to talk to Deathstroke because of-fucking-course he does. You wonder how Jason doesn't have a sore throat with all the shit talking he does twenty-four seven.

"You really are a pathetic piece of shit, you know that?" Jason snarks and you roll your eyes. "Rose deserves better than you for a father." The comment makes you look back at him, a bit surprised by the remark. Ballsy. "Some freak in a ski mask whose name sounds like a bad case of VD." Deathstroke completely ignores him and at least the guy has that going for him. "My friends will never give her up. You know that."

"Well, then, you're both the price the pay." Deathstroke says in his standard calm tone, picking up his sword from the table.

If you could, you'd bang your head against a wall because you didn't even do anything. You're not even saying anything. How is this right? Eye for an eye? HOW?

"Fuck you, you pretentious asshole. Hey look at me," Jason demands and Deathstroke does as he says. "I'm not scared of you." Jason taunts and if you could slap him upside the head, you would. Deathstroke should untie you just to let you do it. Why does Jason have to taunt your captor? Deathstroke, of all people. There is death right in his name.

"You should be terrified." Deathstroke warns but instead you've been played by that charlatan, Dick Grayson who gives costumes to foolish kids making them believe that they're heroes, leading you like lambs to slaughter. But, not to worry, soon, you'll learn. For death leads to purification." Deathstroke says while sharpening his sword.

This isn't good for either of you. Deathstroke really is going to kill the both of you over some fight with Dick. You can't quite figure out how that all adds up. It's something you never understood in movies or books or tv shows. Going after kids because some dude is mad at the parent or mentor. What is the point? Jason might have made a fair point about Deathstroke and Dr. Light being pussies because attacking Dick would have been a much better option. In your opinion.

After what feels like another few hours, something you and Jason can't tell, goes by, Deathstroke blindfolds the both of you again and forces the two of you to start walking, holding his sword at your back with Jason in front of you. If you're both being honest, you're surprised he didn't just knock you both out again. Maybe he thinks he's won already, which, maybe he has. You're not willing to try anything with your hands tied behind your back and a blindfold covering your sight. It doesn't matter if that's how Dick was training you both, this guy is scary and has a very sharp sword. It would be dumb to try and make a move with it to your back so you walk.

As for Jason, maybe if you were in front of him, he'd try something. He'd take the shot to try and grab the sword away or something and if he gets tabbed, so be it. But, he's in front of you which also tells him that Deathstroke already figured out that's what Jason would try. You are a way to control Jason and Jason is a way to control Dick. Pretty fucked up.

You're not sure how far Deathstroke makes you walk but it's far enough for you to be annoyed and tired. You chalk up the exhaustion to the emotional turmoil you're putting yourself through and the beatings you've taken but maybe it was a longer walk and there was a weird elevator ride. You don't know and you don't care. The one thing you do know is that you're being tied, a little too tightly to something and you can feel Jason's elbow against yours before Deathstroke removes your blindfolds. Deathstroke is in front of you on a double cage bench, the ones you seen window cleaners use for skyscrapers.

Oh, this is bad.