Evelyn woke up to the soothing aroma of coffee and as she opened her eyes, she could feel that the darkness of night had gone and it was probably morning. Her hands reached out to lift the blanket off her and as she sat up, she realized that she was still wearing Jason's jacket, a realization that brought back the earlier events with full force.

Her fingers reached up to her neck, gently tracing the thin cut and then she fumbled in the drawers beside her bed searching for an ointment. When she found it she carefully applied a thin layer of it at the cut on her throat, gently easing the stinging skin.

She climbed out of the bed and stepped towards her cupboard taking out another dress for the one she had been wearing was cut up from the front. 

"Good morning."

She was startled to hear a voice other than her own but then realized that it was probably Jason and turned towards the door where his voice had come from, "morning."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you," she mumbled in reply.

He noticed that she was clutching the dress closer to herself so he backed off, "I have made breakfast. You can freshen up first if you like."

She shook her head, "you really didn't have to..."

"It's okay, Eve. I will be waiting for you outside."

He smiled a little as if in reassurance to her but then realized that she couldn't see it and his expression relapsed into the usual emotionless look before walking out.

Evelyn listened closely but couldn't pick up on the sound of his footsteps almost as if he walked in such a way so as not to attract any attention towards him. Swift and silent, almost like a ghost.

And yet he was very much like a ghost because as far as she knew, to the rest of the world Jason Peter Todd was still dead and six feet under in his grave at the Wayne Cemetery.

Taking off the jacket, she folded it neatly and placed it on the bed then stepped into the bathroom to freshen up. She was surprised to find the water heated as well and as her hands ran along the towel stand, a dry towel was placed there though by the steaminess of the place she could judge that Jason had probably taken a bath after waking up.

The surprising aspect for her was that she had been so exhausted that she had not woken up earlier even though the slightest of sounds managed to propel her into consciousness. But the warm water felt much more inviting to her than those wild trains of thought that were raging in her head so she stepped into the bath cautiously, abandoning all her thoughts for the time being.

Her frayed nerves were soothed a lot by the relaxing bath and a while later, she stepped out of the tub, draining the water and changing in to her clothes. Grabbing the towel she dried up her hair and unlocked the bathroom door, stepping out into her room from where she counted her steps to the kitchen as per her usual morning routine.

The aroma of coffee grew stronger as she neared and her ears picked up on the slight sounds of crockery indicating that Jason was probably standing by the stove. Carefully, she took a seat by the breakfast counter and he turned to see her, as if checking whether she was alright or not.

"Coffee and pancakes," he spoke as he placed the cup and plate in front of her, "apologies for going through your kitchen without permission but I was starving and I thought I may as well make something for both of us."

"Smells delicious," she smiled and he paused mid thought, steel blue eyes focusing on her. But then he shook off the thought that had flickered in his mind and sat down across from her.

Throughout breakfast the two remained silent. He did not bring up all that had passed last night and she did not ask him anything about where he had been in those five long years. And despite himself, Jason felt at ease with that silence for he didn't know whether he was ready to talk to someone about his past or not.

"Jason," she spoke up at last gaining his attention immediately, "have you changed?"

He thought for a while before replying with another question instead, "how do you remember me as?"

She took in a deep breath, a wave of nostalgia hitting her, "if I were to recall you by memory, I would say you haven't aged a day more than seven in my eyes."

"But I have..."

"I know. You grew taller than me though back when we used to play in the streets we were of the same height. And then your voice changed slightly and then as Mister Wayne took you in, you changed a great deal."

His jaw clenched at the mention of Bruce Wayne but he hid it well. "How so?"

"You were a young hero back then... Confident, unafraid and almost... Tragic."

Her words were strikingly true and he laughed slightly, pondering at the sheer irony of it. "Tragic..."

The silence turned heavy and slightly suffocating for her so she decided to change the topic.

"How do you look now?" She asked leaning in as if genuinely curious to know his answer.

Jason paused for he had never really thought about how he looked, but then he resumed, "I still am taller than you. And I think I have gotten a little heavier."

A light laugh escaped her but she nodded, encouraging him to resume.

"You remember my hair color?"

Her answer was immediate, "jet black."

"Yeah, now it has a white streak in the front," he remarked then taking her hand, he gently placed it on top of that small portion of white in his hair, "right here."

Her cheeks colored slightly but her fingers brushed against his hair before trailing down to his face. He didn't object for he was expecting her to study him for herself.

"Your bones are much sharper now," she mumbled, "but your eyes wouldn't have changed, right? Your eyes would be the same I had seen, steel blue..."

He shook his head as he replied, "no... There's a little flecked green along with the steel blue now."

She had not expected to hear that, "why?"

"A side effect of being rejuvenated by the Lazarus Pit." 

The reply was vague and the confusion on her face depicted that she hadn't understood him. And it was then she asked the question he had been waiting for her to ask, "had you really died, Jason?"

"Yes."

"And yet now you're in front of me? Alive and breathing?"

"The world has many dark secrets, Evelyn, which you should not know of. One such secret is what gave me life even after death."

She still seemed unconvinced, "and you're not a ghost...?"

"Of course not." His hands gently rested upon hers, entwining their fingers together, "I am back for a purpose and I have to fulfill it, that's all I can tell you right now."

His words were not making any sense to her and though she wanted to believe that Jason had come back at last, she felt as if there were multiple things that were holding him away and risking his life once again.

But she could not bring herself to ask it all from him just then. They had met after five years and in such a long time, along with appearances personalities changed a great deal too.

And she could feel that the Jason Todd sitting in front of her was strikingly different from the Jason she had known five years earlier. A sinister fire seemed to radiate off him almost making him seem dangerous to her even though up till now he had only been kind towards her.

But he had killed four men in the alley that night and no person killed with such ease if that person hadn't killed before. 

Jason Todd was no longer the young hero she had known him as.

He was back but as an avenging spirit flaming in the scorching heat of vengeance.

"Eve, are you okay?"

"Yes," she was shaken out of her thoughts abruptly, nodding her head, "I'm fine."

His eyes narrowed skeptically for the flickering expressions on her face indicated that she was conflicted, "what are you thinking?"

"I'm just... I'm just scared that you're playing a very dangerous game," despite herself the words escaped her, taking him by complete surprise, "you'll get burnt in the fire if you kept living in it."

Her instincts had always been much stronger as compared to other people and he knew that as he chose his words carefully while answering, "I might get burnt but I can't back off now. I can't back off until I finish what started five years ago."

Her face saddened and her hand reached out to cup his face again, "do you remember, you had promised me that you'll come back?"

"And I did come back, didn't I?"

"But there was something else you had to say back then and couldn't..."

His jaw clenched again, the memory hitting him fiercely but he lowered his gaze, "it doesn't matter now."

"Still, what had you wanted to say to me?"

His eyes took in the request on her features and he could not being himself to deny her outright. So he spoke up in a gentle tone, "let me do what I have to first. And if I make it out alive this once, I will tell you."

"Jason..."

But he had stood up to leave reluctantly pulling away from her outstretched hand, "take care of yourself. And don't worry about your cane, I'll get it fixed as soon as possible."

***