Fic: Wanting The Truth, Batverse, Cass/Jason, PG, 1/1
Cass always knows the truth about how people feel about her. But Jason is good at dissembling - and deceiving himself.
Wanting The Truth
Cass always knew when someone was attracted to her. Even before she really understood what that meant.
Tim’s attraction to her was mostly physical, tempered with a healthy respect for her fighting abilities, and the friendship/brotherly feelings he had for her. It wasn’t a true attraction.
Steph’s attraction to her was mostly envy, her wanting to be like Cass, to fight like her, be strong like her. It too was tempered by the friendly feelings Steph felt for her, and it too was not a true attraction.
The truth was something people often tried to hide with their body language. Few Cass had met in her life could manage that to any degree. Most of them were other Gotham heroes.
Or…used to be.
Jason Todd’s body language was almost obscenely truthful; a truth edged with the blunt bias of soul-deep pain. Jason hid that pain; hid the nightmares of his death and resurrection, hid the hurt of being cast from Bruce’s heart, with words that cut sharper than his favored knives.
When those, and his admittedly fierce fighting abilities, failed to drive her away from the intersection of Gotham and Bludhaven both he and Batgirl had taken to protecting, Jason turned to seduction.
It was the first time Cass had met someone whose body figured out the lie before they did. Jason wanted her for real before he even realized it.
Which just made it all the sweeter when, seventeen seconds into their first kiss, Cass came to the realization that she had apparently wanted Jason, too.
Wanting The Truth
Cass always knew when someone was attracted to her. Even before she really understood what that meant.
Tim’s attraction to her was mostly physical, tempered with a healthy respect for her fighting abilities, and the friendship/brotherly feelings he had for her. It wasn’t a true attraction.
Steph’s attraction to her was mostly envy, her wanting to be like Cass, to fight like her, be strong like her. It too was tempered by the friendly feelings Steph felt for her, and it too was not a true attraction.
The truth was something people often tried to hide with their body language. Few Cass had met in her life could manage that to any degree. Most of them were other Gotham heroes.
Or…used to be.
Jason Todd’s body language was almost obscenely truthful; a truth edged with the blunt bias of soul-deep pain. Jason hid that pain; hid the nightmares of his death and resurrection, hid the hurt of being cast from Bruce’s heart, with words that cut sharper than his favored knives.
When those, and his admittedly fierce fighting abilities, failed to drive her away from the intersection of Gotham and Bludhaven both he and Batgirl had taken to protecting, Jason turned to seduction.
It was the first time Cass had met someone whose body figured out the lie before they did. Jason wanted her for real before he even realized it.
Which just made it all the sweeter when, seventeen seconds into their first kiss, Cass came to the realization that she had apparently wanted Jason, too.