Mio Amore Rosso

Peaceful mornings / A pissed off Kori

Tim's POV

Last night was so amazing. The art gallery was even better than I imagined. Especially seeing it with Jason. He knew so much about the artists and the meanings behind their paintings and photographs.

Absolutely Sorprendente.

When we got home it was way after midnight and decided to just head to bed. I must have fallen asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, exhausted still from everything even though it seemed to finally be winding down.

I was just laying in bed, cuddled into Jason's warmth till he started to get up, carefully rolling me over and kissing my head.

My bottom lip pouted out as I opened my eyes. "Where are you goin?" I moved my hands up to rub my eyes, yawning out.

Jason chuckled and brushed my hair out of my face. "I have a meeting, baby. I should be back by lunch time though." He got dressed in some black slacks and a grey shirt. "No suit?" I sat up, moving my hands to his chest before pulling him into a kiss.

It was slow and still tasted like the wine we had last night.

After a minute, he pulled away, placing his finger and thumb on my chin. "No. No suit. It's not that type of meeting. Want me to have Carla send something up for you to eat?" He just smiled kindly, making me melt at his touch. He was so good to me.

I hummed in thought then shook my head. "No, I think I might sleep a little longer then maybe make my way downstairs and find something." I wasn't hungry yet and knew some more sleep would do me some good.

He chuckled at me, smiling widely then kissed my forehead, pulling me close for a moment before moving away. "I love how independent you are. Well, if you need anything, Carla is the first button and Elonzo is button two on the intercom."

I nodded and laid back down, watching him gather up what he needed. "Call me if you need me okay. Just because it's a meeting doesn't mean I can't answer. Especially for you"

He kissed my head one more time, pulling the blanket back over me before walking to the door.

Seriously, so good to me.

I nodded again, sighing happily as he left. After he shut the door, I rolled over, cuddling into his pillow and breathing in his scent. Whiskey and leather. Easily my favorite scent now. No competition.

It was so serial to me, everything that had happened and everything that was happening. Just laying here in his bed, our bed, seemed like a dream, but it was real.

I grinned, knowing this would be my forever. That he would be my forever.

I laid there a few more minutes, just thinking about last night again. Everything really was gonna be okay. We were together.

My family was happy for me and I couldn't wait for him to meet everyone else. Especially Selina.

She was my biggest backer in my previous relationships. Always giving me moral support and letting me talk and ask questions. She was always so patient and tried to give me the best advice.

She was the best mom I could have been given. The best mom any of us could have been given.

As I settled back down under the covers, I felt at peace. My eyelids started to feel heavy again as I yawned out, hugging his pillow closer.

It was still warm where his head was and his smell lingered on it, lulling me back to sleep.

__________________________________

Jason's POV

Shit.

Kori was pissed. She'd found out who I arranged a meeting with and was now sitting in my passage seat, glaring dagger into my head.

I knew though, as mad as she was at me, she felt twice that in the form of betrayal from Roy. "Kori, please don't be mad at Roy okay. He was just following orders."

She didn't say a word. Creating a very unpleasant silence in the car as I drove. My nerves fired off and all I could think about was having done the one thing Kori hated. The one thing she herself never did.

Lie.

She loathed it because that's all her mother ever did. She spent years dealing with nothing but lies from her before finally losing hope and cutting all ties with her.

My heart sank and I sighed heavily. "Kori, I'm so sorry...but please understand why I didn't tell you." I gripped the wheel, trying my best to keep my voice low and calm.

I didn't need to start a yelling match right before this meeting of all things. "Tim needed reassurance. He needed to hear it for himself that nothing else was going on."

I knew it was a low card to pull, but I hoped mentioning Tim would help ease the tension. She cared for him too and knew going through what he went through took its toll on a person. Especially someone not used to this lifestyle.

She sighed and turned to look out the window. "This conversation isn't over, but for now, I know you need your nerves in check before you go into this."

She paused, reaching over to grab my hand as I parked. "He still loves you Jason. It'll be okay."

I turned, looking at her unsure, but nodded. "I hope you're right Kori." She nodded, giving me a small reassuring smile. "Go in there with pride okay. You deserve everything you've gotten, no matter what he says. Be you Jason."

The fact that she put the lying issue on hold, told me she was just as nervous as I was about this. This hadn't been my idea, but it was way past time for it.

She squeezed my hand and I took a deep breath. "I promise I'll make everything right Kori, just...keep the car running."

She huffed out a little. "Don't think about that now, okay. Just go in there and show him just who he's dealing with; Jason Peter Todd. I'll keep the car running." I smiled, squeezing her hand back before getting out of the car.

I could do this. It'll be fine.

When I walked to the entry, men dressed in all black led me to a large door. They looked stoic and didn't even address me before ushering me inside.

One of them turned, eyeing me before speaking. "Down the corridor, second door on the-" I huffed, cutting him off and eyeing him with the same look. "I know Cory. I used to live here, remember." He raised an eyebrow then moved aside so I could walk past him.

As I did, I caught a small smile. "It's good to see you Jason." I smiled back, nodding. "You too." It eased my nerves a little before I kept walking.

Down the corridor and the second door on the right.

Taking a deep breath, I reached forward, knocking three times on the door. It was only a few seconds before I heard footsteps then the door opened.

A woman, not much older than me, dressed in a grey pants suit looked at me. "Ah, yes. Mr. Todd. He's waiting for you by the fire."

I grimaced at the formality. Mr. Todd made me sound so old. "Just Jason is fine. And thank you." She gave me a nod before letting me in then leaving, shutting the door behind her.

I looked straight ahead, eyeing a large fireplace. Two chairs were placed in front of it, one of them was occupied. I took one last deep breath before making my way across the room, the carpeted floor making my steps obnoxiously quiet.

Once I made it to the empty chairs, I stopped, looking at the fire for a moment before turning to look at the man across from me. He was watching me intently, legs crossed and one eyebrow raised.

"Hello Padra. Well, you finally got me back here. Now tell me, what the hell do you want?"