Red Hood

13. Awkwardness and Heartfelt Rants

The next morning Jason found himself sideways on the couch, waking up from a deep sleep of confusing memory fragments. None that had made any sense to the poor amnesia-ridden man.

Groaning loudly, Jason aimlessly stared up at the ceiling, stretching each limb out of its slumber. First were his arms and shoulders as he sat up, his back groaning from the new position. And, hearing the cracking of his knuckles, he sighed before a voice called out.

"Jay, you up?"

Flinching at the nickname, he left the couch at the call of Danny, following the sound of clinking in the kitchen where she was scrambling eggs.

A lingering shard of his dreams soon played in Jason's ears, prompted by the nickname, causing the young man to pause in the doorway.

"Hey, Jay, you up yet," a tired, juvenile male called softly. Someone that sounded familiar.

"No, Replacement, I'm still asleep," he recognized his own grumpy voice, but not the names that belonged to the others.

A young man now spoke with a bouncing energy, 'Come on, don't be like that Jaybird, we need to get going!'

Jason heard himself grumble, "Calling me Jaybird this early in the day? You got a death wish dick?"

The voice sounded again, overly upbeat, 'Hey, I know you love me! Now come give me a good morning hug!"

"Try it and you'll end up dead," Jason let a growl from the back of his throat before the first voice interrupted.

"I'd like it if we didn't have to deal with a dead body this early in the morning you guys."

The voices faded away to nothing as Danny noticed Jason, greeting him with a polite "morning" as she looked over her pajama-clad shoulder.

Losing the voices and his focus entirely, Jason saw her hiding a grin as she took in his bedhead. His hair stuck up in numerous directions, the white streak looking like a strike of lightning against it.

"Mm," he self-consciously shrugged, pulling out a wooden table chair.

Jason was met with a small chuckle before a new and stuffy silence took over the kitchen, the only sound being the cooking food while he tried catching the memory again.

Though 2 weeks of living together had passed, Jason and Danny still had a few awkward moments with each other. And simply because they hit it off well didn't mean there weren't weird lulls, considering the situation they were in.

Just imagine having a stranger fall from 7 feet onto your truck, finding he has amnesia, taking him to your clinic, and inviting him to live in your spare bedroom. 

Or imagine falling from the sky, injuring yourself, not remembering a thing, and having a random woman patch you up before giving you her guest room.

Yeah, so it could get a little awkward around the place.

But, Jason thought to himself, it was getting a bit better as the days went on. Days that Danny had spent helped him with his memories and finding his family again, all without hesitation.

And he saw he was really lucky he landed on her car in the beginning, not sure what would have happened if it was someone else, or no one at all.

Interrupting Jason's thinking, Danny stirred the eggs in the pan as toast popped up, flipping the bacon simultaneously as she spoke, "I saw my photo album on the table."

Scratching the back of his head, he grimaced, "Sorry if I wasn't supposed to touch it, I tripped and it landed on the floor so I took a look."

"It's alright, I did say you could look around," Danny nodded to a song playing in her one earbud, her green eyes looking at him kindly, "and if you have any questions or want to know more about me, you can ask too. I won't bite your head off, Jason."

Standing in silence again, the two were grateful it wasn't an uncomfortable one. But after a few minutes, Jason broke it in true Jason fashion: abruptly.

"So, what kind of company do you run?"

Placing a platter of breakfast on the table, motioning for Jason to help himself, Danny thought for a minute, "Well, it's mostly to do with technology and medical things. I work from wherever I'm at, which is why I always use my computer."

"And with some of the money earned, I help organizations my parents would support, and some of my own."

"But," She smiled, "I just really like helping people the most."

Danny tucked a lock of her dirty blond hair into her bandana, "My mom, Carolin, was the one to start it with her best friend, Antonio, encouraging her. Antonio is like an Uncle to me, he lives a few hours away so I visit when I can." 

"But when my mom married my dad, an army medic, he also had an interest in backing organizations and supports with her. He worked with mom all the way up until their passing."

Jason nodded in sympathy, swallowing a bite of toast and egg as Danny continued, listening intently, "My Uncle Cliff, he had a small business of his own, helping out those needing to adjust to being out of battle. He was backed by my parents and often helped with their company if they needed it."

Danny glanced down at her plate with a soft look, "I guess liking to help others runs in the family."

"What's it like working the company all by yourself, do you get lonely?" Jason soon froze, realizing it probably wasn't the most sensitive way to phrase it, "I mean- "

"It's alright," Danny nudged his arm, green eyes once again reassuring him, "though working as the CEO of such a big company is a little overwhelming at times. Especially getting thrown into it after just turning eighteen, even if Antonio does his best to support me."

"I have to juggle being a doctor and a company owner, all while keeping on top of everything," She clutched her fork tighter as her shoulders tensed, "But I can't mess up or I'll disappoint everyone, I just, I-I feel like a failure sometimes and-"

Seeing Danny struggle with herself, Jason placed a hand on hers, "Hey, don't go down the rabbit hole. From what I've seen, you're a strong and capable person. Everyone you've met, I've seen how you've impacted the lives of the townspeople and everyone around you. I mean, just look at me."

She smiled lightly as he gestured to himself, and Jason tensed for a minute, unsure of how to get the right words out.

Knowing that being touching wasn't his strong point, he was worried he would phrase it wrong again, but Danny's been helping him since day one, so he felt it was his turn to do something.

Fiddling with his hands Jason started again, looking anywhere but at her, "You're an amazing young woman who shouldn't be worried about what others think. Just being you is good enough."

Danny's eyes started to glitter as she teared up, unable to say anything as she looked up into Jason's serious expression, "Really? Y-you think... you think I'm amazing?"

"Yeah," Jason nodded, finally looking her in the eyes, "I really do Danny."

And both of them knew he meant it.

____
Afternoon fellow demigods and dear mortals,

Here's the next chapter, sorry I haven't posted sooner, I was on vacation with my family. It was really fun! We got to see deer, cardinals and other birds, groundhogs, and little brown bats, went to the lake, went hiking, and even visited a cavern (we got to go to 2 caves)!

So far this summer has been really fun and I hope you guys have had a good time too! Anyways, I'll try to start working on the next chapter if I'm feeling up to it (got a little demotivated with writer's block), so see y'all later!

- EthanVenlivrenVari, Cabin #3, Child of Poseidon 🔱🌊