no rest for the wicked [jason todd]

nineteen

WHEN JASON GOT UP FROM THE COUCH,

it came as a surprise that Tye was already awake. Awake, standing in the kitchen, watching water boil in a pot. He paused, sitting up and rubbing his eyes for a moment before he blinked the water out of them. "Tye?" He asked after a moment, his voice not rested enough, or maybe his throat was just dry. "Tye, what in God's name are you doing?"

Tye squinted toward him, but then she blinked and leaned up slightly, motioning toward the boiling pot of water. "I'm, uh," she began, "I'm making lemon and tea water. Minus the tea. You had a lemon in your fridge so I figured, huh, why not just-- you don't own a kettle, by the way."

"You have like, three broken ribs, Tye. Come over here and sit down, I'll make your--" Jason blinked, pressing his lips together. "Uh, lemon water."

Tye shook her head. "As told by my doctor," she explained now, "broken ribs should not be a cause for you to stop moving around. If you do, you can--" She paused, glancing down at the paper she had in front of her. Had she prepared this for Jason specifically? "Prevent mucus build-up in your lungs that can lead to illnesses like pneumonia."

Jason's eyebrows praised and he nodded, raising his shoulders into a little shrug. "Okay," he said, "but I heard him. No heavy lifting, okay? When we go to grab your clothes, later on, you're not carrying any of the heavy stuff." He stood up, stretching an arm behind his head while he yawned, immediately drawing her attention to the small expanse of his abdomen that it revealed. She reached down to press a hand against her own stomach, not out of shame for her weight -- she considered herself pretty fit -- but those scars she saw on him.

"Uh," She managed, turning when she saw the small pot of water had boiled. She poured it into the nearest cup she could find, squeezed the lemon slice she had out and then gently dropped it into the mug. "Nice," she said to herself, taking a sip of the hot lemon water. Then, she coughed, pressing a hand to her abdomen. Not only did the water burn the hell out of the taste buds that took shelter on her tongue, but coughing felt like she'd damned her entire body to a hellish fire.

Jason raised a pillow and stepped over toward her. "Doc said that holding a pillow to your chest while coughing might be less painful or more comforting," he mused, "because yeah, I listened too, Melrose."

"You think Gordon has some sort of fortune?" Tye offered when she was finished coughing. "He was supposed to be paying me out of his pocket for the mission, but he said while I was injured and unable to return to duty, he was gonna pay me anyway. A lot of money, surprisingly, but..." She leaned back on the counter, scanning his face. "You think he's rich?"

Jason shrugged. "Rich friends?" He suggested.

She nodded. "I heard you, by the way," she continued, raising an eyebrow, "last night. Did you ask me out on a date, Jason? While I was half-asleep and in a vulnerable state?"

He looked visibly taken back by the notion, and he gave a little nod before his gaze trained onto the nearest kitchen cupboard. "Well," he began, and was he about to lie? "In my defence, I sorta thought you'd fallen asleep already."

The answer? Yes. He was lying.

"Too bad," Tye clicked her tongue, "guess we can't go on that date then."

Jason shrugged. "I thought about it," he said, "and it's probably for the best. You shouldn't be out and about, I mean--" He broke off, and it was because she'd pushed against his stomach to get him to look down. "Tye," he offered, "I just mean... Not for now. It's not like I don't want to go out on a date with you, promise."

Tye's eyebrow raised slightly before she leaned forward, grabbing the collar of his shirt. "Hey, Jason? You sound like an idiot when you're doing that," she offered, leaning up. She nearly pressed her lips to his, but he put two fingers against her lips, pushing her down so that her feet fell back flat onto the kitchen floor. "Woah," she said, "did I misread the whole situation?"

"I haven't brushed my teeth," Jason offered, "but other than that, I think the situation was read pretty properly, angel face."

She huffed, turning away from him slightly. "I hate that nickname," she muttered, and he laughed, pulling her against him. "I said I hated it and you are totally making fun of me for it. It's gross, Jason. Your nickname game is not on point." She pressed a finger against his lips. "Are you saying no to that kiss?"

"I'm saying raincheck," Jason said softly, leaning so close to her ear that his breath tickled her neck.

When he pulled away and left her to her thoughts inside his kitchen, she wondered if they needed to talk about this. Then, she put a hand against her forehead, giving a little sigh. She was a fully grown adult who wanted to have the labels conversation with the guy who's apartment she was staying at now. Thinking about it again, she really hoped the labels talk didn't get her kicked out.

She finished off the burning hot lemon water and then headed back to Jason's room, mumbling something about a nap.

When Jason got back into the kitchen and found she wasn't there, he was a little surprised. Then, turning back toward his room, he peeked his head in. "Tye?" He offered quietly. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him, giving a crooked smile. She sat up slightly, despite the pain erupting in her abdomen. He watched her wince and his lips turned into a little grimace. "Hey now," he warned, "if you're relaxing, you're relaxing."

She tapped the space next to her in the bed. "C'mon and watch some Dr. Phil with me," she murmured tiredly, "don't make me deal with this lady's craziness alone."

Ah, modern romance.

--

i told you guys daily updating wasn't going to go well for me, haha.

maybe i should try weekly? updating once a week on say, a tuesday?

also, i promise there's going to be some non-domestic stuff! it's just the whole "being-on-the-mend" stuff. 

we will return to the previously scheduled action in a bit.