Selina's Sidekick

part six

Here is some more Selina's Sidekick for y'all.  Hope you enjoy it. ((Also, I don't know how [REDACTED] works so I am just making it up...))

"Hi-yah!" Jason cried out, chopping at Selina's head. She ducked under the chop, maneuvering her body to leap backwards to dodge Jason's leg as he brought it at her in a kick. He grunted, continuing to advance on her. "Stay still, damnit."

Selina let out a laugh, swiping at Jason when he got within range. "Why, kitten, that is the point of a fight. To hit and avoid being hit." She hit Jason with an open palm strike to the chest, sending him backwards and over the top of the couch, as they were sparring in the apartment. Immediately, Jason was up and on his feet, side stepping Selina's next attack. She grinned at him. "Good, good. Always be on your toes and on the move. Make sure you are keeping an eye on your opponent and the environment. Never allow yourself to be backed into a corner. However, if you do find yourself backed into a corner -"

"Scratch their eyes out." Jason's hand formed a claw and he swung it at Selina, catching both of them by surprise as he got her in the face.

"Ah!" The feline themed thief cried out in shock, grabbing her face.

"Omigod, Selina! I-I'm so sorry." Jason rushed out in a hurry, reaching for Selina before retracting his hand. He hung his head, looking towards the ground as he trembled slightly. "I'm sorry, I got so into it I-I didn't mean to actually hurt you. Please, I'm sorry. Please - are you going to kick me out now? I totally understand if you are going to kick me out now. I promise I won't rat you out to the police or to Batman. I get it. I'm a brat. I'm sorry, Selina. I-"

His slight rant was cut off by arms circling around him and pulling him close. Jason's eyes widened slightly and he stiffened into the hug, unsure of what was going to happen afterwards. Was this a goodbye hug? Or was she just luring him into a false sense of security before she killed him? W-

"Oh, my little stray." Selina murmured against Jason's hair as she pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me. I knew the risks of sparring with a wry one like you and I'm not kicking you out. In fact, I want to do the opposite."

Jason furrowed his brow in confusion. "The opposite of kicking me out? Letting me stay? But you already are..."

Selina let out a soft laugh, running a hand through Jason's hair. "Yes, but I want to make it...more official, if you will."

Jason felt his brain go into overdrive as he tried to figure out what she meant until it was like someone flipped a switch in his head. "You...you want to...you want to adopt me?" There was a slight crack in his voice and the pitch went up an octave.

Selina pulled out of the hug and Jason felt his heart break until he saw the smile on her face. "Yes, I would. I mean, if that is what you want as well, kitten. I don't want to do anything against your wishes."

Jason nodded slowly. "Can I...can I think about it, please?"

Selina hugged him again. "Of course you can. Let me know what you decide."

"Thanks. I'll, uh, I'll be in my room." Jason scurried away to his room, closing the door on a smiling yet slightly worried Selina, leaving her behind in the living room.

Inside his bedroom, Jason was sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the bustling city life below. He was feeling a lot of emotions and wasn't sure how to process them. Selina, his mentor, the woman who brought him into her home, the woman who has been training him to be her partner for the past six months, wants to adopt him. The implications of that were...well, a bit overwhelming for Jason. That meant Selina saw him as a son, as her child, that she felt maternal love for him. Either that or she didn't want anyone questioning their living arrangements and if she adopted him nobody would think twice about it.

Jason frowned, turning away from the window to head over to the bed. He sat down, running his hands over the comforter.

Selina did care for him, he was sure of it. And he cared for her as well, he just wasn't sure he was ready to give up on his birth parents. Sure, his dad was a deadbeat who would rather be a criminal than a father and his mother was high all the time, but they were still his parents, and he loved them, at least his mother.

Sighing as he tossed himself backwards on the bed, Jason wished he had someone he could talk this over with but the only one he really could talk with was Selina and that wasn't really an option right now.

Or was it...?

Jason stood up from the bed abruptly, making his way back into the living room to find Selina in the kitchen, brewing a cup of tea. She turned around when she heard his footsteps, smiling at him. "Hey."

"Hey...can we talk about it?" Jason didn't need to elaborate and Selina didn't need him to, they both understood. She nodded, grabbing her tea and walking with him to the couches. She motioned for him to start talking and he breathed in. "Well, it's just...I'm not sure I'm ready to forget about my birth mom."

Selina gave him a small, encouraging smile. "Sweetie, nobody is asking that of you. I would never expect you to forsake your birth parents. Hell, I wouldn't even ask you to call me 'mom' or 'mother' or anything of the sorts if you weren't comfortable with it. I just want you to know you always have a home with me."

"And you need to adopt me for that?"

"Well, no, but the legal benefits of it would help. I would be your legal guardian, able to make decisions about your health should you not be able to, able to take you out of school, etc.. And nobody would be able to take you away from me if you were legally my child." Selina sipped her drink. "Of course, this is if you are even interested in staying. I am being very presumptuous, but I just figured seeing as you have stayed with me for all these months that you liked being with me -"

"I do. And the way you explain it, it makes sense. I...I want you to adopt me. I want to stay with you Selina." Jason was looking down at his interlocked hands that rested in his lap, smiling when Selina placed her hand over his. He glanced up at her to see she was looking at him with watery eyes.

"Well, tomorrow, let's get down to city hall and make it official, yeah? And then we can start looking for doctors, schools, and the like?" She asked, wiping at her eyes.

"I'd like that." Jason nodded. "I'd like that a lot."