Chapter 6: Moonlit Revelations

Jason leaned over the rusted sink and stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His eyes traced the lines of the 'J' scar just beneath his left eye before moving to the patch of white hair near his forehead, created by the Lazarus chemicals during his time in the League. He followed the maze of jagged scratches and cuts along his arms, chest, and torso.

Someone who had the privilege of seeing Jason shirtless might believe that his sea of scars was self-inflicted or created by a reckless lifestyle. To Jason, however, the wounds told a twisted story from his past. On his wrists were circular discolored patches of skin from where his father snuffed out his cigarettes. On his arms were straight-edge cuts from the knives of muggers and gang members he tangled with in his youth. On his chest were sections of skin swollen with scar tissue from bullet holes and stab wounds. All of them were bitter reminders of the dangers he had faced.

For once in his life, he wanted to live without danger. Without fear. Without anger. Without regret.

"You know what...screw Talia," Jason said as he turned on the faucet and splashed a handful of cold water on his face. "I'm done letting these psychopaths control my life."

After reading Talia's warning symbol, Jason and the rest of the family scoured the city for new messages. They searched the buildings along Jason's nightly patrol route and prepared for an ambush, but Talia and her forces disappeared as quickly as they came. Bruce instructed Jason to maintain a low profile until they found more clues, but Jason refused to be pushed into hiding. Running from danger wasn't his style. He promised to see Scarlett again, and though his life was in jeopardy, he found it impossible to deny her. The mere thought of witnessing her disappointment sent Jason into a distressed frenzy.

Upon exiting his apartment lobby, Jason found Scarlett standing on the front steps of the building, gazing out across Gotham bay. Her arms crossed her chest like she was shielding herself from an icy wind. The gold sequins on her black dress reflected the headlights of passing cars, making her sparkle like a gem. Jason's precious gem.

"Hey there, beautiful," he called to her. She turned around slowly as if her mind was still in the clouds. She smiled sweetly, though she didn't blush as used to when he complimented her. He loved it when he could make her blush.

"Look at you...very dashing," she remarked, running her hand along his black suit jacket lapel.

"Even in this get-up, I'm still an eyesore compared to you," he stated with a wink, making her giggle. He leaned over and kissed her gently on the corner of her mouth. "Come on. It's the first time I've ever made a "reservation," and I'm not losing our table to a fat cat with an attitude," he said, taking her hand as they walked down the street.

...

Jason and Scarlett strolled through the solitary glass halls of the garden, absentmindedly examining the rare flowers as they passed. Jason looked at Scarlett and noticed her eyes were downcast. Her mind seemed elsewhere, even through dinner.

"Hey doll, why the long face?" Jason asked calmly. The only reply he received was silence. He gently grasped her arm and pulled her to face him. "You feelin' okay?"

She leaned her head up to him and smiled tiredly. "Yeah...I'm just a bit distracted right now, that's all."

"Anything you can tell me about?" he smirked.

She sighed and shook her head. "It's personal. I wouldn't want to bother you."

"Please, bother me! It's nice to think about someone else's issues for a change."

She chuckled softly and continued to stroll through the halls.

"My mother gave me a call today," she began haltingly. "It's the first time we've spoken since I left home."

"Right, the two of you had a massive blowout that made you run away or something?"

She nodded. "In her mind, the fight was my fault, and she can't bring herself to forgive me."

Jason snorted in derision. "She was a controlling bitch! You're not the one who needs to ask for forgiveness."

She gave him a pointed look. "I appreciate you taking my side, but you shouldn't say things like that, especially since you haven't met her."

"Fine...though from what you've told me, it sounds like she deserves every word. What caused the fight anyway? The one that made you leave."

She sighed. "Toward the end of my senior year in high school, I auditioned for a local beauty pageant. There were over twenty girls there, but I managed to stay in the top five. Mom was so proud of me. She believed it was the first step to being Miss America someday, maybe even Miss Universe. Unfortunately, a bikini photoshoot was one of the tasks we had to do. My mother didn't mind as long as I did well. I was a little self-conscious back then and I didn't want people looking at me half-naked. I decided to drop out of the competition, and my mother was furious. She told me I blew my greatest opportunity and that I was a disappointment. "

"You're not meat on a plate, Scarlett!" Jason seethed.

"You don't understand. My mom is a very success-driven person. There was never any time for emotion or personal comfort. After I dropped out, our relationship fell apart. We fought all the time about how I should live my life. I swore that I would pack my bags and move away on my eighteenth birthday. When that day came, I called my boyfriend and told him to pick me up after dinner. He got a job here in Gotham and said he could take me with him."

"Let me guess. She caught you?"

"Not exactly... I told her."

Jason stared at her incredulously. "Why in the hell would you do that?!"

"I don't know! Maybe part of me felt guilty, or maybe I thought I could tell her off because I was an adult and I could make my own choices...but I was wrong. As soon as she saw my suitcase, she slapped me across the face and told me that I wasn't going anywhere, or else. Luckily, my boyfriend got there just in time. I dropped my suitcase, ran outside, got on his motorcycle, and we drove here. I haven't spoken to her until now."

"What the hell did she want? If she were my mother, I'd tell her to go straight to hell."

She laughed, though there was melancholy in her eyes. "She told me that she and Dad are getting a divorce."

Jason slowed his pace. "So that's why you're upset. I'm sorry. I imagine that was difficult to hear."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not as upset as I should be. I guess it's been so long since I've seen my family that I've become numb to the situation. The announcement did surprise me a bit, though."

"Why?" he asked.

Scarlett paused for a moment. "Because Daddy was so determined to keep the family together. He knew about Mom's affairs but chose to ignore them so my brother and I could have a stable family."

Jason's eyes widened slightly. "Wow...I didn't even know you had a brother."

Scarlett pursed her lips. "Yes...I do. His name is Jeremy. We were never close growing up, and I think it's because my mother purposely put a divide between us. She made no attempt to hide that she favored him over me, and because she gave him everything he wanted, he never developed any ambition. He's happily unemployed, eats seven meals a day, and still lives with her at the family home in Newark. He loved to torment me and get me in trouble, even if I did nothing wrong. He took some sick pleasure in watching Mom hit me or take away more of my freedom."

"Yeah...story of my life," Jason mumbled under his breath. Scarlett perked up with curiosity, and he silently cursed himself. He didn't mean to draw the attention away from her struggles, but his anger and resentment would sometimes boil over, and he was virtually powerless to stop it.

"...Did something like that happen to you?" she asked.

Jason sighed, and the two sat down on a nearby bench. "My father was the sadist in my family. He'd beat me until there was nothing left to beat. He didn't care that I was a child, and it didn't matter if I was innocent. Even being innocent made me guilty. He just wanted to punish someone for his misfortunes."

"That's horrible," Scarlett breathed. "Why didn't your mother protect you?"

"My mom wasn't in the picture. My stepmom was there, but she was so strung out on drugs most of the time that she couldn't do anything even if she wanted to. I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted to escape."

Tears began to fill her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Jason." She reached up to stroke his cheek when her eyes involuntarily settled on the J scar beneath his left eye. "Is that...how you got this?" she asked, tracing the line of the broken tissue.

Instinctively, Jason jerked away from her and covered the scar with his hand. It was like pulling a switch, and Scarlett instantly felt stupid. She noticed it when they first met, but she made it a point never to stare or ask for an explanation. It wasn't her business, and she had a feeling the memory was painful for him. Furthermore, she didn't want him to think that his scar was the first thing she noticed in him because it certainly wasn't.

Jason coughed uncomfortably and looked around the garden, almost deliberately avoiding her eyes. "No...it's...from something else."

A moment of silence passed between them. Scarlett looked at Jason and saw something she had never seen before. Pain. Loss. Suffering. He maintained a convincing front, the charming hot-tempered bad boy with an anarchist view of the world. Now, she saw that his mask was meant to hide a broken man from a fractured past—a man begging for validation and compassion.

Just like her.

Scarlett leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes peacefully. Jasonsoftly brushed her cheek with his thumb and kissed her forehead. She sighed contentedly and tilted her head to meet his eyes. Jason's hand slowly moved around Scarlett's waist, pulling her in for a heated kiss, drawing her against his chest.

After a few moments, they pulled away breathlessly.

"I should get you home," he whispered, stroking away a tear from her cheek.

Scarlett smiled, her eyes cast bashfully downward. "You should..."

"Do you want me to stay? I can help...take your mind off things."

"I could use a good distraction..." she whispered, her eyes half-lidded with desire.

Jason kissed her again, guiding her off the bench and into his arms as they descended the stairs.

...

Jason watched the ceiling fan's blades turn in lazy circles as the cool air washed over his damp chest. The glowing lights of neon signs shone through the slits in the window blinds, casting colorful beams against the bedroom walls. He breathed deeply and positioned his arm around his head to sit up. Scarlett, sleeping soundly against his shoulder, wrapped herself tighter around him as she unconsciously felt him shift beneath the sheets.

As much as Jason wanted to go back to sleep, he couldn't shake the sobering fact that a skilled assassin and her army of trained killers were thirsting for his blood. He wasn't frightened of Talia al Ghul in the least, but he couldn't help himself from feeling uneasy at the thought of her potentially watching his every move. The reality was that he suddenly had much more to lose than just himself.

He stared once more at the beautiful girl sleeping next to him and thought about how much he envied her. There she slept soundly without a care in the world. She had no idea that her boyfriend was a murderer. She was oblivious to the potential threat of her being kidnapped or murdered by an ancient Egyptian cult he was once a part of. Most importantly, she still didn't know the truth about his secret identity and the dangers surrounding him.

Jason cursed himself. He fell fast and hopelessly in love with Scarlett...and he was lying to her. She didn't deserve the strings that came with him, and deep within his hardened heart, he hoped those strings didn't strangle her to death.