Chapter Text
Jason wasn’t entirely sure why he was delivering messages to Dick from Kori other than the fact that she’d asked him to. Was he that far gone on her that he’d do anything to make her happy? Yes. All she has to do is bat those eyelashes of hers at you and you melt into a puddle.
He’d dropped off the message with the Wayne butler…they had a freaking butler who said he’d give it to Dick. Now he headed back toward the barricade, they’d need all the help they could get. Dent was on a war path and the whole thing would end in bloodshed if they weren’t careful.
The ever present clouds hung over Gotham like a fire blanket, smothering everything with its oppression. If he hadn’t grown up with it, he’d probably have gone insane by now. It was a wonder that the GCU students didn’t develop PTSD just from dealing with the cloud cover.
Jason ducked down a side street that emptied out near the barricade. It was the closest he’d be able to get without going through the tunnels, and the last thing he needed was to pop out of a man hole with a bunch of twitchy college kids. They must have had some engineering students on their side cause the barricade looked tall and sturdy. He scaled the pile of broken chairs and tables and whatever else they’d cobbled together. He was almost to safety when a shot rang out.
Fire exploded in his gut. A hole opened in a mattress in front of him.
With a groan, he pressed a hand to his stomach.
He half tumbled the rest of the way down, those behind the barricade greeted him with drawn pistols and rifles.
Kori shoved people aside as Jason stood.
“Jay, are you crazy? You could have been killed!” She gripped his arms with a strength he hadn’t known she possessed. “Did you give him the letter?”
Jason nodded. “I left it with the butler. He said he’d give it to Dick.”
His knees gave way, sending him to the ground with a groan.
Kori knelt in front of him. “Jay, what’s wrong?” She moved his hand that had been covering the wound in his gut, followed by his jacket. “You’ve been hit.”
He pushed himself up, grimacing as he did so. “It’s just a scratch.”
She moved to stand. “I’m going to get one of the med students. Don’t move.”
Jason caught her wrist. “Stay here, please.”
“If we can help you, then we should. You need medical attention, Jay.”
“I think it might be too late for that.” It was getting harder to breathe. “Not like anyone is gonna be able to do emergency surgery in the street.”
Kori settled beside him. “Don’t talk like that. You’ll make it out of this, we all will.”
“Do me a favor, yeah?” The request came out as a groan when his back spasmed.
“Anything.”
“Stay here with me?”
Kori ran her hands through his hair. “If you won’t let me get help, then okay.”
“Make sure this doesn’t end here, Kori. Keep fighting for equality.” He reached hand up and caressed her face. His blood smeared on her cheek.
Something wet dripped on him. He wasn’t sure if Kori was crying or if it was suddenly raining.
Kori sniffed and shifted his weight to her lap. “Don’t you give up, Jaybird. You keep on fighting too.”
His heartbeat thundered in his ears. His arms were heavy. He could barely keep his eyes open. “Always loved you, Kor.”