Chapter Text
Run. Do not stop running.
"Hey, come back here ya little shit!"
Don't let them catch you. You need this more than they do.
"Little bastard took my food, I gotta go back and get something else."
They have the money, you don't. You need to eat. You need to live. You promised her.
Scarlett ran through the alleys in her neighborhood, ducking past boxes and crates. Clutching the McDonald's bag tight in her small fists, she made her way back to her tiny burrough. She sat down against the brick wall and pulled the food out of the bag.
"A salad?", she asked, puzzled. That guy got a salad from Mickey D's?Whatever, she needed the roughage anyway. She grabbed the plastic fork and dug in. It was pretty good, as far as fast "healthy" food was concerned. Scarlett hardly ever got a good meal on the streets, let alone any vegetables , so beggars can't be choosers. Or in this case, thieves.
"Hey kid, your mama ever teach you that stealing ain't nice?", a strange voice rang out from the end of the alley. Scarlett jumped up and turned to run, but whoever it was beat her to the punch and had her by the arm in a second. She pulled back her arm and swung, hoping to catch this handsy bastard in the jaw. As she was about to connect, he caught her fist in his hand.
Who the fuck was this guy?
"Hey, it's okay kid, I'm not here to hurt ya.", he said, putting her down. She snatched her arm away as soon as she could and grimaced.
"Yeah, sure.", she snarled, rubbing her definitely bruised wrist."You assholes are all a bucket of fun ain'tcha?". She looked up at him, to get a good look at his face in case she had to avoid this creep in the future.
Or, where his face would have been.
If there wasn't a bright red helmet in the way.
"Holy shit, you're Red Hood."
"You just now realizing that kid?"
"You're one of the heroes running around Gotham?"
"I use the word hero very sparingly"
She realized that her mouth was still open, and slid it shut. Scarlett had grown up around this area, she had heard the stories about the Gotham Bat and his nest of birds. But she never thought she'd see one.
"If you're really not gonna hurt me, then why were you grabbing on me like that?", she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't your mama ever tell you it ain't polite to yank on a lady?". If she could see under his helmet, she was sure that he'd look irritated.
"I was grabbing you because I saw you swipe that guys food and wanted to ask you a question.", he snarked, sitting on a crate next to her.
"Yes?"
"Do you want some actual food, kid? McDonald's salads are trash."
Sitting in the local diner, Jason got a good look at the kid. She was scrawny, but that wasn't surprising considering where they were. She couldn't be any older than thirteen. Scars on her arms, probably from sleeping on concrete. A scar on her face.
"What's your name?", he asks, hoping to get a read on her. She looks up from her meatloaf platter and glares at him.
"Nunya. Why should I tell you my name when you're hiding your face?", she spits, mouth full of mashed potatoes. Jason should have known better than to even ask. He was in her spot once, and he knows that he would probably never have even talked to some random bastard paying attention to him outta nowhere. But for some reason, he was actually invested in the kid.
"Be nice kid, I did just buy ya food."
"And that means? What reason do I have to trust you?"
"I coulda just dropped your little ass off at St. Adens and been done with it."
"You wouldn't."
"Test me."
She groaned, and sat up a little straighter. Jason smirked. Getting his way always ruled, was always a breath of fresh air. He sat forward a little.
"Lose the helmet first.",she stated matter-of-factly. He blinked.
"Huh, kid? Did I hear you right?" He must have misheard her. She did know that there was a reason he wore the helmet right? "I kinda have a reason to be incognito, ya know?"
"I said what I said." She was serious. Ugh. Why was he still invested? But, damn his caring nature.
"Fine." he said, pressing the release on his hood.
And revealing the domino mask underneath.
"Oh fuck you.",she grumbled, clearly exasperated. She pushed her plate away and pulled her legs up to her chest in the booth."So do you just want my name, or my life story?"
"No need to be snarky, I'm just making conversation."
She looked up at him and took a deep breath, appearing to steel herself for the conversation.
"My name is Scarlett. I'm 12.", she looked out the window. “How much do ya wanna hear mister?”