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Feeling the sting of the cold wind against his cheeks, Jason looked at Gotham from his position on the rooftop and thought it was too quiet, way too quiet. Heavy clouds hung in the night sky and as he breathed in, and even with the thick pollution in the air, Jason could still smell the oncoming rain. He was looking forward to going home, lighting the fire, hearing the raindrops against the windows as he curled up with his favourite book in one hand and Steph next to him, an arm around her holding her close.
Putting his helmet back on, Jason tapped his comms. “Spoiler, how’s your night going?”
Waiting a few moments, Jason felt a wave of anxiety wash over him when he got no reply – he usually only had to wait a few seconds. “Spoiler, is everything okay?” he tried. No response.
He knew Steph was on the outskirts of Gotham tonight and he felt it in his soul that something wasn’t right. He needed to get to her and see if she was okay. Quickly scaling down to the road, Jason ran to his car and drove to where he knew she might be.
Pressing the accelerator, Jason kept his eyes peeled. Gotham was way too quiet and he didn’t like it. Pulling into an alleyway, Jason listened closely and tapped his comms a few times, trying to see if he could pinpoint where Steph was.
Getting feedback from a few blocks over, Jason shot out his grapple and swung from building to building, landing on a low rooftop. He could hear someone crying and Jason knew immediately that it was Steph – the sound was like a sharp knife to his heart. His stomach knotted and his heart rate increased as he followed the sound and dropped behind a group of eight large men who he knew were attacking Steph.
Pulling out his gun, he fired it into the air and got their attention.
“Eight on one? You’re all pathetic. Fuck off now before I put a bullet through your brains. Oh, and if you touch her again, same result.”
Seeing Steph on the ground curled in on herself, Jason grabbed the closest two thugs to her and smacked their heads together as the others ran off, taking their friends with them. Jason only had one goal currently and it was Steph. He would teach those dirtbags a lesson once he knew Steph was safe and taken care of.
“Steph, baby, talk to me, please,” Jason said, gently cupping Steph’s face and wiping away the tears.
“Everything hurts, I can’t…” Steph began, more tears running down her face.
“I believe you. It’s going to be okay, I’m here,” Jason said, carefully picking Steph up and cradling her to his chest, pressing a kiss to her hair.
Reaching out, Steph gently traced Jason’s helmet with her finger and closed her eyes. Jason was here, Jason was safe, and she knew he would do anything to help her. Her entire body was on fire but that was what apparently happened when eight thugs team up, taser you, and start beating their fists into you and kicking you while you’re down.
“Do you want to go home, to my place, or a safe house?” Jason asked, feeling Steph begin to shiver in his arms.
“The safe house. The one with the big shower,” Steph replied, wincing as she shifted slightly.
“Okay. The car is around the corner, I’ll get the heat pumping for you.”
“Thank you… for everything.”
“You don’t need to thank me, I’m your fiancée. I would turn the world upside down for you,” Jason said, stopping in front of a black car. “Are you able to stand for a moment?”
“I think so.” Feeling her feet touch the ground, Steph took a deep breath in and immediately regretted it. Her ribs hurt, her back hurt, and there was a deep throb in both her knees and her head. Taking her cowl off, she felt the pressure lessen.
Hearing the car unlock and the door open, Steph exhaled as Jason looked at her.
“I think it’ll be best if you lay down, less pressure on your ribs that way.”
“That’s not a bad suggestion. You’ve got to promise me you won’t hit any bumps that can be avoided.”
“I promise. Ready?”
“Yeah.” Feeling Jason hold her gently, he easily slid her onto the back seat. The seat was soft yet firm, and laying down felt really good.
Getting into the driver’s seat, Jason took his helmet off, flicked the heater on along with the seat warmers and slowly pulled away from the curb. It was a good twenty minutes to the safehouse, and as he checked on Steph in the rearview mirror, he frowned.
If he ever saw those guys again, he would make it his personal business to make sure they could never hurt anyone again. Two broken arms, two broken legs, and maybe a gunshot wound to each foot sounded great about now.
Watching the street ahead of him, Jason carefully turned each corner, and always checked on Steph afterward.
“How’re you holding up back there?” Jason asked, noticing her shift.
“Honestly, not bad. The heat against my back is doing wonders and making things not ache as much,” Steph replied.
“Good. I thought it would help. Are you okay enough to tell me how everything started?” Jason asked, not wanting to push it.
“Well, as you know, it started with the big bang,” Steph smiled, hearing Jason groan.
“You’re feeling a little better than I thought,” Jason replied, shaking his head.
“I was helping a homeless young girl who was being followed by one of the guys. I got her to a refuge, and as I walked down the street and turned into the alley, there were seven other guys who just jumped me, tasered me, and hit and kicked me wherever they could. If it wasn’t for you patrolling the same side of town, I don’t know if I could have made it out. Also, did you shoot one of them? I heard a gun, I think.”
“If I shot one of them, you’d know about it. Next time I see them I can’t promise I won’t put a bullet in them. No thug is going to get away with hurting you or anyone I care about.” Jason could feel his hands tighten on the steering wheel as small droplets of rain started to fall onto the windscreen.
“Just make sure Bruce doesn’t find out. I’m half tempted to see if the tech guy can make me gloves with an inbuilt taser in the knuckle area.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Our bodies are our temples, yada, yada, yada, you know how it goes.”
“Vaguely,” Steph smiled, flexing her fingers. She was grateful they didn’t hurt.
“When we get to the safehouse, is it okay if I check you over for injuries?” Jason asked, taking a quick look at Steph.
“It’s fine. I need a shower, and I think I’m going to need help,” Steph replied, gingerly bending her left knee.
“I’m happy to be of service.” Seeing Steph softly smile, Jason locked his eyes on hers for a moment and he knew she was going to be okay.
Driving around the same set of blocks a few times to make sure they weren’t being followed, Jason pulled into a driveway and waited for the garage door to open before parking the car inside. They had arrived safely, and now he could tend to his partner.
Opening the backdoor, he scooped Steph into his arms with ease and pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Ow,” Steph hissed, putting a protective hand over her ribs.
“Sorry baby,” Jason murmured into her hair, pressing another kiss against her head.
“Not your fault.” Resting against Jason, Steph closed her eyes and allowed him to carry her into the safety of their safehouse. She could tell they were heading to the bathroom and when Jason stopped, she reached out and turned the light and heat lamps on.
There was what Steph would call an almost permanent medical bed inside, ready to treat anyone with an easy cleanup. Feeling Jason lay her on it, she took a shallow breath and looked at him.
“Before you ask - my knees, hips, ribs, lower back, upper back, and shoulders hurt. My knees and ribs are the worst,” Steph said, wincing as she tried to lay more comfortably.
“Okay. Let’s get your outfit off and we’ll go from there. I want to make sure there are no serious issues we’re overlooking.” Starting with the easiest part first, Jason pulled her shoes off and unclasped the hood, followed by removing her gloves and the belts that adorned the Spoiler outfit.
“That was the easy part, my man. We need to unzip this now,” Steph said, gesturing to her clothing while trying to put in as much humour as she could muster.
“That part will most likely hurt. How do you think would be easiest to do it with minimal pain?”
“We sit me up, unzip it, pull it forward and go from there,” Steph suggested. She knew there was no easy way to remove her outfit without causing pain to her injuries and she was ready to face what her body had in store for her.
“Okay. I’ll try to be as gentle as I can be,” Jason replied, moving next to Steph and helping her into a sitting position while making sure to avoid touching the areas that hurt.
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Steph said after a moment as she heard Jason unzip her suit. Sure, it caused a few things to twinge but nothing shot the burning pain as bad as what was coming from her knee.
“I think that was the easiest part.” Moving so he could help Steph out of her suit, Jason slowly moved it over her shoulders and down her arms, letting the top half sit loosely in Steph’s lap.
Hissing slightly, Steph tried to roll her shoulder and instantly regretted it. Pain radiated along her clavicle, across her shoulder blades, and up her neck. The sensation almost made her throw up.
“You’re good, you’re good,” Jason comforted, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Put an arm around my shoulders and I’ll pull your suit down over your butt.”
Taking a deep breath in, Steph winced and held onto her ribs. She was starting to think they were either badly bruised or one was broken. Wrapping an arm around Jason’s shoulders, Steph helped to lift herself up slightly and push down her suit.
Biting her bottom lip, she tried not to let the pain get to her. She was Spoiler, she should have been able to take those thugs on singlehandedly and not let them get the better of her.
Closing her eyes, she took short breaths in as Jason manoeuvred the rest of her suit off her. She didn’t want to look at the damage that had been done to her body, but she also needed to know to make sure none of it required calling in Leslie to come take a look at them.
“You’ve only got some bruising, but your left knee is definitely the worst. It’s swollen and I think you need to be off it for a couple of days. Are you able to lay down so I can check your ribs?”
“Yeah,” Steph softly replied, finally looking at the bruising Jason told her about. Feeling the coolness of the medical bed underneath her, Steph held her breath as Jason gently probed her ribs, carefully inspecting them under the bruising.
“Just some bruising and inflammation. Take a moment and I’ll run a hot bath for you. Let me know if you need anything.”
Watching as Steph closed her eyes, Jason took his jacket off and tossed it into the corner of the room. Running the bath, he added in the lavender bath salts Steph kept well stocked at all their places and hoped it would help her to relax a little.
Getting everything ready for them, Jason took his clothes off and looked at Steph. “Ready to soak with me for a bit?”
“God, yes,” Steph groaned, gingerly sitting up and removing her sports bra and underwear.
Picking Steph up, Jason carried her over to the bath and stepped in, slowly putting Steph down on the seat. He was glad that at times like these he opted for the fanciest and biggest baths he could have installed.
Lowering himself into the water he relaxed into the warmth and exhaled. Steph was here with him, Steph was safe, and he was going to make sure she received the best care he could give her over the next few days.
Reaching for the bar of argan soap and a face washer, Jason lathered it up and moved over to Steph. “Let me take care of you, my love,” he said, holding her arm and slowly beginning to wash her.
“I got lucky with you,” Steph smiled, sinking further into the water.
“I think I was the one that got lucky.” Feeling Steph’s leg rest on his knees he began to gently massage the area around her knee that was swollen. “Anything you want, let me know.”
“Foot rub.” Wriggling her toes, Steph grinned at Jason as he grinned back.
“Anything for my queen,” Jason winked, starting to massage her foot. “Once we are done in here, how about I make us a snack and we do whatever you want.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Giving Steph his full attention, Jason wanted to make her feel as best as she could. Feeling the water starting to go cold, he emptied some of it out before adding more hot water to the tub. Helping Steph move, Jason felt her relax against his chest and as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, he promised himself that he’d always be there to love her and fight by her side.