Title: a dull knife on a sharp night
Fandom: DCU/MCU/Captain America
Rating: R
Length: 719
Content notes: Warnings for non-graphic violence, Jason being turned on by violence, death of nameless HYDRA agents, references to canon temporary character deaths.
Author notes: For fan-flashworks for the contraband challenge.
Summary: Jason didn't know who the guy was, but he was clearly off limits. (Jason was never good with limits).



They met when Jason was about to take down ten bad guys at a HYDRA base an hour out of Gotham.

Well, it was supposed to be ten. It was actually a little more than four dozen agents (four dozen sounds way less ridiculous than going up against fifty agents).

It definitely wasn’t like Jason needed the help, though.

Still. Watching a dude literally throw ten men off the roof in 8 seconds was…

It was sick to think that was hot, right?

The guy was faster than Bruce, even, a lot faster. Not as stealthy, though it didn’t look like stealth was his goal.

It wasn’t long before Jason and the guy were the last two standing.

“So did you come here to save me or kill me?” Jason asked, watching him closely. He tried not to think about the fact that this was not the first time he’d asked someone that question.

The guy looked at him, hair whipping against his face in the wind. “I don’t know. I’m not sure what I’m in the mood for.”

Jason had to grin. “A man after my own heart,” somehow got blurted out of his mouth.

The guy looked at him strangely, and Jason still wasn’t sure if he was about to raise his gun again. Finally he said to Jason, “Trust me, you don’t want this level of trouble.” He sounded… not quite guilty.

Angry. Calm, half-smiling, self-loathing rage.

It was a good look for him. (It looked good on Jason too, if he did say so himself).

Jason stepped just one foot closer, testing if the move would get him killed. “Now see, if you knew me better, you’d figure out that I like getting in trouble.”

The guy raised an eyebrow, a gleam in his eye. “I don’t know you one damn bit, but I still managed to figure that out.”

Jason smirked. “Want to celebrate? A bunch of truly shitty dickheads are dead, and that’s worth a drink, right?”

The guy let out a breath and looked around at the bodies lying on the ground, and Jason could see it then, bright and clear as broken glass on a marble floor.

This man wasn’t like him.

Or, more probably, this man was like him, but desperately didn’t want to be.

“Hey, thanks for the save, man,” Jason said, stepping back a little.

“If you keep going after HYDRA on your own, you’ll get killed,” the guy said, a little softer now.

“Or maybe I’ll run into you again,” Jason said.

That actually got a smile out of the guy. Crooked and pained, but a smile. Maybe it wasn’t really a lost cause after all.

Jason added, “Or you could stop by Gotham. We’ve got lots of crime lords who could use a good ass kicking. You can tag along if you want?” Jason knew he was playing with fire now. You don’t invite a vigilante who kills into Batman’s town, especially not a vigilante who can throw a truck and appears to be having a major existential crisis.

(It was fucked up that this made Jason want to bring the guy to Gotham even more, right? But then, Jason always was the type to bring a matchbook to a dynamite factory).

The guy smiled. “No. I have … business with HYDRA.”

Jason nodded. Far be it for him to begrudge a man his retaliatory killing rampage.

“Okay. Come back if you ever want a tour, though. I know all the shittiest spots in Gotham.”

“Quite an offer,” the guy said with a wry grimace. “We’ll see if I make it back to town.”

“You will. Dudes as fucked up as us never stay dead for long,” Jason added, knowing full well that the guy would have no idea why Jason would find it funny, or why a normal person would find it anything but.

Instead, the guy just looked at him, eyes large and wounded.

Jason changed the subject. “By the way, my name’s Jason. If you ever show up in Gotham, just… act like yourself. I’ll find you.”

He nodded, then turned around, and left.

Jason took a few steps as he watched him leave. The guy was fast, too fast, and Jason knew that even if he wanted to follow, he couldn’t.