In Gotham, My Boyfriend Came Back Five Years After His Death

Rebecca Crouch was adopted by the neighboring Wayne Manor for a time when she was young. A sudden shooting at a theater left her parents devastated, and Rebecca developed anxiety and depression. She learned coping techniques from her therapist and how to live independently from the butler. She tried to control her life, and in doing so, control her future, but she overcorrected until she seemed more like a madwoman with obsessive-compulsive tendencies. She lived this way until Mr. Wayne brought home his second adopted son. The first time Rebecca saw him, she knew he was destined to burn himself up, until there was nothing left to burn. But then the boy looked at her in astonishment. There was something in his gaze Rebecca couldn't understand, and she had a premonition that a terrifying turn of events had upended her plans. When he chose to take her hand, Rebecca eventually let herself burn in the fire, despite her hesitation and struggle. But she had never imagined that he might leave her first. She wondered if it would have been better if she had been the one to die first. Why else would the people she loved leave her one by one? * Jason Todd had been living at Wayne Manor for a while before he first met the person Alfred called Miss Rebecca. Then he realized, damn it, he'd fallen in love at first sight! (***A string of Crime Alley obscenities.) So he swallowed his pride and asked the rich guy to teach him about love. Of course, he only found out later that none of those methods were any good. Rebecca was about as far from cheerful and sunny as anyone could be. She was pale and fragile, like a scrap of paper that could be blown away by a breeze. She was anxious and paranoid, and, like Old Bats, she loved making ABCD plans, at least twenty-six of them (which was, of course, all Old Bats' fault). But she was also so gentle and dependable, and loved touching soil and seeds. Her diary was filled with beautiful cursive English, and she insisted on reading the newspaper crossword every morning. She could get angry and lose her temper whenever he messed up one of her so-called plans, calling him an idiot with a head full of weeds (nothing compared to the obscenities of Crime Alley, of course). His memories now held more than just his nocturnal life: the breeze drifting in from the balcony, the soft white curtains glowing in the light, the scent of tulips, the sound of his heart pounding whenever her shoulder drew near... And, of course, their first kiss. He held on to every one of those beautiful memories, until he woke from true darkness. Reader's notes: 1. The pairing is Jason. The superhero secret identities are barely involved. It's a short, pure romance about love at first sight, packed with fanfic stereotypes. Sorry for the out-of-character portrayals. 2. Includes a storyline about taking in a stray kid. The stray kid was inspired by The Neverending Story. 3. The heroine was inspired by The Life List. She's an ordinary person who's a bit crazy (though I've realized I'm not very good at writing crazy people, hmm). 4. I couldn't think of a title, so this is what I went with. I started writing to try out this kind of Western-feeling prose. For the extras, I'm planning a Madoka Magica if story and a Dream Assassin if story. Theme: May everyone be happy and free