The words that followed Addilyn's sarcastic question were a complete and utter surprise to Addilyn. She looked up at Jason as he spoke, her eyes wide as he said things that she thought were the exact opposite of herself.

Granted, it was also very flattering, to know that she seemed to have more confidence and grace than she thought she could ever acquire. The sort-of compliments turned Addilyn's cheeks and ears a soft pink and she looked down, a bashful look floating its way across her face.

"O-oh, I didn't really think I did. Lewis always tells me I look like I'm trying to hard to look like a hero, so much so that I look ridiculous when I try to be angry or serious. He also told me I'm a clumsy fool, I don't know where you got this grace stuff from but I'm really not that cool." Addilyn laughed softly, not knowing how to reply to Jason's cool, collected tone while she was just a blubbering mess.

Jason laughed softly, his ears bright red as he looked down bashfully, "We-lll," He drew out the word, and shyly grabbed Addilyn's hand, keeping his grip light, "May-be I see a different side of you that he.... doesn't...." He seemed to be thinking really hard before saying anything, and even as he spoke, there was a hesitance to it, "I don't want to go to far.... but I think you are beautiful, Addilyn..... both inside and out... and I... really like you."

Addilyn's cheeks and ears turned a deep pink, almost red color as Jason took her hand in his own. She didn't pull away from him at all, instead she kept her hand in his, comforted by his gentle grip. It was odd, that she felt perfectly at ease with him, though she supposed it was because he was always there for her. So much so that it surprised her.

It took her a moment to respond, her eyes staying on the ground as wondered how the hell she should reply. She did like him, if that was not obvious enough, but she was worried, about so many things. Yet she still wanted to give it a chance, because she liked him, and made her feel comfortable.

"Thank you for all that. I-I really like you too, you've helped me so much. And you're very handsome as well by the way." Addilyn held Jason's hand a little tighter before continuing. "I'm scared though, what if someone finds out and they harm you because of me? I don't want anything to happen to you Jason." Addilyn was a hero, but she worried just like any other person, and got scared just as easily.

Addilyn didn't want Jason to get hurt because of her, but she also didn't want to hold her feelings back either.

Jason soaked in the feeling of her smaller hand in his, and squeezed it, grounding himself to that moment in time. It seemed important that he be able to recall this again in perfect detail: how their shoulders lightly brushed every other step, the callouses on her hands, the way they both were looking at the ground as if they were afraid looking at each other would break the moment.

Yet, they couldn't stay here forever, and Jason knew he had to address Addilyn's fears, because, well, he shared them, "I'm worried about that too. I don't want anything to happen to you either," Especially when villains could be even more cruel than heroes, "But I can handle anything that comes to me.. so don't worry about that."

Addilyn smiled softly as Jason squeezed her hand, a little rush of happiness filling her body as she took in the world. Everything seemed to be in full color, the rush of emotions causing everything to become so much sharper and colorful. All of that, came from the simple joy that came when she held hands with Jason, a man that she truly liked and trusted.

His words were exaclty what she thought he'd say, he was always so bold. Truthfully, he didn't know just how horrible heroes could be, they were charged with protecting justice but half of them only did it for the screens. Addilyn had seen the affects of the fame and power that was given when you became a hero, and sometimes, people died.

That was hidden though of course.

"I'm sure you can, and I could beat anyone's ass any day. I'm still worried though, I just don't want anything to happen to you at all. And I don't ever want to have to fight you, I couldn't ever bring you in. I like you to much to allow that to happen. I'm scared Jason, because everyone is so cruel, and I don't want to mess this up." Addilyn's eyes stayed on the ground as she spoke, her voice steady but filled with emotion.

Jason frowned - he hadn't thought that he may have to fight Addilyn. He didn't know if he could do it either, frankly, but they might have to in order to keep their secret safe, "Well..." Jason started slowly, "We might have to fight each other if we come across one another... If we didn't, then you could get in trouble with your bosses, or cue them and the public into knowing something is up." If he ever hurt Addilyn... Jason wouldn't know what he would do. That would destroy him, "I think all we can do is try to avoid each other - you can give me your patrol route, if you have one, or the hours you work, and I'll try to move my schedules around that, so we won't have to be on duty at the same time. And if we do happen to run across each other... we have to make a fight realistic, but I will try to make sure I don't hurt you."

They walked along for a bit until Jason stopped and turned to face Addilyn. He gently tipped her chin up to look at him, and he searched her worried face, "You won't mess anything up, Addilyn. We will be fine - we will figure things out together. It'll work out - I promise. I'll make sure everything is fine, and that we can have our relationship be safe, happy, and a secret." Jason's hand gently traced her jaw, "Can I kiss you?" His words were hardly a whisper, and he smiled softly.

Addilyn nodded at Jason's solution, it sounded so simple, and she really hoped it would be. She hoped she'd never have to fight him, because hurting someone she loved was the last thing she wanted to do. "I'll get my schedule once it's up and send it to you. I normally stick to those days unless something big is happening but other than that." Addilyn shrugged, technically she was always on call, but she did have scheduled work hours and normally they went as they were supposed to.

Addilyn was thinking about all the things that could go so absolutely wrong, and how she'd probably mess it all up, when he stopped her. Her green eyes widened as she listened to the words that she had not been expecting.

Jason was being so comforting, so open and kind, Addilyn didn't know how he could possibly do it. His promise made Addilyn almost melt into his arms, and she didn't think she'd be this pleasantly surprised ever again in her life. As if his words weren't enough, the last question threw Addilyn for a loop, kiss her? Jason wanted to kiss her?? Obviously she didn't mind, but how did he even find her attractive?
Addilyn was to shocked to say anything even mildly comprehensible, so she nodded her head and muttered something along the lines of. "Sure, I definitely don't mind," except her words were slippery and almost slightly dazed sounding.

Jason bent his head down slightly to meet Addilyn in a kiss. It was soft, sweet, and simple, and it didn't last more than a few seconds. As they both pulled back and looked at each other, Jason let out a big breath through his nose as his mouth stretched into a big smile. Jason thought that for a first kiss, this was pretty darn near perfect. The only thing that could

make it better was if they didn't have to worry about their jobs colliding. But that... that was not on Jason's mind now.

No... He was too focused on the way the wind messed with Addilyn's dark hair, how her eyes were so bright and full of hope, and looked at him like he was important. Jason figured he had a matching expression on his face.

"Thank you."

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after addilyn replies to this - do you wanna ts to our plan?

Sure))

Addilyn was a big waterfall of surprise, happiness and a whole whirlwind of unexpected emotions. She hadn't thought this would happen today if all days but she definitely was happy about it. The kiss was perfect, and when she opened her eyes, the world was ablaze with color and light.

For a moment, all was lost in the haze of the most wonderful kiss she'd ever received, not that there were many to compare it to anyways. Still, the kiss was perfect, and everything was frozen in time as she stared at Jason with those big green eyes.

He was perfect. Jason was perfect. He made her feel happy and cared for. And she hadn't realized how much she'd missed that until him. "No, thank you."

-w-

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Jason had landed his ass in a crappy situation.

It was a few weeks after he and Addilyn had decided to give a relationship a shot (although he wasn't sure if they were dating, but that didn't matter a whole lot. they were trying) and so far, it was going great. They had only run into each other a few times, but they played it off as a fight where neither of them won, and no one batted an eye. Or at least, they weren't batting an eye loudly.

Jason dodged a staff that was thrusted at his face, and touched the shoulder of that hero. Instantly his senses were sharpened and he felt faster than ever. A fast punch to the gut sent the man staggering away, and giving Jason a moment to think.

He had ended up in this situation because he'd been hired for a job that supposedly one villain couldn't do on their own. Well, after one of the idiots couldn't tell the difference between security camera and not a security camera, the authorities had been notified and now him and the other 5 nitwits were up against 4 heroes - and others were certainly on the way. None of the other villains seemed to have a brain, but they were good fighters and were giving the heroes a run for their money.
Speaking of money - that's what they stole. The sacks of money lay discarded behind them, as the villains had dropped the loot when the heroes dropped in on them.

Already one villain was down, and Jason wasn't mad that it was the dumbbell who walked in front of the security camera.

With his new-found speed Jason turned, grabbed a sack of money, and flung it with all his might at the head a hero. It wouldn't hurt, but it was surprising, and gave Jason a chance to pull his sword out and make the fight easier for the villains.

The heroes were now 3 to 5, but Jason could already hear backup coming - and it wasn't his backup.