![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[SCA] The Person She Deserves
Title: The Person She Deserves
Fandom: DC Comics + Digimon Adventure/02 crossover
Rating: PG-13 (for some language and implied violence)
Relationship: implied Jason/Mimi, Jason+Palmon
Summary: Jason's handled mafia bosses, costumed supervillains, and even a couple of
How had he dragged himself into this mess? Mimi really had him wrapped around her little fingers. When she'd asked him to dinner at her place, he'd imagined a simple night. Not this hideous mess with her parents. At the same time, Mimi was worth more than the world to him. No one else could make him dress like this, with neatly pressed slacks, shiny leather shoes, and an ironed button-down shirt. He'd even dyed his one white streak black tonight, taking care to gel down his bangs so that for one night, Mimi had a boyfriend she could be proud of.
It was funny. He'd faced demons, gangsters, the mob, and even death, and yet... nothing scared him more than dinner with Mimi's parents. He'd handled being beaten to death. He'd barely held it together when the Joker just kept laughing in his face... every time he envisioned dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Tachikawa, he saw the Joker's face stitched onto theirs and.... and he couldn't hold it in any longer. He pressed his hands against the full-length mirror in his room and he almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of it all.
Here he was, one of the underworld's most feared, about to have a pleasant, sit-down dinner with her girlfriend and her parents. By all accounts, he should pass this mission with flying colors. She needed a boyfriend who could sit down and talk about the stock market and the weather with her dad, all while listening to her mom discuss celebrities and the newest TV shows. Palmon was still a mystery to Jason. She'd side-eyed him at first, when he and Mimi started dating, but just before he headed inside Mimi's place, she had pulled him aside with those long green vine-like hands of hers and asked him very solemnly, "Why are you changing yourself for her?"
"I'm not," He said with a false arrogance. "Palmon, nothing’s changed. I’m just---"
"It's hurting you."
Jason almost broke down. Mimi's pet - no, Mimi's partner had noticed what no one else had.
Instead, he stared down at the ground and inhaled sharply. "I want to be a better person. For both Mimi and myself." That last word there had slipped from his tongue.
The second it tripped into the air, Jason stared up at Palmon and wondered briefly just why she was so blurry. Plants weren't Gaussian blurs, not when he was so up and close with her pet. Before she could give her stupid sympathy, Jason continued hurriedly, "I'm not the person that Mimi deserves, no matter how much she may want me. I don't know if I'll ever be that person, but dammit if I'm not going to try, because she deserves more, and I deserve to be someone that could at least make her proud."
Palmon embraced him tightly. Jason could only resist for so long before he scooped up Palmon in his arms and latched onto her with all of his strength. For a moment, he felt as if he were cradling a small kid, one that wouldn't stop loving him no matter what he did. Was this what having a Digimon partner was like? Someone that unconditionally loved you and yet called you out on your stupid crap when you needed it most? If so, Jason wouldn't mind signing up for the gig, trips to the Digital World and all.
"Mm," Palmon said after a moment, snuggling close to his chest. "Mr. Jason?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you think you don't deserve Mimi?"
He shifted her weight a little, just to hold her better before he looked down at her. "I've done some very, very bad things. Things I don't want to tell you - and things I still haven't told Tom about yet. I'm not proud of them." Well, he was kinda proud of the time he decapitated that mafia boss, if that counted. "... Most of them, at least."
"Does that make you a bad person?"
"I'd certainly think so." He chuckled, somewhat wryly. "Mimi's a good girl. Izumi saw something in her, and Tommy boy did too - something so pure that I think I'd corrupt it just by being around her now."
Palmon almost scratched his arm. Jason winced, rolling down his sleeves so that he could avoid her thorns. "Ow! Palmon!"
"Sorry, that was an accident!" It probably was, judging from her tone. She winced, looking at his arms. "I am so, so, so sorry, Mr. Jason."
"I'll get Tom to look at it. No big deal." Not the worst pain he'd ever faced. "So why do you keep asking me funny questions? You punks think I'm a bad influence or something?"
Palmon giggled. "Nah. You're the only one who thinks you are. If you really were one, Mimi wouldn't ask you to dinner, and Tom wouldn't be doing things with you, and Maxine wouldn't be bouncing all over the place when she sees you..."
She had a point there. Maxine was incredibly exuberant, moreso than usual, whenever he dropped by Cambridge to see her. He never told her that he visited for her sake, figuring that she'd catch onto the fact eventually. When Harvard guards asked for his ID, Maxine had always brushed them off by insisting that Jason was her big brother, and big brothers didn't need ID. They bought it every single time.
Jason still couldn't shake that nagging feeling, the one where he felt like he couldn't keep up no matter what he did. "Violence kind of follows me everywhere I go.”
“So?” Now Palmon just looked amused. “Mimi’s a digidestined. Trouble follows her too – and aren’t Tom and Maxine some kind of hero? It just means she’ll get to protect you sometimes too.”
He’d never thought of Mimi as his protector. She’d always seemed so innocent, but behind that smile, she was also an incredible source of strength. After all, she’d punched him square in the jaw after discovering his costumed identity - and she’d packed quite a wallop in that tiny fist of hers.
“She would?”
He didn’t want her to get involved in his lifestyle. He didn’t know if she could handle the constant threat of being gunned down or the sleepless nights worrying about him. Bruce once mentioned that he was incredibly reluctant to marry – not because he feared being alone, but because he feared leaving someone else alone. No one else needed to bear the cross of The Bat.
Palmon nodded. “You know Mimi. The second you’re in danger, she’d fight for you.”
“And I’d fight for her too.” He made a mental note to teach her martial arts. Nothing fancy – they’d start off with karate – or complicated, just something that would alleviate his mind at night.
He knelt down so that he was at Palmon’s eye level again. “You’d better fight for her too, you hear?”
Granted, he’d never actually _seen_ Palmon in action, but he’d have to take Tom’s word for it. If he said that Palmon could kick major ass in times of crisis, then he really trusted Mimi’s partner. Jason would just have to believe in it until then.
He inhaled sharply, setting Palmon on the ground before he stared at the looming front door. He wasn’t the Red Hood, or Tom’s crazy sometimes-roomate, or even the fifteen-year old boy that taught Mimi English idioms. He didn’t want to be them – not the fragmented pieces that taught him experience and guided him onto his current path.
Palmon gave him a goofy smile before she pushed him towards the door. “Go, silly! I’ll be okay.”
Jason nodded, returning that smile before he rang the doorbell. He could hear the sound of fast-paced footsteps, of someone running to meet him in high heels – god, it’d be fantastic irony if her mother answered the door.
But no, Mimi swung the door open and embraced him as he stepped inside. He swung her in the air for good measure, before kissing her. “Hey.”
She giggled. “Hey yourself. You clean up nicely.”
Normally, he would’ve snarked at the cliché, told her it was a stupid statement since she’d seen him all guissed up for some formal event or another… Yet Jason could only laugh along with her before he stared up into her eyes.
“Thanks,” he said, intertwining his fingers with hers before he closed the door.
Even if Mimi’s parents turned out to become total monsters, at least he could say that he didn’t regret a single one of his actions up until this point. He was freaking Jason Peter Todd and if the fancy Tachikawas couldn’t respect that, then well? Then he’d still marry their daughter anyways.
Fandom: DC Comics + Digimon Adventure/02 crossover
Rating: PG-13 (for some language and implied violence)
Relationship: implied Jason/Mimi, Jason+Palmon
Summary: Jason's handled mafia bosses, costumed supervillains, and even a couple of
How had he dragged himself into this mess? Mimi really had him wrapped around her little fingers. When she'd asked him to dinner at her place, he'd imagined a simple night. Not this hideous mess with her parents. At the same time, Mimi was worth more than the world to him. No one else could make him dress like this, with neatly pressed slacks, shiny leather shoes, and an ironed button-down shirt. He'd even dyed his one white streak black tonight, taking care to gel down his bangs so that for one night, Mimi had a boyfriend she could be proud of.
It was funny. He'd faced demons, gangsters, the mob, and even death, and yet... nothing scared him more than dinner with Mimi's parents. He'd handled being beaten to death. He'd barely held it together when the Joker just kept laughing in his face... every time he envisioned dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Tachikawa, he saw the Joker's face stitched onto theirs and.... and he couldn't hold it in any longer. He pressed his hands against the full-length mirror in his room and he almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of it all.
Here he was, one of the underworld's most feared, about to have a pleasant, sit-down dinner with her girlfriend and her parents. By all accounts, he should pass this mission with flying colors. She needed a boyfriend who could sit down and talk about the stock market and the weather with her dad, all while listening to her mom discuss celebrities and the newest TV shows. Palmon was still a mystery to Jason. She'd side-eyed him at first, when he and Mimi started dating, but just before he headed inside Mimi's place, she had pulled him aside with those long green vine-like hands of hers and asked him very solemnly, "Why are you changing yourself for her?"
"I'm not," He said with a false arrogance. "Palmon, nothing’s changed. I’m just---"
"It's hurting you."
Jason almost broke down. Mimi's pet - no, Mimi's partner had noticed what no one else had.
Instead, he stared down at the ground and inhaled sharply. "I want to be a better person. For both Mimi and myself." That last word there had slipped from his tongue.
The second it tripped into the air, Jason stared up at Palmon and wondered briefly just why she was so blurry. Plants weren't Gaussian blurs, not when he was so up and close with her pet. Before she could give her stupid sympathy, Jason continued hurriedly, "I'm not the person that Mimi deserves, no matter how much she may want me. I don't know if I'll ever be that person, but dammit if I'm not going to try, because she deserves more, and I deserve to be someone that could at least make her proud."
Palmon embraced him tightly. Jason could only resist for so long before he scooped up Palmon in his arms and latched onto her with all of his strength. For a moment, he felt as if he were cradling a small kid, one that wouldn't stop loving him no matter what he did. Was this what having a Digimon partner was like? Someone that unconditionally loved you and yet called you out on your stupid crap when you needed it most? If so, Jason wouldn't mind signing up for the gig, trips to the Digital World and all.
"Mm," Palmon said after a moment, snuggling close to his chest. "Mr. Jason?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you think you don't deserve Mimi?"
He shifted her weight a little, just to hold her better before he looked down at her. "I've done some very, very bad things. Things I don't want to tell you - and things I still haven't told Tom about yet. I'm not proud of them." Well, he was kinda proud of the time he decapitated that mafia boss, if that counted. "... Most of them, at least."
"Does that make you a bad person?"
"I'd certainly think so." He chuckled, somewhat wryly. "Mimi's a good girl. Izumi saw something in her, and Tommy boy did too - something so pure that I think I'd corrupt it just by being around her now."
Palmon almost scratched his arm. Jason winced, rolling down his sleeves so that he could avoid her thorns. "Ow! Palmon!"
"Sorry, that was an accident!" It probably was, judging from her tone. She winced, looking at his arms. "I am so, so, so sorry, Mr. Jason."
"I'll get Tom to look at it. No big deal." Not the worst pain he'd ever faced. "So why do you keep asking me funny questions? You punks think I'm a bad influence or something?"
Palmon giggled. "Nah. You're the only one who thinks you are. If you really were one, Mimi wouldn't ask you to dinner, and Tom wouldn't be doing things with you, and Maxine wouldn't be bouncing all over the place when she sees you..."
She had a point there. Maxine was incredibly exuberant, moreso than usual, whenever he dropped by Cambridge to see her. He never told her that he visited for her sake, figuring that she'd catch onto the fact eventually. When Harvard guards asked for his ID, Maxine had always brushed them off by insisting that Jason was her big brother, and big brothers didn't need ID. They bought it every single time.
Jason still couldn't shake that nagging feeling, the one where he felt like he couldn't keep up no matter what he did. "Violence kind of follows me everywhere I go.”
“So?” Now Palmon just looked amused. “Mimi’s a digidestined. Trouble follows her too – and aren’t Tom and Maxine some kind of hero? It just means she’ll get to protect you sometimes too.”
He’d never thought of Mimi as his protector. She’d always seemed so innocent, but behind that smile, she was also an incredible source of strength. After all, she’d punched him square in the jaw after discovering his costumed identity - and she’d packed quite a wallop in that tiny fist of hers.
“She would?”
He didn’t want her to get involved in his lifestyle. He didn’t know if she could handle the constant threat of being gunned down or the sleepless nights worrying about him. Bruce once mentioned that he was incredibly reluctant to marry – not because he feared being alone, but because he feared leaving someone else alone. No one else needed to bear the cross of The Bat.
Palmon nodded. “You know Mimi. The second you’re in danger, she’d fight for you.”
“And I’d fight for her too.” He made a mental note to teach her martial arts. Nothing fancy – they’d start off with karate – or complicated, just something that would alleviate his mind at night.
He knelt down so that he was at Palmon’s eye level again. “You’d better fight for her too, you hear?”
Granted, he’d never actually _seen_ Palmon in action, but he’d have to take Tom’s word for it. If he said that Palmon could kick major ass in times of crisis, then he really trusted Mimi’s partner. Jason would just have to believe in it until then.
He inhaled sharply, setting Palmon on the ground before he stared at the looming front door. He wasn’t the Red Hood, or Tom’s crazy sometimes-roomate, or even the fifteen-year old boy that taught Mimi English idioms. He didn’t want to be them – not the fragmented pieces that taught him experience and guided him onto his current path.
Palmon gave him a goofy smile before she pushed him towards the door. “Go, silly! I’ll be okay.”
Jason nodded, returning that smile before he rang the doorbell. He could hear the sound of fast-paced footsteps, of someone running to meet him in high heels – god, it’d be fantastic irony if her mother answered the door.
But no, Mimi swung the door open and embraced him as he stepped inside. He swung her in the air for good measure, before kissing her. “Hey.”
She giggled. “Hey yourself. You clean up nicely.”
Normally, he would’ve snarked at the cliché, told her it was a stupid statement since she’d seen him all guissed up for some formal event or another… Yet Jason could only laugh along with her before he stared up into her eyes.
“Thanks,” he said, intertwining his fingers with hers before he closed the door.
Even if Mimi’s parents turned out to become total monsters, at least he could say that he didn’t regret a single one of his actions up until this point. He was freaking Jason Peter Todd and if the fancy Tachikawas couldn’t respect that, then well? Then he’d still marry their daughter anyways.