𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐘

It took a while before Jason was able to feel completely comfortable with the newfound relationship the two of you had decided to begin.

Part of him was still terrified at the idea that you would find something about him that you just didn't like, while the other part was ready to shower you in the love and affection he knew you deserved. It was the first time he had ever felt that way about anyone and like with Bruce, he didn't want to disappoint you. He wanted to open up to you, he really did, but the idea of being so vulnerable wasn't something that ever came easy to him, having grown up in an environment where showing that vulnerability meant you were weak. And if there was one thing Jason wasn't, it was that.

You, on the other hand, were trying your hardest to understand him. You'd known from the beginning that, though falling in love with him would be easy, being in a relationship was going to be hard. Despite seeming like he had all the confidence in the world, you knew for a fact that wasn't completely true and you didn't need your soulmate ring to tell you that. He seemed to tiptoe on eggshells anytime you two were together, tensing up anytime you brought up his past. He only seemed to show you the surface of who he was, never quite going into detail.

The first few weeks of your relationship with him were like any other, slowly getting to know each other and you seemed to accept the fact that Jason would only tell you what he wanted you to know. You never pressed him for more information and tried letting him tell you about himself on his own terms. At first, it wasn't that hard and you tried to be understanding. You knew it was harder for some people to open up to others. Still, almost five months into your blossoming relationship with Jason, his lack of trust in your eyes was starting to borderline on being ridiculous.

"We need to talk," The old cliche fell from your lips as Jason slipped into your room through the window one night.

The boy froze with one leg dangling from the windowsill, the white of his mask seeming to widen the longer he stared at you. The stone on your ring turned a deep navy color, mirroring the fear that consumed him as he pulled the window shut behind him. You stayed in your spot at the edge of your bed, sock-covered feet dangling from the edge and barely brushing the carpet below. Jason took his time crossing the room to sit beside you, choosing not to take off his mask in fear that you'd see how much that simple phrase terrified him.

A million thoughts ran through Jason's mind the longer he thought of something to respond with. The most prominent thought on his mind though, was a simple question: 'Did you not want to be with him anymore?'.

Even though Jason would never admit it out loud, the simple thought of not having you in his life anymore absolutely terrified him. In the short months that you two had been together, he had fallen completely head over heels for you. It was easy for him, really. You were always so kind to him, showering him in the right amount of affection and sweet words that he so desperately craved, and you never pushed him to do anything he wasn't comfortable with. You had grown to be what he could only describe as his home away from home. Anywhere you went was home to him, and having grown up not having a stable home in general, it wasn't something he was willing to give up without a fight.

"W-What," He cleared his throat of the knot he felt constricting his airway before continuing. "What did you want to talk about?"

Your silence was deafening and as soon as he opened his mouth to ask again, you finally spoke in that soft tone you always used when you were nervous.

"Do you not trust me?"

Jason was floored. He wasn't sure how to answer and the stone on your ring mirrored his confusion.

"What do you mean?" The confusion in his voice was so genuine, green eyes widening under the mask he wore.

You finally turned to look at him then, peering up into the whites of his mask with a slight grimace, "I just— you don't seem to want to tell me anything about yourself, and I get it, I do. I know that you put up walls to stop yourself from getting hurt, and sometimes opening up to people is difficult, but I thought that it would be different considering we're soulmates. You know?"

The boy let out a soft breath, somewhat relieved at the fact that you hadn't outright said you didn't want to be with him anymore. Either way, the newfound revelation made him even more anxious. He slipped his gloves off of his hands, wiping the sweaty palms on his thighs before reaching up with a shaky hand to take off his mask.

You finally caught a glimpse of the green eyes you had grown to love, feeling your heart clench at the pain that swam in them the longer his gaze lingered on your own.

"I just," Jason paused, suddenly feeling way to jittery to stay seated. He quickly got up from the bed to begin pacing from one end of the room to the other. "There's a lot of things I haven't told you about myself— clearly— and it's not because I don't trust you, (Y/N). I don't ever want you to think that. You're one of the only people I do trust."

"Then what's stopping you?"

The question was so simple and for a moment Jason's lips quirked up into a smirk for a moment. Another one of the many reasons why he'd fallen in love with you was how easy you made everything seem. He always had a knack of complicating things for himself, usually because of his temper, and you always seemed to think rationally.

Jason mulled over your question for a moment. What exactly was stopping him?

Fear of rejection, he concluded, after having almost worn down the floor of your room with his pacing, that was what was stopping him. You hadn't said a word that whole time, just staring at Jason while playing around with the mask he had left on your bed.

"I—" He stopped, hands shaking as he stared down at you. "I can't do this."

Your eyes widened as you watched him scramble to get his gloves, cursing when he tripped over his own feet on his way to the window.

"Jason, what—"

"I'm not doing this right now," The boy snapped, looking over his shoulder at you from where he stood on the fire escape just outside your window. "Goodbye, (Y/N)."

He left before you could utter a response, leaving you dumbfounded and with a deep ache in your chest.

_

Jason let out a string of curses as he landed on the rooftop of a nearby building. His hands shook as he reached up to tug at his hair, light pants coming from his lips. He couldn't get the broken look on your face out of his mind. There was a voice in his head screaming at him to go back, to apologize for snapping at you, and to tell you he loved you and trusted you enough to tell you everything.

Despite that, Jason shook his head. He wasn't ready— at least not yet— and he wasn't quite sure when he'd be ready to do so.

—

It'd been three weeks since you'd last seen or even spoke to Jason. Your ring's stone hadn't changed from the angry red you had grown to associate with the boy during that time and you couldn't help but stare at it for most of the day.

You had tried contacting him the first few days, sending messages asking for him to at least tell you he was okay, but got no response. Your phone calls went unanswered as well and the one time you showed up at the front steps of Wayne Manor, Alfred told you Jason was away with Bruce on a mission. You stopped your attempts a week in, complaining bitterly to your friend about the situation one day as you walked to school together.

"He keeps leaving me on read," You grumbled, running a hand through your hair while looking down at your phone. You showed her the conversation with a pout. "I seriously don't get him. I don't— wouldn't it just be easier to tell me he didn't want to be with me?"

Your friend sighed, throwing an arm around your shoulders to pull you into a hug, "Maybe he's going through something he doesn't want you to worry about."

"It's been a week."

"Or maybe he's ghosting you," She shrugged, pulling away once you reached the front entrance of the school campus. The chatter around you seemed to help drown out the loud voice in your head telling you she was right. "Either way, he's an asshole and you should give him an ultimatum."

"What do you mean?"

"Either he grows a pair and talks to you, or you break up with him. It's that easy."

You hadn't been able to keep her advice out of your head from the moment she said it. You had typed out that ultimatum in the chatbox more than once, spending hours with your finger hovering over the send button and choosing not to go through with it.

Part of you knew she was right. Jason was an asshole. He was an asshole for running away and even more, for ignoring you like the past few months didn't mean anything to him. Still, the soulmate bond seemed to stop you every time and it was starting to irritate you.

You wanted to be mad at him, you really did, but you knew him well enough to know that he wasn't just running away from you. No, he was really just running away from himself and you wanted to help him find the right path again. Now, if only he'd try to contact you.

—-

Those three weeks had been absolute hell on Jason. On top of the fact that Bruce really had gone overboard with patrols and a mission or two that took longer than he thought they would, most of the time he'd been busy battling the internal monologue that had been playing on repeat in his head. That and Alfred's passive-aggressive comments didn't seem to help much at all.

"Really Master Jason," The butler sighed after closing the door on you for the second time in the span of two weeks. "I'm quite surprised a school girl seems to frighten you more than half of Gotham's crime regime does. What pity, really."

"She doesn't scare me, Al."

The simple hum of the butler was enough.

Jason knew the older man was right, it was rare for him not to be, but having it be brought up so nonchalantly like that made Jason think a bit too hard.

He knew what he was doing was wrong and by the end of the third week of ignoring you, he decided to make things right. That's when he found himself standing at the gates of your school with a small bouquet of your favorite flowers nestled in his hand. He saw you before you saw him, and his heart began to race when he saw the way you threw your head back in laughter at something your friend said. He'd missed that.

"— really, (Y/N)," Your friend exclaimed with a loud laugh. "You should have seen her face when I— oh. It's you."

You looked up from the ground with wide eyes that quickly narrowed into a glare when they came in contact with Jason's. Your heart began hammering in your chest and you didn't need to peek at his ring to know that it had turned a blood red.

"Want me to beat him up?" Your friend whispered loudly, eyeing the boy that stood a good foot taller than the two of you. "I could totally take him down for you. Just say the word."

You shook your head, taking a deep breath through your nose as your arms crossed over your chest, "I want to see what he has to say. I'll call you."

Jason gulped, keeping his eyes set on you as your friend began making her way home. The two of you stood silently for a while, just staring at each other and letting the crowd dwindle down.

Jason was the first to speak, holding out the bouquet for you to take.

"I'm sorry," He began, trying hard to keep his eyes locked on your harsh glare. "I know I probably don't deserve your forgiveness but, I fucked up."

You hummed, breaking your eye contact to look down at the flowers. To say they were beautiful was an understatement. They were gorgeous, and you wanted to accept them without a second thought...but you weren't planning on making it that easy on him.

"Did you really think it was going to be that easy?" The question came dripping with venom and it caught Jason by surprise. "Come on, Todd. I know you're not that dense."

Jason sputtered for a response, cheeks turning a deep red. You simply rolled your eyes, huffing loudly as you spun on your heel to start your journey home. Jason called out for you to stop, tripping over himself as he caught up to you. His empty hand went to wrap around your forearm to stop you, causing you to wiggle around in a desperate attempt to free yourself.

"(Y/N), just listen to me—"

"No! You listen to me! You're an idiot, Jason Todd. You're an idiot and an asshole— and, and you hurt me. If you wanted to break up with me then you should have done that," Your voice had turned softer now and the stone on his ring had turned a baby blue. "It would have saved both of us a lot of trouble."

"I never wanted to break up with you, (Y/N). I don't want to break up with you even now. I just...I'm not good at this whole relationship thing," He paused, taking a seat on the edge of the sidewalk. You stared at him for a bit before sitting beside him, keeping a bit of space between you both. "I've never been good at this whole vulnerability thing. I've got a whole lot of shit I need to work through and I'm afraid you'll be put off by it. Or that you'll wish I wasn't your soulmate."

You didn't respond right away, mulling over the information he'd spat out. Part of you wasn't surprised that it had been fear of rejection that had kept Jason away for so long. It was something you could tell from the way he spoke of Bruce— or Alfred, even. You were just surprised to find that it would stem to you as well.

"Then tell me."

"I— I can't. Not right now."

That was all you needed to hear. You stood up quickly, fighting back the knot in your throat as you dusted off your school skirt. Jason stared at you with wide eyes, unsure as to what you were going to decide.

"I thought you trusted me, you know? I've been transparent with you from the very beginning, Jason Todd. You know me better than anyone else. You know things about me that I haven't even told my best friend."

"I've already told you that I do trust you!" Jason jumped up from his spot with a frown. "I'll tell you eventually, just not right now."

"Yeah? Well, you do a hell of a job of showing it," You sighed, shaking your head with a pout. "If you can't tell me now, then just don't. I'm done, Jason. I can't keep going like this."

You turned around without a word, slowing down your steps and hoping to God that he'd follow you. Jason watched you walk away, a voice in his head screaming for him to follow you.

After a minute or two, you turned your head in hopes of seeing him walk over but he was gone, and that was enough for you to continue on your way home.