Smile With Me

Red Hood wakes up around five. I can hear him, moving around, the sound of coffee being made. I turn over and pretend to be asleep when I hear him walking towards my room. He’s not fooled.

“Get up, Quinn. I wanna check your ribs.” I sit up, nodding. We’re both too tired to make jokes this time. He’s close enough that I can smell the coffee on his breath. He taps my ribs with a finger. “All set. You’ll stay in bed today. Try to actually sleep this time.”

I smile. “You noticed?”

He grins. “Of course.”

There’s an empty beer can on the table when I walk out. I sneak him a glance but don’t say anything. Not my place.

“There’s cereal and milk in the fridge,” he tells me, back turned. He’s getting changed for the day. His skin is a mass of scars that rival mine. I look away, towards my breakfast. It’s organic cereal and fat-free milk. I guess as a vigilante, he has to eat healthy. Joker mostly eats pizza. Red Hood’s shrugging on his jacket when I turn back. “There’s a TV in my room. Books. Don’t touch my computer.”

“Okay.” I crawl back into bed, watch TV for a while. I avoid the news. No need to see Joker’s face everywhere. I doze on and off the whole day, waking up whenever I move wrong.

The Hood comes back at seven, helmet banged up. “Still alive, Quinn?” I take a careful breath and nod. “I could make you dinner or something.”

“Oh, uh, I could do that myself,” I protest.

“Nah, it’s cool. I’m hungry, too.”

“Okay.” I sit at the table to watch him while he moves around the kitchen.

“It’ll be pork and rice. That alright?”

“Uh, yeah, of course.” He’s so friendly I don’t know how to respond. I can’t work with the angry Red Hood I see on the news and the young guy politely offering me dinner. We eat in silence, with the news on. There are police scanners in here, too, actually. Guy needs to stay in touch. Hood stares stonily at the TV screen, methodically shoving food in his mouth. “Um, anything new on the Joker?”

He shakes his head.

“No. And I don’t need you yet, if that’s what you’re asking next. I’m letting you heal.”

“Oh.” The food is alright. I’m missing the food in Haiti already. I’m missing everything about Haiti. I wonder how they’re doing without me. Hopefully Talia Al Ghul will give them a new medic if I can’t make it back. “Can I take a shower?”

He nods. “I’m going out again in a few hours. I usually sleep during the day.”

“Yeah, Joker was like that.”

He looks up, glaring. I can see the anger in him now. “Don’t compare me to him.”

“I…sorry.” I wash my dishes without speaking and head for the shower. My body is covered in bruises and little cuts. I jump when Red Hood knocks on the door.

“I’ll leave a towel and new clothes outside for you.”

“Thanks.” I shower slowly, carefully, and slip on new clothes that still have the tags on them. I’m toweling off my hair when the phone rings. I can’t hear much from the bathroom, just the deep murmur of Red Hood’s voice.

When he hangs up he calls out, “Quinn!” He’s perched on the kitchen counter, long legs folded in a position I wouldn’t attempt. Then again, he was once a Robin. “That was Orac…a friend. She says the Joker is pissed. He’s killing everyone in sight.”

I know I should feel guilty about that, but I don’t. I’ve taken care of myself for too long. I can’t give myself up. I just want to be safe. “Okay.”

“It’s mostly henchmen, though.”

Joker always did see his henchmen as expendable. “Okay.”

“I’m not gonna do anything about it tonight. B…Batman will handle it.”

“Okay.” He sighs.

“I’m not gonna make fun of your voice. You can talk more.”

“Don’t have much to say.”

I’ve never talked much, even before the accident. “Alright.”

I feel like I owe him more than a few sentences. He healed me and took me in, even if it was to use me as bait.

“Um, thanks for the clothes.”

“You needed new ones.”

“Yeah.” He fidgets a bit, pulling at the sleeves of his jacket, cracking his knuckles. It’s something my mom used to do. My mom, who I framed for murder. I think about her sometimes, wonder how she’s doing in jail. I don’t really care. Even after the insanity faded I didn’t regret killing her creepy boyfriend or sending her away. I owe her nothing.

“I’ll stay awake when you leave, try to reset my sleep schedule.” He nods. I’m sort of wondering how he affords the gadgets, the apartment, the clothes, if he doesn’t work during the day. Being a vigilante doesn’t pay. I don’t dare ask. We’re not friends.