Author's Note: First time writing Roy/Jade and its totally depressing haha. I do love these two, however. And I'll probably write them happier one-shots in the future because frankly, I can't handle all the depressing emotions. Anyways, the song that this one-shot was inspired by is "Kiss It Better" by He is We and I would strongly recommend listening to it. Saddest song ever, but really beautiful.
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice
Kiss it Better
He sits in his cell,
And he lays on his bed.
Covers his head and closes his eyes.
He sees a smoking gun,
And the coward he ran.
And in his arms is the bleeding,
Love of his life.
Roy Harper sits in his cell and he remembers. He stares at the grey walls, the silver bars and the bare floors. And he remembers.
He remembers the night that his entire world fell apart.
It was a cold night that December 21st.
The weather report had predicted snow, and the wind chill was fairly high. A few bits of the white fluff covered the ground around the streets of Gotham. Citizens bold enough to brave the cold were hurrying from one awning to the next, seeking any type of shelter.
Roy Harper was lucky enough to be driving in a car. Smirking to himself, he reached forward and turned up the heat, warming his hands by the vent as he scanned for a parking spot near the Shakti Yoga Studio on 4th street.
Finding none, he pulled over to the side of the road about two blocks away from the studio, figuring Jade could stand to walk a block or two to find him.
Jade.
Ever since finding out about the baby, Roy had lapsed into a sort of complacency. There was nothing he could do. He and Jade were shackled to each other for eternity all because of a stupid mistake.
No, he shook his head. It wasn't a stupid mistake anymore. There was a child—his child—in her stomach. And he'd be damned if that child didn't have a wonderful upbringing.
So, in short, Roy was stuck with her. Which he'd initially hated. His relationship with Jade had been purely sexual, just a way to blow off some steam. And when he'd found out about the baby, he'd been devastated.
What would the League think? What would Dinah and Ollie think? What the hell was he supposed to do? And why did it have to be her of all people? She was a villain, and one that he would've sworn he had hated.
But now, as Roy watched her exit the yoga studio, one hand carrying her purse and the other lightly resting on the small bump protruding from her stomach, he smiled to himself.
There was nothing he could do to get away from her, but that was no longer a daunting or depressing thought.
Roy had grown to love her. Although he would never tell her that. She would just laugh and call him stupid. Besides, he wasn't supposed to love her.
Not at all.
But if she ever did love him back… well, they would have about the next eighteen years together to deal with that.
Roy started the car again and turned the heat on again as Jade got within a one-block radius of the car. He could see the small smirk that was permanently planted on her face and unlocked the car. For a moment, he glanced down at his phone, receiving a text from Ollie.
He was about to respond when he heard it.
A gunshot.
And she cries,
Kiss it all better,
I'm not ready to go.
It's not your fault love,
You didn't know, you didn't know
Roy glanced around wildly, looking for Jade.
When he didn't see her, he launched himself out of the car and ran towards where she had been standing.
"Jade!" He shouted, running towards her prone body. He barely registered the fact that the man who had fired the shot was running away.
All he could see was Jade. And the blood pouring out of her stomach.
He dropped to his knees and pulled her into his shaking arms. She herself was shaking and Roy could only think that he had never seen her looking so fragile.
"I'm sorry," she coughed, placing a hand on her stomach. "I can't— I c-can't feel her anymore."
Roy knew she was talking about the baby. And it was right then that he felt a small piece of his heart die inside of his chest.
But he was not going to lose both of them.
He could see the way that she was starting to get that resigned look on her face. Her natural smirk was absent from her face and any trace of her Cheshire grin was nowhere to be seen. Her face was devoid of all bitterness, and instead her face had relaxed into a solemn expression. She was giving up.
"Don't do that," he said, looking around rapidly for anyone who could help. "You're going to be fine. You have to be."
She shook her head and swallowed, reaching out to grab him by the collar. "It's not your fault, Arrow. There's nothing you can do."
The light was starting to fade from her eyes.
"Jade, stay with me," he begged. "You can't go."
"I d-don't want to," Jade coughed, a bit of blood starting to trickle from the corners of her mouth. "Take c-care of yourself, Arrow. Forget m-me."
Her eyes glazed over. Her heart stopped beating. She was gone.
Her hands are so cold,
And he kisses her face.
And says Everything will be all right.
He noticed the gun,
And his rage grew inside.
He said I'll avenge my lover tonight.
Roy could feel actual tears rolling down his cheeks. His child, his unborn child. And the woman that he—
That he loved.
The woman that he loved was lying lifeless in his arms, her skin already cold and her eyes devoid of everything that had made him love her.
He had never told her that he loved her. And now she would never know.
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, knowing that he would never get to touch her again. Never get to feel the way her hair always got tangled up in his hands when they were caught up in a passionate moment. Never feel her slight body curled up in his embrace at night, when they had felt like they were the only two people in the world.
He would never feel her again. Everything that made her Jade was gone.
It's all gone, he realized.
Out of the corner of his eye, Roy caught sight of the gun.
Red hot anger coursed through his veins as the he gently closed Jade's eyes and laid her on the ground. Roy could hear the sound of sirens rapidly approaching as he stood up.
He had seen the coward run. He had seen him make off with her purse.
He had killed her for a stupidly small amount of money.
Roy didn't remember the feel of that cool metal in his hands, but he could see himself, in his mind, picking the gun up. Cocking the gun. Taking a test shot.
He'd seen which way the gunman had run.
And he had followed with murderous intent.
Now he sits behind prison bars,
25 to life and shes not in his arms.
He couldn't bring her back with a bullet to the heart,
Of the back of a man and tore his world apart.
He holds onto a memory,
All it is, is a memory.
Hey, hey.
Roy Harper sits in his cell. And he remembers.
He remembers putting a bullet in the gunman's head. He remembers enjoying it too.
He remembers his unborn child. His daughter. They had just found out that she was going to a girl, not a week before Jade—
They were going to name her Lian.
And he remembers her. The way her body used to fit perfectly in his arms. The way that she would cup his neck with her dainty fingers. The way that she would smile at him, genuinely smile, when she first woke up. The way that her hair smelled, the way that she smelled. He remembered that she smelled like autumn.
He remembered that she was her own essence, so very Jade in a way that was indescribable and uniquely her.
And then there was the way that she would smirk and taunt him to the point of irritation. There were times when she would be so stubborn and angry that they would have possibly the loudest screaming matches known to man. The way that if she was mad, she would get back at him in subtle ways. Everything she did would infuriate him.
And he remembered how every time they would make up, they would feel just a little bit closer.
Now, he would give anything to hear her taunt him just once more. He would never touch her, hear her voice, or bask in the glow of her affection.
Roy Harper remembers. He remembers all of these things.
And he'll hold onto those memories until the day that he dies.