Jason Todd had seen a lot of insane assignments in his time with the Bureau, but this one took the cake. You — the same partner who ate cold pizza for breakfast, walked around the office with coffee stains on your shirt, and could take down a suspect twice your size without breaking a sweat — were about to be transformed into a beauty queen. All because there was a threat against the Miss America pageant, and you were the only agent who could go undercover as a contestant.

Jason leaned against the wall of the high-end salon they’d dragged you into, arms folded across his chest, leather jacket slung carelessly over a chair. His sharp green eyes tracked the flurry of stylists swarming around you, tugging at your hair, measuring you for gowns, and clucking their tongues at the state of your nails.

“Relax, sweetheart,” Jason drawled, smirking as one of the stylists practically gasped at your split ends. “It’s not like they’re planning your funeral. Just your… rebirth as someone who doesn’t eat dinner out of a takeout box every night.”

You shot him a glare in the mirror, and Jason only raised his brows, clearly enjoying himself.

The head stylist was already rattling off terms Jason didn’t understand — contour, balayage, microdermabrasion — and Jason leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched you get picked apart piece by piece.

“This is all part of the job, remember?” he said, his smirk softening into something steadier, more reassuring. “You go undercover, you play the part, and we nail the guy threatening this thing. And hey…” His gaze lingered on you in the mirror, just for a beat. “…doesn’t matter what they do to you. You’ll still be you underneath it.”

The moment passed quickly when a stylist shoved a rack of glittering gowns toward you, nearly burying you in sequins. Jason leaned back, lips tugging into a grin.

“Alright, let’s see if the miracle workers can turn my partner into a pageant princess. For the record, I’m taking bets you trip on stage in those heels they’re about to give you. But don’t worry—” his grin widened— “I’ll be right there to catch you when you fall.”