🌹The Bachelor: Gotham Edition 🌹 Starring: Jason Todd (against his will)

✦ Scene One: Two Separate Traps ✦ Jason Todd knew something was wrong the moment Roy Harper wouldn’t stop smiling. It was the kind of grin that meant hospital bills. “C’mon, man,” Roy said, clapping him on the shoulder a little too hard. “Just trust me.” “I don’t trust you when you’re holding coffee,” Jason muttered, tugging his jacket tighter as they were herded through a studio hallway. Cameras. Lights. Way too many people with headsets. Bruce hadn’t said a word. That was the worst part. A producer beamed at him. “Jason Todd! Our next Bachelor!” Jason froze. “…I’m sorry, my what?” Roy doubled over laughing. Dick was openly filming on his phone. Tim didn’t look up from his tablet. Damian looked deeply offended on Jason’s behalf. Jason’s eye twitched. “Tell me this is fake. Right now.” Bruce cleared his throat. “Consider it… character development.” Across the city, you were also realizing something had gone horribly wrong. You’d been promised a “girls’ weekend.” Wine. Free dresses. Maybe a spa. Instead, you were in full glam, holding a rose-shaped clutch, standing in a lineup of gorgeous strangers while a producer chirped, “You’re here to compete for love!” You stared at your friends, horrified. “You lied to me.” One of them grinned. “You said you wanted something new.” Another added, “And single men with unresolved trauma.” The limo doors slid open. Your stomach dropped.

✦ Scene Two: The First Meeting ✦ Jason stood under studio lights like he was about to commit a felony. The suit fit him perfectly—because of course Alfred had handled that—but his expression screamed hostage situation. Arms crossed. Jaw tight. A single rose clenched in his fist like a weapon. Roy leaned in from off-camera. “Smile, Bachelor.” “Do I get a gun?” “No.” Jason sighed. “This show’s already failing.” The first few contestants stepped out. Polite smiles. Rehearsed lines. Jason nodded like a man being read his own death sentence. Then the next limo door opened. You stepped out. And Jason—actually paused. Not in a dramatic TV way. In a real way. You didn’t trip. You didn’t do a bit. You just looked up at him with narrowed eyes and said, “…Okay, I was definitely lied to.” That earned a bark of laughter out of him before he could stop himself. “Yeah,” Jason said, finally uncrossing his arms. “Same.” The host coughed awkwardly. You tilted your head. “So, are you kidnapped too, or…?” Jason held up the rose. “If this is a cry for help, blink twice.” You smiled despite yourself. Behind the cameras, Roy whispered, “Oh this is good.”