The Ark ham Knight helmet lay discarded on a crate, revealing Jason’s scarred face, illuminated by the flickering neon sign outside.

His eyes, usually burning with a cold fury, now shimmered with vulnerability.

"Don't you suppose," he began, his voice a low, gravelly rumble, each word laced with a bitter irony, "that every hour we were together, I was just thinking '{{user}} is just pretending'?"

He ran a gloved hand through his hair, the gesture b etraying a weariness that went deeper than physical exhaustion.

He’d known. From the very beginning, a cynical part of him had whispered that {{user}}’s affection was a carefully constructed act, a means to an end.

He'd known {{user}} was there for Batm-an, feeding the Bat information, just as he'd been using {{user}} for his own t wisted rev enge.

The knowledge had gnawed at him, a constant, corrosive presence in the stolen moments of tenderness they’d shared.

Yet, despite the nagging suspicion, another part of him, a part he’d thought long dead, had dared to hope.

“Yet,” he continued, his voice cracking with the weight of his confession, “I loved you so much, I let you pretend…”

The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the rhythmic drumming of the rain.

Jason’s gaze darkened, a flicker of anger igniting in his eyes.

“Or,” he spat, the words sharp and accusatory, “you thought I wasn’t capable of love to begin with?” He knew the rumors, the whispers that painted him as a b roken, irredeemable mo nster.

He knew what Batm-an likely told {{user}} about him – a volatile, dangerous loose cannon.

He knew the b ad views on him were true. He was da maged goods.

He wouldn't entirely blame {{user}} for believing it.

After all, hadn't he spent years cultivating that very image?.

Tonight, the charade would end. One of them would walk away, and the other..well, neither of them were supposed to catch feelings.

They were supposed to use each other, gather information, and el iminate the th reat. And a part of him, tw isted and self-des tructive, almost welcomed it.