A barely audible gasp escaped her mouth as her back hit the wall, his rough hands clasped around her wrists and shoving her body upwards so her feet no longer touched the ground.

He stared at her and she stared back, her eyes pools of night. Her mask had been lost long earlier in this fight; his, much to her chagrin, remained firmly plastered to his tan skin. Secretly, deeply, she longed to know what color his eyes were. It might help her with the mystery that was him.

She made to kick him in the chest with her dangling feet, but he only pushed her hands into one of his and puts his other quickly just below her knee. Now she was truly helpless, unable to move. It was a stare down, hero against villain…no, she thought. Not a villain. I kill to survive, not for fun.

The warehouse is falling down around them, but she cannot focus on anything but the man before her. His red hair shot up in every direction, his strong arms pinning her down…if they both weren't about to die, she might have found it strangely ironic that it was now that she had discovered she had fallen in love.

Every fight, ever battle, was met with confidence and secrecy, elegance and anger. They had long danced around the other, playing a long game; for what, she had no idea. She only knew that without him, without their endless teasing and tricks…there was no will to live, no reason.

A sudden crash brought burning wood a few feet from the pair and she felt the brick behind her grow hot, causing her to start and him to flinch. After a moment of holding her breath, she spoke in a hushed tone, so contrasted to her usual sultry voice. "You need to get out of here." She knew that she couldn't; her wounds were far from healed, and she could feel her head pounding and a burning sensation in her side.

Even though his eyes remained a mystery, she could see his eyebrows go up in shock. In the back of her mind something stirred that he was truly a natural red-head, as it went through his mind that he never thought those words would come out of her mouth. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by another crash.

Instinctively he let her go and she crumpled to the ground. As she lay still, her head down and thoughts filling with defeat, she vaguely remembers that people die from smoke inhalation, which she is clearly suffering from. Nice way to die.

But then she feels two hands on her body, lifting her up; one underneath her legs and the other slinking its way around her lower back. She is lifted into his arms and her head conks against his chest and her last thought before she falls unconscious is that he's warm.

When she finally wakes up her head is pounding and her first instinct is to jump out of the bed and run.

That doesn't work to feel considering her legs collapse underneath her almost instantly. Right before she hit the ground she felt strong arms wrap around her and a strange sense of déjà vu goes through her…she looks up just in time to see blue eyes picking her up and placing her gently on the bed.

She watches, curiosity overpowering the strong instinct to run, as he folds his hands and stares at her for a moment before standing up and started pacing the room, his eyes occasionally flickering back to her.

She raises an eyebrow. "So," she says thoughtfully. "I would have never guessed blue."

He pauses. "Excuse me?"

"Blue," she repeats, partly because her head is killing her and partly because the overwhelming urge to say nothing is on loop in her head, but she's never been very good at listening to herself. "Your eyes are blue."

His eyes widen as he realizes that he doesn't have a mask on and lets out a curse before nearly bolting out of the room.

The next time she sees him is the morning after, when he comes in carrying a tray with orange juice and strawberries. A sudden pang goes through her as she realizes that his domino mask is on. With a smirk as he sets the tray down, she speaks. "You know I've already seen you with the mask off."

He doesn't reply as he sits down on the chair beside the bed. "Why were you at the warehouse?"

She knows that the question was bound to come sooner or later, but that doesn't stop her mouth from setting in a firm line. "That's none of your business."

His jaw sets, but the onslaught of questions she expects doesn't happen. "Do you know where you are?" he asks as he stands up, throwing the curtain and letting in a ray of bright light. When her eyes adjust she sees the outline of a city.

"No," she replies.

"Good," is his answer before leaving the room again.

That's really getting old, she thinks as she watches his retreating form slams the door shut.

She's woken by bright light flooding the room. She groans. "Turn the light off," she says, covering her head with a pillow.

But when the pillow is yanked off she snarls, then looks up.

She doesn't expect to see the stern mask of Batman and her eyes widen for a moment as she sits there. Then she frowns. "What do you want?"

He turns halfway and faces the window. "He's been taken."

She almost stops breathing before she finds the ability to speak. "And what am I supposed to do?"

This time he truly faces her. "We can't track his location."

She waves a hand for him to go on, but pauses. "Again, what am I supposed-"

"He was taken by Sportsmaster."

That's all it takes before she leaps out of bed. Batman doesn't stop her as she grabs the duffel bag in the corner-she had discovered it full of her stuff the day before, when she was alone-and rushes out the door.

When she finds him it isn't pretty.

He's beaten, tortured, and overall pushed to his limits. She waits in the shadows of the alcove above the large room before everyone is finally gone. Then she jumps down, having disabled the security camera long before. His head lifts up as she reaches him and she forces herself to work on his bonds instead of the gashes on his face.

"Cheshire?" he whispers. "What-"

"Jade," she hisses, and he falls silent.

When she hacks the zeta tubes and brings him to the Watchtower no one say a word, only stares as she drags Red Arrow into the medical bay.

When he wakes, hours later, his throat his dry and he wants nothing more than to eat, but one look at Ollie's face prompts him to remember what had happened. "Where is she?" he asks.

His former mentor shakes his head. "She escaped before we could take her into custody…Roy, she saved your life."

He wants to say he's shocked, but honestly? They're even. He saved her life, she saved his.

She rolls around in the thin sheets, shivering slightly at the breeze that comes through her window. Ever since he saved her, ever since she saved him, she hasn't been able to sleep.

Hours later, when the sun is creeping over the horizon, she finally rests, her dreams filled with blue eyes and red hair.

And...finish. Review! This is a one-shot, by the way. Will not be continued.