Chapter Text
Jason has never really had the chance to give a shit about the way he looks and how that has impacted his life so far.
He’s a 6ft man who weighs 200-something pounds with scars that belong on a war veteran.
All at the prime age of 20.
People naturally assume he’s older than he looks.
He avoids looking in the mirror most of the time. One glance is usually enough to send him into thoughts about body dysmorphia. He’s never gotten used to his face, he sure as hell doesn’t like looking at his own body.
People in public glance at him once then purposely never look his way. Almost as if they are afraid if they look, he’d end them then and there.
Maybe it’s the scars. Maybe it’s the height. Maybe it’s his eyes. Maybe it’s his fucking face.
He’s not someone people like to look at twice,he’s not the kind of stranger you’d find handsome and glance just to get a glance back.
He’s average. At worst, maybe he’s just a little ugly and scary.
It’s no big deal.
It should be no big deal.
Really, he’s been through worse.
Beaten and blown up, and all that.
Jason doesn’t think about the way he looks at all. He’s above thinking about such irrelevant things. He’s a talented marksman and one of Gothams most notorious vigilantes.
Looks really don’t matter. It’s not like being good looking is going to get Jason anywhere.
————
It’s a simple mission.
They just need someone who is able to get in without fail and get insider information. Maroni has started a new drug trade but only his close consultants have a whiff of what’s happening. His consultants, which no one has been able to get a hold of. Which is beyond annoying, because usually Maroni is usually the easiest one to get rid of.
Jason didn’t really want to involve the bats in this but his pride wasn’t worth more than the lives of innocent people. Contrary to popular belief, Jason hates seeing innocent people die. Not when he could avoid it. He sulks in the corner of the cave, silent but not without attention.
They’re all in the cave, which isn’t rare for anyone except Jason who avoids coming at the place at all. Jason hasn’t actually been to the cave in 6 months. It wasn’t that he was avoiding it, it was simply that he wasn’t needed here anymore. He only ever shows up to the cave when there’s a mission or debreif.
It doesn’t really help that the cave has memories tied to it. It is so similar, yet so different. Some things are the same, some things are just so out of place it hits him the wrong way. He personally hates the damn case which he avoids eye contact with at all times.
How anyone even thought he would be okay with having his bloody suit on display is something he can’t fathom to understand.
Bruce still has it up. It’s like Jason’s never even came back to life. Jason wonders if Bruce just likes pretending that he is dead, so he can ignore the pathetic excuse of a son that came out of the grave.
Bruce is sitting on the bat computers chair, Bat chair. Jason internally groans, it sounds like something Dick would come up with.
Bruce has his eyes on the screen as he has some staring contest with the information displayed on the screen. Jason knows Bruce though. He knows the man has glanced at the same screen dozens of times and probably even has the words memorized.
Jason doesn’t say anything about it. Just lets the man have his dramatic moments. He’d rather not hear Bruce’s voice if he could avoid it.
The rest of the bats are waiting for an order from the big man like little soldiers standing in line. Jason almost giggles at his own thoughts, but stops himself after a brief smile. They already think he’s crazy, might as well not give them another reason.
He risks a glance at the rest of the bats.
The impatience is practically radiating off of everyone. Dick is still, his arms crossed and back to the wall. Maskless eyes sharp and a little jumpy. Damian is standing next to him, body still but in im trying to be patient kind of way.
Tim is sitting on the bat bean bag chair with his laptop infront of him. Jason can tell from the reflection of the boys eyes that he’s scrolling on instagram. He looks bored, like he’d rather be anything but this. Stephanie is also paying more attention to the laptop than she is to Bruce’s antics.
Last is Cassandra Cain who is analysizing everyone, which is typical of her. Though, he has noticed she is sitting the closest to Bruce. Jason has felt her eyes on himself one too many times. She probably doesn’t trust him, which is fair. He has been a threat to her family countless times.
“I need one of you to go into The GrindHouse Lounge and acquire the intel by infiltration.” Bruce says, “Give them no reasons to doubt your presence.”
And what kind of name is that? The GrindHouse? Really Maroni?
Bruce spins around his chair and stares at them all. His face blank but his eyes calculating in a way everyone recognizes. He's scanning everyone but Jason who chose to purposely stand out of his line of sight. Dick pushes off the wall like he was waiting for the moment.
“So which one of us then?”
“I can get this done in no time.” Tim shuts his laptop and stands up like he is the next big thing. If anyone can’t tell, Jason is rolling his eyes under the helmet.
Dicks eyes narrow, but not in a judgmental way. It’s giving stern older brother more than anything. Jason tries not to scoff.
“Tim.” Dick sighs “you can’t actually expect that any of us would let you go in there. Near grown men. I don’t want you around people like that.”
“Why not? Think about it. They won’t doubt me, I’ll just look like some naive boy with daddy’s money to them. It’ll be easy, and won’t take an hour either.”
“Tim. You’re going as a civilian, you won’t be going as Red Robin. That is why this is so risky in the first place.”
When Tim looks about ready to argue about this, Bruce stands up immediately.
“No, Tim. This is not up for negotiation. Stand down.”
“But Bruce- I don’t see how this is a problem. We’ll be on comms anyways, right?”
“Tim.”
Tim sighs and chooses not to say another word.
There’s a brief silence.
“I can go.”
The simple words and small voice is Cass. Jason looks at her. She’d probably be able to get the information easily. Jason doesn’t know her personally, but what he does know is that Cassandra Cain, is more capable than any of them can hope to be.
What’s more interesting to Jason is the look in Bruce’s eyes. Jason instantly knows he's not gonna let her go. That’s his only daughter, obviously he’s not gonna let her go. Classic girl dad bullshit.
And if he can see it, so can Cassandra. who instantly goes silent and nods almost as if accepting Bruce’s rejection. His opinions really do matter to her it seems, even though she seems upset about being told no.
And well, if big man’s playing favorites Jason’s not gonna stop him. It’s not like he’s one of his sons anyways.
Stephanie doesn’t even bother offering herself. She’d rather stay as far from Maroni as possible.
Jason feels Bruce’s eyes on him. Jason’s not surprised. He’s the better option because he’s legally dead and unrecognizable. He’s not fond of under cover missions but, it’s something he has to do regardless. Because being a vigilante comes with doing shit you’d rather not do.
Before Jason can offer himself up however.
“That leaves me.” Dick says. “Listen listen, I know you want to send Jason but I feel like I can do a better job.”
Jason feels irritation spike. Does Dick think he’s incapable or something? Does he think Jason is nothing but a mass of emotions which spiral out of control. Which granted, they do at times but that doesn’t mean he’s incompetent.
“It’s not that I think Jason can do it. Hell, I know he can be manipulative when he wants to be.”
Jason doesn’t know whether to feel appreciated or insulted. Though, he’s in a somewhat good mood today so he’ll let it slide.
“But look, if I go in there, I can get them to trust me and deem me harmless. It’ll be way easier for us. I look more friendly and I know how to get people to not be on guard around me.”
Bruce hums at that, almost as if he’s considering it.
“Richard is valid, father. Todd is more likely to scare them off than he is to get any scrap of intel from them.”
“Hey, you can’t just put me off my own mission.” Jason says with a roll of his eyes.
“Todd, your unremarkable face is enough to put any person off.”
Jason is oddly silent at that. Damian’s being rude to him which the brat usually is , but this time he really does have a point. Jason does have an off putting face. He looks around and sees no one cared enough to disagree.
Jeez, way to make a guy hate himself.
“Oh shove off, demon brat.”
Damian smirks menacingly but offers no response. Almost as if he can physically see that he’s gotten under Jason’s skin.
“Just let Dick go, Bruce.” Steph says. She’s both annoyed and impatient. “If he wants to manipulate the damn crime lords with his handsome face, just let him.”
Bruce sighs silently but then offers a nod.
It’s enough for everyone to get started.
————
The mission ends in success. They got the information in 47 minutes and 25 seconds.
Which doesn’t come as a suprise to Jason at all. It’s almost funny how easily Dick was able to get it done. It was kind of obvious that half the people in the room weren’t trusting Dick because he was competent but because they found him attractive. Jason found it pretty entertaining how Bruce was grinding his teeth the entire time.
Then they had a big bad fight, where Maroni and henchmen had hell rained upon them. Typical bat shenanigans.
Now they’re all sat down surrounded by take out from bat burger in the cave. Jason steals a few fries from stephs jokerized fries and is met with the most infuriating glare Steph has ever given him.
”Fatass.”
She then grabbed her fries and went up the stairs with Cass to the manor. Cassandra had just had a amused smiled on her face.
Damian had also left upstairs with the remark “I would rather eat real food rather than this processed junk.” Even though he had notably, grabbed his chocolate milkshake. Guess the brat isn’t immune to sweet treats.
Jason on the other hand, is now enjoying his own order. 2 double cheese burgers,, 20 chicken nuggets, a large coke and a large caramel shake. They really had forgotten his fries this time.
Jason’s eating his double cheese burger in peace, when Tim starts snickering.
Jason glares, “what you laughing at, Timmy?”
Jason feels purely satisfied at the annoyance Tim’s eyes show at the childish nickname.
“Nothing, Jason.” Tim sips his diet coke, “it’s just, you eat a lot. Your one meal is what I eat in a day.” He pauses for a second, “this whole meal probably adds up to an over 2000 calories.”
“No wonder you’re a shrimp.”
“Hey! I’m not. You just eat so much, it’s why no one wonders why you’re such a tank”
“A what?” Pause. He wasn’t actually that big right? He
“You know, a big tank. It’s kinda what Steph says.”
“Am I supposed to be proud or offended?”
“I don’t know, really. It’s up to you.”
Dick cuts in, “Tim’s right though. I remember when you used to be so small, now you’re taller and heavier than me.”
Heavy, such a simple word but it weighs down on Jason’s stomach like it’s trying to define its meaning.
Dick smiles like he’s remembering him from years ago, Tim just has a smirk on his face, like he’s thinking about a tiny Jason from years ago. Asshole.
Jason pauses for a second. It is true, though. He used to be a malnourished half-pint. Now he’s twice the weight doctors told him he was ever gonna be, taller than how he was assumed he was gonna be.
He doesn’t really know how to feel about it. It’s like his whole world changed around him without him ever even developing to it. He should be happy, right? Though, the only thing he really is feeling is dread. Like his own life had spiraled out of his own control. His body sometimes doesn’t feel like his own, oddly enough. It’s like he is so used to being malnourished that being well and healthy makes him feel strange.
but still, Jason manages a smirk even if a little strained.
“Welp, guess you’re gonna have to eat your veggies more, Dickie.”
Jason is fine.
Jason is fine, he really always is.
————-
That night, Jason comes home to his shitty apartment in crime alley with no heating, cracked walls and a mattress thats seen better days.
He should be resting, should be bandaging the few wounds he acquired from the fight. He might have even been able to do it 20 minutes ago, if he had not been thinking for 20 minutes.
Thinking about today. About things he normally never thinks about. Today’s mission had been a success, the drug dealings had came to an end but Jason can’t focus on the win. He hasn’t been able to focus on much anything. He hadn't even completed his meal before he’d left the cave, telling them there had been an emergency knowing damn well there was none.
It was a lie. He doesn’t know why he lied.
He contemplates things that had happened that day.
If anyone is capable at under cover missions, it has to be Dick Grayson after all. Jasons brother who is terrible at being bad at things. Who’s always been the Golden Boy, who despite it all, despite the tragedy that struck his life, is so good at being good.
Charming, talented, acro bat, the first Robin, and the most infuriating of all things, he is handsome.
Dick Grayson is handsome in a way, that it is difficult to ignore. That it’s hard to look away from. Delicate features with the facial harmony people pay money for.
With thick luscious hair, gold-tinted skin, bluest eyes of all, and thick lips. A personality strangers are drawn to and the compassion that makes Dick Grayson who he is.
It’s easy, simple to envy him sometimes.
He’s the son who succeeded. The prime example. The man who used his trauma as a way to move forward. He’s not like Jason. Not like Jason Todd, who used his own trauma as a way to consume his own life.
It’s easy to look up to Dick Grayson, even when Jason feels he’s looked down upon. Jason almost always feels inferior next to him. Which is kind of ridiculous. Since Jason is both taller and heavier than him, as Dick had said.
After all, Jason’s grown up. It’s been years, he hasn’t been compared to Dick in years. He hasn’t been Robin in years. He’s his own person now, he doesn’t need to be like Dick Grayson to feel like he’s accomplished something. He doesn’t need to be like Batman’s Greatest success.
But it is a insecurity, one that never really left him. Just buried itself in him, until it started showing up at odd times. He remember every single comparison though, about every way he could never measure up.
It doesn’t exactly help that he’s such a screw up.
”your unremarkable face is enough to put any person off.”
And it’s not like Damian was lying. Sure the words were painful. But they were very true, people do avoid him where ever he goes. People take one look and decide that he’s danger. He knows his scars and face are off putting. He doesn’t know why he even remotely cares about such things.
Why he’s even thinking about insecurities from years ago.
Jason stares at the mirror. He almost expects it to break.
He remembered a few months back some old lady had looked at him after he’d helped her with her groceries and told him how he had that shell shocked look on his face, the kind of look soldiers that come back from war have.
Jason hadn’t understood what she meant at that moment.
But now as he stares at his green- blue eyes, he can see what she could have meant. His face is asymmetrical, which makes him a tad bit annoyed. His nose is straight in an almost sharp kind of way, lips not too thin, but not so big either. His face is rugged, though it appears bloated. He has heavy eye bags, this is all without the mention of the scars and the roughness of his face.
Monstrous. Scary. Waste of space.
Batman’s greatest failure.
He hates the way he looks. He knows why strangers hate looking at his face. Though, he acts like it doesn’t bother him. They’re all just stupid feelings anyways. None of this is important, he’d forget about it soon like he does about most things.
But that is the complicated thing of all, Feelings find ways to show themselves either way.
————
Jason starts wearing the helmet more often. Whenever he has that monthly patrol with the bats, he never really takes the helmet off. He doesn’t really think the bats actually notice, nor does he expect them to. He actually doesn’t interact with them enough, that they would notice a few new quirks about him.
He never lets himself hang around them too often. Jason’s not a dumbass, regardless what the demon brat has to say. He knows they’re less than comfortable around him. Tense. He knows why, but he’s never gonna have a conversation with them about it. He has a distant idea that it might make the situation even worse. Better to ignore the elephant in the room.
They’re not his family. Just colleagues.
He avoids mirrors. He acts like his own reflection is an offense to him. He’s more closed off, like the fight has been lost in him. It occurs to Jason that seeing himself as less than human does actually bother him.
He avoids eye contact with people, public spaces were always difficult for him but now they are down right agonizing. He genuinely doesn’t want people to see him as a threat and he feels deeply when people hide away from him.
He feels more alone than he ever had in his life. He doesn’t have any real friends, especially since Kori left for the titans. Bizzaro has gone to a place Jason can’t follow. Artemis has other responsibilities, ones above vigilantes with bad coping mechanisms.
He tries not to think about Roy. The loss is still heavy on his mind.
So Jason is well and truly alone. He doesn’t really interact with people and his friendships outside of vigilante activities are absolutely non existent. He knows his pathetic excuse of a life is why he is miserable all the time and it really is gonna mess him up in the long run. The only person he can admit he interacts with daily, is Nadir Waseem.
His Syrian neighbour, who somehow always manages to start a conversation about anything at least once a day. He often shares food he has made, and tells Jason that being kind to neighbors is something Islam has taught him. It’s quite nice, Jason can admit. He can say atleast one man isn’t scared of him.
After a shitty patrol, Jason wraps himself up in bandages and slides down on his mattress. Fighting with ninjas is never fun. They always manage to get a few hits in. Jason’s body feels like one big bruise. It had also been one of those insufferable family patrols, which somehow always ended up with Bruce disapproving of something he had done.
Today, apparently, he had used too much lethal force. He hadn’t even killed anyone. Hell, all of them use lethal force but why is bad when he does it? He regretted even showing up, should’ve called in sick or something. Sometimes, Jason, honest to God, felt like Bruce only ever paid attention to him just to find flaws in his work. The rest of bats can do no harm, right?
Dick, with that cautious look on his face, had taken Bruce’s side. Which Jason hadn’t even be surprised by. Of course, Dick would always stand for his other siblings but never do it for him. The rest of the bats were just silently watching the whole ordeal. Jason was betting on it they were gonna gossip about it when they got home.
Jason chose not to fight back today. His body was wrung dry and exhausted. He just backed up and left without looking back. He cut off Oracle from the coms. He was sick of fighting again and again and freaking again.
Now he was in his depressing apartment, stitching up the cut on his thigh. He knew that was probably gonna hurt like crap.later. His phone has rang earlier, a call from Tim. Jason doesn’t know why Tim is calling him, seeing that the boy rarely ever does.
He doesn’t bother picking up though.
Reluctantly, he pulls out his phone but not to pick up the call. The phone is in an awful condition. He’d dropped it many times and instead of taking it to a real phone repairer, he fixed it himself. He usually never uses his phone unless for a few calls and sometimes browsing on some apps. He opens TikTok this time. Despite complaining to Timbit that the app was pure cringe and pathetic, Jason did occasionally enjoy using it sometimes.
Usually, he avoided social media apps but, today was so not the day. He desperately needs something to distract him from his reality, from the dull pain in his body and the tension in his mind. He had even lost whatever appetite he had.
He scrolls and watches random videos. Cat videos, a random woman oversharing things about her cheating husband, stupid memes from teenagers. Freaking Nightwing edits. A insane Bat-fan theorist. Some random cosplaying starfire. Then some lady discuses a crime case. Later he watches Some 100 pound woman demolishing a 10,000 calorie meal. Yeah, Tiktok is pretty magical.
Then, he comes across a very strange video. At first there’s a series of video shots that includes random unattractive people with a wide text text on it that says sub 5.
Jason frowns. What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Then all of a sudden the song in background gets more energetic, and many sorts of attractive people come on the screen. People that are showing themselves off often with pretentious expressions. They have strong jaws, powerful eye areas, and perfect bodies. They’re all beautiful in that refined and perfect kinda way. The text on the screen shifts to True Adam.
Jason is pretty damn positive the video is insulting unattractive people. That is pretty shitty and loser behavior. Jason would personally be very offended if he was put in such a video. It’s actually kind of concerning how many people have actually liked the video. It has over a 100,000 likes. Since when did the internet get so insensitive?
Jason checks the hashtags, which only manage to confuse him even more.
Brutal.#Looksmaxxing #mogged #bp #viral #cope #fyp
He opens the comments, since the hashtags really don’t make sense to him at all.
The Comments are strange.
—————
TheStonedDude
Ts is how it lowkey feels to mog your friends
455 likes
|________
Bluehedgehogsonic
Ain’t no way man. You’re a 4/10 on a good
day.
971 likes
————view 30 more replies
Callmesam
Go touch some grass, lil bro
3,678 likes
————view 40 replies
Supermansleftarm
Damn I belong in the intro.
321 likes
————view 5 replies
BluestFlamingo
How to ascend? I have a recessed jawline and a terrible eye area.
23 likes
|__________
Alex4u.
You got insane potential. Just follow this @Themoggerandrew and he’ll give the best tips. 91 likes
————view 3 more replies
LanaNotLane.
Before
[1 image attached]
720 likes
|___________
LanaNotLane.
After
[1 image attached]
2,987 likes
————view 90 more replies
It’s definitely the weirdest comment section Jason has came across, that’s for sure. What even is mogging? Is looksmaxxing even a real word? He types the words on the search bar and comes across dozens of more similar videos all of which also have a crazy amount of likes. With even weirder words. Mewing. That’s also a weird edition to Jason’s vocabulary.
What even is the purpose of such videos? It feels like a cult. Jason can tell that these people are discussing a topic based on looks and attractiveness, but Jason can see clearly that it’s all done with such an obsession, that it is something people genuinely care about. He supposes that looks are something that affect peoples lives. He knows how the way he looks has impacted his own life.
But he is curious. He can admit that much. He’s come across comments that have changed their appearances from zero to ten. It actually impresses him somewhat, He wonders how these people are altering their looks, and deep down, he wonders if it’s something he can do himself.
Surely it can’t be that hard, right?
He’s done so many difficult things in life. He can also do what these people are doing and make himself look better. Approachable. Someone that’s less him.
It’s almost pathetic how much he hates how he looks. He supposed it’s easy to hate who you are, when no one around you likes you that much either.
While he continues to scroll, he comes across a video of a attractive guy who’s selling some course. Something related to lookmaxxing. He talks about his course, like it’s something huge. Jason raises an unimpressed eyebrow.
The course itself is 14.99 dollars. He would have brought it, but Jason can admit spending money on stuff like this is kind of pathetic. He really doesn’t wanna go that low. Nor does he want to seem that desperate.
He starts a thorough search on the internet. Watches tons and tons of videos. Summaries on how to glow up, look better, “ascend” and whatever crap the videos said. He learns many different things.
The word “mewing” means sharpening the jawline by the placement of the tongue. Interesting. It’s when you place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and continue to do it for the rest of your life or until you notice that it has sharpened the jaw area. Jason frowns at this, though. That sounds very annoying to do all the time but the results don’t lie. It actually works.
From one of the YouTube videos, he joins a discord chat from the description. It has dozens of people. Adults and teens, all like. They’re like a community, where all they discuss are glow ups and the numbers on a weight scale. They also don’t have issues showing their faces to random people behind a screen.
Jason frowns, but starts typing up a message in the group chat. It’s not like he’s talking to these people face to face, so he doesn’t necessarily have a reason to be nervous. He clicks send after typing and erasing many sentences. He chooses to be clear but simple.
DeadBoiiiii
I’m new to this community, but I wanna glow up
Notoriously Zander replied to you
Picture?
Jason pauses. oh. He’s gonna have to share how he looks like in a gc where anyone could see. But, hey, people see him in public anyways. Even though, this is kind of the first time a stranger will tell him how they really think he looks.
He opens his front camera and tries to find a pose for a selfie. The camera is very blurry, and he struggles to find a right angle. But then he does snap the picture, when he sees that it’s clear enough, he sends it to the gc.
Now he waits. He’s ready for the intense criticism of his looks. His phone pings when he gets a reply.
DeadBoiiii replied to NotoriouslyZander [image attached]
NotoriouslyZander replied to you
So much potential, dude. You have a decent eye area and your nose shape is pretty good. What’s really the problem is the asymmetry on one side of your face and your face is also kind of bloated. Lucky for you though, that can be easily fixed.
OptimisticGal replied to you
your eye colour is so stunning!
DeadBoiiiii replied to OptimisticGal
Thank you
DeadBoiiiii replied to NotoriouslyZander
How can I fix it though
NotoriouslyZander replied to you
Drink a lot of water, lay off sugar for a while. Salty food can also cause a lot of bloatedness. You will notice tons of difference if you stick to this. Also, for the asymmetry, sleep on your back, and avoid changing sides at night. There are also facial exercises that can help. Like this video [link]
NotoriouslyZander replied to you
Also, your jawline is recessed. There are also many facial exercises for that and mewing helps too if you’ve heard of it. You do have pretty neat skin despite the scars, by the way. Also, what is your height and weight?
DeadBoiiiii replied to NotoriouslyZander
205lbs and 6ft tall
NotoriouslyZander replied to you
That’s a pretty good height. Though, I would recommend you to lose some weight, not in an intense kinda way though. Drop at the very least, 20-25 lbs. It would make your face more defined. Do consider growing out your hair but keep the white streak. It’s a good quirk of yours. The facial hair needs to go, it makes you look older.
DeadBoiiiii replied to NotoriouslyZander
Thank you man. I’ll make sure to follow your advice.
NotoriouslyZander replied to you
Update me after 2 months.
SaddieeelovesAnime
@DeadBoiiiii. message me privately, I wanna recommend you skin care!
—————
Jason could absolutely work with this.
It’s like a set of rules he has to follow every day. He already works out, he just needs to reduce his portions and avoid junk food. He knows how to be disciplined, but food was one thing he loved. Knowing fully well, that he was gonna to quit eating his favorite foods and resent himself to homemade healthy food was a thought he didn’t really like.
But sacrifices, sacrifices.
He has to do some additional face exercises and skin care as well. He’s never even cared about how he looked before. Sure, it was always in the back of his mind but it wasn’t something that was ever important to him. He was too busy trying to survive. He thinks that maybe he shouldn’t care but at the same time, he longs to be seen as a person by others rather than a threat. It shouldn’t be like that, but when has the world ever been fair to him?
He goes to a nearby beauty store to buy some the skincare Sadie had recommend and yes they were on a first name basis now. She had recommended him a decent face moisturizer and a few serums for his hair. She said it would make his hair seem shinier and softer. So he’d listened, and also brought the strawberry lip balm she had recommended. She said his lips were already pink but the balm would make them more plush. Apparently his freckles were cute too.
It had taken a embarrassingly high effort to not blush. It wasn’t very often that people told him positive things about his appearance.
As he brought the things to the counter, the cashier had looked up and looked away with the caution people have against criminals. Jason tried not to grimace. Oddly though, she did grow less tense when she saw what he was trying to buy.
He spent more money on skin care than he ever really did on most things, but Sadie had said it was worth it. So it had to be worth it.
2 months, Jason thought.
It had to work.
He was counting on it.