Jason stumbled back two steps in a panic, but his body was yanked, causing him to lose his balance.
Theodore used the leverage to climb onto the other's windowsill, popping his head up from the window like a besieging zombie.
With a snap, Jason's wrist dislocated. Theodore paid him no mind; he stepped off the window fra and leaped in, pulling the other boy to the ground, his knees firmly pressing down on Jason's shoulders.
Before the other boy could scream from the pain, Theodore had already grabbed the pillow from the head of the bed and shoved it into his mouth.
The commotion abruptly woke the other boys in the room. Soone was halfway through sitting up when Theodore threw a sentence at them: "Go back to sleep, don't ddle."
"..."
After two or three seconds to assess the situation, the other three boys calmly lay back down, pulling their blankets over their ears.
—If asked, they would say they were sleeping too soundly and heard nothing.
Mind your own business, that was a good quality every Gotham orphan should possess.
Confirming that no one intended to spill the beans, Theodore lowered his head with satisfaction, playfully patting Jason's face, which was now crimson and streaked with tears.
"Why are you crying, darling? Are you sad that you're too ugly, so you don't have a butt to sell?"
"It's okay, listen to . With your looks, you can just go out and claim to be Black Mask's illegitimate child, he'll definitely believe you, no need for a DNA test."
"Mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph!"
"Look at you, so happy you're just screaming like a gorilla."
Theodore, with a feigned smile, tightened his fingers around Jason's throat.
He leaned over the boy, a cold, sowhat vengeful smile twisting his lips. His thin lips approached Jason's ear, close enough to clearly sll the strange mix of tears and saliva.
"If I hear you talking about or Wayne again… Jason, even if both sides of your face look like Two-Face, I'll still guarantee your butt-selling rights."
"Rember my warning."
After speaking, Theodore still refused to ease his grip.
He continued to choke him for two or three seconds, until the other boy's eyes began to roll back, before he finally released his hand, scoffed, and tossed Jason aside.
Jason, having narrowly escaped, clutched his throat and began to cough violently.
Theodore shook his wrist; the back of his right hand and arm were covered in fresh scratches from Jason.
"Look at your masterpiece." Theodore waved his arm in front of Jason, displaying a mockingly affectionate smile.
"Next ti you're jealous, just say so, baby. I never knew you were so spicy."
Jason dared not move, but his eyes looked as if he wanted to drown Theodore alive in a barrel of chemical waste.
Theodore scoffed disdainfully, then swung back down through the window, re-entering his own room.
He relaxed his back, throwing himself onto the bed. The wild, untad expression finally faded, revealing the underlying, unshakeable gloom.
His scarred right hand was placed over his eyes, trembling slightly.
He admitted that he had indeed lost control a little just now.
But Jason deserved it.
Theodore rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head. Where no one could see him, he irritably curled up like a shrimp.
There would be other ways.
Let him think, there must be other ways.
The next day at noon, Bruce Wayne's luxurious car was openly parked in front of the orphanage.
The butler, with English grace, bent down to open the car door. The handso, tall man stepped out of the car, straightening up, revealing smiling eyes that shimred with the blue of the Aegean Sea under the sunny sky.
His gaze imdiately fell upon Theodore in the crowd, and with a friendly smile, he extended his hand to the boy.
"Co on, my child."
"..."
Theodore forced a smile, his lips twitching, and with a face as if he had just lost a new father, he numbly took a step forward.
"You're here, Mr. Wayne."
The man playfully patted his shoulder, a hint of reproach in his voice: "Call Bruce."
"…Heh heh, Bruce."
The other man seed not to notice the insincerity in Theodore's voice. Standing beside Theodore, he enthusiastically waved to everyone at the orphanage.
"Do you have any friends you want to say goodbye to? You can talk to them again—of course, if you miss it here, we'll co back to visit every once in a while."
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