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unboundpen · 6 years ago

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Pandemonium [2/3]

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Fandom: Batman

Characters: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, batfam appearances

Pairing: JayDami

Rated: T

Warnings: Damian is aged up, should be in college.

Summary:

In which Damian is way too oblivious and Jason suffers.

Read on AO3

A/N: So I haven’t picked up a DC comic since Damian died in Nu52 timeline. So everyone in the batfam follows pre-Nu52 here.

Tonight there was something off about the kid. They'd hit a dead end with their case yet again, but Robin was more annoyed to have that happen. Usually, he would be fine with calling it a night or go off to patrol on his own if it was early. Red Hood would often join him if the kid decided to stick around his part of the city. Even now, as Jason surveys the scene before him, it isn't very hard to see that the kid was using more force than necessary. More than necessary for Batman, not enough for Red Hood. But hey, he was trying to work within the limitations he was given. If Robin wants to break more bones than needed, then that was his prerogative.

However, with hours of fighting bad guys, Jason can tell Robin was going to run himself ragged. It was nearly two in the morning, and Red Hood had only jumped in to help once. Robin's stamina was impressive and his fighting was always exhilarating to watch, but even now, when the last baddie drops to the ground, Jason can tell that the kid was going to get hurt if he continued like this.

Any protests Robin gives him are ignored and only cease once they're in one of Batman's safe houses, one with a communal shower, and clothes and within walking distance of Jason's favorite diner in the city.

"I don't see any reason why we have to go out for food, Todd," Damian glowers across the booth at Jason

After the two of them had showered and changed, Jason had dragged the kid back out into the night for some grub.

"Can it, Babybat. I'm willing to bet if I had sent you on your way back to the manor, you'd be a lot worse than you are now."

Damian shakes his head, now glaring at his menu that was laying flat on his table. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Jason sighs before taking a long, noisy sip of his milkshake. Damian takes the straw covering Jason had removed, and fiddles with it, eventually rolling it into a ball.

"Must you?" The kid growls.

The older man savors the taste of his milkshake, smacking his lips, "Must I what? Drink my shake like how I'm supposed to?"

Before the Damian could make a comeback, a shadow casts over them. “Decided on what you want to order, sonny?”

“Onion rings and French toast with extra powdered sugar. I also request an empty ketchup container with my food, thank you.” Damian’s tone is cold while he hands the menu to their server and then slouches against the window with his arms crossed, looking pensive as he looks out into the city night.

“Don’t mind him, Merv,” Jason says to the big guy, “Kid’s in a mood.”

The other guy chuckles, “No worries at all. I get all walks of life at this time. Believe it or not, your friend there is part of the better half.”

Jason raises his glass to him, “Well, you’re always good company.”

“You have to say that for the milkshakes.”

“Best in the city, Merv, best in the city. Better yet add two more shakes to the order."

Jason smiles brilliantly while their server walks away to get started on their order. His eyes slide back to his companion him study him. “Wanna know how I came across this place?”

“Not particularly.”

“It was sometime in the fall of the year I turned sixteen,” Jason continues, completely ignoring Damian’s snide answer, “after having one too many arguments with B, figured I needed more time to cool off.”

“Let me guess, you walked past and decided to come in for food?”

Jason taps his glass patiently, “Nope, now don’t interrupt story time. Anyways, I was getting into fights just like you were doing tonight, just not as Robin -all in civvies. Got into a nasty fight with one baddie in particular and we just so happened to be trading blows right outside of this place. Guy got ahold of me and actually threw me through the same window behind me.” His right-hand goes up to point a thumb at the booth behind him.

Damian’s eyes flicker past Jason’s shoulder with intrigue then looks back at him, sitting up straight.

“My arms were pretty cut up, this one especially,” Jason flexed the fingers of the same hand that he had used to point, “So I couldn’t get a good hit on the other guy, who was pretty much pummeling my face at that point. Hurt like a bitch, but I didn’t pass out. Merv was actually the one that pulled him off of me and turned him into the police. He was gonna hand me over too but saw that I was just a kid. So he sat me down at the counter, handed me a shake and patched my arms up. Turns out he worked medical during the Korean War.”

Damian, at that point, was giving Jason a skeptical look, “What about the window?”

“I got B to pay for it and hire some quick workers to replace it. Technically, he was the one responsible. Wouldn’t have broken that window if he wasn’t on my case about everything that night. I’d come in from time to time, help out Merv if the place was swamped with customers or help clean tables and sweep the floor, but eventually, it was the milkshakes that got me coming back.”

Merv comes back with their orders, setting Damian’s steaming plate of French toast before him and the onion rings next to it. The shakes come clinking in after, this time in front of Jason. “Enjoy,” he states before moving to a booth that had called him over.

Jason takes a meaningful sip as he watches Damian primly cut his French toast in strips with a fork and knife then reaches over to take the syrup container and pour its contents into the empty ketchup container he asked for. Jason’s eyebrows raise up when Damian takes a strip and starts dunking it.

Hmm.

Elbow on the table and chin in hand, Damian takes a bite.

“So, Bruce issues?”

The kid looks up at Jason with a blank expression as he chews.

“Look, as an experienced veteran of navigating through the complicated waters of your dad’s disapproval, it’s not that hard to figure out that he’s the source of all of your…this.” He gestures to all of Damian.

“That was quite...poetic of you, Todd, but if it’s all the same to you, I would prefer not to talk about it right this second.”

Jason holds up both hands in surrender with a bitter smile, “Hey I get it. I’m not Dick. Sometimes talking makes it worse if you’re not up for it. I’m just here to keep you company and for when you are ready to talk about it. In the meantime,” Jason slides one of the milkshakes across, “unwind and enjoy the food."

And for the rest of the night, they eat in comfortable silence. This was nice. Jason wouldn’t mind getting used to doing something like this on a more frequent basis. For the most part, living on his own left him craving companionship. It’s also why he had Kori and Roy as teammates. They were two of the most affectionate people he knew, aside from Dick.

From there his thoughts wander, how would they feel about him potentially being with Damian? Better yet how would they interact with the demon spawn overall. Now that would be a very interesting thing to witness.

xXx

It's been about two months, closing in on three, of them working together on this case and Jesus Lord Almighty, Jason was frustrated in every conceivable way. Yes, there is the never-ending sexual frustration -which he doesn't even want to delve into right now, lest he gives himself continual blue balls...again- but he's aware that this thing he had for Damian was going further than just sexual attraction. It's so bad that he's so close to swan diving off of one of the bridges in the city.

But no, that would be the easy way out, and while he was lazy for the most part, this wasn't something he was trying to half-ass. Especially with how fucking clueless Damian was with everything he's been doing. If Jason did anything subtle, it went over the kid's head.

Jason has to resort to his biggest move. Yeah, it’s gotten that bad. So here he was, on a slow day, and arms full of groceries, walking up the steps of the manor, per Alfred's request. He would reach down to get his own set of keys, but why struggle when the doorbell was a lot more accessible.

Jason didn't have to wait long for the door to open, and who was at the door but none other than the owner of the manor.

"Jason?"

The look of surprise on Bruce's face was something the younger man appreciated. There were a few things that could take Bruce Wayne by surprise, and even less for Batman.

"Uh yeah, just here to..." Jason fumbles over the next few words in his head.

To get your son to like me by cooking him his favorite foods so that hopefully I can get in his pants?

"Get a few recipes off of Alfred," he finishes slowly.

Bruce's face relaxes back into neutral and holds the door a bit wider so Jason can enter. Half of the bags are taken from his arms as Bruce shuts the door, and they make their way to the kitchen.

Bruce hums in reply, "How's the case going? Damian hasn't said much on it."

"Because there isn't much to say to be honest. We're looking into any leads we come across along with stakeouts on their warehouse." Which was true, yeah they have the location for drug storage, but they weren't searching for the drugs. It was the child trafficking Jason was trying to put a stop to. Old habits of some of the criminals on his side had resurfaced while Jason was away. Five months of operation may not seem like much, but that's still one too many kids out there.

Bruce nods as they enter the kitchen and places the food on the island, which Jason copies. Then they just kinda stand there, the air turning awkward. Jason's skin starts to crawl from the way Bruce is not so secretly studying him. While their relationship may have gotten better, this stagnant air between them would always be the norm when they weren't talking about something related to crime fighting.

"Hey, I'll be making enough for everyone in the manor, probably even more than that. So you can let the others know if you want." There, now he can claim that he tried.

Jason would be lying if he said he wasn't blinded by Bruce's sudden smile. And just like that, Jason was brought back to the more happier times of his teenhood. Jason wasn’t an exception to the need for approval from Bruce Wayne. There was a reason why once you’re a part of the batfam, no one can never really leave. You become hooked and once you're flying high on it, he can take it all away for weeks, even months. However, another result is actually leaving for a time. Dick, Jason (obviously), Tim, Cass, and Steph, even Babs. They had all left at some point, but even from those breaks, the wash of Bruce’s approval was imprinted. Jason had fought that instinct for so hard and so long that all his relationships would never go back to what they were. Eventually, everyone comes back to try and coexist with it.

It was only a matter of time before Damian had to pass through the final leg of this long endured initiation into the batfam. But to Jason, he hopes that the kid can maintain this somewhat decent relationship with his father.

“The last time everyone was here for a family dinner was Thanksgiving three years ago.”

Jason’s eyebrows raise, “Everyone?”

Bruce nods confidently, “Barbara is visiting, Stephanie is back for spring break, and Cassandra -as I’m sure you’re aware- has moved back almost half a year ago.”

“Oh wow, full house tonight.”

The older man looks wistful. Jason watches Bruce get that far off look, where he can only imagine how Bruce’s ideal family dinner unfolds. Thankfully, Alfred chooses that exact time to push through the kitchen’s swinging door.

“Well then,” Bruce clears his throat, broken out of his reverie, “I guess I better tell everyone else to stay for dinner.”

“Splendid idea, sir,” Alfred responds smoothly then turns to Jason as soon as Bruce leaves the room. “I’ve taken the liberty of pulling out the recipes we shall be using tonight. Although, I do have to say this may be a bit…much.”

Alfred pulls out a stack of index cards from his coat pocket with an amused look. Jason whistles, “The kid likes to eat.”

Alfred places the stack on the island, “To be fair, Master Jason, you did say all the food he likes. That is a very broad guideline to go by.”

The younger man grins and starts to take everything out of their bags. “Would it help if I said his favorites then?”

Alfred taps the pile thoughtfully, “That does cut this down considerably…."

Jason stops moving and steals a glance at Alfred who was studying him. He was somewhat prepared for the questioning that may have come with the request, he just wasn’t prepared for it this early. He was hoping that he would be busy prepping at least.

“Is there a particular reason why we are only cooking food palatable to Master Damian?”

“Not really.” Yes, yes he is very aware just how higher pitched that sounded.

Alfred lifts an amused eyebrow at Jason, but the younger man does not budge. A moment of silence later and the butler concedes with a sigh, “Very well then, Master Jason. Shall we get started?”

xXx

Jason had to say that this dish was the most unique thing he’s ever attempted. This was apparently Damian’s favorite by far, and the whole recipe was copied down word for word straight from the kid’s mouth. And according to Alfred, that was from the first night Damian started living with them. Oxblood was something he never would have expected to cook in his lifetime. However, the smell was pretty appetizing.

That was one conversation he attempted with Damian on one of their nights together. Considering that the kid had gone vegetarian, was he going so far as to go vegan? The answer had been that the kid was not opposed to eating meat if they were killed humanely and all body parts were used, but considering that this was a hard thing to keep track for each and every animal, vegetarian was the easier option for now.

When I was younger, mother had a specialty soup made with oxblood. Thankfully, Pennyworth has a source where the animals are not killed for it.

So like donating blood to eat, interesting. What about lab-grown meat?

-Tt- I've tried the impossible burger. If they make lab-grown meat without it tasting like liver, then I will consider it an option.

He gives the stew one final stir and then covers it to let it simmer. He sidesteps to the setup beside the stove and picks up where he left off. Alfred had left him to deal with the manor’s laundry. Considering that the manor was almost at full capacity, it would be a while before the butler came back. But before Jason could get lost in the motions of making dolmas, there was some commotion outside one of the two doors to the kitchen.

“Alfred is definitely cooking up a feast. I wonder why-”

The door swings open and in walk Dick, Tim, and Cassandra, with Dick and Tim freezing at the sight of Jason standing there surrounded by steam, hands full of lab-grown meat filling, and covered in an almost frilly apron. For a moment, he freezes too. Of course, Bruce had said everyone was here, but another thing he did not mentally prepare for was actually interacting with his siblings until dinner.

“Not Alfred,” the second eldest in the room states and sidles up comfortably next to Jason. That wasn’t much to go by since they were about the same age anyway. She uncovers the oxblood soup and basks in the smell before she takes up stirring.

Tim is the first of the other two men to unfreeze, inspecting Jason’s handwork while walking up to the island.

“Soooo,” Tim drags that word on for a bit, “what’s the occasion?”

Jason, without missing a beat, places his finished dolma onto the forming stack located slightly to the left. “You don’t gotta worry your head about that.”

He hopes that he looks at least collected on the outside, but his nervousness rises as he watches Tim look around, studying all the food that Jason had made or was preparing. It wouldn’t be long before he figured out what Jason was doing, and he curses the kid for it.

Dick, the last to recover, follows Tim and sits at one of the bar stools opposite of Jason and Cassandra.

“It’s sort of a big deal when it’s you that’s cooking, Jay,” Dick says, reaching over to pluck one of the piping hot potstickers out from the steam basket.

“Hah!… Hah,” Dick breathes through his mouth while he fans at his face.

Tim nods in agreement, ignoring Dick’s sounds of pain. “This all seems to be Dami-”

Jason coughs loudly, catching Cassandra’s small smile of amusement. She’d probably already deduced it too.

“Maybe I just got tired of the taste of beer and ramen every night,” he spouts, then directs his gaze to the woman standing next to him who had taken a spoon to taste the soup, “Cass had the right idea, you guys could make yourselves useful and help me out with these. Ah, except you Dickie-bird, you’re fine right there. Just don’t eat everything.”

Tim shrugs, not objecting before he washes his hands and takes one of the wooden cutting boards from a shelf. The smaller man situates himself on the other side of Jason, who had rearranged the station so the growing pile of dolmas, the grape leaves, and the filling were between them.

“And why can’t I help?” Dick whines, once he manages to swallow a bit of the food in his mouth.

“Because you burn what you cook.” Jason doesn’t hold back the laugh that comes tumbling out of his mouth. Cassandra’s childlike bluntness always took him by surprise while Dick’s pout was just the additional cherry on top. The eldest takes another and suffers through the burning sensation, much to everyone's amusement.

"You remember that Damian is vegetarian right?" He says once he's able to talk again.

"It's made in a lab."

"No kidding?" Dick holds it up into the light like it was a diamond to inspect it, "It tastes like it's real pork. He's okay with that?"

Jason shrugs, "I mean technically, it still is pork. As long as it doesn't taste like liver, he should be cool with it."

And then Jason shows Tim how to prepare one before they fall into an easy silence. He had made about five different dishes for tonight, with this batch being the last of it. The thing was he had already steamed a lot that the leftover ingredients were for him to take home and prepare for himself and a few for Alfred to make at a later date.

After about half an hour of Dick eating half a dozen potstickers, Cass sampling the other dishes, and Tim obsessively making sure that the grape leaves were secure (Jason has to admit that the atmosphere was actually really pleasant), he sees a flash of light across the room followed by the distinct sound of a shutter flash.

Whispers and giggling coming from the other side of the door before the culprits burst through. Barbara wheels herself in followed by a grinning Stephanie Brown, her wrist flicking in the air as she fans the polaroid she just took.

Jason rolls his eyes. “Just need the two actual Waynes in here and then it’ll be a true reunion.”

“It’s a sight to see when Jason is the one that’s cooking. What would be even better is if Dick actually manages to make something without ruining it that isn't cereal,” Barbara teases.

“Ouch, Babs.” Dick gives her a weak smile.

“Well,” Stephanie singsongs, coming around to be beside Cassandra to hip bump the other woman, “she ain’t wrong there, Dick.”

Dick grabs one of the cooled potstickers he had plucked out and handed it over to Barbara, which she takes thankfully. “Alright, that’s three against three.”

“Actually,” Tim cuts in, “make that four.”

Jason nods, “Five.”

“Aw, screw all of you,” Dick shoots back without malice.

Stephanie frowns at the pot in front of Cassandra. “Uh, Jay, you do know that Damian and Cass are the only ones that really eat this, right?”

“No worries, there’s plenty of other food.”

“Yeah about that,” Tim starts.

“-all of this stuff is what Dami likes to eat,” Stephanie interjects.

Jason goes still, avoiding eye-contact with all of his bat-siblings, then rolls his eyes upward and counts the tiny speckles on the ceiling tiles. The underlings of the Greatest Detective in the world...of course, one of them was bound to say it out loud. His skin really starts to itch from everyone's eyes on him. Once he finally gathers the nerve to look around, the range of expectant faces overwhelms him and he feels his face start to heat up. Gone were the familiar conflicting emotions on some of their faces, which made his chest tight from giddiness?

Welp, that was new.

“You guys could set the table,” he grits out.

None of them move, much less say anything. And fuck, Jason knows he can’t avoid not talking.

“This is to say thanks for helping out with the case we’ve been working on.” Even now it sounds really weak to his ears.

Babs crosses her arms under her chest and gives him a pointed look over her glasses, “There’s gotta be more than that, or else you’d have been cooking our favorite meals for ALL of us for a while now.”

“Yeah, last I checked, I didn’t get a homemade meal courtesy of the Red Hood-” Stephanie gasps and clasps her hands to her mouth, eyes comically going wide at Jason. The raven-haired beauty between her and Jason gives an imperceptible nod, while Tim’s grin grows sharp within Jason’s peripheral.

Jason swears and wipes his hands on his apron roughly. He turns around to get the pot he used earlier and turns back with a not so subtle bang on the counter to Dick and Barbara leaning in a lot closer than before, unflinching at the sound.

“Why can’t you guys mind your own damned business?” He puts the prepped dolmas into the pot none too gently.

Dick has his head in his hands, staring intently at Jason. “The only time I’ve ever seen you cook food was for that one girl that came over for dinner when you were a sophomore in high school.”

Babs glances over at Dick with curiosity while Tim finishes his last roll and pops it in next to the one that Jason put, deftly avoiding Jason's jerky movements.

“If I remember correctly, you had this huge crush on her and wanted to impress her with your cooking,” Dick furrows his brows in thought, “but that wouldn’t be right. You don’t like Damian, and you certainly don’t have a…crush…on Damian.”

Dick pauses, then lifts his head off of his hands, locking eyes with Jason, and then straightens in such a way that you'd know he'd been around speedsters for a certain amount of time. “Unless you do have a crush on Damian.”

Jason tries to keep his face neutral, but his silence was answer enough for the rest of them. The air gets thick before all chaos breaks loose. The barrage of voices came from all sides of the room.

“Oh My God, you like Damian?!” “How long have you liked him?” “It was pretty obvious.” “Called it.”

Jason places a plate on top of the food in the pot before he fills it with water. “I do not confirm nor deny having a crush -of all things- on the demon spawn.”

Stephanie pushes away from the island and points at Jason in accusation with the corner of the Polaroid, the picture half-formed, “Oh you so do.”

“There’s no hiding it, Jason.” If Tim’s grin got anymore sharper, Jason could probably use it to chop more vegetables. Jason chuckles at the thought of banging Tim's head on the counter repeatedly but stops when he sees that Dick has not budged at all.

“You,” Dick emphasizes by holding his hands out towards Jason, then he moves them to the side, lost in thought, “and Damian.”

Barbara adjusts her glasses and gives Jason a rueful smile, “Odd pairing, but it makes sense.”

“Right? Your immediate reaction would be like ‘Woah!’ but then if you think about it, they would be good for each other.” Stephanie says with animated hands.

“Fuck. Me.” Jason mutters under his breath.

“Nah, Damian could do that,” Tim counters.

“Or Jason to Damian,” Cassandra adds.

This time Jason snatches a clean towel from the counter and hides his face in it, knowing that it was way beyond the suitable normal color of pale. He hears the loud, ringing smack of a high five behind him, followed by loud giggling from the two.

"I swear, I will shoot each and every one of you in the foot.” Was his towel lessening the threat? Yeah, but it was a better option than looking at any of them at the moment. Then hears a snort from Barbara.

Ah crap,

Poor choice of words, but she was always a good sport when it came to her injury. If there was one thing she was fond of with Jason, it was his anger towards the one that caused them the most hurt. He-who-must-not-be-named, if you will. Yeah, he took that from Harry Potter. Voldemort wasn't the only unspeakable name.

“Is there a reason to be this loud?”

The only person -or well, one of the two people who would have made the situation much worse had stepped in.

“Nothing, no reason at all,” Barbara responds way too quickly for Jason's liking, “Cass, Steph, why don’t you guys help me set the table. Better yet, you two too.”

“Todd?”

Jason sighs and lowers his arms to the sight of the other batsiblings filing out with plates and cutlery, which had been set there by Alfred. They were all abnormally silent but each one of them with shit-eating grins. His gaze slides to Damian whose head was tilted in a questioning manner as his eyes sweep over the scene before him.

“Uh, hey, Damian.”

“What’s all this?”

Jason replaces the pot of oxblood with the pot full of dolmas. “I was getting tired of the taste of my usual recipes,” Jason does a one-shoulder shrug, ignoring the heat of his probably red face, “I figured that since I was here, I may as well cook for everyone.”

The kid’s face was really unreadable.

“With Alfred’s help…of course,” he adds.

Jason’s breath hitches when Damian comes around to his side, peering at what was on the stove. The kid was close enough that Jason could smell what hair product and body soap he had used. It wafts and mixes with the other scents in the kitchen.

While most cologne would counter the scents of the kitchen, the smell of lemongrass is fitting with the smells of the Asian dishes that Jason had cooked up. Jason starts to drown from the kid's presence, his smell, the water droplets that dripped from his hair and trickled down his neck. He gets lost at the thought of following those water trails with his tongue but snaps back to Earth when he hears Damian's voice.

“I doubt you would have much of a taste for seonjiguk.”

“While I do go for the more traditional chili dogs and pizza, I’m not opposed to trying new food.”

Damian hums absently, then reaches down to take the spoon that Cassandra had used to sample the soup with and dips it into the pot to taste. He would have warned the kid about the used spoon, but one, he was still nervous with the kid's close proximity, and two, all of them have shared food with one another that sharing germs wasn't much of a concern anyway. However, he was envious that Cassandra had just shared an indirect kiss with Damian.

Jason balks at the ridiculousness of that thought. Indirect kiss? What was he ten?

"This," the kid starts thoughtfully with a fond smile, "tastes the closest to my mother's."

"I uh-," Jason clears his throat, "made sure to go to Alfred's place so it's ethically to your standards. All the other dishes that have meat in them actually contain lab-grown meat. So those are also ethically safe."

Damian reaches across to get one of the leftover potstickers that Dick left out to cool. Unlike the eldest Robin, he takes a bite into it rather than stuffing the whole thing in his mouth, and Jason almost groans at the sight of the younger man’s lips wrapping around the appetizer. There was a light glistening on Damian’s upper lip from the grease of the filling, and Jason goes cross-eyed when he sees Damian’s tongue follow the trail. It seems his eyes have been doing that every time the kid was around.

Damian takes no notice in Jason's discomfort as he savors the taste with his eyes closed. With each methodical chew, the kid’s face softens.

“Decent.”

“Thanks,” Jason gulps. Two compliments in a row. Jason feels his pride wash over him and his pants go tight until he hunches over in hopes that his pants aren’t tenting that much. God, is the addictive nature of Bruce Wayne’s approval genetic? It had already been a confusing time for Jason and his hormones when he was Robin, but getting turned on from praising words from Damian Wayne?

“Why don’t you help me take the food out to the table?” He suggests, ignoring how gruff his voice sounds.

Damian’s eyes open and it feels like the kid already knows what’s going on, and Jason’s breath catches in his throat.

“You made rice, yes?”

Jason deflates and then snorts, “After the rant that you and Cassandra gave. How could I not remember to?”

Damian nods with no joke. “Good.” Then he takes one of the plates and heads out of the kitchen. Jason sighs and shakes his head then takes deep breaths, trying to calm his beating heart. He knew it was pathetic, but there wasn’t much else to do other than bulldoze forward. And he thought he did pretty well with bulldozing since the kid should have definitely caught wind of Jason’s interest. It was pretty obvious.

He walks around and picks up the sweet and sour eggplant dish.

Maybe he'll see after this family dinner.

xXx

How?! How the fucking how? Three fucking days and not one word, not one inclination that Damian was aware. Hell if he did something obvious, the kid would still not notice. At this rate, he would probably have to kiss the kid to get his feelings across.

The dinner had been torturous, the constant teasing from everyone while Bruce and Damian were oblivious as to why. Well, maybe even then Bruce caught on, but Jason didn’t want to even think about that possibility. The focus was on Damian and this case of course. He can face daddy’s wrath once he gets the kid. And even then that was a very small chance.

But now that all of them knew, they went out of their ways to bring it up as much as possible. Even earlier this evening, he had received several texts within the batkids family chat, with all but Damian in there.

“Hey,” he starts, still laying on his back on the rooftop ledge, even now he knows that his phone is getting messages from the chat. Hell, there probably was a comm-link opened with them plotting several different ways to take him down with embarrassment via his attraction for Damian.

“You ever just think about not being in the gig anymore?”

Robin lowers his binoculars and places the mask in his direction.

“Not at all.”

Jason sits up slowly and pops his back before picking up his cigarette again. "That's gotta be a lie.”

Robin’s lip purse in the thought, then softly, “I was created for this. It is all I’ve known.”

Jason notices the kid's choice of words. Created...not born...

“Come on, Babybat. You have to have some frustrations with being Robin.”

Damian’s cheeks twinge with movement before he turns back to face the warehouse.

“Frustrations, yes, but none that I cannot deal with on my own. They have been new…relatively speaking.”

New frustrations for the kid?

Jason takes in Robin’s frame and notes all the tiny clues: stuttering breathing, rapidly beating pulse and avoiding eye contact. The kid was embarrassed.

Oh.

OH.

Jason swallows with difficulty. “Everyone gets that at one point or another on patrol. Best is to just find release before you start swinging again.”

“I do,” the kid admits quietly.

Oh okay, so he could not breathe properly. Jason can only hear the blood rushing through his veins. And it’s a while before Jason can even utter another word. Maybe now would be the best time? Maybe not? God, would it be creepy if he did?

Fuck it.

“So, I’m just gonna go ahead and say it,” Jason curses under his breath before continuing, and what comes out is just babbling words. “I’ve been doing this for a few weeks now, and it’s like you’re not noticing what exactly I’m doing. It’s obvious, so obvious that everyone else knows. I mean I cooked a dinner of your favorite foods. How is that not hint enough for you? But for Superman’s cape, which mating dance do I have to do for you to realize that I like you?!”

He’ll admit, he does sound hysterical near towards the end there. His chest heaves with the exertion of finally telling the brat outright.

Robin directs his gaze back at Jason. “-Tt- Of course, you like me.”

His mouth drops open, speechless. Wow, that was said so simply. As if it was the most obvious thing. He had to hold back a laugh, a laugh he would have no control over. Oh, it was over! Now was just to wait for the kid’s acceptance or rejection, and if Jason were at all honest with himself, he'd take either option. They were a lot better than Jason continuously up in feelings limbo.

Robin’s lips stretch into a fond, close-lipped smile. “We are partners after all.”

The shock is instant. Jason isn’t sure how the kid could be this clueless. Then the too familiar act of free falling towards the dirty street flows around him. Jason's instincts kick in, with his hands reaching for his grappling gun before shooting it in a random direction. His body flips once more and then jerks with the sudden change of momentum. The gun reels him in, only for Jason to realize that the warehouse was coming in way too quickly, and he struggles to get his other grappling gun to shoot.

BANG

Thank god for the fucking helmet, is his first thought, but then it’s quickly overpowered by a sharp pain in his left shin. While there was a bang from his helmet connecting with the long windows of the warehouse, he vaguely recalls that it was one of his legs connecting with the ledge first. There’s no way he can move right now, however, he feels his arm lifting then a smaller body presses up against his side. Jason feels an arm wrap around his torso before they’re moving upwards.

His eyes closed and all he can just focus on is breathing through the blooming pain. It may also be the growing paranoia, but he thinks his leg is swinging in a place that should not be swinging. Just from that, it takes all his might not to throw up in his helmet.

It was always a bitch to clean whenever that happens.

Pretty soon they land, none too gently, a good 50 rooftops away from their location. The kid was fast on the line.

Jason throws off his helmet and falls onto his palms, leaving no weight on his injured leg, before he starts throwing up. While his pain tolerance was fairly high, unexpectedly (potentially) breaking his bones can get him to upheave his dinner.

Through his retching, Jason hears Robin tsk in disgust beside him. “I did not take you for an easy fainter, 'Hood.”

Jason spits away the bitter taste left in his mouth when his body stops, then wipes away any bile from his lips before he scowls up at Robin. “I didn't faint,” he grits out, maneuvering himself until he’s sitting and blinks away the involuntary tears that come from throwing up.

Robin’s expression screws up in concern, then he crouches down, reaching out for the older man’s leg.

“Don’t touch,” Jason snaps.

The kid frowns, dropping his hand, but keeps crouched next to Jason. “Don’t be even more of an idiot, Red Hood, it may be broken.”

“Oh,” Jason chuckles darkly, “more of an idiot?”

“Yes,” Robin stresses, “your carelessness alerted them of our presence.”

The older vigilante sucks in a breath. Then struggles to his feet, favoring one leg over the other. He notices that Robin stands up with him, but doesn’t try to reach out to help him again. Instead, the kid opts for crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m heading home.”

Robin nods once, “I suppose it would be best to call it a night. Do…Do you need assistance returning home?”

“No, the idiot can manage just fine, thanks.” Jason knows his sarcasm is scathing right now, but he couldn’t care less, even when the kid straight up scowls at him.

“Fine,” Robin responds icily. Then doesn’t wait for Jason to be the first one to leave.

Once Jason is sure that he’s gone, he spends a good minute cursing loudly up at the sky. Of all the outcomes that could have happened, it was just his luck that it would be something like this.

xXx

He could say he is ashamed of how he’s been. After that disastrous confession that made him feel like he was in middle school again and almost breaking his leg, which would have left him out of commission for a good two months -thank god that wasn’t the case, just a very ugly bruise that took up half of his leg- he had not seen the kid since. His phone had been blowing up within the chat group, but instead of light teasing, there were concerned messages all around. After that night, Jason’s mood wasn’t the only one that had turned sour. Sure it may be a petty thing, but it did lighten Jason’s mood knowing that the kid was bothered too.

But after some coaxing from Roy and Kori, Jason had finally mustered up the will to get changed and went to where the kid had texted to meet him. Since this was in a place with a lot of foot traffic, it would have brought them more attention if Jason went out as Red Hood. The kid was probably out undercover too.

Jason rolls his shoulders under the jacket he had chosen for tonight. He muses that this was a jacket he had gotten before his trip to space. Oh well, it’s not like he’s strapped for cash anyway. He makes a mental note to go to proper clothes shopping.

Just then he feels the full force of someone trying to barrel him over. His hands reach up to steady the person and himself. Damian’s scent is what he registers first before he looks down at Damian’s annoyed glare.

Before Damian could say anything, sounds of heavy running came from around the corner. The kid pulls both of them into an alley next to them. It was a bit too forceful of a pull since Damian’s head hits the brick wall hard enough to make his teeth chatter.

The sounds of footsteps get louder.

Damian’s eyes flitter over Jason’s shoulder then zing right back, wide with panic. “Kiss me.”

“What?” Jason blurts out, which gets Damian to roll his eyes before he grips Jason’s shoulders with both hands and pulls him in until Jason feels the surprising softness of Damian’s lips.

Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck.

The kiss wasn’t even a kiss by Jason’s standards, it was purely the basic definition of the act. Lips touching lips. And once Jason realized that his eyes shut close from the pure bliss he was enjoying. It was scary that all the worry and bad juju feelings he had for the past week all seems to evaporate. Nonetheless, he lets himself get lost and unconsciously initiates more of the kiss.

The older man hunches over Damian, unconsciously putting all of his weight against the kid, who doesn’t protest at all. This was all too much and happening too fast for Jason’s mind to keep up. The scent of lemongrass and herbs ropes around Jason, binding him that closer to Damian. With every breath he takes through his nose, he gets even more lost. The flat hand above Damian’s head adjusts so Jason’s weight was on his forearm instead, allowing him to completely cover Damian’s body with his own.

Once he’s situated better, Jason angles his head then slowly deepens the kiss. He almost stops when Damian moves underneath him, feeling lithe hands grab fistfuls of his shirt. The anticipation, the expectation of being pushed away, it levels Jason from the weightlessness that is quickly spreading throughout his body. But it never comes. Instead, the kid tentatively kisses back.

Jason knows he’s shaking from the adrenaline. Not like he cares at the moment though. Especially when he can reach up to cup the kid’s neck and jaw. Damian goes rigid for a second, most likely the fighting instincts preparing to attack back, but Jason caresses the kid’s cheek with his thumb.

God, it’s so fucking smooth. If given the chance, Jason could probably keep stroking that spot for hours.

Damian’s hands flatten to palms on Jason’s chest, then slide around Jason’s torso to pull Jason in until they are flush against each other.

Welp, there’s no hiding the erection now.

The kiss is suddenly broken, with Jason following after the kid’s lips for a split second. He inwardly groans. Not opening his eyes at all, he rests his forehead on the hand against the wall. Damian’s ear is right next to mouth, so he’s aware the kid can hear his ragged breathing.

“I believe they are gone now. They saw me around the entrance, hence why I needed you to kiss me.”

Jason takes pleasure in the fact that Damian’s voice was husky.

Wahid

Talatha

“Todd?”

“Give me a moment, Babybat,” Jason whispers hoarsely, but his mind blanks when the kid shivers against him. So he starts again, out-loud this time.

“Wahid…talatha…khamsa…saba,” the older man trails off, wracking his currently putty-like brain for the next number.

“Ahad ashr.”

Jason startles out of his thoughts, then backs off a little to look at the kid. He was a sight that Jason appreciates: pupils dilated, eyelashes long and curling to frame the baby blues with one eye slightly closed from Jason’s thumb still stroking his cheekbone, face darker from the flush of his skin, and his lips full and plump. However delectable Damian looks in this exact moment, his face is neutral.

“You’re counting in prime numbers?” Jason nods. "Eleven is ahad ashr.”

“Oh, shukran.” May as well thank the kid in his language anyway.

Jason doesn’t want to pull away, especially not when Damian gives him a smile that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners. To his credit, Damian doesn’t seem to be making a move to push Jason away either, just that his arms drop from the older man’s body.

“Do…do we have to go after them?” His hand drops away to hang awkwardly at his side.

“No.”

It’s at that instant that the floaty, post-kiss air dissipates and Jason can see the kid remembering the last time they were together. He sighs but doesn’t take a step back just yet.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t faint. I also didn’t mean to be an ass-“

Damian snorts and Jason glowers back at him, “I’m trying to fucking apologize here. Not like it was entirely my fault.”

The kid looks aghast. “I understand I was…difficult when I first came here but-“

“No. No. Nono. That’s not…” Jason sighs, “Do you remember what we were talking about before I fell off the roof?”

His face scrunches up in concentration, “We were discussing our mutual respect for each other.”

Jason sighs again, this time with his whole body, “Not exactly. I said I like you.”

“Right, which is necessary for two people to work together.”

“No, you dipshit." Jason gives the two of them more distance between by stepping back a few more steps and quickly continues before the kid starts swinging, “I like you, Damian…like you like how Bruce likes Selina."

So the thing with assassin babies, and their beaten in assassin training, was that when trying to process new information, they were good at maintaining a poker face. And Damian wouldn’t be Damian if he wasn’t doing that right now. To cope with the silence, Jason amuses himself with the thought that Damian’s head was record-scratching back to what he had just said and Damian’s brain melting from it.

The kid then starts to blink rapidly, getting Jason to think maybe he did break the little Wayne.

“So,” Damian starts quietly, so quiet that Jason strains his ears to hear, “that was what Grayson and the others were talking about."

"I don't know what they said to you exactly."

"All those looks and jokes they were making to each other. They knew. And I was the last to know?" Damian questions incredulously.

This time Jason bursts out laughing. It's a laugh mixed with hysteria, absolute amusement, and just a smidgen of relief. He brings his hands up to his face and presses his bare palms to his eyes and continues laughing for a good moment.

By the time Jason is calmer, he drops his arms back to his side to the view of Damian looking petulant. It was cute.

Jason can't even erase the grin on his face, making the kid's pout even deeper. "It's not like I was trying to hide it. I've been trying to tell you that I like you for a few weeks now."

That does nothing to stop Damian's sulking.

"I literally told you I liked you last week. I even specifically said I made dinner with your favorite foods, which I did. Considering that everyone caught on that all of those dishes were the food you like, we all would have thought you'd have caught on. But for the actual biological son of Batman, you can be incredibly dense."

Well, the sulk does turn into a scowl, and it's fitting. "Is that how you talk to someone you like?"

"Yes."

It's interesting to actually see the kid blush from embarrassment. "But...how? Why?"

This time Jason steps closer to Damian, forcing the kid to look up at him again. "Can't really explain how. Not now anyway. I don't want to scare you off with that info. But for the why?" Jason's tone is soft, "I think out of everyone I know, you've understood me best. Sometimes I get into those moods and you just understand that that happens, and you don't bug me about it. Not everything has to be talked about, not for every time anyway. Trying to explain to someone who hasn't been resurrected so violently like we have, that the violence and anger and frustration that we have is like telling B to go kill someone with a gun." He smiles wryly at that and the kid does too.

"Not to mention how much hotter you've gotten."

Damian rolls his eyes.

"Right, yeah, can't make you blush from compliments since you already know how attractive you are." Jason runs a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"Todd...Jason, I..." Jesus, Damian looks like he's constipated with his loss of words.

"Don't strain yourself," Jason responds in bemusement, then after a beat sigh, "Look, you don't have to answer me right away. I know you never really considered me or anyone for that matter-"

"Not true," Damian cuts in sharply, then his cheeks turn a few shades darker. "That is to say, it is not true that I have not considered you romantically, nor are you the only one. However, those few times were brief thoughts."

That brightens Jason's mood greatly. "Well, again, you don't have to answer right away."

The younger man nods, "I cannot make an immediate decision based solely on those few times."

"Right, but now that you actually know," Jason steps closer to Damian, bringing one arm above Damian's head to lean on the wall, almost getting as close as they were when they were kissing, "would it be okay to kiss you again? I was actually holding back before. I wanna give myself a more lasting impression, ya know?"

It's a lot easier to seduce someone when they actually know Jason's intentions, and with Damian, it is a lot more amusing. The kid was so caught off guard, having really only used his own charms and seduction as a means to achieve a goal. His lack of experience was endearing.

His other hand comes up to cup Damian's jaw again, and his breath hitches just the tiniest bit.

Jason, in his element now, leans down until his forehead touches Damian's, his hooded eyes boring into Damian's, as his thumb slowly caresses Damian's bottom lip, soft lip. God so soft.

The older man says nothing else, knowing that this slow seduction was working for him. He makes no other movements, just his thumb running over Damian's lip over and over.

This time when Damian says, "Kiss me, Todd," it's the barest of whispers.

#jaydami #jasondamian #Jason Todd #Damian Wayne #batfam

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