Kissing Games
A Word: 12 Days of JayTim. The theme was mistletoe.
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Tim has his own place in the city for a reason. For many reasons actually. Most of which he is being reminded of as Steph snickers her way back into the shadows she'd appeared from to see who was coming in.
Steph has her own place too, but she ends up practically living in the manor when Cass is in country. Which means she's been in Dick's presence for at least a week.
Terrible things can happen in a week. Even a day, when those two are involved in the equation. Tim knows this from experience.
Tim warily enters the manor. Leaving his wet shoes and coat at the door so that Alfred won't have anything to clean up when he returns. The manor is silent which means little when something's up. He trails after Steph keeping an eye out for anyone else or anything out of the ordinary.
The main parlor room door is cracked open. Light spilling out into the hallway and Tim approaches with all due caution. Checking the floor and the ceiling on both sides of the door before nudging it open wide enough to slip in. No one is inside and nothing immediately jumps out at him as being new.
Tim stands there for a bit and tilts his head. The room is silent. Not like it gets when Cass in near. There's no tension waiting to spring on him in the form of a laughing Dick and Steph. There's also no sense of impending doom he gets when Damian is sneaking up on him with something sharp and pointy.
Tim almost turns to head to the kitchen -where the others no doubt are if they're not here- when he sees a hand hanging off the arm of the couch facing away from him. Tim goes wide around the couch. The opposite end from the hand. Moving slow and quiet in case- Well, who knows.
He sees the boots first and feels surprised. He knows those boots. Scuffed and well worn, but still serviceable and perfectly capable of breaking bones. Jason's wearing equally worn jeans and a shirt. His leather jacket draped over his chest like a blanket. One arm up over his head as he sleeps.
Drugged. It's Tim's first thought, because he can't think of anything else that would get Jason to willingly come to any sort of family dinner. Especially not during this time of the month. It's too close to the holidays for the man to want anything to do with them. To give them the impression he only tolerates their 'idiot asses.'
Tim has to bite his lip to keep from laughing at remembering the rant Jason had let loose on Dick last year. Jason's eyes move under his lids and Tim holds his breath. It's a quick movement that lasts a few seconds before stopping. REM sleep. So, most likely not drugged then.
Bribery maybe, or -Tim realizes- most likely this is Alfred's doing. None of them can ever not listen to the older man when he politely requests their presence. After all, it's why Tim's here too.
Jason shifts on the couch. One foot kicking out to hang off the cushions before he settles down. The whole thing shifting with him, and some extra movement catches Tim's eye. He steps closer and bends to look at the back of the couch just above Jason's head where it looks like something green's been duct taped to the cloth.
Green and white. Berries. Oh. Tim blinks and feels his mouth twist as he recognizes the mistletoe.
Two weeks. Steph has to have been plotting and talking with Dick for two weeks for this. That's the least amount of time it would have taken for Dick to wear her down enough to start spilling Tim's secrets. Especially the ones he's guarded for so long, and only gave up after an ill advised trip into a bottle. Tim glares at the plant and straightens up. Jaw clenched as he turns to get out of the room and hunt the others down. Steph first, and then Dick. Cass and Damian may be spared. He'll evaluate that when he finds them.
He doesn't have to go very far at all.
Dick stands in the door. Teeth very white as he smiles almost madly at Tim. His arms up and braced against the doorjamb in a way that just screams the fact that he's not moving from the spot for anything. Cass peers in the room under one arm. A small smile on her face as she laughs silently at Tim. Steph is tucked in under Dick's other arm. Her grin matches his and shes' holding a small camera. A red blinking light indicating it's on and probably recording. They completely block the door, but Tim can see past their shifting bodies enough to see Damian's cranky face as he leans against the wall of the hall behind them. Arms crossed and clearly ruing the holidays.
"No," Tim doesn't bother whispering and he sees Jason jerk awake out of the corner of his eye. He doesn't make the mistake of looking though. The threat is in the door and looking away from them would be highly stupid. "No, Dick."
"Ah, but, Tim," Dick doesn't whine or wheedle, but he has this lilt to his voice that he uses when he's manipulating people. Badly, usually, but this tone combined with his stubbornness does wonders for making people bend to his will. "It's tradition!"
"What," Jason sits up and glares all around. Giving a particularly scorching look to the side of Tim's head, because he's the closest. "The hell?"
"Oh, come on!" Steph says with a hint of a cackle as she squeezes just in front of Dick and uses both hands to stabilize the camera. "Give us a show!"
Tim's formulating responses. Calculating plans. Gearing up for the mother of all revenge pranks when he hears a small snap and Jason's grunt of surprise, "Oh you're fucking kidding me."
Duct tape ripping off the expensive couch is loud and Tim winces on reflex when Jason's boots slam to the ground. His body moving to face this new threat as Jason stands up. Scowl firmly in place and an all too familiar rage nearly burning the air up in the room. The broken and crushed sprig of mistletoe sails across the room to smack into Dick's chest. The tape makes it stick for a few seconds before it falls limply to the floor.
"The fuck kind of game are you playing Dickhead?" Jason's not yelling. Not yet, but Tim still takes a prudent step back after taking a good look at the other man's face. This is the anger that they all dread the most. Even Jason dreads it. It's the kind that clouds his judgement and -in Jason's own words- leads him to making 'stupid fuck up decisions.'
"Jay," Dick's dropped the voice but he's still grinning and obviously trying not to laugh. Tim throws an incredulous look at him, because he's only egging Jason further. On purpose! "Calm down, it's not that big a deal. You need-"
Jason explodes.
"Not that big a deal?!" Jason laughs. Edgy and a little out of control as he kicks the couch. The things skitters across the room with a screech and Tim goes very still when he feels the wall press lightly against his back. "Fuck you, Dick. Fuck you it's not a big deal! You're playing children's games with this! I fucking told you-"
Jason cuts himself off with a growl and just glares at Dick. Grinning Dick, with a still smiling Cass to his left, and Steph just on his right biting her lip and keeping the camera still. Tim swears he can hear it. The exact moment Jason snaps. "You know what? Fuck it."
Tim barely has the time to worry that Alfred will be upset to find they'd managed to chase Jason away in record time before the man spins violently towards him. Takes two very long steps and Tim's blinking up at him. Wall firmly pressed into his back as he hesitates over the strikes and blocks his body is screaming at him to do. Pinned and immobile only by Jason's eyes and presence. Just like always.
Tim feels his face go hot as he tries to slide to the right. "Uh."
Jason's hand slams into the wall and then Tim isn't thinking about anything. Not anything at all, because Jason's kissing him. Lips soft and hot against his. Little currents of air tickling his skin as Jason breathes against him. Nudging his slack mouth open enough to get his tongue in. Slick and tasting of peppermint. Tim's mind catalogs the sensation and nothing else.
Tim makes a small noise when Jason pulls back. He blinks his eyes open and gets a glimpse of Jason's own eyes -dark and intent- before Jason spins toward the others standing in the door. A snarl in his face and voice. "There's your show. You happy now?"
Jason moves. Pushing off the wall to no doubt storm off and take it all out on stupid criminals, but stops suddenly. Surprise crossing his face as his head swings back to Tim. Looking down between them.
Tim's lips are cold and his mind is slow to restart. He follows Jason's gaze and finds his hands wrapped tight in the front of Jason's shirt. Holding tight and not letting him step back. Which is actually a good idea. Tim congratulates his body for implementing it without input from his mushy brain.
The brain that's screaming 'danger!' at him. Urging him to let go and get away, because Jason's mad and Tim gets hurt when he's mad. And he is mad. He's snarling, hands curling up to lash out, and mouth opening to yell some more. But his eyes. Tim catches something in them as Jason looks away too fast. Something that kicks the legs out from under his brain.
No. No way. Tim feels like a blind idiot. Fumbling through a familiar room and finding the furniture completely rearranged. "I-" Tim stutters, because he knows Jason. Knows him well enough to catch the cracks when he's blustering. Using anger to shield himself and push others away. Because something matters to him, and he's too used to being hurt to willingly allow-
The smell of broken greenery breaks through Tim's spiraling thoughts. Cass has made her way into the room and is standing next to them with her smile still in place. The battered mistletoe held up. Above Tim's head because she can't quite reach above Jason in her bare feet.
Jason's lips curl back and he leans back. Forcing Tim to move or let go. He's opening his mouth and Tim can hear the coming brush off. "Oh, fuck-"
Now is not the time to think or analyze. Jason's word spill into Tim's mouth as he uses his grip to pull Jason down into another kiss. Harder and slightly painful until Tim tips his head back. Chasing Jason's tongue in his mouth to still it and his words.
He's vaguely aware of a series of loud whistles and catcalls coming from the people he still intends to pay back. The hand tangling in his hair and the arm coming around his back as Jason starts kissing back are far more important at the moment though.
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