Chapter 13: The Date, Part 1
When I woke up, I was happy to find Dick still in bed, his arm wrapped a bit tight around my shoulders, he was awake as well
"Good morning, Boy Wonder" I purred, nuzzling him
"Good morning, kitten" he greeted, kissing my forehead
"Did you sleep well?" I asked, wrapping my long legs around his
"Yes, I did actually, last night I heard the most greatest thing ever"
I got quite curious "What did you hear?" I asked
"I heard you saying that you were falling in love with me"
"I thought I had said that in my head" I laughed, blushing a bit
"Nope, I heard it pretty clear, even though I was asleep"
I placed my arms around his broad chest and smiled "Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag"
"I don't know what I did to deserve you, but whatever I did, I'm glad I did it" said Dick, rolling over to face me
"You didn't do much, I'm the one who should be telling you that, I was so blinded by Jason's rejection that I didn't see the lovely man that was in front of me the whole time" I sighed, caressing Dick's face, his eyes showing contentment as he reveled in my touch
"Avery..." Dick whispered my name "I love you, Avery"
Tears of happiness sprang from my eyes "Dickie, I love you, too" no hesitation, no deceit, just pure, sincere love
Dick then attacked my lips with his, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation of Dick's lips on mine, they were so soft, God, I was so lucky to have him
Moments later, I felt Dick's hands reach the hem of my shirt and began to slowly lift it up, I broke from the kiss to let him take my shirt off completely, and I did the same, I took off his black muscle shirt in one fell swoop and began to kiss every part of his body, his chest his stomach, his neck, everywhere I could reach
Dick gently stroked my stomach and the rest of my body, when he reached my breasts, that's where I had to stop, I was getting too excited and I didn't want to to do something I wasn't ready for
"I'm sorry, Dick, I guess I got carried away in the heat of the moment"
Dick smiled at me "We both did, I'm actually glad you stopped, I didn't want us to do something we'd both regret, but I promise, when the time comes, it's gonna be something special"
"I believe you, boy wonder"
"Now, if I recall, you promised me a date, and I'd like to go on said date today, if that's ok with you"
"I thought you'd never ask, just let me take a shower, I need one badly, what time is it anyway?"
"It's almost 12 noon"
"I skipped out on breakfast?"
"Don't worry, I told Alfred we were gonna be going on a date, so we'll get something to eat in Gotham"
"What about Jason and the boys?"
"Jason is gonna take them to the zoo"
"Alright, well could you help me up, please?"
As Dick helped me up, he helped me to the bathroom, after I reassured him that I could handle taking a shower, he gave me a peck on the cheek then went to his own room to get dressed
Since my shirt was already off (thanks to Dick) I removed the last bits of clothing I had and stepped into the shower, turning on the hot water first, and minutes later, the cold water
I washed my hair and scrubbed my body until it was pink and I repeated the process until I was satisfied
When I stepped out of the shower, I grabbed my towel and began to dry myself off, being careful with my bandages, then I took out my blow dryer and began to dry my hair, making sure it was completely dry, once I was done with that, I took out my make-up bag and began to do my make-up, applying my foundation, mascara, eyeliner and finally my red lipstick
Once I was happy with my make-up, I went to my bedroom and looked for something to wear on the date, I picked out a grey blouse and a pair of black skinny jeans with some black flats.
As I got dressed, someone knocked on the door "Who is it?"
"It's me Avery" it was Dick
"Come on in, I'm almost done getting dressed"
As Dick walked inside, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets, he looked good enough to eat, he was dressed in black dress pants and a dark blue dress shirt.
"Where do you plan on taking me dressed like that, hmm?" I asked, cleaning up the bit of drool that had formed at the side of my mouth
"That's a surprise"
"A surprise, huh?" I smiled and put the finishing touches on my outfit, putting on the heart pendant necklace my dad had given to me for my sixteenth birthday, and some Victoria's Secret perfume, I then finally brushed my hair
"I'm ready to go"
"Don't you wanna take the wheelchair, just in case?" asked Dick
"No, I wanna walk around, as much as I enjoy you taking me everywhere, I'm getting annoyed being stuck in that contraption"
"Alright, let's go, do you need help walking to the elevator at least?"
"Yeah"
Dick then gently took my hand then led me out of my room and towards the elevator
When we got to the first floor, I leaned into Dick as he helped me walk to the garage, where he kept his car, a black Hummer H3
"C'mon Dickie, tell me where you're taking me, I wanna know already" I groaned, my face pouting up
"No, it's a surprise, Avery, what kind of surprise would it be if I told you?" said Dick as he helped me get into the passenger side of the car
"No fair, Grayson"
Dick just laughed as he got into the driver's seat
"You have your seatbelt on, Ava?"
"Check" I answered
"Alright, let's get going"
I was quite nervous as Dick drove to our 'surprise' location, the girly girl in me wanted to go to someplace super fancy, but the tomboy in me just wanted to get a burger at Gotham Burgers
"Avery, close your eyes"
"What, why?" I asked
"Because we're almost there, and like I said, I want to surprise you, please do it"
"Oh, alright" I closed my eyes for the last few minutes of the drive
I felt Dick slow down the car, then make a complete stop
"We're here, but I need for you to keep your eyes closed, Avery, okay?"
"I hear ya" I heard Dick taking off his seatbelt then opening his door, then he came by to get me out of the car as well
"Here, just wait a sec, I'm gonna lock the doors"
"Okay" and within seconds, I heard Dick's voice leading me to our destination
"I hope you'll like where we'll be eating, it was short notice after all"
"Dick, I don't care where we eat, just as long as we're together" I reassured him, kissing his hand
"Alright, well, open your eyes, Avery"
I opened my eyes and I almost started crying, we were in front of Gotham's most famous Italian high-class restaurant, La Dolce Vita
Despite my injury, I threw my arms around Dick and kissed him time and time again
"H-how did you know this was my favorite restaurant?" I asked as I unwrapped myself from him
"I remember coming here with you for your 15th birthday when Selina was still with Bruce"
"Dickie, I can't believe you remembered, thank you" I said giving him another hug
"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't remember?" I smiled as he called himself my boyfriend
"Come on, let's go inside, I'm starving" when we arrived inside, we were greeted by the Maitre' D
"Table for 2 under 'Grayson'"
The Maitre'D looked at his list and smiled at us "Please, Mr. Grayson, right this way" We followed the Maitre'D to our table, hands entwined, and my heart bursting with happiness
"Here is your table, sir, your waiter will be here momentarily, enjoy yourselves, kids" said the Maitre'D, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes
"Thank you, sir" I replied
Dick then took out a chair for me and I sat down "what a gentleman you are" I teased, making Dick blush, I smiled and just made small talk with him while we waited for our waiter to arrive
"So, Dick, have you heard from Jason and the boys?"
"I got a text from Jason while I was getting dressed, he said he wanted to hang out with them and catch up with them, so he said that after the zoo, he wanted to take them to the amusement park"
"That's good, so, they'll be gone for a while?" I asked
"Yeah they might be home a bit late, maybe a bit after 8 or 9"
"Good, because last night we didn't go on patrol and we can't miss patrol a second time"
"'We' aren't gonna go on patrol tonight, you're staying in tonight, and so am I"
"But why, my wound is getting better!"
"Avery, yes, your wound is getting better, but you're still not cleared up 100%, besides, I'll ask Jason to patrol with Tim and Damian"
"Dick, are you sure you should be asking Jason to go on patrol with the boys?"
"Why are you asking this, Avery?"
"Because, we're not sure if Jason even wants to be partners with us still, one thing is for him to be forgiven as a member of the family, but it's a whole different story when our suits are on, we're not even sure he wants to remain in the manor"
"You know he can come and go as he pleases, he's not a child Ava"
"That's not what I meant, Richard, what I mean is, what worries me is that after Jason has taken out the boys for a day out on the town, he's gonna leave them back at the manor and won't see them again, Damian could take it, but it's Tim that worries, before this whole mess started, Tim was really close to Jason, and if he leaves again, think about how that's gonna leave him, Dickie, I don't think he can take much more disappointment"
"Avery, listen to me, when Jason came back yesterday, he didn't come back to be a temporary fixture, he wants to be in our lives completely now, if he wants to remain with The Outlaws, that's fine, that's his decision to make, but yesterday he made sure that he would be with us for good now"
"I really hope that you're right, Dickie, because something deep inside is telling me that you're wrong"
Dick took my hand and lightly kissed it "Avery, any doubts that you have of Jason, you can forget about 'em, Jason made the mistake of leaving us once, I don't think he'd be dumb enough to make the same mistake twice"
"I hope you're right, Dickie" I sighed
"Enough of Jason, let's enjoy the rest of our day, alright?" Dick remarked, smiling at me
"Okay"
Our waiter finally arrived and we gave him our drink orders, and then we gave him our food orders
"I'll take the Chicken Alfredo, please" I said, giving the waiter his menu back
"And I'll take the Perciatelli all'Amatriciana"
"I'll bring your orders in just a bit, excuse me"
Before the waiter left, he left us a bowl of garlic bread as appetizers
"So, Avery, I wanted to ask you something?"
"Go ahead, what's on your mind, Boy Wonder?"
"I wanted to ask if you wanted to be, you know, would you like to be my girl-"
"Yes, Richard John Grayson, I'd be honored to be your girlfriend"
"Thank you" said Dick
"You can thank me later tonight" I said, winking at him
Dick turned bright red "I'm only teasing, Dickie, I know you're not ready, and neither am I"
"You're such a tease, Avery"
"You know you like it" I replied
"I'll never tell" Dick remarked
My playful banter immediately turned serious when I all my thoughts went to my father.
"But on a serious matter, I'm worried a bit about dad, I remember him telling me that he was on a Justice League assignment, but he never said how long that would take, he's been gone for quite some time now, do you think something happened to him?"
"I know what you mean, he would always let us know where he was, or he would at least tell Alfred to notify us that he was ok"
"Can you please call Alfred and ask? I just wanna know if dad's okay"
"Yeah sure" Dick then took out his phone and called the manor
"Hey Alfred, it's Dick, say, have you heard anything from dad, last I heard from him was when he told us he would be gone on a JLA assignment, and we haven't heard from him these past few days, me and Avery wanted to know if he's called you or anything, is he okay?"
As Dick talked with Alfred, I was trying not to freak out and assume the worst, after all, my father's The Batman, he wouldn't let anything hurt him or let something stop him from getting what he wanted
"Okay, thank you, Alfred, see you later tonight"
"What did he say, Dick?"
"No need to worry, Avery, dad's fine, turns out that he already finished his assignment with the Justice League, but Cassandra called him from China to help her take down the local drug lords that are taking over Beijing, so he flew to China right away, Alfred says he should be back in Gotham City in a couple of weeks, tops"
"Oh thank God, I was starting to freak out a bit" I said, relieved that my father wasn't in harm's way
"You shouldn't even be worried in the first place, Avery, or do you forget that your father's The Dark Knight?"
"Haha, very funny"
Our food and beverages had finally arrived, we thanked our waiter and began to eat, as we ate, we talked about one thing or the other, just enjoying each other's company, and having a good time altogether.
"This pasta I ate was delicious, I would ask for more, but I get full so easily" said Dick as he patted his stomach, I laughed at him
"Are we gonna order dessert?" I asked
"Nope"
"What do you mean 'nope'?" I wondered
"When we're done here, we'll be going on the second half of our date"
"You planned our entire date out, didn't you?"
"Maybe"
Dick then called the waiter for the check, and moments later, the waiter appeared with our check
I waited while Dick payed the bill and tipped the waiter, he got up from his chair and then walked towards me and helped me out of my chair and led me out of the restaurant
"Wait until you see where I'm taking you next"
I turned to him, confused "Where are you taking me? Come on Dickie, tell me, I can't handle another surprise, please tell me with a cherry on top"
Dick sighed and finally gave in
"Alright, since you're so desperate to know, there's a special screening of 'The Exorcist' at the theatre and I bought us tickets to go see it"
"No way!"
"Yep, so let's get going, I wanna get front row seats"
I wrapped my arms around Dick's waist as we walked to his car, excited for the next part of our date
A/N: To the guest who reviewed my story, I appreciate your criticism, I wanted to make Jason a bit ooc in this story, but he won't always be like that, in future chapters, his badass side will come out, and regarding the relationship between Dick and Avery escalating quickly, I personally thought it was at a good pace, but thank you for pointing it out
I appreciate all the reviews that are coming in (good and bad lol), they mean a lot to me, I send all of you lots of love and hugs your way, thank you, from the bottom of my heart :)