Jason sat on Dick's lap, in an arm chair, in his bedroom, kissing the older boy. Dick had his arms around Jason's waist and Jason's were around Dick's neck. The teen leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the older boy's lips. Dick swiped his tongue across Jason's lips, and the teen opened his mouth for him. He moaned as Dick deepened the kiss and ran a hand through the older boy's dark locks.
They were supposed to have been helping each other study for their upcoming finals, but that only lasted for about ten minutes before they decided to do…something else. Their text books and notes were left scattered on Dick's desk, and the window seat Jason had made himself comfortable on.
"God you're such a good kisser," Jason commented, his forehead pressed against Dick's. Dick let out a low chuckle, pressing another kiss to Jason's lips. He let his hands wander up and down Jason's sides, settling on his hips and allowing his thumbs to brush the skin just beneath Jason's shirt.
"I've had lots of practice," Dick murmured. Jason's lips tugged into a grin as he ground himself against Dick, pulling a groan out of the older boy. He found that he rather enjoyed teasing Dick, in more ways than one, and it was sort of his way of getting back at him for all of the embarrassing pet names.
"Not too much, I hope," Jason replied. Dick's lips slowly curled into a grin of his own and stole another kiss. Their kissing quickly got heated once again, with Jason's hands sliding up underneath the other's baby blue t-shirt. Dick moaned softly into the kiss and Jason could feel the other's muscles contracting and shuddering underneath his hands as the ghosted over the warm, soft flesh of Dick's chest and stomach.
Since that incident at the theater (which neither of them regretted), they'd continued…exploring each other's bodies, but never took it too far. They were quite content with where their relationship was at, at the moment, and Dick didn't want to "go all the way" just yet. They'd both definitely talked about it, but in the end, they decided to wait until Jason had turned eighteen. That was, if their relationship lasted that long. It had already been going for a year and a half, but the future wasn't set in stone; they both knew that. Things could change.
"Ahem." Jason practically threw himself off of Dick and fell onto the floor, while Dick straightened up suddenly, the both of them blushing. They'd been so into the kiss, that they'd both let their guard down and didn't hear Alfred coming. Bruce and Kate would probably have been mildly disappointed.
"My apologies for interrupting, but I have prepared lunch for the both of you."
"Th-thanks Alfred," Jason murmured, managing a nervous smile. It was no secret that they were dating, but being caught making out was a different thing entirely. Dick pushed himself up off of the arm chair and held out a hand to Jason to help the teen up.
"Thanks Alfred," Dick replied, tugging Jason to his feet as he flashed the old man a smile. Alfred's lips canted upward slightly into a knowing smirk, but he offered no other words and retreated from the room. Dick and Jason exchanged a look, their faces painted pink. Jason rubbed the back of his neck nervously, and then hooked a thumb over his shoulder toward their stuff.
"I'll meet you down there. I'll, uh…go grab our sh-er-stuff," Jason replied. Dick gave an amused snort at Jason's correction. The younger boy seemed to catch on quickly to Alfred's distaste of foul language. After the first week or so of stopping by, he quickly learned that Alfred could hear everything, everywhere. Dick often joked that Alfred we a metahuman, and his power was the ability to hear swear words from a mile away.
"Sure thing, babe," Dick replied as he flashed a smirk to Jason. The pet names always made the younger teen blush. Jason had him pegged though; he knew Dick did it on purpose, because Dick 'thought he was cute when he blushed'. Dick retreated from the room and left Jason to collect their books and notes.
Once he had everything, Jason made his way out of the bedroom and down the hallway. It was an odd transition, from the colorful and cheerful bedroom that was Dick Grayson's, with posters dotting the walls, including a "Flying Grayson's" poster above his bed, to a long and seemingly empty hallway. There was a sense of loneliness, even sadness in the halls of the manor, somehow. He didn't want to say it felt cold, because there was still some warmth in these halls; Alfred was always kind to him, and Dick just always seemed so cheerful and upbeat. It made the place feel a bit more alive.
The manor itself was big, which along with just its few residents, lent it a feeling of emptiness, of loneliness. It was a beautiful place to be sure, with care and love seemingly built into every nook and cranny of the place. It had a certain elegance about it, and often times, he found himself trying to imagine what the place looked like back in the day, before…Crime Alley. He found himself likening it to the Beast's Castle, from Beauty and the Beast, an observation which he would never share out loud. Especially not with Dick, because he'd never let him, 'Mister I'm-Not-A-Big-Fan-Of-Disney' as the older boy jokingly called him, live it down.
Jason couldn't really picture himself living in such a place, having grown accustomed to the loft he lived with Kate in. The rooms were spacious and felt more inviting than those of Wayne Manor, but he supposed that was more due to the size of the place, being easier to manage than a whole mansion.
Jason made his way into the kitchen; Alfred was doing the dishes at the sink while Dick sat at the kitchen island on a bar stool with a black leather cushion. Jason hopped up on the stool beside him, setting their books and notes down on the black granite counter top.
Jason glanced around the kitchen a bit; it was probably his favorite room in the manor and not just because he enjoyed cooking. The entire manor had sort of a classic vibe to it, especially the kitchen. It had cherry oak cabinets, and black granite counter tops. There was a dishwasher, silver, at one end of the kitchen, with a black refrigerator with an ice and water dispenser on the other end. A black stove and oven sat in the middle with a black microwave suspended above it, and a stainless steel sink beside it. He'd even noted a pantry underneath the island, on the opposite side of the bar stools. It had pretty much everything a kitchen could possibly need.
"Thanks Alfred," Jason said cheerily, grabbing his plate which consisted of a bacon cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, pickles. It came with a side of deep fried potato wedges, and a glass of cola. Dick munched away happily on his lunch, and glanced up at Alfred.
"You know, Bruce had me on a pretty strict diet," he said with amusement. Alfred gave a curt nod.
"Indeed he did. But what Master Bruce does not know, won't hurt him," Alfred replied, flashing a slight smirk.
"You're the best, Alf," Jason added with a grin as he bit into his burger and made an exaggerated 'mmm' sound. "I don't regret training to become Lark, but-" Jason started, sipping his cola "-but I miss delicious, unhealthy food." Dick laughed as he nodded in agreement, wolfing down his cheeseburger.
"Right? I do too. It's nice to pig out once in a while."
"Indeed. While it is nice to have healthy, well balanced meals, some times it's nice to indulge one's self," Alfred replied as he turned from the counter with a plate of his own. The two teens flashed a surprise look as he joined them at the kitchen island with the same meal, albeit with a fork and knife.
Jason grinned over at Dick and then slid the older boy's text book and notes over to him.
"Anywho, maybe we should do a bit more studying?" Jason suggested. Dick snickered in amusement and playfully nudged the younger male with his elbow.
"Nerd," he teased. Jason shoved him back.
"Hey, I know your grades are up there too, y'know. Mathlete," Jason teased back. The two teens got to studying while they ate, like they were supposed to have done in the first place. Alfred quietly cleaned up when they were all finished, though he occasionally noted the small touches and smiles they gave each other when they thought he wasn't looking. It was sweet and endearing.
"So," Dick began, shutting his book when he decided he was finished studying for the day "are you going to that auction?" Dick arched an eyebrow as he glanced over at Jason. It took Jason a couple of seconds to figure out what Dick meant. In the span of three seconds, his face went from confusion, to realization, to mild anger.
"No. Kate has me benched," Jason replied, glancing over at Dick "because-"
"You beat the stuffing out of the Daniel Lewis guy?" Dick asked. Jason frowned and turned his attention back to his text book.
"You heard about that?" Jason asked.
"Yeah. Did you hear he died shortly after that?" Dick asked carefully. Jason looked up at him with an angry expression, which quickly shifted to a neutral one.
"Yeah. Along with everyone else we busted at that warehouse. It's weird," Jason replied, turning in his seat to face Dick "because there weren't any signs that it was different than any other trafficking ring in Gotham. Obviously, someone wanted these guys dead, but why?"
A silence settled over the room as Jason stared down at a pencil he was twiddling with in his lap, and Dick stared at his phone, having fished it out of his pocket.
"Does what happened…change anything?" Jason asked carefully. Dick looked over at Jason, taking a moment to realize what he was asking.
"You mean between us? Nah. Everyone has outbursts," Dick replied, reaching out and enlacing his fingers with Jason's. "When we tracked down Tony Zucco, the guy who killed my parents, I-" Dick started, staring down at the floor. "I beat him, roughed him up pretty good, but I didn't kill him. I mean...I wanted to...but I...didn't." The two teens pulled apart again when they heard foot steps coming their way. The two of them turned to see Bruce coming into the kitchen.
The man paused for a moment, his gaze lingering on Jason. Jason flinched a bit under Bruce's gaze, then froze like a deer caught in the headlights. He felt like Bruce was trying to read his damn soul or something. The man didn't seem too bothered by him, but he sometimes got the sense that he wasn't too fond of him being Dick's boyfriend? Dick had pretty much told him right off the bat that it'd be impossible to hide their relationship from the man, so he'd known they were together from day one.
"Dick. Jason," Bruce acknowledged.
"Hey Bruce, what's up?" Dick asked, turning in his chair. Bruce gestured in the direction of where the entrance to the cave was, despite Jason sitting right there.
"I've got a lead on where that Auction is going to be. Meet me down in the cave and gear up. We'll be leaving soon," he said. Dick gave a nod in reply and packed his books up, heading up the stairs to his bedroom to out them away. That left Bruce and Jason alone.
"Jason," Bruce started, crossing his arms over his chest. There was a silence in the room as Jason and Bruce just stared at each other. It felt like an eternity, was really, it was only a few moments. The man gave a nod and left Jason alone. Jason breathed a sigh of relief, then shut his book, tucked away his notes, and made his way upstairs toward Dick's bedroom. Just as he got to the door, his phone went off; it was a text message from Kate.
"What's up, Jay?" Dick asked, stopping in front of him.
"Huh. I gotta go. Good timing, though, right?" Jason replied, flashing the older boy a grin. He leaned forward and stole a kiss from Dick.
"I'll see you later," Dick called after him, cupping Jason's jaw and stopping him for a moment so he could kiss him again. Jason smiled a bit, then made his way into Dick's bedroom even as the older boy left. He packed his books into his backpack, then made his way down the stairs, and toward the front door.
"Bye Alfred! We're still good for cooking on Saturday afternoon, right? When Kate and I join you guys for dinner?" Jason called, stopping at the front door and calling after Alfred as the man passed. Alfred stopped and turned toward the young man and flashed a smile.
"Indeed, Master Jason. I would welcome your help in the kitchen!" Alfred replied. Jason grinned and made his way out.
Jason whistled a tune to himself as he rode the elevator up the building and to the loft. He made his way inside when the elevator doors opened, and kicked his shoes off at the door. Still whistling to himself, Jason pulled off his black leather jacket and hung it up on a coat peg nearby, and dropped his bag beside the couch.
"Kate, I'm home!" Jason called, making his way through the living room, then into the kitchen. He kept his ear to the ground for a response while he grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and then moved toward the refrigerator to get some ice out of the ice dispenser, and some water. Kate came out of her bedroom, and into the kitchen, prompting Jason to turn to her. "What's up?" he asked, sipping his ice water and making himself comfortable at the island.
"I've decided I want you to come with me tonight," Kate said to him. Jason flashed a surprised look at the news. That wasn't what he was expecting. Honestly, he didn't really know what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that.
"Wait, you want me to come with you on this mission? But I thought I was benched? For…well…y'know," he asked with a confused look, shrugging his shoulders. Kate gave a nod and crossed her arms over her chest. She'd given this a lot of thought and talked about it with Dinah, too.
"You were…Dinah and I got to talking though, and frankly, who knows what could be awaiting us at this auction," Kate explained. "I've found precious little intel about this auction, save for where its being held. I don't like it, so I'd like to have someone I trust at my back."
"You trust me?" Jason asked quietly. Kate smiled and nodded.
"Of course I do. I know you're still a newbie in the field," she teased, prompting Jason to roll his eyes in spite of the smirk on his face "but I believe I've trained you well. And besides, if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have let you become Lark in the first place."
"Uh, thanks. That means a lot," Jason replied.
"So…are you in? Or are you out?"
"Oh I'm in! Definitely in! You can count on me, and I promise I won't explode like before," Jason told her. Kate gave a nod of approval, then moved toward where the hidden lift to the HQ was located.
"Good. We'll be heading out in a couple of hours. We're going to put a stop to this auction. Hopefully it'll be permanent. Now let's go suit up."