Prompt: Kaden and Lian go out on a date. Meanwhile, Roy and Jason hang out like old times.
It's A Date
Kaden sighed nervously as he paced back and forth in his bedroom. He finally worked up the courage to call Lian and ask her out on a date, and holy shit, she said yes! As it turned out, Roy was planning on dropping by Gotham for a few days to visit with Jason. They hadn't really hung out together in years. And Lian tagged along for their date. The only other person he'd ever been nervous around was Zachary, and he didn't really have the courage to ask him out.
He'd been crushing in Lian since he was thirteen and it had taken him three years to work up the courage to ask her on a date. Well, to be completely honest, part of that was the looming threat that Roy would possibly kill him and dump him in a ditch somewhere where no one would find the body. Yeah. Roy was a bit protective of his daughter.
Kaden finally came out of his room and heaved a sigh, raking a hand through his hair, hand brushing against the small pieces of metal in his ear. His papa had tried to convince him to get rid of his earrings and his white streak, but he liked them. He did, however, take the man's advice and dress a bit nicer than he usually would. His jeans didn't have any rips in them, and he even wore a nice black t-shirt.
Roy and his daughter were staying at one of his dad's old safe houses, this one in particular having been fixed up a bit for just such an occasion. As The Arkham Knight, he didn't have much use for safe houses any more.
"Look at that Jaybird! Baby bird's all dressed up and ready to ask out Lian," Dick called, wrapping an arm around Kaden's shoulders and leading him to the living room. Jason was sitting on the couch watching a UFC match rather intently. But as soon as he caught a glimpse of his son all dressed up, he flashed a devilish grin.
"That's my boy! You look good!" Jason said with a prideful grin, pushing himself up to his feet. He retreated from the living room and returned a minute later with a black leather jacket, tossing it to Kaden. Kaden caught it and looked over it before looking up at his father with a quirked eyebrow. Dick chuckled in amusement and snatched the jacket from Kaden and putting it on the teen.
"That's your dad's favorite jacket. He wore it on our first date," Dick said smoothly, moving toward the man in questing and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. Jason rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, it was kind of cheesy, taking the circus performer to the carnival. Kind of sounds like a bad joke," Jason said with a laugh. Dick snorted and shoved the man playfully "oh shut up! It was nice! You know I love the carnival!" Jason grinned and leaned in close, whispering something in Dick's ear. The man blushed crimson and then Jason began planting kisses all along his neck.
"Ugh, gross!" Kaden commented, shielding his eyes. Dick and Jason chuckled in amusement as their eyes fell on their son. Dick snickered and turned his attention back on his husband.
"Mmm, Jason, do that again," he said, loud enough to Kaden to hear. Jason snickered and started peppering the man;s neck with kisses.
"Ew, gross! I'm out!" Kaden called, raising his hands in defeat and retreating from the room. Kaden pulled open the front door and gave a wave to his parents.
"I'll see you guys later. Maybe. Wish me luck," he called.
"Good luck baby bird!" Dick called after the teen. As Kaden turned to leave, Roy showed up at the apartment.
"Oh hey kid," Roy said with a smirk, ruffling Kaden's hair. Kaden grinned when he saw Roy, Roy being one of his favorite people. Well, except now, with the lingering threat of being buried alive over his head.
"Make my little girl happy, you hear? She's at the apartment waiting for you," Roy said smoothly. Kaden quirked an eyebrow.
"How did she-you know what, never mind," he answered, heading out of the building.
"Dick, Jason, I brought the party!" Roy called, lifting up a twelve pack of beer and a box of buffalo wings. Jason grinned widely and hugged his best friend.
"Roy, it's about time you got your ass over here to hang! What's it been, like, ten fucking years you asshole?" Jason asked with a laugh. Roy chuckled in amusement and placed the food and beer down on the table. Dick, for his part, made his way into the bedroom and Roy watched as he went.
"Charity Gala?" Roy asked. Jason nodded and cracked open a beer as UFC came back on the tv.
"Yep. You're late by the way. Missed the first match," Jason said smoothly, glancing over at Roy out of the corner of his eye. Dick came out a minute later dressed in a black tuxedo with a red tie.
"Well, I'll catch you later. I promised Damian I wouldn't let him deal with this alone. I feel bad for him. These things are like a viper pit." Dick said with a slight laugh. Roy snorted.
"At least the viper's wont size you up and gossip about you behind your back," Roy called, earning a laugh from Dick.
"True enough. Catch you two later! Have fun! Love you Jaybird!" Dick called. Jason waved goodbye to the man.
"Love you too, Dickie! Try not to embarrass yourself!"
"Fuck you!"
"Maybe later!"
Kaden stood in front the door to the apartment Roy and Lian were staying in, fidgeting nervously, face burning up. He took a deep breath and then knocked. Silence. Moments later he could hear the sound of footsteps and the door swung open. Kaden had a hard time not staring because she was beautiful; dressed in a red blouse with a black shirt underneath and dark jeans. Her hair was left flowing down over hair shoulders, and Kaden inevitably ended up staring.
"Kaden?" she asked sweetly, with a smile that made his face burn. He shook his head a bit and smiled back, mentally kicking himself for being an idiot.
"Uh, hey Lian! I'm, uh...here for our date!" Kaden said casually. Lian giggled and retreated into the apartment to grab her purse, also red, naturally. Kaden quirked an eyebrow as a thought came to mind; his papa wore blue a lot, his dad wore red, Roy wore red, and now Lian. Was it some sort of secret vigilante thing to wear your alias' colors?
"So, where are we going?" Lian asked, closing the door behind her. Kaden thought for a minute and began to question whether a movie was good enough for a date with Lian. The movies was where he'd taken all his past girlfriends and boyfriends, but he didn't quite feel the same about them as he did Lian.
"Well, I thought maybe we could-" he paused for a moment, his last chance to think of something else, something better. And then it clicked: You know I love the carnival! Kaden smiled and said "maybe we could go to the carnival?" Lian giggled a bit and gave a nod.
"Sure, sounds fun," she replied. Kaden smiled and led her back outside, then glanced back, grinning like the devil. His dad let him borrow the Lamborghini, provided he brought it back intact. But Kaden had finished driver's ed a week ago, so what was the worst that could happen?
Jason and Roy had really dug into the buffalo wings and were each on their third beer, cheering for their own fighters. Roy had suggested making a betting game out of it, and he was already down one-hundred dollars.
"C'mon, go, go, go!" Jason cheered, halfway up off the couch. Roy was shaking his head, arm with the beer in hand flinging through the air.
"No, no! The left, the left! Get him!" Roy shouted. The two men were practically hovering over the table, watching intently when...
"Yes!" Jason shouted, throwing his arms in the air. Roy groaned and face palmed, falling back on the couch in defeat. Jason grinned back at Roy before he sat back down.
"Four in a row, dude. Fork it over," Jason said, holding out his hand. Roy grumbled and dug through his wallet, slapping another hundred dollars into Jason's hand.
"Your luck has to run out sometime," Roy replied. Jason snorted.
"You really wanna keep going? You'll end up broke at this rate," Jason teased.
"Well, I'm kinda drunk, so-"
"Nah, I'm cutting you off," Jason replied with a laugh. The two of them were quiet for a time when the next match started, Jason took a sip fro his beer and glanced over at Roy.
"So you don't have any problem with Kaden dating Lian?" he asked. Roy glanced over at Jason and shrugged, sipping his beer. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
"Nah. I know you Jaybird, and I know you raised your boy right. I'm not worried about him hurting my little girl," Roy said smoothly. Jason chuckled in amusement and the two of them raised their beers to each other.
"To our kids."
"They turned out great."
Kaden and Lian spent a good portion of the night going on rides and playing games, the both of them having a blast. Kaden had to make a mental note to thank his papa for the idea, even if he hadn't realized he'd given it to him. He glanced down at his watch; it was almost eleven., He sighed and looked around for one last ride to go on.
"Hey, how about the Ferris wheel?" he asked. Lian looked toward it, then at him and he gave a shrug and said "can't go to a carnival without going on a ferris wheel." Lian smiled at him and grabbed his hand, tugging him along.
"Sure, let's go!" she said cheerily. Kaden blushed a bit when he looked down at their joined hands, and before they knew it, they were climbing onto the ride. The Ferris Wheel carried them up and then it stopped and Kaden couldn't help but to think on every cliche romance movie ever made, and chuckled to himself. He glanced over at Lian who was staring at the view of the harbor, the city lights shimmering off of the water. It'd been a great night, a great date, so only one thing remained.
When she glanced back at him, he was leaning toward her, and she flinched back. Kaden, face burning in embarrassment, leaned away from her,
"What're you doing?" she asked in a calm tone. Kaden's jaw dropped and then his mouth started opening and closing, trying to find words, but failing miserably. Then her expression lit up in realization.
"Oh...ooooh. Did you think this was a date?" she asked. And Kaden's expression dropped.
"I...well, yeah," he admitted, face burning. Lian nodded, flashing him an apologetic smile.
"Well, see, I thought we were just hanging out as friends," Lian said calmly. Kaden frowned a bit, but his expression quickly softened.
"But..I asked you if you wanted to go out with me" Kaden explained. Lian smiled and shook her head.
"No, you asked if 'you wanted to hang out with me'" Lian replied. Kaden's jaw dropped. Oh shit. She misunderstood him, and...
"Aw man," he groaned, covering his face with his hands, completely and utterly embarrassed.
"I'm such an idiot," he grumbled to himself. Lian laughed and that didn't make it any better. When the Ferris Wheel came down and the two of them got off, Kaden wanted to phase through the ground and disappear. But then he felt Lian's hand on his shoulder so he glanced over in her direction.
"Look, Kaden, I had a great time, and you're sweet guy, but-" Kaden flinched at the 'but'. So she wasn't interested in him at all? But he didn't say anything and just let her continue "I'm just...you're not my type. And I kind of have my eye on someone else. I'm sorry. It was my fault, I must have misunderstood you." Kaden nodded, head hanging a little in disappointment. Him and his damn, dirty habit of mumbling when he was nervous! Idiot!
And then she kissed his cheek, and his face burned red again.
"You'll find the right girl, or guy. You'll see. But thank you for tonight. I had a great time," she said sweetly. Kaden couldn't stay upset for too long though, because tonight was fun.
"Yeah, me too. And can we never talk about this again? Like, ever?" he asked, and Lian laughed at him, patting him on the back. She gave a nod.
"Or we could just leave out the 'date' part. Spare your tiny, bruised ego," she teased.
"Ow, Lian, ow."
Kaden sighed as he came through the door to the apartment, both Roy and his dad passed out on the couch. He snickered at the sight because frankly it was hilarious; his dad was spread eagle on the couch, one leg and one arm dangling off the couch with a beer bottle still in his hand, and Roy was passed out on top of him with his legs dangling off the arm of the couch, and his face right next to Jason's crotch. Oh yeah, they'd both gotten hammered.
And at that precise moment, Dick came through the door with his tie undone and his jacket open, looking exhausted.
"Hey champ, how was the date?" Dick asked with a yawn, stretching his arms a bit., Kaden frowned and shook his head.
"Turns out she thought I asked her if I wanted to hang out, instead of go out with her. She wasn't interested in me anyway," he said flatly, hanging his head a little.
"Aw, sorry bud. Sounds rough," Dick replied, patting the teen's shoulders.
"Not as rough as dad's morning is going to be," Kaden said with a grin, hooking a thumb over his shoulder in the man's direction. Dick looked and a mischievous grin spread across his face as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
"Oh, that's just perfect!"
Author's Note: Eh, sorry, this didn't turn out as good as I hoped. And I won't be exploring a relationship between Lian and Kaden, because, as it turns out, I suck at writing female characters. x_x I mean, I knew that beforehand, and I even went over the story a dozen times, trying to improve Lian's character, but meh. I tried my best, and she's not very interesting. always had trouble with female characters. No idea why. And especially the fashion part, lol.