Chapter Text
This was different. You were nervous, but not like you had been for the first fake date. You also weren't nervous about it going wrong, just that it was, well, a different situation.
The correct word is excited, but you couldn't let those butterflies get past you.
"I really don't get it," Natasha said as she sat on the chair in your room. "You guys have been on four dates already; why stress now?"
You groaned loudly as you paced around your room, worried you weren't wearing the right thing or you would embarrass yourself. "This is different, Nat," You told her. "Those were fake. We were pretending. This one is real."
Natasha laughed as she took a drink out of her mug. "I don't know how much pretending you two were doing. So good at pretending, you tricked yourselves."
"You're the worst," You covered your eyes as you stopped pacing. Finally, you took a deep breath and reminded yourself that everything was going to be okay and you had nothing to worry about. Though you didn't entirely believe those statements, you had to push through. You still had a few hours before you were meeting Dick at the park, but you couldn't get this non-ruse date off your mind.
Before you could fully start freaking out, there was a knock at your bedroom door. "Come in," You called, and your dad's face peaked in.
"Everything going alright in here?" He asked.
"So far, so good," You told him, and Natasha shook her head to answer him, too.
"She's freaking out, but we're working on it."
Tony looked at you with furrowed eyebrows, waiting to see if you would say anything more. When you didn't, he gave one nod and spoke again. "Well, I'm heading to Gotham not too long after you leave to meet with Bruce, since this business deal has ended differently," He said. "Nothing too big, just to chat. Plus, we have a few other things to talk about."
"Have fun," You told him.
"Oh, I'll sure try," He laughed. "I'll see you guys later. Have a good time today, kiddo," He said. He was genuine, too, like he was really happy for you about turning these fake dates into something real. Or maybe he was just happy he wouldn't have to deal with you and Dick arguing at every party and press event you go to.
To be honest, you were happy about that part, too. You knew, before long, he'd go back to wishing it was arguing instead of kissing. So you might as well enjoy it while it lasts.
---
Dick was shaking the entire drive to the park. You both agreed on a park near the Avengers Compound, so it was a little out of the way, but not entirely hidden. He left a half-hour earlier than he needed to because he was so nervous, but he wasn't sure why. You guys had been hanging out for weeks at this point; he has no reason to be worried. But he couldn't seem to calm himself down as he thought about how excited he was for this real date with you. He took many deep breaths and reminded himself that it's okay to be nervous; it shows you care.
You and Natasha drove back to the Avengers Compound much earlier so you could drop her off and get the picnic basket together. Yesterday you went shopping for the perfect food for a picnic, and she watched as you pulled out all of the food and counted an endless amount of times to make sure everything was there.
Peter stopped in, a bit confused about what was going on, and once he realized the ruse turned into something more, he decided not to pry. He said he'd hear about it all on gossip shows, and he didn't want to stress you out anymore. A few other Avengers walked through and asked what was so different about this date, which you couldn't really answer without outing yourself. Natasha saved your butt on a few of those answers.
A few hours later, you were getting set up in the park not too far away from The Compound. Dick had been parked away from the rest of the cars a half hour before you got there, still trying to calm himself down. He didn't want to seem too nervous, even though he knew he had nothing to worry about. You guys had been texting all week and even talking over video calls, so it's not like this is the first time speaking since deciding not to break up.
Once it got closer to the time you set for the date, Dick got out of his car and walked over to the grass to find you. A smile instantly grew on his face when he saw you, and he quickly made his way over.
As soon as Dick got over to you, Tony landed in Gotham.
He knew it was going to be a fairly quick trip, so he simply flew over with his armor, making it for a quick entrance into Wayne Manor. As he dove down to fly just above the small river, he flew into a hard-to-find cave without wasting any time. He heard the click that access was granted, and as soon as he landed inside, he took a long look around.
"Ah, Bruce, it's been so long since I've been in the Cave!" Tony admired as he stepped out of the Iron Man suit.
"It has," Bruce, who was not yet in his Batman suit, said as he hid some things on the large computers and spun to see him. "If this were any other meeting, we would not be down here. But you know that." Bruce said as he gestured to another chair for Tony to sit down.
Once he did, Tony looked towards the computer to see Bruce pull up a few files. "Guess we didn't need this whole backup plan after all," Bruce said as he typed a few things to make it invalid.
"No, and I told you we didn't need it. My plan worked better than I could have ever imagined," Tony said, overly proud of himself.
Bruce let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair, somewhat glaring at Tony. "Setting the kids up like this was a bad idea. Things could have ended badly," Bruce said.
"But they didn't!" Tony reminded him. "Though, her finding out about your nighttime activities was not in the plan, but hey, it all worked out for the best."
"Yes, that was unexpected. But knowing you, I shouldn't be surprised," Bruce rolled his eyes.
"I wasn't expecting Dick to tell her Jason is alive; that was a curveball," Tony said. "How is he, anyway?"
Bruce didn't react, which wasn't unusual. "I was not either, but it clearly pushed their relationship a bit," Bruce said. "He's fine."
"Good to hear," Tony said. He knew Bruce wouldn't go into detail about anything relating to Jason, but it never hurts to ask. Besides, Tony would just end up checking up on Red Hood when he got back to New York. "Well, I'm just glad that they finally got their heads out of their asses. I was tired of the bickering," Tony admitted.
"You're terrible," Bruce scoffed.
"I know."
Dick wiped his hands on his pants as he walked up to you, who had not seen him yet. "Hey," He called out, hoping not to scare you.
You quickly turned your head and stood up when you saw Dick. "Hey!" You smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'm about done setting up. How was your drive?" You asked.
"Good, nothing too crazy. What can I help with?" He asked. You told him there wasn't much left besides deciding what he wanted to eat and grabbed out the paper plates. It wasn't too intense of a meal, just something easy and enjoyable for you to eat while you enjoyed the warm night of watching the sunset. There were chips, some vegetables and fruits, mini sub sandwiches, rolls, and brownies and cookies for dessert. There was definitely more than enough food for the two of you, but leftovers were always nice to have.
You two were enjoying each other's company as you ate, both of you still a bit nervous. "This is stupid," You said, and Dick looked a bit worried when he heard you. "Not like that. I mean, it's stupid that we're so worried about this date. I know it's different than the others, but is it really that different?" You asked, thinking back to what Natasha told you earlier.
Dick set his plate down and swallowed his food. He looked up like he was thinking, for a moment. "No," He said, then elaborated. "At least it doesn't feel that different from our last two. The first two were a bit weird, but I think our relationship evolved on the last two without us realizing it," He said. "You're right; there's nothing to worry about. Hell, I'm happy just sitting here with you and enjoying the outdoors."
"One of the calmest nights we've had, huh? I mean, we argued a bit on the first date; I found out about your life on the second, you ran out on me on the third, and everything that happened on the last. It's a nice change," You marveled.
"It is," Dick replied. "And I'm happy with it. A nice, normal night together."
"Don't jinx it," You warned him.
Dick laughed and picked his plate back up to continue eating. He asked you about what Tony thought of the whole thing, and he told you Bruce didn't seem to care, nor was he surprised. There wasn't much to catch up on in life, per se, since you and Dick have been texting and calling a lot more, so you knew about his recent Nightwing runs, and he knew about your Avengers Compound adventures.
After you finished eating, Dick helped you pack the food back up into the picnic basket and pulled out his phone to play some music quietly as you sat together and enjoyed the sunset. It wasn't too long after you finished eating that the sun went down, and once it got dark, the bugs came out. Not wanting to get attacked by bugs, you mentioned watching a movie at the Compound, and while he was a little wary of going there, he wanted to spend time with you.
Since you were in separate cars, you could call Natasha on your way there and let her know the plan. "Nat, Dick, and I are coming back to the Compound so we can watch a movie. Please don't let the others weird him out," You begged her.
"No promises!" She said, and you groaned once again as she ended the call. Luckily, you weren't too far away, so hopefully, they couldn't pull anything together in time. Hopefully, they'd just say a quick hello and be on their way.
When you two parked and started walking to the entrance, you stopped before you could see the windows. "I'm warning you; they might be a little weird. Natasha's there, and she knew about the ruse, but the others didn't, so they might ask questions," You warned Dick.
"I've got some crazy family, too; I'm not worried," He promised you, and you were sure he would regret that. Walking hand in hand, you opened the door to The Compound, and Steve was standing near the entrance to greet you.
"I was wondering when you'd be back!" Steve celebrated with a big smile. "And I was wondering when you were going to bring him to meet us. It is a pleasure to meet you; I'm Steve Rogers," Steve said and stuck his hand out for Dick to shake.
Quickly, Dick shook Steve's hand, a little lost for words. "The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Rogers," Dick said.
Steve patted his back as you tried to pull Dick away from him. "Thanks for the greeting, Steve; we're going to watch a movie!"
"Have fun," He called at you as you made your way down the hallway. "But not too much fun!"
You sucked in a breath when you heard that, and Dick chuckled softly. "He's a little excited," Dick pointed out.
"Yeah, a bit. He's mad I didn't tell him we were dating, and he had to hear about it from TV," You explained. You almost made it to the living room when Wanda appeared out of nowhere.
"It is about time you introduce me. I'm still upset you didn't tell me about him," Wanda crossed her arms as she stood in front of you and Dick.
You nodded, admitting that you should have told her. "I know, and I'm sorry. Wanda, this is Dick Grayson. Dick, this is Wanda Maximoff," You quickly introduced.
Dick shook her hand, too, and she stared at him. "You better not be looking into his mind," You warned her.
Wanda offered a warm smile. "Just checking what he thinks about you. Don't worry, it's good," She said, dropped his hand, and waved as she walked down the hall. "Pick a good movie."
"She read my mind?" Dick whispered, a bit worried about what she would find.
"She would have said something if she came across Nightwing," You reassured him. "She knows it's a bit invasive; she wouldn't have dug too deep."
Luckily, there weren't too many people at The Compound tonight, which made it a bit easier for you. Natasha popped in to say her hellos before you picked out a movie, and she left quickly, too. She'd find another way to annoy you, so she'd let you have this one. Finally, without any more interruptions, you two settled on Tangled to watch, as it's a loveable movie, and you both had seen it before, so you didn't have to focus one hundred percent.
All that nervousness and worrying caught up to both of you because before the movie was even halfway over, you were fast asleep. Your head on Dick's side, it was like this was already a natural thing.
Natasha noticed you two when she walked past to get to the kitchen. She stopped to evaluate the situation, then went to find a blanket or two when she noticed you didn't have one. When she made her way back, holding two blankets, she saw Tony standing at the entrance of the room, too.
"Your plan worked," She complimented him.
"Don't they always?" He replied, not looking away from the couch.
Natasha shook her head with a small laugh, and she walked around the couch. She threw the blankets over you, and Tony helped straighten them out. Tony grabbed the remote off the couch and shut the TV off so you could sleep in peace, and he was satisfied with seeing you happy.
"Off the record, it was a good plan," Natasha said as she started to leave the room. "I could tell after that first date it was going to work."
Tony took in a deep breath, finally looking away from you to look at Natasha. "Me too."