Chapter Text
By the time the dance came around, Dick was a frantic mess.
“Okay, I’ve showered, hair’s done, need to do my makeup, got my dress, my shoes…” he muttered to himself. “MY SHOES. STEPH, HAVE YOU SEEN-”
“Right here, baby bird,” she smirked, and Dick’s shoulders relaxed.
“Thanks Steph.”
Before she could respond, the door pushed open and Damian came in.
Steph groaned. “Damian, this is a girls-only zone.” He raised an eyebrow. “Plus Dickie, of course.”
“I just wanted to say a few words to Richard.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes but nodded that he could stay.
“How are you feeling about tonight?” There was once a time when Damian would never even consider asking about something as trivial as feelings. However, he’d learned that Dick felt a great many things and those feelings often dictated his actions. If he knew what Dick was feeling, he was in a much better position to anticipate his decisions and act accordingly.
“I’m…” Dick paused for a moment to take stock of his feelings. “Excited for the dance. Nervous that-” He’d been about to say nervous that this might just be another day for Jason, that maybe he didn’t view tonight the same way Dick did. But Dick didn't really want to reveal his overwhelming feelings about Jason to his eldest brother, even if Damian was a very good listener. Damian had always been a bit protective over him, and Dick wasn't sure how he'd handle the thought of him dating. Knowing Damian, he wouldn't handle it well. “Just nervous.”
Damian nodded. “It is normal to feel apprehension and nerves on an important day. Remember, we will all be at the Kanes' charity event this evening and will not be home until late. However, do not hesitate to call if you need anything. An excuse to leave would be highly welcome.”
Dick giggled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“And Richard,” Damian gave him a serious look, “if Todd tried anything, if he attempts to… to seduce you or corrupt your virtue-“
“Dami!” Dick gasped.
“-remember the self-defense combination I taught you. Todd has a weak spot in his guard on the left side. And- and call me and I’ll-”
Damian's speech was cut off as Stephanie bounced a nail file off his forehead.
“Stop being such a killjoy, god. Just get your hug and get out, I have to do Dick’s makeup.” Truthfully, Dick had forgotten Stephanie was even there until that moment.
“… Fine.” Damian opened his arms, and Dick fell right into them, luxuriating in the warmth and security that was a Damian Hug. There was nowhere he felt safer than wrapped up in a hug from his sturdy, grumpy oldest brother.
“Thank you Dami.” Dick smiled up at him. “Have fun at your charity event. I’ll give you all the details in the morning.”
“I hope not all the details,” Damian grouched to hide his embarrassment as Dick kissed his cheek.
“I want all the details,” Steph wiggled her eyebrows. “Now out, you boor. Unless you want your makeup done too.”
Damian left very quickly after that.
…
When Dick came downstairs to meet Jason, there was no fanfare, no music or applause. Just Jason standing in his black suit, staring up at his favorite person in the entire world, at a loss for words.
“What do you think?” Dick did a little twirl.
“You look…” Jason couldn’t stop staring at the way Dick sparkled under the lights, the way the silvery eyeshadow made his blue eyes pop. He wasn’t sure what lipgloss Dick was wearing, but he decided it was too good at its job, because the younger boy’s lips looked shiny and plump and perfectly kissable. “Beautiful. You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” he smiled shyly, and Jason couldn’t help stepping closer.
“Seriously, you look just… wow. That dress is perfect for you, and your shoes make it look like you’re walking on air.”
Dick laughed and did a little hop, showing off the clear platform heels he had on. “Aren’t they wonderful? Steph helped me pick them out.”
“That doesn’t surprise me one bit. Now come on, we don’t want to be late.”
Dick snorted a laugh. It was so typical of Jason to be stressed about timing for a come-and-go event. “The dance doesn’t start for another hour!”
“I’m not talking about the dance,” he smirked at Dick’s confused expression. “I planned a little surprise for beforehand.”
“A surprise?” The expression on Dick’s face made all the time he spent discussing a game plan with Cass and driving around town to gather the necessary supplies worth it.
Dick started bouncing on his toes, so Jason grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the car.
“That’s right, a surprise. But we need to get going so we're not late.”
“Can I have a hint?”
“Nope.”
Dick pouted (just like Jason knew he would) and did his best attempt at puppy eyes. “Please?”
Unfortunately for Dick, Jason liked his pouty face just as much as his puppy eyes. “Sorry Dickie, you’re just gonna have to be patient.”
Dick huffed. “Spoilsport.”
…
They pulled into the lookout right as the sun began setting over the horizon, lighting the whole scene up in pinks and golds.
Jason couldn’t have timed it better.
“Where did you find this place?” Dick gaped at the view overlooking Gotham bay. “You’ve been holding out on me.”
Jason laughed and shook his head. “I promise I haven’t, I just learned about it last week. Cass, on the other hand, has known for years.” Then his expression softened. “She actually helped me come up with all of this.”
“All of what?” Dick went to stand up as Jason got out of the car, but he held up his hand.
“Stay right there.”
Then he rolled down the top of the convertible so that they could feel the air off the water and grabbed a small cooler out of the trunk. When he got back into his seat, he handed Dick the container.
“I brought us a little picnic.”
Dick opened the lid and gasped. The inside was filled with fruits and pastries and little iced cakes of all sorts. He even saw petit fours from his favorite bakery.
“Oh my god Jason, look at this! How are we going to eat it all?”
Jason grinned. “Are you saying you aren’t up for the challenge?”
“Oh you’re on!”
They spent the next half hour feasting on all the desserts, and Jason pretended to be annoyed whenever Dick made him try a bite of everything he ate because it was ‘just so good,’ but he secretly loved the way Dick watched so intently as he tasted each snack, awaiting the proper oohs and ahhs.
The air blowing from the bay was a little cooler than ideal for Dick’s state of dress, but they just used that as an excuse to sit a little closer, arms pressed together and faces too close to be proper. Dick’s head eventually settled on Jason’s shoulder like it belonged there, and they watched the waves buffet against the bottom of the lookout. Jason could think of no better way to spend the evening than watching the glowing sky fade into a deep, inky indigo.
“Do we have to go back?” Dick whispered. “We could stay here forever if you want to, just you and me.”
“We could,” Jason said, “though I think it might get a little chilly in the winters.” Dick laughed, and Jason pretended the way the younger boy’s breath brushed his neck didn’t send little goosebumps down his skin. “I thought you wanted to go to the dance?”
“Not really. Just wanted to be with you.”
“Oh.” The confession made something warm grow in Jason’s chest. He knew that his relationship with Dick was different than with the rest of the family, and he knew the way he felt about the younger boy. He just didn’t know what Dick felt about him. Sometimes he thought he could see it in his eyes, that maybe they wanted the same thing. But then the moment would pass, and he was left reeling again. “I like being with you too.”
“Jason,” Dick breathed out, turning to face him. His eyes were half-lidded, hair wind-swept from the breeze. The faded moonlight softened his edges, and Jason had never been more in love with him. “Will you kiss me?”
Somehow, the question didn’t surprise him at all.
Instead of answering, Jason leaned forward and connected their lips. He’d thought he would be nervous or hesitant, afraid that it would be awkward or ruin their relationship. It wasn’t any of that. No, it was as easy as anything.
It was as easy as joking with Dick at the dinner table, laughing and pretending their feet weren’t tangled together where no one could see. It was as easy as pulling the younger boy closer to his chest when he slipped into his bed at night, holding him to stave off the nightmares. It was as easy as breathing, and Jason wondered at the fact that they’d never done this before.
“Jason,” Dick whispered. “Your hands. I want your hands.”
Jason reached over and pulled Dick into his lap, then held his hands out. “Where do you want them?”
Dick interwove their fingers together on either side of his head and pushed forward, straddling Jason’s lap and resuming the kiss.
Dick’s mouth tasted like strawberries and icing, and Jason couldn’t get enough. It was intoxicating, having everything he ever wanted right there in his lap, pressing little kisses all over his face like he was something valuable.
“We probably should have done this ages ago, shouldn’t we?” Jason said.
Dick laughed, and the sound was full and bright. Jason wanted to bottle it up and keep it in his pocket— a little treasure just for him. “I think my brain might have melted out my ears if we did this ages ago. It took all my courage just to ask you to the dance.”
“Oh shit, the dance! If we leave now, we can still-”
Dick placed a finger over his mouth. “Screw the dance. You’re going to sit right here and kiss me again.”
“Oh I am, am I?” Jason raised an eyebrow.
“Yup,” Dick grinned. Unfortunately, he was right.
Jason kissed him again, this time letting his hands rove over Dick’s back, his hair, his legs. When they reached the bottom of Dick’s dress, he paused.
“You can if you want to,” Dick murmured against his lips.
This was an important conversation, so Jason pulled back.
“We don’t need to rush into anything.” He made sure he was looking into Dick’s eyes when he said it. He didn’t want Dick to agree to something in the heat of the moment and regret it later. There was no harm in going slow. “We can just kiss for now, then make decisions as we go. How does that sound?”
Dick’s cheeks were a deep red at the topic of conversation, but he nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Good. Then I’m going to kiss you again.”
Dick wrapped his arms around Jason’s neck, hands still connected, and placed one quick peck on his lips. “Less talking, more kissing me again.”
Jason was happy to oblige.
…
The whole drive back to the manor, Dick kept looking at him with a goofy smile on his face. Jason could barely focus on the road, with Dick looking at him like that. And every time they caught a red light, Dick viewed it as the perfect excuse to snag Jason by the collar and kiss him stupid. By the time they got home, Jason was a complete mess.
It was really, really fortunate that the family was at the Kane gala that evening because Jason wasn’t sure he could have stopped himself from pressing Dick against the side of the car and kissing the moans right out of his mouth even if he wanted to.
After coming up for a breath, he placed his hands underneath the other boy’s thighs and hoisted him into his arms, marching the squealing boy through the doorway and into the manor.
They encountered a problem at the stairs.
“Shit.”
Dick giggled. “You gonna carry me all the way up there?”
“Uhhh…”
He snorted again, then hopped out of the hold. “My feet aren’t broken, I can walk.”
When they finally made it to Jason’s room, he wasn’t quite sure what to do. Thankfully Dick already had that covered.
“Let’s change into comfier clothes. My feet are killing me.”
Jason frowned. He’d forgotten Dick was wearing heels. “Let me help you. Here, sit.”
Dick sat on the bed, and Jason knelt down beside him. The clear heels had been digging a line into Dick’s feet, so he lifted the first foot up, undid the buckle, and slid it off with gentle hands before starting on the next one.
Dick looked down at him with bated breath, wondering how he ever got so lucky.
“There we go,” Jason murmured, smoothing over the irritated spot on the other foot with his thumb. “That’s better.”
Somehow, even though he felt weak-kneed at the display, Dick found the strength to stand back up so he could put on some of Jason’s clothes. He loved being dwarfed by the soft, worn fabric. Tim liked to joke that he wore more of Jason’s clothes than his own. It wasn’t exactly untrue.
Dick pulled off his dress, already rummaging through Jason’s drawers for a shirt, but whirled around when he heard a choked cry.
“Um.”
He searched Jason’s face to find out what had caused such a strange reaction, then felt his cheeks heat up as he realized Jason’s eyes were glued to his waist. Oh. He seemed to have forgotten one tiny, significant aspect to his attire that Stephanie helped him pick out.
He was wearing a black lacy thong, and when he’d turned around and stripped off his dress, Jason had gotten to see just how tiny the fabric really was.
Instead of crawling under a rock to hide like he wanted to, he took a deep breath and tried to remember what Stephanie had told him. It’s all about confidence, Dickie. You have to believe that you look sexy and act accordingly. Then you get to count how many shades of red Jason’s face turns and how many flies he catches when his jaw hangs open.
“Oh, this?” He fingered the waistband like it was no big thing. “Picked it out to match the dress. Do you like it?”
“Jesus fucking christ, Dickie.” Jason’s eyes were now following the path of Dick’s hand as he continued fiddling with the fabric. “You’re trying to kill me.”
“I’m not trying to kill you, silly. If I killed you, then you’d never be able to take it off me.”
Jason’s eyes just about bugged out of his head, and Dick internally smiled. Hook, line, and sinker. He had one last trick up his sleeve, so he pretended to remember the dress crumpled on the floor.
“Oh, let me put this away.”
Dick turned his back on Jason and reached down to scoop the dress up, making sure he arched his back and spread his legs just a little bit apart.
After depositing the dress in the hamper, he faced Jason again to find him beet red, mouth slightly open.
“Where do you keep your boxers?” He asked, knowing full well where Jason kept all his clothes.
“Fuck that,” the older boy growled. “You’re keeping that on, I’m putting my hands all over you, sugar.” Then his voice grew a little bit softer, as if embarrassed by his outburst. “If, um, if that’s okay with you.”
Dick’s eyes fluttered at the words, and he finally allowed himself to smile. “Promises promises.”
When they finally fell asleep that night, Dick was dressed in one of Jason’s shirts and tucked close to his chest. Their relationship might have been little different than it was before, but at the same time, nothing much had changed.
Because it had always been them against the world, and as they lay there, pressed up against each other, that was still true.
When the morning came, they would tease each other while brushing their teeth, and Dick would successfully convince Jason to stay in bed just a little bit longer. They’d dodge questions about the dance from their family over breakfast and make eye contact when no one else was looking, equal parts embarrassed and pleased that they’d fooled everyone, or so they thought. They would help Alfred in the garden that afternoon, and Dick would sneak away to text Donna everything that had happened the night before. She, of course, was not surprised at all. And as nighttime fell again, they’d read the next chapter of The Secret Garden, curled up next to each other and perfectly, achingly content.
No, nothing much had changed at all.