Chapter Text
Jason was going to kill the replacement.
He had vowed to do it before and had given it his best efforts as well, but the kid was more resilient then he cared to admit. But this time? This time he was dead. He didn't care that he was supposedly helping the Bats take down an up-and-coming gang with deep connections to the drug and weapons rings. He didn't care that he had apparently been their only hope. He should have said no to those fucking puppy dog eyes, but when the replacement had the nerve to pair them with the fact that he had a broken leg and neither Bruce nor Damian (or literally anyone else apparently) could go on this mission, he caved. And what a stupid, godawful thing he had gotten himself into because of it.
"Jay?"
The current source of his immediate agony? None other than Richard fucking Grayson. Jason had tried ignoring him, but considering how they were stuck in a car together for the better part of three hours and Dick never seemed to stop talking, he was running out of luck.
"What."
Then again, no one said he had to be pleasant during said communication.
Dick let out a sigh, eyes focused on the road ahead as he drove. "Look, I know this wasn't exactly your first choice for an undercover mission-"
"That's putting it mildly."
"But," the elder continued, sending Jason a slight glare. "I really do appreciate you helping out, little wing. I would've brought Tim with me, but with his leg broken and all..."
"Yeah, yeah," Jason grumbled. "I got it. Still, why wouldn't you ask Kori or someone?"
Their mission was relatively simple, all things considered. The new gang seemed to be selling and buying mostly in Gotham, but their leads pointed them to a town a few hours away that supposedly acted as their main base (Jason had to give them some credit - not everyone was smart enough to live outside of Gotham while working inside the city, thus making them a bit harder to find). Dick had been going undercover for a few months now, acting as a buyer and building up a fair amount of trust with the resident gang members until he had been able to get information on the boss. That was what had allowed him to get an invitation to the asshole's annual party, which, really made no sense (because honestly, what kind of gang leader throws a fucking house party for his buyers and sellers? This one, apparently).
And that's where Jason comes in. See, Dick needed a plus one to come with him - it would be strange of him not to have some form of arm candy with him when everyone else brought someone, and backup was welcome in these kinds of situations. The first choice had been Tim, as per usual. The replacement could make a hell of a disguise and did a decent acting job - even Jason could (grudgingly) admit that. But then the little shit had gotten his leg broken on patrol, and that narrowed Dickhead's choices down to a rather small number.
Demon spawn was too young, Steph and Cass were in Hong Kong on their own mission, and Bruce needed to patrol the city while Tim was benched. And while there could have been more options (like Kori), the Bats preferred to keep undercover missions within their small circle. That wasn't to say that they didn't get outside help on larger missions, but for Gotham? Well, a good summary would be "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". So yeah. Jason got dragged into this shit-show, and now has to act completely infatuated with the idiot that was Dick Grayson. Or his undercover persona, he supposed. But still.
"Jason," Dick sighed. "You know why. Kori isn't..." The man paused for a moment, apparently trying to find the correct words to describe the absolute disaster that had been their last undercover mission. Jason (and Tim, no matter what the little bastard said) thought it was hilarious and had probably laughed a little too long when Dick came back and told them what happened. But yeah, point taken.
"Yeah, we all remember that incident Dickhead. But wasn't there literally anyone else you could have asked? Like, anyone?"
Jason had to bite back a snicker when he saw Dick run a hand through his hair, telling him that the frustration of having the present company for the mission was becoming mutual. "Jay, please," the other sighed. And okay, fine. He could tone it down. A bit.
"Look," Jason started. "All I'm sayin' is that I'm not exactly what people would expect for your arm candy. They're probably imagining a drop dead gorgeous babe, and despite my girlish figure, I don't think I qualify for their standards." Not to mention rich assholes that liked to imagine themselves as part of a mob rather than a gang (he'd show them what a real mob boss looked like) probably didn't have the highest opinions of gay couples. They tended to be thick-headed, small-minded idiots that thought themselves to be superior to everyone else and that sleeping with a dude made you less manly. Jason could say from experience that yes, people thought that, and he could also say that most of those idiots tended to leave meetings with the Red Hood in body bags or with more holes in their body then they had showed up with.
"What are you talking about?" Dick answered, confusion coating his words. And that only confused Jason, because wasn't it obvious?
"Uh," he quirked an eyebrow. "I'm talking about the fact that literally anyone else would have been better for this?"
Dick had the nerve to snort, the asshole. "Jason," he said with an easy grin - the one that kind of made him want to punch those pearly whites because no one had the right to be that pretty. "It'll be fine. They won't say anything because of how important of a buyer I am," let it never be said that a Wayne's money couldn't buy everything, "and they probably won't even think it because they'll be distracted by how hot you are."
Jason opened his mouth to reply, because while he knew he wasn't ugly and that people tended to stare out of appreciation more than anything else, that wouldn't stop questions from being asked. But then Dick's words fully sunk in, and what?
"I'm sorry," a grin slowly spread onto Jason's lips. "Could you repeat that?"
Dick huffed, a light flush adorning his cheeks. "Shut up Jay, you know what I mean."
"No no," Jason turned in his seat so he could see the other better. "I wanna hear about how distracting my good looks are and how they're gonna help us finish the mission."
"You're hot," Dick repeated, "but then you go and ruin it when you open your mouth."
Jason's grin could only be described as feral at this point. "Right back at'cha, Dickhead."
Dick rolled his eyes as Jason settled back into his seat with a smug look in his eyes to match his grin. A brief thought of how maybe this wouldn't be too bad dared to cross his mind, but then he squashed it because there was a very, very, very big reason as to why this was a terrible idea. Jason could complain all day about being pulled away from his own cases and how he didn't want to spend any more time than necessary with the golden child, but his main objection boiled down to the main reason why he wanted to kill the replacement.
Jason had an...issue. As a teen there was no way to avoid just how attractive Dick was, and he didn't have much trouble admitting that the man had taken up a good portion of his more pleasurable thoughts (the same could be said for a vast majority of, well, everyone). To some people, he'd even admit he'd use to like the elder even if he hadn't been around too often. But it was different now. Different because he had thought he was past that stupid crush - thought the pit made sure it was dead. But Dick hadn't stopped in his attempts to bring him 'back to the family' (his success was debatable), and now said crush (as Tim had oh-so helpfully labeled it, despite Jason's harshest protests that ended in reluctant acceptance) was back and the replacement never failed to make sure that Jason knew that he knew. A part of him wondered if the fucker had gotten his leg broken on purpose or was faking it, but at this point it didn't matter. Jason's...feelings were about to become glaringly obvious when his inability to keep his eyes off of Dick at the party became a little too genuine.
When the kisses they would have to share for appearances became longer because he didn't want them to end.
Fuck.
Jason usually had good control over his emotions and actions now-a-days (unless they involved Bruce, because Bruce would never fail to piss him off no matter what was happening), but this was going to be a test. Because now he was allowed to touch, he was allowed to look, but for a very limited amount of time and only in certain areas. Talk about an exercise in self-control.
"...and I really think this could be a good opportunity for us to get back into the swing of things, y'know?" No, Jason did not know, because he had apparently gotten lost in his thoughts as Dick talked. Again.
"Yeah, sure," he said instead, able to take what he thought was a very good and accurate guess of what the golden boy had been talking about. Dick probably thought of this as a bonding opportunity, and this time Jason was kind of inclined to agree. Only in a slightly different way that involved little Jason and his right hand more then anything.
"It'll be great little wing," Dick said, flashing his stupidly bright smile at him.
"Oh yeah," Jason drawled, resting his chin on his hand as he looked out the window. "Couldn't think of anything else I'd rather do."