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Dick practically vibrated in the helicopter seat as he watched the scenery fly by. A few minutes ago, he had gotten a frantic call from Matron.
Apparently, a few of the agents had decided to check out a building in the middle of the desert they had found that had ninjas coming in and out of it. They had learned it belonged to Ra’s al Ghul, which had intrigued a few of the agents. They had decided to sneak into the hideout. Unfortunately, they weren’t responding to their coms 5 minutes after entering the building.
He and Tiger were frantically racing to get to the hideout in hopes of rescuing the agents. Matron had wanted to send more agents, but he had talked her out of it. He knew Ra’s well enough that he might be able to strike a deal with him; provided of course the agents were still alive. He also wasn’t stupid to come without backup, which was why Tiger was coming with him
“Who is Ra’s al Ghul exactly? I’ve vaguely heard about him,” Tiger warily asked, and Dick was grateful for the distraction.
Dick took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, before explaining. “Ra’s al Ghul is a genocidal eco-terrorist and the leader of the League of Assassins. He’s been using the Lazarus Pits, which can heal injuries and grant immortality, in order to live for hundreds of years. He’s a dangerous opponent, due to the centuries he’s had to refine his skills. Batman and the Justice League have fought against him many times. He’s someone that should be avoided at all costs.”
He could sense the surprise coming from Tiger. “So, the agents are probably after the Lazarus Pits then, to see if it can be duplicated.”
Dick nodded in agreement. “Unfortunately, Ra’s is highly possessive of the pits. Even if they manage to get inside, they’ll most likely be killed before they can get within 100 feet of the pits.”
They both exchanged grimaces at the idea. “Just stay quiet and let me do the talking. If we get captured, don’t struggle or fight. The last thing we need to do is to piss off Ra’s even further.”
Tiger immediately nodded in agreement. Luckily, after a few more minutes the helicopter touched down in the middle of the desert next to a warehouse. Dick used his Hypnos to ‘change’ into his Nightwing costume, before disabling the spiral face option. He needed Ra’s to immediately recognize him.
The moment he and Tiger stepped out of the helicopter; they were surrounded by multiple ninjas. Dick held his hands up in the surrender sign. “We need to see Ra’s al Ghul immediately,” he hastily got out in Arabic.
The ninjas exchanged glances before he and Tiger were grabbed, their hands bound behind their backs. They were brought into the warehouse, and within a few minutes, they were in the throne room.
Dick felt a surge of panic to see the missing agents tied up on their knees, swords pressed against their necks. Ra’s was sitting on his throne, a furious air about him. Thank god, it appeared they had gotten here just in time.
The moment they entered the room, Ra’s looked up at them, and he looked calculating. They were brought a few feet away from the bound agents, and the ninjas kept their hold on them.
“Richard, this is a surprise. What brings you to my neck of the woods?” Ra’s got up from his throne and approached him and Tiger.
“I’m going to have to request that you release the prisoners.” Dick nervously got out. At least Ra’s didn’t look as angry now.
Ra’s stopped in front of him, putting a hand under his chin to tilt his face up so he was looking the immortal in the eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re working for Spyral?”
“I am.” Dick wondered how much the agents had said.
Ra’s eyes narrowed, and his grin on his chin tightened. “Tell me why shouldn’t I kill them? They tried to steal my pits and killed many of my ninjas in the process.”
Dick winced, that would make things much harder for them. If they all managed to survive this, he had a feeling Tiger would give them a severe tongue lashing, judging by the barely repressed anger radiating off of Tiger.
Dick nervously swallowed, before reluctantly speaking. “If you let them all leave alive, I’ll owe you a favor once I go back to being Nightwing.” He’d rather chew on glass than owe Ra’s al Ghul a favor, but they didn’t exactly have much of a choice right now.
Ra’s pursed his lips, seeming thoughtful. After a few minutes, he nodded. “How about we discuss this somewhere more comfortable?”
Dick let out the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, sagging in relief. He glanced over at Tiger, who seemed absolutely horrified. He gave Tiger a reassuring smile, it was just a favor. It wasn’t like he was agreeing to have sex with the immortal. That was Tim’s job, he wryly thought.
Dick watched as a rag was pressed over Tiger’s mouth and nose, who quickly slumped unconscious in the ninja’s grips. He turned his attention to the captured agents, whose heads were quickly smashed against the grounds. Dick mentally winced, they’d wake up with awful headaches; not that they didn’t deserve them. Tiger and the agents were dragged away until it was just him, Ra’s, and the two ninjas holding him in the room.
Dick blinked in surprise when the ropes tying his hands together were cut. The ninjas moved away from his sides, and Dick lightly rubbed his wrists. Dick bit back a grimace when Ra’s firm hand gripped his shoulder before he was guided towards a small side room.
A few seconds later, he was sitting in an extremely comfy chair with a cup of tea. Dick wasn’t worried about the tea; he knew Ra’s wouldn’t poison him. He immediately took a sip and had to bite back a moan. God, when was the last time he’d been able to get a quality cup of tea? Granted, it didn’t taste as good as Alfred’s, but that was a given. He ignored the smirk on Ra’s face, which was pretty much one of the immortal’s default expressions.
“About the favor?” Ra’s asked after a few, once he had finished his own cup of tea.
Dick mentally sighed. “Nothing unreasonable like betraying the heroes or anything too illegal.”
Ra’s let out a small hum, looking thoughtful. “Would an acceptable usage be that you can’t do anything to stop me the next time I enact one of my plans in Gotham?”
Dick pursed his lips, before nodding. “I can’t prevent anyone else from not taking action, but I would step aside if you called in the favor.”
Ra’s seemed pleased to hear that. Oh boy, what is he planning now, Dick warily thought. Then again, when isn’t Ra’s planning things?
“Who is your partner?” Ra’s curiously asked.
“His name is Tiger.” A faint grin curled Dick’s face. “You know, I wasn’t sure how I was going to live without your grandson telling me that I’m an idiot multiple times a day. Luckily for me, Tiger was more than willing to pick up the mantle.”
Ra’s chuckled, looking amused to hear that. Dick let out a tired noise when he felt very sleepy. He tried to quickly finish off the tea, not wanting to waste it. He didn’t know when he’d get a chance to drink such nice tea again. The cup was taken from his hands when it nearly slid out of his suddenly numb fingers. “My apologies, Richard. The tea is merely laced with a sedative,” Ra’s said in a distant, echoey voice.
“Mkay,” Dick slurred as his vision suddenly swam before everything went black.
Dick slowly woke up on one of the more uncomfortable beds he had ever slept on. He burrowed into the sheets before everything came rushing back to him. Saving the agents from Ra’s al Ghul and owing him a favor.
He opened his eyes and noticed that Tiger was asleep in the chair next to the bed. His eyes softened at the sight. Dick got into a sitting position, before lightly poking Tiger’s shoulder.
Tiger immediately snapped awake, before turning towards him. “Good, you’re up,” he gruffly got out, and Dick could see an edge of concern in his eyes.
“Yeah, I was just given a sedative after we finished discussing the terms of the favor that I now owe Ra’s,” Dick calmly said.
Tiger shifted, looking awkward now. “I... ah... did you agree to... did you fuck Ra’s?” Tiger got out in a rush, looking mortified.
Dick blinked in surprise. “What?”
There was a faint blush on Tiger’s face, along with an odd gleam in his eyes. “It’s just... he was gripping your chin, and his comment of going ‘somewhere more comfortable’...”
Dick easily realized what it had looked like between him and Ra’s before he burst into laughter. “No, Ra’s is Red Robin’s sugar daddy.”
“What?” Tiger looked utterly bewildered now.
Dick giggled in amusement. “Red Robin is the one who’s having sex with Ra’s. I’ve fucked other villains though.”
“You have?” There was an angry gleam in Tiger’s eyes, and Dick had to bite back a laugh. Was Tiger jealous?
“Didn’t your parents ever tell you? If you want something, you should go after it before it’s too late,” Dick cooed softly. He desperately hoped Tiger would pick up the hint.
The moment he had first laid eyes on Tiger, he had immediately known that he wanted to fuck the spy. Ok, so he had a thing for morally ambiguous older men (aka villains). So what? He could be attracted to worse. Besides, it wasn’t like he was having sex with Damian’s grandfather (cough Tim cough).
Dick let out a surprised noise when there was a pair of lips on his. Oh my god, Tiger was kissing him! He eagerly kissed back, clinging on to the front of Tiger’s outfit. It was an absolutely amazing kiss, which thrilled him. Eventually, they had to break for air, and by that time Tiger was straddling him on the bed.
“You’re an idiot.” However, the insult was softened by the rare smile on Tiger’s face.
Dick grinned, before kissing Tiger again. Suddenly, owing Ra’s a favor wasn’t so bad after all. He was going to have to thank Ra’s later on for being the most unlikely wingman ever.
A bit later, Dick was curled up in Tiger’s arms. “This is just a one-time thing.” Tiger gruffly got out once they managed to catch their breaths.
Dick felt a surge of disappointment to hear that. However, the blow was softened by the fact that he had finally gotten a chance to have sex with Tiger. “Ok,” he groggily muttered into Tiger’s neck, a happy smile on his lips.
Rough hands lightly stroked his hair, before Tiger pulled the sheets up over them. Dick snuggled up closer to Tiger, before quickly falling asleep.