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Alfred´s word was law. It was an unwritten rule everyone at Wayne manor´s just knew. And if he suggested something, you had to do it.
No questions.
He knew better than you could ever know.
So when Alfred gave Dick two theater tickets, he knew he didn´t have much of a choice. But he still tried to tell him that he didn´t ´like the theater, Alfie!´.
He really didn´t.
Dick was just not the ´intellectual kind of guy´ that went to stuff like the theater. As the son of Bruce Wayne he sometimes had to go there, of course, but he had rather went to the cinema. He loved movies, had always preferred them over books.
Why waste time reading a book for hours when you could just watch the movie? He had made the mistake of asking Jason that question once and thank god, he had asked it after sex because according to the look of disgust on Jason´s face, he wouldn´t have gotten laid afterwards.
Yeah, he didn´t like the theater.
Alfred had insisted on it though. Something about ´taking a night off´ and ´spending it with someone special´. Dick didn´t understand his plan but he would never ever question Alfie´s wisdom, so he thanked him and took the tickets.
The question was, who should he take with him? His first thought was Barbara, but even though they were on good terms now, he didn´t want to ruin it. It was a miracle that their relationship was as good as it was at the moment despite all the shit he put her through. He wouldn´t risk that by asking her to go to the theater with him because it would involuntarily be a date and that would be awkward.
Then he thought of Kori, but he knew she would probably melt his face if he ever showed up at hers ever again, so she was not an option as well.
Tim was currently working on a case which meant he wouldn´t leave his desk until he was done.
Oh, Dick was pretty sure he had seen Stephanie before leaving the training room, maybe she would want to go. Dick went upstairs to her room. There was music coming from the inside, so she was definitely at the manor. He knocked at the door and waited until Steph told him to come in.
“Hey, Dick!” Stephanie was sitting at her desk in front of her laptop and was looking at what looked like a pancake recipe. She smiled at him and turned the music down a little.
“Hey, Steph! Are you busy tomorrow night?”, he asked and walked over to her.
“Just patrol, why are you asking?” She looked at him suspiciously.
“Alfie gave me these theater tickets and I thought you would maybe want to join me.”
“Hm...I´m more the movies-kind-of-girl to be honest.”
“Yeah me too! But Alfred suggested it so I have to.”
Steph nodded seriously. “Alfie´s word is law. What kind of play?”
Dick looked at the tickets because for some reason he had forgotten to check that. “It´s Shakespeare”, he sighed. Man, he was so not the Shakespeare guy.
“Shakespeare? Oh hell no! I wouldn´t even understand what the actors are saying! Gosh, I never got Jason´s obsession with this weirdo.”
Jason!
Of course! How did Dick not think of the guy that literally breathed classical literature?
Oh right, because Jason would never go there with him. Going to the theater together was one of the most date-like things you could possibly do and that was against one of their rule: No dates!
But Jason really liked Shakespeare…
“Do you think Jason would go there with me?”, he asked Stephanie.
She thought about it for a moment. “My first instinct would be ´no´ but Jason really really really likes Shakespeare. Just last weekend we were talking with Alfie about it.”
“Well I guess, I can at least ask, right? Worst case: He says no”, Dick said.
“Worst case: He says no and yeets you off the roof”, Steph corrected him and grinned.
Dick sighed frustrated. “I don´t know who else I could ask! And I am not going there alone. If I have to go through this hell, I´m taking someone with me at least.”
Stephanie laughed. “Pretty dark words for the golden child!”
Dick grinned and shrugged at her. “Better pray that Jason says yes because if he says no, I´m taking you with me.” Dick winked at her and left the room.
“No! Dick, that´s so unfair!”, he heard her whine before he closed the door behind him.
Dick was seventy percent sure Jason would say no. There was also a twenty nine percent chance, he would not answer at all and just leave. And then there was a one percent chance of him saying yes.
So the odds were pretty good actually.
Dick had been looking for Red Hood for an hour before he spotted him in an alley. He could have just texted him, he knew that but he wanted to make it look like a coincidence that they met. And then he would casually bring the theater up and vaguely suggest Jason to come with him.
Easy.
He landed in the alley a few meters behind Red Hood.
“Hey handsome, you come here often?”, he greeted him and walked towards him. Red Hood turned around and now Dick could see the man Hood had probably interrogated before he had interrupted them. The man looked at him confused and then back to Red Hood who knocked him out with a single punch which was honestly quite hot.
“You could have just texted me”, he answered, his voice filter not giving away if he was annoyed or not.
“Well, it was actually a coincidence we met”, Dick said and it sounded so unconvincing that even Dick didn´t believe it. And neither did Hood.
“Whatever”, he replied unconvinced and knelt down to pick something up from the man on the ground. “We should meet somewhere else. The asshole´s friends are on the way, they should be here any minute.”
Dick nodded and followed Hood to the rooftop where they usually met. Once they were facing each other, Jason took his helmet off. He was still wearing the domino mask though because he was that paranoid.
“Okay, I have like fifteen minutes until I have to be at the harbor. I don´t think there´s enough time for sex but I could suck you off”, Jason suggested. Dick smiled at him, slightly touched by the selfless offer.
“That´s a really nice offer but not why I´m here. I´m quite busy tonight as well. As I said, it was a coincidence we met.”
Jason raised an eyebrow at him. “A coincidence, huh?”, he asked.
“Yep.” Dick smiled cheerfully, not caring at all that Jason didn´t believe him. “But now that we are talking. Are you free tomorrow?” Wow, very smooth, Grayson.
“I could take some time off, yeah”, Jason said amused.
“Oh well, I totally forgot that I´m not free tomorrow!” Dick threw his arms up like it had just came to his mind and it was frustrating him.
“Okay?” Now Jason sounded confused which was understandable, Dick needed to get to the point.
“Yeah, there is this play I am going to”, he (not so) casually change the topic in the direction he wanted it to be.
“You are going to a play?”, Jason asked surprised.
“Yes, I am. Some really hot guy told me those could actually be quite nice.” Dick winked at him.
Jason laughed. “He sounds like a keeper.”
“Definitely.” Dick laughed too. “Alright, alright, it was Alfie´s idea and I am not too fond of going but well, it was Alfie´s idea.”
Jason nodded. “Then you don´t have a choice.”
“I know. But I have two tickets and no one to go with...” He tried to look as innocent as possible and he hated that Jason was an expert at showing no emotions on his face. But he hadn´t jumped off the roof yet, so it was going better than Dick had expected.
“Which play?”, he asked monotonously.
“Macbeth”, Dick quickly replied. Jason didn´t react but he was most likely weighing up his options.
“What time?”, he then asked and Dick couldn´t believe it.
“Uhm seven, I think.” Oh my god, was Jason about to say yes?!?!?
Hood nodded slowly. “I´ll pick you up at six, can´t miss the beginning if the traffic is bad.” And then he was gone.
Dick needed a few moments to process all of that until he broke out into a huge smile. Jason had agreed! Holy cow! He would go to the theater with Jason!
Oh no, he was going to the theater with Jason! Was that a date? What should he wear? Should he buy flowers? Would Jason appreciate flowers?!???!
Was Jason a flower guy?!?!?!?!?
(Next day)
Dick had not expected to be as nervous as he was five minutes before six o´clock. He didn´t even know why he was nervous. Jason was not a stranger and they had already slept together, so why was he nervous?!
Maybe because this was their first date. First dates always made him nervous.
But was it?! Was it a date?
Well, he did invite Jason to the theater and theaters are date-material, but was it?!?!
Dick checked himself in the mirror for the hundredth time in the last five minutes. He was wearing black suit pants, a blue shirt and a black suit jacket. Of course, he dressed up, he was going to the theater. He obviously didn´t make himself pretty for Jason.
No, no. For the theater.
God, he was so nervous. Dick looked at the time again. It was two minutes past six. What if Jason wouldn´t come? What if he forgot? Or worse, what if he changed his mind? What if he didn´t want to go there with Dick? What if he came to the conclusion that Dick was a needy pathetic asshole and he didn´t want to see him ever again?!
He could slowly feel panic rising in him. He felt so stupid. It had taken him hours to decide what to wear. He had changed outfits so, so many times, it was not even funny anymore. He had basically spent the whole afternoon in the bathroom!
And now Jason wouldn´t even show up. Because he didn´t care. Not about Dick.
Jason met him for sex. That was all he cared about. He didn´t have those stupid feelings Dick had started to feel.
Dick checked the time again. Eight past six. Jason wouldn´t come. Dick spent all day shaving absolutely everything for absolutely nothing. He felt like an idiot. Jason was the Red Hood. Why would the Red Hood care about something as pathetic as...there was a knock on his door.
´Oh my god, that´s Jason!´
Dick jumped to his feet and rushed to the door. He felt like a dog, excited that his owner came back home. He quickly checked himself in the mirror beside the door again before opening the door with a huge smile on his face. Jason looked so freaking hot. He wore a black suit jacket and a dark gray waistcoat over a red shirt. His hair were gelled back, well apart from the white streak. Dick wished they could just skip the theater and go straight to his bedroom where Jason could rail him.
But Jason was here because of the theater, Dick reminded himself. And Jason was not all dressed up for Dick (just like he did obviously not dress up for Jason!). He was dressed up for the theater or maybe for Shakespeare. God, Jason was only here because of Shakespeare.
´Well Shakespeare ain´t sucking his cock afterwards´, he thought snippy and oh god, was he actually jealous of a guy that died four hundred years ago??
“I´m sorry, I´m late. There is a new criminal organization in town and I had to take care of it.”
That was so fucking hot. Which was normal right? Everyone was fantasizing about getting fucked by a crime lord who said stuff like ´I had to take care of it´ from time to time?! Right?!?!
“Oh, it´s fine, don´t worry.” Dick smiled. “You look really hot by the way.” He grinned and stepped closer so he could put his hands on Jason´s chest. Jason grinned back, placing his hands on Dick´s hips.
“You don´t look so bad yourself.” Dick giggled and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. Jason kissed him back and it didn´t take long for his hands to wander down to Dick´s ass.
“Although I hate to stop this, we should go”, Jason said. “We can´t miss the beginning.”
“Mmm...yeah we should”, Dick answered, biting down on Jason´s lower lip and kissing him one last time before letting go of him. They went to Jason´s car and even though Dick loved Jason´s bike he was relieved that they were taking the car tonight because a motorcycle helmet would have totally ruined his hair. Jason opened the car door for him, which was a surprise and at the same time it was not surprising at all. They were listening to Queen during the twenty minute drive. Dick was singing enthusiastically while Jason was slightly drumming to the beat on the steering wheel. The car ride was too short in Dick´s opinion, he could have done it for days.
On their way to the entrance hall, Jason put his hand lightly on Dick´s lower back to softly guide him through the crowd. He could barely feel the touch but it was somehow really intimate. He wished Jason´s touch would be firmer but he didn´t say anything.
They were a bit too early, so they went to the bar to drink some champagne. Jason was obviously very excited about the play. He told Dick the whole plot of Macbeth while they were drinking. Dick had not seen him that excited ever since he died...ever since he came back.
Dick concentrated very hard on everything he said and asked lots of questions that made Jason´s eyes shine with excitement because Dick listened and he could talk more about the things he loved. Dick couldn´t care less about the play but seeing Jason that happy was the best possible way of spending his Friday night.
Dick was indeed no fan of plays. He had already known that but it got confirmed again tonight. The English the actors spoke was hard to understand and the plot in general was just weird in Dick´s opinion. His highlights were when Jason leaned over to whisper things about the characters in his ear. It didn´t matter what he was saying. Jason´s deep voice in his ear was enough to send shivers down his spine.
It had been Dick´s plan to fuck him in the bathroom during the intermission but there were way too many people, so they spent the fifteen minutes at the bar, drinking expensive wine, leaning against each other and flirting. Well, it had started as simple flirting but it soon turned to promises of wild sex after the theater. Dick also spent most of the time running his hand up and down Jason´s biceps.
The second half of the play was waaay better than the first one because Jason´s hand was on Dick´s knee the whole time and he allowed Dick to put his head on his shoulder. So, while Dick had really tried to pay a little attention to the play during the first hour, he couldn´t bring himself to focus during the second one. He spent the whole time looking at Jason and thinking about the things he would do to him once they came home.
This was one of the best nights of his life.
POV Jason
This was one of the worst nights of his life.
Because it all was just too good to be true. Not only was he finally watching a Shakespeare play in a real theater, he was also there with Dick Grayson. Dick Grayson who looked like a fucking Greek god with his golden skin and those beautiful dark curls and the suit pants that hugged his ass just perfect.
Jason hoped Dick would say something wrong. Something that would put Jason off. Or at least displease him a little.
But that little fucker kept listening to everything Jason said and he asked interested questions and he was so fucking perfect, Jason hated him. He hated him because his heart started to beat a little faster every time Dick smiled at him.
It was a disaster.
Why did he agree to this?!
Although sometimes it seemed like Dick was maybe, maaaybe feeling a little bit the way Jason was, he knew that he wasn´t. This was all just a game for Dick. He didn´t even care for Shakespeare. He was here because Alfred had told him to and because he wanted to get laid afterwards. He didn´t dress up this pretty for Jason and he didn´t come here because of Jason. He didn´t actually care for Jason.
And Jason knew that.
But there was that tiny part deep inside of him that hoped, just hoped that Dick did dress up this pretty for him. That he did come here because of him and that he maybe even cared a little for him.
He knew how stupid those thoughts were. It had also been stupid to absolutely panic once he had come home after Dick´s invitation because had Dick just asked him out?!
In his desperation, he had called Roy.
Roy had spent the first ten minutes laughing at Jason´s love-struck panic attack but after that he had been actually helpful. They had gone shopping to buy something Jason could wear to the theater and he had reassured him every time Jason´s mind came up with things like ´Dick won´t go there with you. It was just a joke. He deserves better than you.´.
Jason wanted to focus on the play but with Dick´s head on his shoulder he just couldn´t. Dick smelled so fucking good and his hair was so fucking soft. Honestly, it should be a crime to be this fucking gorgeous.
Jason knew the whole plot of Macbeth by heart so it wasn´t a real problem if his mind focused on Dick´s hands on his arm from time to time. This was living hell.
Jason wanted it to end, to take Dick home, pound him into the mattress and leave. Because that´s what Dick wanted.
Jason knew that.
He just needed to convince his heart that that was what he wanted as well.