[ heâs gotta be imagining it, or maybe thatâs just how Wren looks when theyâre drunk, those eyes turned toward him and filled with a kind of longing.
must be the ex.
he snorts a half amused laugh and shakes his head once. ]
Well, I wasnât going to let you sit there waiting for the night bus.
[ it was all for practical reasons, yes.
with that, he slips out the car and eyes Wren warily when they seem a little unsteady on their feet. in any other situation, he might have offered a steadying hand or arm, but the situation already feels borderline improper, with Wren being inebriated and him offering to bring them home, so he doesn't. they head together to the elevator, where Dick says nothing about the way he casually scans his retina to get access to the penthouse suite. he also says nothing when the elevator opens up to a sleek private lobby.
he does, however, frown as soon as they step out, eyes narrowing with suspicion as his alert gaze darts back to Wren then to the door again. a hand comes to protectively push them behind him as he tucks against the wall. the tiny light on his door indicates the security system had been disarmed. he holds a finger up to his lips and lifts his brows to get confirmation that Wren understands.
there are only a handful of people he can think of who would be able to disarm his system without detection, but still, he's never too cautious. ]
[ The retna scan goes unnoticed. The drink - Vivienne always goes for the hard stuff that actually affects Wren to drown out her own demons- dulls what they would have otherwise noticed, distracted by the motion of the elevator and the need to will themself to not account for it. It's why they're a bad swimmer - whatever is inside them that controlls flight gets confused when gravity doesn't respond the way they expect it to.
But even that's not quite enough to drown out the way Dick's attitude suddenly changes, going from friendly casual to trying at subtle protective. None of their own danger senses are going off, and they know better than to strain those to try and 'listen'.]
W-
[ They don't even finish the 'what' before Dick motions for silence and they fall silent with too much practiced ease for someone who isnt as steady on their feet as they are, expression questioning but not belligerently fighting Dick about this. ]
He hadn't meant to show up unannounced at Dick's door in the middle of the night. He'd just...needed to get out of Gotham. It wasn't a particularly new story or even an unexpected one considering how often Bruce and Jay butted heads over the city they'd both claimed as their own, but this time actually didn't have anything to do with their would-be father.
He'd just needed to get out. So, he'd thrown clothes into his saddlebags and set his bike Westward. He'd slept when he'd gotten tired, ate when he got hungry, and drove through everything else. He had no idea what route he'd taken to get there, but at some point he'd blinked and he'd been driving past a diner that Dick had taken him to the last time he'd been in town. Letting himself into his brother's dark apartment had been comforting in a way he didn't want to think about.
In the kitchen, he heard the elevator hum to life and he chuckled. Dick was going to pissed that he'd gotten past his security again, but he was ready to counter that anger. He slide the pan into the oven just as he heard the elevator chime back up on the main floor. He gave it a good ten second count before he smirked and called out.
"Relax, Dickface. It's me. Nachos are in the oven."
The way Wren shut up and became so calm was absolutely out of the ordinary, but Dick wasn't going to question it when he was focused on getting the door open without getting a bullet through the brain. With too much practiced ease for your run of the mill detective, Dick kept a hand on Wren's shoulder while the other stretched out and cracked the door open with a little click.
Before he'd even swept his gaze across the living room, Jason's voice resounded through the apartment. It made Dick let out an equal part annoyed, equal part relieved sigh. His head tipped back against the wall before all the tension bled out of his shoulders. His hand on Wren curled comfortingly on their shoulder instead, as he guided them both into the space.
"Fuck Jason, you couldn't have sent me half a text so I don't freak out thinking it's a break-in?"
Because, that was all he would be concerned about, of course. Again, run of the mill detective and all.
"It's my darling brother." Words said to Wren with not a small amount of sarcasm. "Sorry, hope that didn't scare you."
Their danger sense continued to give them an 'all clear', but Dick was definitely acting like potential trouble so Wren kept a lid on asking what the hell was going on. Even as the sudden unexpected voice did startle them, not enough to make a sound or do more then grow briefly tense.
They were both handling this with skills they probably shouldn't have.
But that voice had Dick relaxing, easing up and losing the tension he held. Now they were that much more curious to follow Dick in and see what was up.
Jesus this place was nice. Way too nice for the kind of pay he should be taking in. Maybe Wren should be suspicious for entirely different reasons, now.
"... Have you mentioned siblings before?" Wren asked, an eyebrow raised. Yes it was mildly sarcastic, but their recall also wasn't the best right now.
He was laughing even before Dick spoke, grinning wide as he straightened back up from putting the pan in the oven. "It's not like I can hide in here, Dickface! You have a fishbowl for a kit-oh. Hi. Sorry, I didn't know he'd have company."
Wren's presence threw him for a loop, but he wasn't thrown enough to stammer out an apology and just leave. Not yet, anyway. Instead, he grabbed the towel off his shoulder so he could absently wipe his hands of a mess that didn't exist before offering one scarred up hand to the unexpected guest.
"He probably hasn't mentioned me. I'm kind of the black sheep of the family. Hi, I'm Jason. Nachos will be done in twenty minutes, I'll go find a hotel for the night."
âI havenât mentioned anyone, so youâre not special in that way, Jay,â he said, stepping away from Wren to loop an arm around his brotherâs shoulders. Clearly, Jason was welcome here. Jason was wanted, if the warm smile tugging across Dickâs face was anything to judge by. He was just caught off guard is all, but this was a nice surprise.
âStay,â Dick said, before holding his other hand out toward Wren. âGenerous of you to assume otherwise, but Wren here is a friend. Their next door neighbour gets rowdy sometimes so I offered for us to come hang here instead.
Wren, Jay likes to surprise me sometimes but I promise he doesnât bite.â
It had been Wren's turn to make apologies and prepare to leave, but -- okay, it didn't seem like that was necessary. So, taking Jason's hand (careful, careful, your grip is stronger than it should be) they offer blandly -
"I live in campus housing. My ex came by and got me drunk and Dick got on my case about taking the night bus back to campus," just to further clarify it wasn't anything like what Jason was assuming. For all they got on Dick's case about trying to get someone drunk, and for all he was a cop (so many marks against him for that) they didn't think he was actually that kind of dangerous. And then because of that clarification- "Nice to meet you. Sorry if I say something awful."
Dick slung his arm around Jason's shoulders and for a split second Jay tensed like he wasn't expecting the gesture to be entirely good natured, but then he was relaxing and oh so carefully returning Wren's handshake. He wasn't used to touch, then, but Dick was high enough on his 'safe' list that he let the tactile man hang on him. It could almost be reassuring, the way the larger man didn't try to duck out from under that arm.
"Ugh, I've heard many a horror story about campus living. I don't blame you for taking Dickface here up on his offer. His couch is amazing to sleep on." He grinned, aiming for something kind and light hearted and hoped that Dick didn't comment on the fine tremble in his shoulders or the fact that he hadn't brushed off his brother's arm yet.
"Trust me, you couldn't say anything too awful to me. Dickie, maybe, but I'm a bit harder to shock. I hope you like nachos, I made a whole pan of them. Umm...baby spice levels cause-" He cut himself off with a broad gesture to Dick, smirking. "But they'll still be pretty tasty."
Oh good. they were getting along, and Dick was glad to see Jason's efforts at being friendly, despite the tremor he could feel. He would also always be amused at the way Jason teased him, that banter familiar despite how at one point in his life, he had lost it.
"Love you too," he quipped back, an easy smile finding Wren as he patted the surface of the island, silently welcoming them to sit on one of the stools. Then, Dick unwound himself from Jason to get glasses from the cabinets and pull a pitcher of water from the fridge as he returned to the island.
"I wasn't getting on your case, Wren. You don't wanna know what it's actually like to have me on your case." He slid a glass over to Wren, then held out another for Jason. Silently, he gave Jason a once-over, just a hint of concern held in his eyes as he looked for any signs of injury.
"Just ask Jason, he knows." A soft snort before he leaned back against the counter, amusement seeming to replace that concern. "Fair warning, though, Wren's got a reputation back at the precinct. They have an above average BS detector."
Wren went to the kitchen island, pulling out a stool to sit carefully on it. The last thing they needed to do was faceplant, and Dick (and Jason, damn it) both had longer legs than them. Assholes.
They took the offered glass, taking a long drink and managing a stink-eye at the same time. This was what working on a team had been good for.
"You don't need a particularly good one when it comes to cops, to be fair. It's always bs," they said without hesitation. Only a moment later thinking to ask Jason - "... Are you a cop, too?"
He didn't look particularly injured. No bandages, no limping or favoring one side over the other. He just looked...hollow. Ragged around the edges if one knew where to look. Something had happened, but it wasn't something that was going to add to his collection of physical scars.
Just mental ones.
While Wren got settled on the stool, Jay turned to accept his own glass of water, pulling a long drink from it. He had a really bad habit of not taking care of himself when he got into headspaces like the one he was in, so honestly? It was probably the first water he'd drank since he'd stopped for lunch.
Breakfast? The menu had been a breakfast menu, but that didn't mean anything, right?
His drink was interrupted by Wren's question and he coughed hard, twisting to put his face in the sink so that his spit take was at least easier to clean.
"Fucking hell....No!" He wiped at his face with the back of his hand, turning to glare a little at Dick. "Do I look like I'd ever lick boots for a living? My palms aren't near greasy enough, thank you. I'mma be real with you, I try real hard to pretend that he isn't, either. Got me, man?"
He visibly cringed as soon as Wren asked their question, interrupting the list he was already forming in his head of why Jason would show up unannounced at his apartment like this. He could see it, of course, felt it, even, in the tremor beneath his arm when he'd slung it over his brother's form. These days, he tried to stay closely keyed in to his brothers and teammates that there was no way he wasn't noticing.
However. However, Jason knew that Dick hated the system just as much, that Dick personally had to face all that corruption from the inside out, yet he still threw him that dirty little look over his shoulder. His smile immediately faded, a crease knitting between his brows as he steadily met that look.
Jason really had Wren to thank that he didn't immediately snap back. All he did was offer Jason a napkin and proceed with refilling their glasses.
"Yeah, our family's not...like that. Jason's adopted. We all are, so everyone has their own way of doing things. And as you can tell, we don't always see eye to eye."
"Not a man but I get it," Wren said, watching the interplay between the two. Okay, not a cop too, then. They didn't think it was unreasonable to ask, though. After all, they weren't usually what people thought of with 'librarian'. In look, anyway.
âThere is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil, a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome?" They quoted, glass between their hands and pleased that they managed to remember it even with the vodka.
He saw that tic in Dick's jaw. Saw the worry in those brown eyes replaced by indignant anger. He got it, he understood why Dick had taken the route that he had, but it was still hard for him to abide by it. It was one of the few things that they still actually fought about, not just bickered.
His eyes flicked back over to Wren, surprise helping to ease the bad taste the topic left in his mouth. The Austen quote was refreshing, even with the gentle rebuke of his use of 'man'.
"No, our family isn't really like that. In our case, I think you'll find that 'one has got all the goodness,'" He planted a hand against his own chest, a smirk twitching that the corner of his mouth. "'and the other all the appearance of it.'" His hand left his chest to gesture at Dick, and this time the look he gave the older man was one of amusement.
Fight over. For now.
"Sorry about the assumption. Still not in the habit of just asking pronouns. Dick used they/them? Or am I making an ass out of myself again?"
Dick didn't roll his eyes, though he did sigh into his glass before he took a long drink from it. When his glass lowered, the hard look in his eyes had melted again.
"Not you, too." He lifted his brows at Wren. Did he have a type or something? The spicy, literary kind? Though perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise, given Wren was a librarian after all. Yet here he was, with not one, but two nerds who would quote Austen in the middle of a very normal conversation.
Dick took Jason's hand, the one out gesturing at him, and smiled, a glint in his eyes as he laced their fingers together.
Wren's grin was absolutely cheeky at Dick's 'not you too'. Of course them too! They worked at the campus library and had most of their school career at this point. People who didn't have some literary interest tended to not hang out that long.
"S'okay, I know most people use like, man, dude, even 'girl' in the gender neutral depending on context, but also that if it's my first time meeting someone I probably should clarify fast just to be safe. Yeah. They/them."
Huffing a chuckle, Jason curled his fingers around Dick's, half tempted to pull him in for a noogie. In the end, however, he just pulled the older man over enough to tussle his perfect hair before letting him go. For as quick as he flashed to anger at the reminder of his brother's occupation, he was willing it let it go. For now, anyway.
"You need all the culture you can get, Dickie. You should be grateful. 'Sides, they have good taste. Can't go wrong with Austen." He flashed a grin in Wren's direction before he finally settled onto the offered stool. He was tired and it showed in the slump of his shoulders as he sipped at his water, but he was enjoying the company. Which was strange because he wasn't usually the type to warm up to strangers quickly.
That got Dick laughing too, flashing a smile at Jason as he swept a hand through his hair to tame it. He gave Wren a look after, a fondly annoyed one that asked for forgiveness, but what impressed him was the way Wren tamed that wild anger with an Austen quote, of all things.
"Yes, thank you both. What would I ever do without you," he said, though the smile dimmed a little as Jason practically sagged in the stool. He wanted to ask, but with most things Jason related, he knew he shouldn't pry. Just would talk about it when he was ready.
So. He had two sad little puppies sitting side by side in his kitchen and one of them had put a whole tray of nachos in the oven. What was a man to do? He rested both hands on the island, and tipped his head as if in thought.
"Wait, isn't it a movie too or something?" His gaze darted to the couch in the living and back to Jason and Wren, both brows lifting with the suggestion.
"There's been like a dozen movies - or miniseries, you gotta be more specific," Wren said with raised eyebrows, sipping from their glass, giving Jason a quick conspiratorial glance. "There's the 2005 movie with Keira Knightley, the 1995 miniseries with Colin Firth, those are the two most popular which is - no offense to them they're great - absolutely unfair because the best adaptation is 2022's Fire Island. Oh there's also Lost in Austen, the miniseries based off the choose your own adventure version of Pride and Prejudice."
Wren was able to recite those from memory fairly easy, if they had to dig for any other information on the other dozens of film versions they'd need their phone.
He would talk when he was ready, or he would bottle it up and hide it away until it either went away or burst. With Jason there was no real way of telling, though he had gotten at least marginally better at not self-destructing so much. The fact that he'd found his way to Dick's apartment instead of to a bar fight in another country was already a step in the right direction.
"How are you my brother again? You have no taste, I swear. First you've never read or seen Lord of the Rings and now you're asking if Pride & Prejudice is a movie. It's like you know nothing about my world, Dickhead." But he was grinning as he said it, pale blue eyes bright with mirth as a direct counterpoint to the exhaustion in those broad shoulders. Those eyes flicked over to their company at their suggestion, however, an odd mix of insult and curiosity on his face.
"Hard disagree. The '95 miniseries is the best, hands down. It's literally impossible for something with a two hour run time to do it any justice. That said....what is 'Fire Island'? Never heard of it."
"Adopted," he said, lifting an index to make a point with a fond smirk on his mouth. They'd have to get into that whole thing with Wren, because he hadn't said much about himself or his family at all. He didn't mind being on the receiving end of the way Jason tended to tease, or the way Wren dished out their wealth of knowledge like an encyclopedia if it meant making the two of them feel better.
"Alright, well, I'm the neutral party so unless you two can find a fair and square way to work out what we're watching, I'm flipping a coin." He said this as he turned to the cabinets and pulled out a jar of popcorn kernels.
"Not read or seen Lord of the Rings? If I thought it was intentional I'd say that's impressive," Wren started off, but they didn't have time to really harass Dick about that particular subject. Much fun as that would be. He put up with their harassment quite well, though now they suspected it was at least in large part to his younger brother.
Who was the next target.
"You're only saying that because that's the version where Mr Darcy strips and jumps into the lake," Wren accused Jason, voice wry, before pausing. "... Sorry I normally have this argument with people I already know are into men so that's my go-to. Anyway, it is good, probably the more faithful adaptation, but Fire Island manages to update the story to modern times, put its own twist on it, while clearly being a love letter to the source material. Also like every single scene he's in the guy who plays the version of Bingly is basically looking at the movie's Jane like he's some angel descended from heaven. A lot of adaptations can skimp on their chemistry in favor of focusing on Darcy and Elizabeth but you fully believe it's there from 'go' in this one for those two."
He snorted softly at the reminder that they were adopted, rolling his eyes fondly. There were moments when the whole 'brother' thing got under his skin- usually when Dick was being spectacularly Bruce-like (or, occasionally, in the middle of the night when he couldn't get that damned grin out of his head), but he'd settled back into the role of 'little' brother over the years.
That said, they weren't what most would consider 'close'. As in, they hadn't actually had the 'do you like boys or girls' conversation. It was probably intentional, he knew that his history was in Bruce's file on him, but even so Wren's quip about Colin Firth stripping was on the nose enough that Jason tensed a little through the shoulders. He didn't expect Dick to have an issue with it...but he still flicked a glance over at the older man before he took a soothing breath and feigned nonchalance.
"Yeah, well. What of it?" His grin was a little unsure around the edges, but he hid it well. "Besides, he's still fully clothed. Other than a little nipple through a wet white shirt action, it's perfectly decent." He should know, he'd watched that scene many times. "Wait, you said 'he'. Is this a queer friendly movie? With an actual love story for Bing and Jane? Alright, you have my attention."
The sound of that jar of popcorn kernels caught his attention and he twisted in his seat before throwing the towel from his shoulder at Dick's back.
"We don't need nachos and popcorn, Goldie. Unless you're not planning on eating the nachos. In which case, rude."
âYeahâhe?â Dick turns with the jar of kernels in his hand to face Wren and Jason. The words modern, queer, and the almost explicit confession from Jason was all enough to bring an open expression of interest to his face.
He met his brotherâs gaze when it darted to his face, then looked at Wren, who, bold as they were sober, was even more entertaining now.
Of course Dick had read Jasonâs file, over and over again, which was the reason why so many of these things that he knew about his other friends remained mysteries about Jason. He didnât want to make his brother uncomfortable. Leave it to a stranger to unearth some of it. AndâŚmaybe that was what they needed. The thought rooted, started a little tendril of wonderingâŚbefore a towel flew at his head and Dick snatched it reflexively out of the air.
âOh Iâm eating the nachos alright. You donât make snacks for me often, so of course Iâm eating Nachos. Nachos and popcorn.â
He tipped the kernels side to side, smiling at them both as he leaned onto the island on his elbows.
âI grew up in a circus that had the best popcorn.â He looked at Jason, then Wren. âJason takes it for granted at this point, but Wren, arenât you curious about Halyâs world famous popcorn? Iâm adding variety to our snacks.â
Edited (Omg hit post too soon ) 2025-07-01 01:51 (UTC)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
am i more than you bargained for yet? (wrensandwich)
(( ...contd.))
[ heâs gotta be imagining it, or maybe thatâs just how Wren looks when theyâre drunk, those eyes turned toward him and filled with a kind of longing.must be the ex.
he snorts a half amused laugh and shakes his head once. ]
Well, I wasnât going to let you sit there waiting for the night bus.
[ it was all for practical reasons, yes.
with that, he slips out the car and eyes Wren warily when they seem a little unsteady on their feet. in any other situation, he might have offered a steadying hand or arm, but the situation already feels borderline improper, with Wren being inebriated and him offering to bring them home, so he doesn't. they head together to the elevator, where Dick says nothing about the way he casually scans his retina to get access to the penthouse suite. he also says nothing when the elevator opens up to a sleek private lobby.
he does, however, frown as soon as they step out, eyes narrowing with suspicion as his alert gaze darts back to Wren then to the door again. a hand comes to protectively push them behind him as he tucks against the wall. the tiny light on his door indicates the security system had been disarmed. he holds a finger up to his lips and lifts his brows to get confirmation that Wren understands.
there are only a handful of people he can think of who would be able to disarm his system without detection, but still, he's never too cautious. ]
Well now that song is stuck in my head...
But even that's not quite enough to drown out the way Dick's attitude suddenly changes, going from friendly casual to trying at subtle protective. None of their own danger senses are going off, and they know better than to strain those to try and 'listen'.]
W-
[ They don't even finish the 'what' before Dick motions for silence and they fall silent with too much practiced ease for someone who isnt as steady on their feet as they are, expression questioning but not belligerently fighting Dick about this. ]
But it fits so fucking well. XD
He'd just needed to get out. So, he'd thrown clothes into his saddlebags and set his bike Westward. He'd slept when he'd gotten tired, ate when he got hungry, and drove through everything else. He had no idea what route he'd taken to get there, but at some point he'd blinked and he'd been driving past a diner that Dick had taken him to the last time he'd been in town. Letting himself into his brother's dark apartment had been comforting in a way he didn't want to think about.
In the kitchen, he heard the elevator hum to life and he chuckled. Dick was going to pissed that he'd gotten past his security again, but he was ready to counter that anger. He slide the pan into the oven just as he heard the elevator chime back up on the main floor. He gave it a good ten second count before he smirked and called out.
"Relax, Dickface. It's me. Nachos are in the oven."
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Before he'd even swept his gaze across the living room, Jason's voice resounded through the apartment. It made Dick let out an equal part annoyed, equal part relieved sigh. His head tipped back against the wall before all the tension bled out of his shoulders. His hand on Wren curled comfortingly on their shoulder instead, as he guided them both into the space.
"Fuck Jason, you couldn't have sent me half a text so I don't freak out thinking it's a break-in?"
Because, that was all he would be concerned about, of course. Again, run of the mill detective and all.
"It's my darling brother." Words said to Wren with not a small amount of sarcasm. "Sorry, hope that didn't scare you."
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They were both handling this with skills they probably shouldn't have.
But that voice had Dick relaxing, easing up and losing the tension he held. Now they were that much more curious to follow Dick in and see what was up.
Jesus this place was nice. Way too nice for the kind of pay he should be taking in. Maybe Wren should be suspicious for entirely different reasons, now.
"... Have you mentioned siblings before?" Wren asked, an eyebrow raised. Yes it was mildly sarcastic, but their recall also wasn't the best right now.
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Wren's presence threw him for a loop, but he wasn't thrown enough to stammer out an apology and just leave. Not yet, anyway. Instead, he grabbed the towel off his shoulder so he could absently wipe his hands of a mess that didn't exist before offering one scarred up hand to the unexpected guest.
"He probably hasn't mentioned me. I'm kind of the black sheep of the family. Hi, I'm Jason. Nachos will be done in twenty minutes, I'll go find a hotel for the night."
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âStay,â Dick said, before holding his other hand out toward Wren. âGenerous of you to assume otherwise, but Wren here is a friend. Their next door neighbour gets rowdy sometimes so I offered for us to come hang here instead.
Wren, Jay likes to surprise me sometimes but I promise he doesnât bite.â
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"I live in campus housing. My ex came by and got me drunk and Dick got on my case about taking the night bus back to campus," just to further clarify it wasn't anything like what Jason was assuming. For all they got on Dick's case about trying to get someone drunk, and for all he was a cop (so many marks against him for that) they didn't think he was actually that kind of dangerous. And then because of that clarification- "Nice to meet you. Sorry if I say something awful."
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"Ugh, I've heard many a horror story about campus living. I don't blame you for taking Dickface here up on his offer. His couch is amazing to sleep on." He grinned, aiming for something kind and light hearted and hoped that Dick didn't comment on the fine tremble in his shoulders or the fact that he hadn't brushed off his brother's arm yet.
"Trust me, you couldn't say anything too awful to me. Dickie, maybe, but I'm a bit harder to shock. I hope you like nachos, I made a whole pan of them. Umm...baby spice levels cause-" He cut himself off with a broad gesture to Dick, smirking. "But they'll still be pretty tasty."
no subject
"Love you too," he quipped back, an easy smile finding Wren as he patted the surface of the island, silently welcoming them to sit on one of the stools. Then, Dick unwound himself from Jason to get glasses from the cabinets and pull a pitcher of water from the fridge as he returned to the island.
"I wasn't getting on your case, Wren. You don't wanna know what it's actually like to have me on your case." He slid a glass over to Wren, then held out another for Jason. Silently, he gave Jason a once-over, just a hint of concern held in his eyes as he looked for any signs of injury.
"Just ask Jason, he knows." A soft snort before he leaned back against the counter, amusement seeming to replace that concern. "Fair warning, though, Wren's got a reputation back at the precinct. They have an above average BS detector."
no subject
They took the offered glass, taking a long drink and managing a stink-eye at the same time. This was what working on a team had been good for.
"You don't need a particularly good one when it comes to cops, to be fair. It's always bs," they said without hesitation. Only a moment later thinking to ask Jason - "... Are you a cop, too?"
It tended to run in families.
no subject
Just mental ones.
While Wren got settled on the stool, Jay turned to accept his own glass of water, pulling a long drink from it. He had a really bad habit of not taking care of himself when he got into headspaces like the one he was in, so honestly? It was probably the first water he'd drank since he'd stopped for lunch.
Breakfast? The menu had been a breakfast menu, but that didn't mean anything, right?
His drink was interrupted by Wren's question and he coughed hard, twisting to put his face in the sink so that his spit take was at least easier to clean.
"Fucking hell....No!" He wiped at his face with the back of his hand, turning to glare a little at Dick. "Do I look like I'd ever lick boots for a living? My palms aren't near greasy enough, thank you. I'mma be real with you, I try real hard to pretend that he isn't, either. Got me, man?"
It was a sore spot, then. To put it mildly.
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However. However, Jason knew that Dick hated the system just as much, that Dick personally had to face all that corruption from the inside out, yet he still threw him that dirty little look over his shoulder. His smile immediately faded, a crease knitting between his brows as he steadily met that look.
Jason really had Wren to thank that he didn't immediately snap back. All he did was offer Jason a napkin and proceed with refilling their glasses.
"Yeah, our family's not...like that. Jason's adopted. We all are, so everyone has their own way of doing things. And as you can tell, we don't always see eye to eye."
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âThere is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil, a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome?" They quoted, glass between their hands and pleased that they managed to remember it even with the vodka.
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His eyes flicked back over to Wren, surprise helping to ease the bad taste the topic left in his mouth. The Austen quote was refreshing, even with the gentle rebuke of his use of 'man'.
"No, our family isn't really like that. In our case, I think you'll find that 'one has got all the goodness,'" He planted a hand against his own chest, a smirk twitching that the corner of his mouth. "'and the other all the appearance of it.'" His hand left his chest to gesture at Dick, and this time the look he gave the older man was one of amusement.
Fight over. For now.
"Sorry about the assumption. Still not in the habit of just asking pronouns. Dick used they/them? Or am I making an ass out of myself again?"
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"Not you, too." He lifted his brows at Wren. Did he have a type or something? The spicy, literary kind? Though perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise, given Wren was a librarian after all. Yet here he was, with not one, but two nerds who would quote Austen in the middle of a very normal conversation.
Dick took Jason's hand, the one out gesturing at him, and smiled, a glint in his eyes as he laced their fingers together.
"Maybe that's your natural disposition, Jay."
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"S'okay, I know most people use like, man, dude, even 'girl' in the gender neutral depending on context, but also that if it's my first time meeting someone I probably should clarify fast just to be safe. Yeah. They/them."
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"You need all the culture you can get, Dickie. You should be grateful. 'Sides, they have good taste. Can't go wrong with Austen." He flashed a grin in Wren's direction before he finally settled onto the offered stool. He was tired and it showed in the slump of his shoulders as he sipped at his water, but he was enjoying the company. Which was strange because he wasn't usually the type to warm up to strangers quickly.
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"Yes, thank you both. What would I ever do without you," he said, though the smile dimmed a little as Jason practically sagged in the stool. He wanted to ask, but with most things Jason related, he knew he shouldn't pry. Just would talk about it when he was ready.
So. He had two sad little puppies sitting side by side in his kitchen and one of them had put a whole tray of nachos in the oven. What was a man to do? He rested both hands on the island, and tipped his head as if in thought.
"Wait, isn't it a movie too or something?" His gaze darted to the couch in the living and back to Jason and Wren, both brows lifting with the suggestion.
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Wren was able to recite those from memory fairly easy, if they had to dig for any other information on the other dozens of film versions they'd need their phone.
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"How are you my brother again? You have no taste, I swear. First you've never read or seen Lord of the Rings and now you're asking if Pride & Prejudice is a movie. It's like you know nothing about my world, Dickhead." But he was grinning as he said it, pale blue eyes bright with mirth as a direct counterpoint to the exhaustion in those broad shoulders. Those eyes flicked over to their company at their suggestion, however, an odd mix of insult and curiosity on his face.
"Hard disagree. The '95 miniseries is the best, hands down. It's literally impossible for something with a two hour run time to do it any justice. That said....what is 'Fire Island'? Never heard of it."
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"Alright, well, I'm the neutral party so unless you two can find a fair and square way to work out what we're watching, I'm flipping a coin." He said this as he turned to the cabinets and pulled out a jar of popcorn kernels.
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Who was the next target.
"You're only saying that because that's the version where Mr Darcy strips and jumps into the lake," Wren accused Jason, voice wry, before pausing. "... Sorry I normally have this argument with people I already know are into men so that's my go-to. Anyway, it is good, probably the more faithful adaptation, but Fire Island manages to update the story to modern times, put its own twist on it, while clearly being a love letter to the source material. Also like every single scene he's in the guy who plays the version of Bingly is basically looking at the movie's Jane like he's some angel descended from heaven. A lot of adaptations can skimp on their chemistry in favor of focusing on Darcy and Elizabeth but you fully believe it's there from 'go' in this one for those two."
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That said, they weren't what most would consider 'close'. As in, they hadn't actually had the 'do you like boys or girls' conversation. It was probably intentional, he knew that his history was in Bruce's file on him, but even so Wren's quip about Colin Firth stripping was on the nose enough that Jason tensed a little through the shoulders. He didn't expect Dick to have an issue with it...but he still flicked a glance over at the older man before he took a soothing breath and feigned nonchalance.
"Yeah, well. What of it?" His grin was a little unsure around the edges, but he hid it well. "Besides, he's still fully clothed. Other than a little nipple through a wet white shirt action, it's perfectly decent." He should know, he'd watched that scene many times. "Wait, you said 'he'. Is this a queer friendly movie? With an actual love story for Bing and Jane? Alright, you have my attention."
The sound of that jar of popcorn kernels caught his attention and he twisted in his seat before throwing the towel from his shoulder at Dick's back.
"We don't need nachos and popcorn, Goldie. Unless you're not planning on eating the nachos. In which case, rude."
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He met his brotherâs gaze when it darted to his face, then looked at Wren, who, bold as they were sober, was even more entertaining now.
Of course Dick had read Jasonâs file, over and over again, which was the reason why so many of these things that he knew about his other friends remained mysteries about Jason. He didnât want to make his brother uncomfortable. Leave it to a stranger to unearth some of it. AndâŚmaybe that was what they needed. The thought rooted, started a little tendril of wonderingâŚbefore a towel flew at his head and Dick snatched it reflexively out of the air.
âOh Iâm eating the nachos alright. You donât make snacks for me often, so of course Iâm eating Nachos. Nachos and popcorn.â
He tipped the kernels side to side, smiling at them both as he leaned onto the island on his elbows.
âI grew up in a circus that had the best popcorn.â He looked at Jason, then Wren. âJason takes it for granted at this point, but Wren, arenât you curious about Halyâs world famous popcorn? Iâm adding variety to our snacks.â
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