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Sometimes, Jason is a bit of an idiot.
He normally prides himself on his well-honed detective and strategy skills, including his ability to assess situations and all potential outcomes. He knows how to manipulate people, say the right things and act the right way to get what he wants. Yeah he’s good with a gun or two, but a person doesn’t become a crime boss without knowing how to get people to do his biding. Being cruel doesn’t keep his people loyal. Learning to sweet talk, done with truth and honesty to build trust, is essential.
You would think this could apply to his relationship too.
Sometimes, Jason wondered if Dick was actually an alien, because how the fuck did he get here?
They are certainly not strangers to arguments, to bickering, to all-out brawls. Dick isn’t one to lay down, and that’s part of what Jason loves about him. That stubbornness can bite him in the ass, though, just like now.
“C’mon, Dickie, speak to me. What’s wrong?”
Dick looks up to glare at him, holding eye contact as he lifts his fork up and gently takes the bite of linguine, chewing it quietly. Jason doesn’t know how he manages to make eating pasta both so threatening and hot as hell, but again, Dick can’t be fully human.
Finally he sets the fork down, looking away and giving Jason a chance to breath as Dick dabs at his mouth with the napkin.
“I believe there is something you forgot to do this morning, my dear,” he says, tone unreadable.
Jason quickly scans his memory, desperate to figure out where he fucked up. This Dick is not just peeved. He isn’t even angry. Dick is livid. Whatever Jason missed was important. And he can’t fucking remember what it was.
He’d never admit it, not even under duress, but in this moment his hand starts shaking in fear.
For as much as Jason was good at scheming, at getting his revenge, cold and bloody, Dick was terrifyingly good at it. Things are not looking good for Jason Grayson-Todd at this dinner table.
Jason swallows quickly, setting his own cutlery down. “Dick, I’m sorry. I don’t know what it was.”
Dick’s blue eyes shoot back up to stare him down, the blue burrowing into Jason’s head like it could read his thoughts and confirm their truth. Whatever he sees in Jason quells some of the fire, bringing apocalypse levels of hellfire down to only a rampaging wildfire. Dick’s shoulders lower a centimeter, and he reaches his hand out to rest on top of Jason’s. “It’s ok, we all make mistakes. Thank you for apologizing.”
The ‘thank you’ is said in such a way that Jason knows his simple sorry is not the apology Dick is referring to. What Dick is thanking him for is the apology Jason is going to give, and he knows it’s going to have to be a good one.
He lets himself smile, nervously chuckling before flipping his hand around and gripping onto Dick’s hand. “Of course, darling, I would do anything for you.”
Dick allows silence to hang over the end of Jason’s sentence, indicating Jason shouldn’t be done speaking. He’s got him well-trained at this point because Jason pipes back up and says, “I love you.”
The smile on Dick’s face has a touch of relief to it, which should have been Jason’s first clue.
“I love you, too. And next week there’ll be less mistakes than this week, right?”
Which meant Jason fucked up more than once in the past few days. That’d explain the fury; a few slip-ups here or there culminated in Jason’s mistake this morning leading to Dick’s anger now.
Knowing how he got here is one thing, he still had to figure out what his mistakes actually were in order to fix them.
“Right,” Jason replies, his own relief at having a game plan growing in his mind a little too obvious. Dick didn’t care though. He knew Jason was going to fix things between them. They wouldn’t be happily married without knowing how to resolve their conflicts.
Dick did like watching Jason squirm though. The next few days were going to be very enjoyable for him.
The first thing Jason thought of was flowers.
He had a standing biweekly order of flowers that was supposed to be sent to Dick. The flower shop was good at creating fresh bouquets with changing arrangements, keeping up with trends and seasons so Dick got a nice surprise with each order. Maybe they forgot to send it this week?
A quick look through their home confirmed that the fresh bouquet had arrived, taking its sacred spot in Dick’s home office.
Ok, maybe he just didn’t like the arrangement this time. Jason did notice that this bouquet didn’t have any Bird Bill Dayflowers, a three-petaled blue flower Jason knew was in season because it was one of Dick’s favourites.
That was something he could work with. He immediately called the flower shop, putting in a special order to be picked up later that day.
Jason made sure to be there in the bedroom when Dick walked in to see the giant bouquet of Bird Bills, blue cornflowers, and red roses on Dick’s bedside table. The soft joy on Dick’s face was everything. Jason knew he’d do anything to keep putting that look on his face, knew it as deeply as he knew he loved Dick Grayson-Todd.
“Oh, Jaybird, they’re beautiful!” Dick kissed Jason with fervor, pulling him towards the bed.
It wasn’t until after they spent a good long time worshiping each other, using their bodies to share their love over and over again, that Dick spoke up, his head on Jason’s sweaty chest. “It’s a good first try, but not what I was talking about.”
Groaning internally, Jason couldn’t be too mad he didn’t get it. The sex was plenty amazing, so he’d take that consolation prize.
He’d have to keep trying. Oh, and he couldn’t forget to say, “I’m sorry.” After a moment, Jason leaned down to kiss the top of Dick’s head. “And I love you.”
Jason swore he could feel Dick’s smile against his pecs. “Thank you, and I love you too.”
The second thought Jason had came to him when he was cooking dinner for them.
As he was rifling through the pantry, his eye caught onto Dick’s stash of teas. Being raised by Alfred had made both of them tea-lovers, though Dick kept his near-addiction levels of love for the drink under wraps. Inspecting the boxes Jason noticed that one of his favourites was missing. A box of the same brand but different flavour was there, which, damn, must’ve been his mistake when he did the shopping last week. Of course! Jason must have grabbed the wrong kind of tea.
Well, that was also another easy fix. The next day Jason went out, making sure to buy no less that 20 boxes of the tea, also picking up some of the fancy sugars Dick liked to indulge in every so often.
He put together a lovely little basket, placing the boxes and the sugars in fancy colourful tulle, wrapping a big bow on top, and leaving it on the kitchen counter for Dick.
Later that night, after a grueling evening ordering Red Hood’s goons around and Dick out swinging as Nightwing across rooftops, stopping crime, Dick sat Jason down and poured them both a cup.
Jason could taste the sweet, earthy flavours on Dick’s tongue all night long.
The following morning, while holding a cup of the steaming tea, Dick inhaled the warm scent and smiled peacefully. He whispered, “Another good try, but nope.”
Damnit!
“That’s ok. I’m sorry, and I love you, birdie.”
“Thank you. I love you too,” Dick said, scrunching his nose when Jason leaned over and left a peck on his cheek.
Jason wouldn’t say it out loud, but he was getting a little desperate. Loathe as he was to do it, he needed outside help.
“Damian. My favourite brother!”
“What did you do this time, Todd.”
“Tsk, ye of little faith. And it's Grayson-Todd.” Damian’s glare broke through Jason’s attempt at levity with stunning speed. “He’s got to have told you something, please tell me he said something to you.”
Jason didn’t know if he’d ever seen Damian pity someone before, but if he had to guess, it’d look a little something like the way Damian was staring at Jason right now.
“Even if he did, it is ridiculous that you believe I would tell you. As if I am that idiotic.” The unsaid ‘like you’ is passed through the room with crystal clarity.
“C’mon, lil brat, I checked the calendar and our anniversary isn’t until next month. I’ve already got a bracelet and cufflinks being made, so it can’t be that. I got him his favourite flowers, and his favourite tea. I really don’t know where I fucked up!” Jason vented.
Damian, now in his late teens, was used to the ebb and flow of Dick and Jason’s relationship. If Jason was truly in trouble, he wouldn’t be here walking on two healthy feet. Best to let him stew in his worry until Dick decided Jason had learned his lesson.
Although, there was one thing nagging at Damian that perhaps it was better to bring up with Todd.
“Richard did mention something, last week,” Damian said.
Jason would not get on his knees to grovel at Damian’s feet, but the sentiment was there. Wait, maybe if he did that to Dick…
“He said you made some inane comment about adjusting the Nightwing suit?”
Oh shit. “Oh god, I said it was looking a little tight, and we could let out some of the seams. Do you think he thought I was calling him fat??” The panic was setting in swiftly for Jason.
“He’s your wife, you should know how he’d take that,” Damian scoffed. Amateur.
“Thank you Dami, I’ll take out the gang on Markham Ave for you!” Jason ran off, ideas burning in his mind. He missed the slight smile on Damian’s face, and the shake of his head as Damian watched a devoted husband rush off to go above and beyond for his wife, again.
Jason’s plan was simple. If he tried to attack the comment directly, telling Dick he wasn’t fat, it would come off as desperate and disingenuous. No matter how desperate and genuine Jason actually was. So, the plan.
Calling a meeting of his goons without Dick knowing was the harder part. He was sure Dick would find out about the conversation sooner or later, probably through the group chat Jason definitely didn’t know about (for his sake, he kept up the pretense).
Drilling his staff on how to compliment Dick on his body in a subtle way was difficult, but Jason wouldn’t hire these asshats if he didn’t think they’d treat Dick right.
Hugo bravely raised his hand and said, “Um, boss. Not to question your brilliant plan! But, uh, last time Dingo over there complimented Big Bird, you shot him in the foot.”
“And he’s lucky I was the one to get to him and not the Missus. If you knuckleheads do this properly there’ll be no punishments, got it? Any compliments after this Wednesday and I’ll cut your balls off one teste at a time.” Jason looks at each of his men, ensuring they got the message. “Also, Hugo, thank you for raising your hand so politely. Go get a sticker for the board.”
Hugo jumped up still shaking off some nerves and ran off to place another sticker on the board next to his name. Two more and he’d get a prize!
Jason clapped his hands, proud of his team. “Alright boys, up and at ‘em! ‘Wing will be back in 2 hours, so make sure to keep him happy.”
It only took a day for Dick to catch on. Jason wasn’t sure if it was the group chat, or if someone snitched, but he definitely knew what was going on.
“So, still think I need to get the suit sized up?”
“It’s your suit, darling, whatever you want, I’ll make it happen, but only on your say-so.”
“Good answer. Besides, I don’t think you seriously want to be complaining about it being tight on me.”
Oh, those eyes were making promises that Jason was determined to get Dick to keep. Jason licked his lips and responded with a deep raspy voice, “Never, baby. You know I love seeing the way it fits on you, reminding me of how lucky I am.”
“That’s right.” The self-satisfied smirk on Dick’s face was overwhelming, though Jason couldn’t help but find the sheer confidence attractive as all hell.
He takes a step towards Dick, thinking they have enough time for a quickie on Jason’s desk before he has to get back out there. Before they go any further, however, Jason remembers to say one last thing.
“I’m sorry. I love you.”
“Thank you, my darling husband. I love you too.”
Jason is in the middle of thrusting into Dick who’s bent over his desk, hands gripping tight onto Dick’s hips, when Dick speaks up.
“You’re getting close, but not there yet.”
“Fuck!”
It’s only a few days later when the answer slams into Jason like a speeding train.
“Oh my god, I forgot to say I love you!”
“What?” The drug runner in Jason’s grip says, completely confused.
“Ugh, not you,” Jason says, quickly punching the guy’s lights out. Like Jason had promised Damian, he was cleaning up the small gang that had been a thorn in both their asses lately. As Jason shot down another gang member with rubber bullets, the perfect plan popped in his head.
Dick and Jason lived dangerous lives. They knew it more intimately than they probably wanted to, and they were all too aware of it with the other. Trying to keep a healthy relationship between a crime boss and a vigilante was difficult on the best of days, doubly so when one was near-fatally injured. One promise they had made early on, repeated again in their vows, was that they always said ‘I love you’ to each other after they had breakfast together before leaving to start their days. Even if they were angry at each other, they always said ‘I love you’ back. The novelty of the words never waned, as they meant them too much.
Jason knew he wouldn’t be able to bear it if something happened and one of them got seriously hurt on a day they didn’t say those words. And if Jason couldn’t bear it, Dick definitely couldn’t.
Five days ago Jason, distracted with mentally mapping out his day, forgot to say those words out loud as Dick kissed him on the cheek, said ‘I love you’, and left for the day.
Jason was such an idiot sometimes.
It may seem like a small simple thing, but to them the reassurance meant everything.
All the attempts at apologizing to Dick this week were good, to a degree. For something like forgetting to say ‘I love you’? Jason would have to go big.
An hour later, Jason dusted off his hands and stood back to admire his work. The gang was still amateurish so taking them down was easy. Rearranging their unconscious bodies was an annoyingly tedious task, even with Jason’s goons helping him. There was only one last piece of the puzzle left.
Jason rang up Damian on the comm link, knowing he was patrolling with Nightwing tonight. “Hey, demon brat, I took care of those dunces for you, ya wanna come see?”
Damian’s grunt of assent mostly hid his gratefulness. Mostly.
“Bring Nightwing with you, will ya?” Jason hoped he hid his nervousness better than Damian.
There was a pause before Damian responded. “Is this your big apology?”
“Yeah, maybe, squirt, just get down here. Make sure to land on the Blairson building and look down at Vela Street. I’ll be waiting.” With that Jason took his place, laying down and placing his helmet down on the ground a bit away from his head, settling in for the wait. Through Damian’s offended grumbles (-I’m 17 years old, I’m not a child and I’m nearly as tall as you, I am no ‘squirt’-) Jason caught on that they were only 5 minutes away. Good, he didn’t want to be here for too long, it’d be way too embarrassing for anyone else to see. It was aggravating enough knowing Damian would see him like this, although being vulnerable in front of Dick’s son would be another brownie point for Jason, he was sure.
Oh, Jason was getting ridden like no tomorrow once they got home tonight. Jackpot.
Soon enough, Nightwing was flipping on top of the designated building. Damian wasn’t forthcoming with the specifics, but Dick had a feeling the change in plans had something to do with Jason. His attempts at apologizing were heartwarming, and normally Dick would have caved days ago.
But this was important. And if Jason really couldn’t figure it out soon, Dick was going to be genuinely hurt.
His trust in his husband held out, and once Dick looked over the edge of the building down to the street below, he knew that trust was well-founded.
Down on Vela street Jason had arranged the knocked out gang members bodies to spell out the words ‘LOVE YOU’. At the start of the phrase lay Jason himself, helmet sitting a few steps above him acting as the dot on the letter ‘i’, Jason’s laid out body making the line down below it.
Jason had made it abundantly clear that he was the ‘i’ in ‘I love you’.
Even Damian’s complaints next to Dick couldn’t dull the beaming grin taking over Dick’s face, absolute love bursting through his heart.
“What a grotesque display, he’s so pathetic. Why did you have to marry him again? Really, Grayson.”
“Grayson-Todd, baby bird. He’s the perfect husband,” Dick sighs dreamily, quickly taking a leap off the building using the grapple to slow his descent just enough that he didn’t get hurt, rushing to get to his adorable, adorable partner.
When Jason fucked up, he really, really knew how to make up for it.
Dick didn’t even let him get up off the ground, immediately dropping down onto him and leaning in to give Jason a hunger kiss, devouring his lips. “You. Amazing. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Bastard. I love you too, I love you too, I love you too.” Dick says in between kisses. Jason can barely string a thought together with the way Dick’s tongue is moving, the way his hips are grinding down onto his.
He doesn’t register the sound of Damian dropping down, but he makes sure to shoot a “You’re welcome” towards him as Dick kisses down Jason’s neck. Damian’s patented ‘I-can’t-believe-I-put-up-with-this-shit’ expression is loud and clear even through Jason’s horny mind. It’s enough to remind Jason that they were still in the middle of the street, and as much as he loved indulged Dick’s exhibitionism, Jason wanted to get to their home where they shared a life together.
Urging Dick up he waves goodbye at Damian, Dick promising him to catch up again soon. Maybe it was a dick move to leave the clean-up for Damian to do, but Red Hood’s goons were there and Damian knew how to command them, not that they wouldn’t help already. They were just happy to see boss’s plan worked.
Later that night, tired and safe in each other’s arms, Jason whispered once more to Dick.
“I’m sorry. I love you.”
“Thank you. I love you too.”