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“Ohh, does Daddy Bat know you smoke when he’s not around?”
That voice is familiar, something Jason really should be worried about, but right now he’s too pissed to really care. It’s the middle of the night and he’s sitting on a rooftop doing info collection when he should be on the other side of the city with Batman beating up drug lords. It’s only been an hour, but he’s chain smoked for half of it, not caring at all when he gets back to the cave and Bruce knows, will scold him and probably ground him for it. Or rather, ground him more.
It should be bad that he doesn’t even flinch when the other sits down next to him, smiling in that coy way Jason’s sure only a cat can.
“Oh, so we’re going for the silent, strong, type tonight, hm?” Stray says, eyes looking bright behind the amber lenses of his goggles. “Though, I think you pull off the pout more so then the brooding.”
Jason scoffs, angrily putting out the cigarette on the rooftop. “Shut up—what the fuck are you even doing here, Catlad?”
The nickname doesn’t even faze him anymore. A year ago, when Stray was still just that—some stray kid wearing black jeans and sneakers, hoodie over his head sneaking out at night to go around robbing jewelry stores in an attempt to impress Momma Cat enough that she might take him under her wing—no one knew what to call him besides ‘Catlad’, even if Selina swore up and down she wasn’t taking in kids. Back then, Stray absolutely hated people calling him Catlad. He’d blush every time Jason did, swipe at him with home-made claws before diving onto another rooftop.
Back then, things were easy. Back then, he had no idea why he didn’t just nab the kid when he had the chance and throw him at the Gotham PD to send him off to juvie. It had nothing to do with the fact that he could never catch him (fact), but now Stray was… distracting would be the best word he could think of, and certainly the same one Bruce used all the time after they had an encounter with the kid.
Because now—now Catlad was Stray and was definitely associated with Selina and decked out with all the tech and leather she had. He’d gotten smarter, learned quickly, and now Jason saw him as an almost threat. Almost.
It didn’t help that the cat suit he wore fit him nicely. Very nicely. Or that his eyes were a cerulean blue behind the amber lenses. Or he flipped off rooftops like it was nothing now—always managing to give Jason a smile before he disappeared over the edge.
Usually, Jason didn’t have to deal with him unless he’d caught him with a bag of diamonds attached to his belt. For the last few weeks, however, Stray always seemed to find him on purpose, whether that be to get a good fight in or to just throw insults at each other, Jason was finding most of their encounters more civil then previous ones.
“I’m here for the same reason you are.” Stray purrs, moving past Jason to peer down through the same window he’s been watching for an hour.
It’s Penguin territory, the entire block is owned by him, and right now there’s some serious meeting going on down below about a weapon’s deal, the Penguin himself even being present for it. Jason’s under strict orders to only ‘gather information and report back’ with five different reminders that he’s not to engage with any of them—especially not alone.
Jason snorts. “Bullshit. No way you’re here just to listen to mobsters circle jerk over Penguin’s pile of money.”
Stray’s eyes never leave their place staring down into the room below, but his lips do quirk further up into a smile. Jason wonders if he wanted to laugh at that, kicks himself for feeling like he wants to make him laugh.
“No,” Stray’s gaze finally pulls away from the dirty window, looking back at Jason. “Actually—one of them has some things of mine that I’ve been meaning to take back.”
It sounds like a joke until suddenly the other teen is prying open the window, careful not to make a sound.
“Wow, wow, wow—“ Jason grabs his arm before he could move any further and this time the smile falls from Stray’s lips as he scowls, glaring down at the gloved hand currently stopping him from jumping down into the room below. “There’s twenty-two guys down there, some of which aren’t even normal street goons, and you’re gonna jump down and scratch them up without any backup? What the hell is Catwoman teaching you?”
The smile slowly reappears on Stray’s lips, but this time it’s sharper—deadly. The sort of smile Jason’s seen from security footage when the kid is taking down guards twice his size, knocking out police officers with ease. It’s probably one of the hottest things Jason’s ever seen, not that he would admit that, but if he swallows a little harder than normal, no one seems to notice.
“Don’t worry,” Stray’s saying, leaning forward until he’s practically on top of Jason, pulling his arm out of his grip. There’s maybe two inches of space between them when Stray speaks again. “I’m not alone.”
As soon as the words leave his mouth, the lights in the room turn off. The entire block goes completely dark and Jason has barely enough time to register that before Stray’s suddenly gone, slipped in through the window. He curses and, before he can even think what he’s doing, slips into the open window too, following behind quickly, positive the sudden black out is the cat’s doing.
Not quick enough, it seems, as he lands on the catwalk right above the meeting and hears a grunt and the firing of a gun going off right below. Jason’s switching to night vision in his mask as he jumps over the metal railing, landing on one of the goons.
“You’re a fucking idiot!” Jason yells out, punching out the guy right next to him before moving forward through the now frantic crowd of guys, all blind and all going for their guns.
All he hears in reply is a bit of laughter and the familiar crunch of a bone under his foot. He sees Stray in the dark dancing around the hired hands and mob members, claws glinting in the green tint of his sight. He’s moving like a deadly gymnast, back bending at a ridiculous angle when one guy swings a fist towards him. Dick would be jealous. Or impressed. Probably both.
The whip comes into play a few moments later, the loud crack of it almost deafening beyond the sound of gunfire now flying all around them. If it gets Jason’s blood pumping faster, he blames it on the adrenaline. He thinks about how stupid this is, how dangerous, how Bruce is totally going to chew him out when he gets back to the cave tonight. There’s no way in hell he’s ever going to be able to live this down when all he was supposed to do was a recon mission.
The fight feels like forever, but it actually only lasts about fifteen minutes—twenty tops, before all the goons are down on the ground, groaning. Jason’s disappointed Penguin isn’t among them, probably managing to escape in the confusion and cover. Coward. It’s irritating when he thinks about it, because he would have really liked to have punched him a few times. Probably would have made his night.
The lights turn on again right when Jason’s managed to catch his breath, blinding him for a good ten seconds before he’s able to switch his lenses over again and blink the spots from his eyes. When he does, he sees Stray standing over one of the bodies, counting out a bundle of jewelry pieces, all embedded with various sizes and designs of rubies. He’d grumbling to himself when he comes upon a necklace that’s tangled and knotted, trying to pull the silver chain straight with his claws. He looks completely unaware or bothered by the unconscious, bleeding, bodies surrounding him—or the fact that there’s a hole in his suit. Apparently he caught a bullet to the arm, taking a decent chunk out of him, though it didn’t hit him directly. The blood blends in with the black leather and Jason has to wonder why he doesn’t seemed bothered by it at all.
Jason finds himself growling angrily, stalking over to the other, jerking the hand that’s trying to untangle the necklace back. “What the hell were you thinking!?” He hissed out, unable to hide the annoyance in his voice.
Stray blinks at him, eyes wide and confused at first, like Jason’s just stupid for asking. “I was thinking some asshole had nabbed Momma’s birthday present.” he replied sounding completely and utterly innocent. Like he didn’t just permanently scar people over some pretty jewelry. “You know how long I’ve been trying to find the perfect present?”
“You son of a—Look out!”
Jason grabs the whip at his belt, pulling him close right as one of the mobsters managed to sit up long enough to shoot his gun. The bullet just barely misses Stray with Jason quickly throwing a batarang to send him toppling to the ground once more.
“Ohhh,” Stray purrs, turning on his heels to find himself practically pressed against Jason’s chest. He quickly closes the small distance between them, arms coming to wrap around Jason’s neck loosely. “My hero.”
Though he was sure they were both around the same age, Jason had a good six inches of height on Stray. He had to look down at him, swallowing thickly as he felt the heat of Stray’s body press against him, the tight material of his suit leaving nothing to the imagination when their hips met. He could feel the edge of blood-slick claws scratching at his scalp.
Stray smirked. “You always this hard after a good fight?”
Jason can’t help but blush. He hadn’t even noticed until now, but he is. Completely hard, pressed against Stray’s hip. He really needs to talk to Bruce about that costume change again—little green underwear is not helpful in these sorts of situations.
“You always this stupid when mom’s not around?” Jason tries to steer the conversation into another direction. The last thing he needs is whatever is happening to happen—even if right now his body is telling him that’s totally okay. That Stray’s warm in front of him and his mouth looks really, really, pink and soft.
“I told you, I wasn’t alone.” Stray pressed closer, fucking rolls his hips and Jason has to do everything he can not to shutter with it, not to follow that action even though he really, really, wants to. “You followed along perfectly.”
Jason’s eyes snap open wide, staring down at the little thief who’s staring right back, smiling.
“Fucking—“
He can’t get the rest of his curse out as Stray stands up on his toes to kiss him, smother the words from his mouth with his tongue. It’s hot and heavy, no soft press of lips or coy testing. It’s Jason taking quick advantage as soon as he realizes what’s happening, grabs at Stray’s hips until he’s groaning into Jason’s mouth, grinding his own hips forward this time, finding that Stray is just as hard as him. His fingers press harder into the bones of Stray’s hips, making him jump and lean back right when Jason’s about to suck his tongue into his mouth.
“Ah, ah,” Stray purrs again, shoves Jason away so quickly he has to catch himself from falling over a guy’s leg. “You’ve got to buy me dinner first. I’m not just a cheap fuck, you know. Gotta take me on a real date.” He’s smiling, wagging a finger as he quickly slides the jewelry into one of his pouch pockets, backing away from Jason. “Lobster tail and steak; think you can afford it, Boy Wonder?”
Jason’s smiling himself now, can’t help it. He’s licking his lips, tasting Stray on his tongue and memorizing the new shade of red at the kid’s lips. “Think I can manage.”
“Perfect,” Stray turns and makes his way to the exit, turning back to throw Jason another smile over his shoulder, fucking winks at him. “I’ll certainly hold you to it.”
He’s gone before Jason can realize exactly what he just agreed to.