#stephjay

On the dance floor, she spun away, bouncing through the throng of dancers, pulling on random partners to find her groove for the night. She settled with a girl in shorts and a halter, grinding together with the beat. Lipstick smeared between them as Steph tested the waters while simultaneously waving him over. 

Tim took his time, observing the crowd as he moved through. There were several couples and men dancing but it was ladies night at the hottest gay bar in lower Gotham tonight, so the floor was predominantly filled with women enjoying themselves. 

…And there were still the few straight losers that were hoping to get lucky at a game no one else was playing. Tim recognized them separately from the others in the crowd based on the way they leered, grabbing possessively and crowding the other patrons in an unwanted manner. 

He ignored them. Unless someone asked for his involvement, in his experience the ladies those losers tried to make their victims would put them in their place easily enough. Anyone more persistent would be handled by the bouncers. 

Tim began flowing through the crowd, letting the music grip him as he slowly made his way towards Steph. He moved with anyone and everyone that got close, enjoying the fleeting touches and sinking more and more into the beat. 

To his right a small commotion broke out and he laughed with the other patrons as a bouncer handled a guy that wasn't getting the hint his advances were unwelcome in this crowd. The girl he'd been hitting on was now grinning brightly as the bouncer crowded the jerk away, giving him a taste of his own medicine by grabbing hips and grinding to the beat. 

Tim caught Steph's eye across the floor, shooting her a wink as she blew a kiss back. By the time Tim looked back to the show though, it was over. The bouncer was back on the edge of the crowd, watching everyone dance. Tim studied him for a moment as he realized it wasn't a bouncer at all. 

The man was dressed in a leather jacket, fitted jeans and a dark red henley, buttons undone. His dark hair was accented with a  streak of white through his bangs and fell over his bright eyes. 

Tim was enraptured. He could see the man was built, thickly muscled and could probably bench press him with one hand. Tim's mouth watered at the thought, pressing against that plush body, burying his face between the rack the guy was definitely packing… Tim quickly looked away before the guy noticed him staring. 

Realizing he lost track of Steph in the distraction, Tim wandered through the dancers for a moment to reorient before finally finding her with a new partner. A slim brunette this time, but Tim could tell Steph wasn't feeling it. Their met eyes again and Tim tried to redirect her gaze to the hot guy, only… he had moved. 

Again he was on the floor and subjecting another drunk frat boy to a hearty dose of karma. The crowd was laughing again as the jerk who'd apparently been hitting on an uninterested woman tried to escape the hot guy showing him what it felt like to get some unwanted attention.

Attention Tim would gladly accept.  

A plan formed in Tim's mind even as Steph moved on to another dance partner. She seemed on a mission to find someone and Tim had the perfect answer for his girlfriend.

Finally catching up to her, Tim brushed her long hair aside to whisper in her ear: “play along”. 

He yanked her aggressively, not his usual style of blending with the beat and forcibly tried to move her in his off rhythm pattern. Her strength pushed back against him, as she stared unbelieving for a moment before narrowing her eyes into a sharp glare. 

She attempted to hip check him off as she spun back to the blonde girl in front of her. 

Tim persisted, tugging her again, ignoring her signal to back off, grinning at the fun of messing with her. 

“You little shit–” she mumbled and Tim for a moment feared she was going to deck him and then strong hands wrapped around his waist as he was pulled away. 

Warm, large hands slotting perfectly over his hips as a raspy voice whispered in his ear, “What about dancing with me instead, hot stuff?”

Tim shivered, letting it roll over him and sink into his bones. The music pounded an inviting tempo around them and Tim was ready.

He blew a kiss at the shocked face of Steph even as he spun and wrapped his arms around the man's neck. “Don’t mind if I do,” Tim purred happily in response. 

The man's face shifted into a look of shock and Tim admired the bright green shade of his eyes.

Using the man's surprise to his advantage Tim whirled them around, pressing their bodies together and keeping them in Steph's range. The warm, muscular body felt just as good as he'd imagined. 

He looked around the man's impressive bicep to catch his girlfriend’s eye, trying to show off the success of his plan, but she was already on board with the program. Her eyes were blown wide as she soaked in the absolute hunk Tim had snagged for them. 

There wasn't another beat of the song missed before she pressed up into their space, trapping them man between them as they flowed to the music. 

Satisfied the net was cast, Tim lost himself in the feel of the warm body and the music coursing through him. The man moved with them after a moment, guided by Steph's hands on his hips and voice in his ear. Tim's hands roamed the plush body, squeezing the muscles he found along the way, enjoying the small gasps that the man let out– sounds that were felt more than heard as they danced. 

Tim wanted more, he wanted to taste– again he caught Steph's eyes, and saw the same desire mirrored. Tim went up on his toes and their lips crashed together over the man's shoulder. He groaned, feeling their new partner's heat, knowing his ear was right there as Steph's tongue tangled with his. She broke off from Tim with a wet smack and immediately pressed an open mouthed kiss to the man's neck. Tim's eyes were glued as she dragged her tongue up to his ear and the guy's eyes slid shut with a shudder. 

“Come home with us?” Steph whispered, close enough for the words to be heard over the club.  

“Please?” Tim added, pressing forward. “Steph makes great waffles.”

“And Tim makes great coffee… and gives excellent… massages,” Steph giggled as she wrapped her arms around the man's torso and squeezed his chest. 

“Uh–” A blush dusted the man's cheeks and Tim wanted to bite. He resisted, instead stroking the man's cheek and meeting his eyes. 

“If you don't want us, it's okay, we will back off,” Tim offered. 

“But we are a package deal,” Steph added. “How it all plays out is flexible, though.” 

Tim watched the man's throat bob as he swallowed. “Um, yeah, okay. Name’s Jason.”

“Hi Jason.” Steph kissed his neck again in greeting. 

“Hi Jason,” Tim repeated dutifully before pulling him down and finally tasting.

Steph snorts, swatting him lightly. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.” She’s wearing a purple turtleneck and black skinny jeans tonight, both tight enough to emphasize her curves, and her hair is braided, falling down her back in a single golden rope. Her only accessory, at least that he can see, is a necklace: a silver key, dangling from a leather cord. Just the sight of it makes his stomach fluter. She takes off her shoes before heading further into the apartment; her purse left by the door, but a bag still slung over her shoulders.

Jason approaches to take it—but she stops him. “Have you eaten yet?” she asks lightly.

He shakes his head. “Not yet.”

Steph doesn’t look surprised. “Is it done?” she inclines her head toward the kitchen. At his nod, she says, “Plate us up some food, then. And don’t forget the water… you’re going to need it.” His face heats, and she grins like the wicked thing she is.

His cock also twitches, traitorous thing that it is.

Steph laughs at him. “I’m going to go put my stuff in your room. I’ll join you at the table when I’m done.” Her tone is gentle, polite, but her words are unmistakably orders—the same way her text about tonight had been. Rather than rankle him, though, it settles him; something in his shoulders loosening as he nods again.

“Okay.”

Steph kisses him briefly before she leaves to head upstairs, to his bedroom. Jason catches himself smiling on his way to the kitchen… but for once feels no reason to wipe it away.

He makes two plates and brings them to his small dining room table. It’s lighter fare than he's used to, and vegetarian for Steph. Stuffed portobello mushrooms and spinach, slightly wilted with a bit of lemon zest. Plus a side of garlic bread, because he tends to bake when he’s nervous.

He pours them both a glass of water, too; the nice stuff he keeps in the fridge in a pitcher, infused with strawberries, lemon, and a little mint.

Steph comes down just as he’s lit a couple of candles. He hears her coming, but the kiss she lays on him still surprises him. It’s not as brief—or chaste—as the first one. “It looks great, Jay,” she says. She’s got that starry-eyed look—the look that says How did I get so lucky? more clearly than words ever could. Jason has to turn away from it. His blush is back, and deeper than before.

“It was nothin’,” he says… and knows his mistake as soon as the words have left his mouth.

She clicks her tongue, and tugs him to face her again. The stars in her eyes are softer now; not so hard to look at, but still overwhelming. “It wasn’t. You put together a romantic dinner for us, and I appreciate it.”

His stomach squirms. The muscles feel tight. But there’s warmth, too, prickling under his skin. He doesn’t know what to do with praise, never has. As a little kid he could snap off a retort and it was still cute, but the older he got the less that was an acceptable option. Not that it stopped him, usually, but Steph is… different.

And also determined to undo him in as many different ways as she’s able.

“It really wasn’t…” He lets the sentence trail off when he sees her mouth twitch. “I was happy to do it,” he tries instead. “I—like when we can stay in. Have a nice night.”

Her face softens further, somehow, and it gets him another kiss. Kissing, he can do. It’s so much easier than talking.

Steph pulls away first—reluctantly, judging by the way she lingers in his airspace; her breath warm on his mouth. “The food’s gonna get cold.”

Jason hums. “We’ve uh. We’ve got the whole night ahead of us.”

She grins at that, the wicked glint back in her eye. It makes him squirm in a different way than the stars—but he prefers this. This kind of heat is so much less embarrassing to get worked up to. “Hell yeah we do.”

They sit at the table. Steph moans at her first bite of mushroom. Jason shifts, adjusting himself surreptitiously under the table. Every shift of his clothes against his skin sends a tingle up his spine. “God, so good,” she says, one hand half-covering her mouth, still full of food. “Seriously, I cannot believe someone didn’t snap you up before me. Good looks and you can cook?”

Aaaaand that terrible, wonderful squirming feeling is back again, feeding into his arousal in a way that make him want to duck and hide. He settles for taking a bite of spinach before drawling, “Yeah, that was probably because of all the murders.”

Steph pauses halfway through raising her drink to her mouth, cocking her head. “Hm. Well.” She shrugs. “Nobody’s perfect.” She shoots him a cheeky smile and a wink before taking a drink—and then making a bright, delighted noise. “You spoil me.”

He gets another compliment on the spinach, and the garlic bread too, and then, blessedly, Steph makes a comment about how long it all must have taken, and he’s able to shift the conversation onto one of his favorite subjects: cooking. And then, to further distract them both, he prods Steph about her day, and then vice versa, until, suddenly, there’s no more food in front of them.

The conversation keeps on for a while after that; they chat about everything and nothing at all. It’s not enough to distract Jason from the night ahead of them, his cock staying half-hard the entire time, but it’s… peaceful. Domestic, in a way he never really thought he would have.

Eventually, though, the conversation does trail off, and a content silent reigns before Jason stands up to gather the dishes. Steph helps him pile them up, but when he turns the water on, she presses herself against his back. She’s tall enough that she doesn’t have to rise to her toes to press a kiss behind his ear. “I’m going to go get things ready upstairs,” she whispers, her breath hot on his neck. “Come up whenever you’re ready.”

He shivers, bites his lip, and nods. “Yeah. Alright.” He turns, just enough that she can kiss him properly before she leaves—and so that he can watch her leave.

Then he turns back to the task at hand, trying not to lose himself in thoughts of what’s to come.