Damian returned the light kiss, smiling softly. He blushed at Rowan’s next words, his heart fluttering like a bird within a cage. “I-… I’m not perfect,” Damian protested softly, the blush never ceasing. Damian wasn’t perfect in the slightest. He was unemployed, he could hardly control his powers, he failed to save innocent civilians, he was almost broke… Damian didn’t really deserve Rowan. Rowan had so much class and style, he was handsome, surely he could control his powers, he was… amazing. Just amazing.
Rowan smiled lightly, tracing a finger along Damian's jawline. "Yes you are." He replied. He kissed the tip of Damian's nose. "You're sweet, and kind, and wonderful, and so patient and gentle, and…you make me believe in…in people again." He had been about to say 'make me believe in love again', but figured it was a little early for things like that.
Damian blushed even more, his eyes sparkling. “You made me believe I have a place in this world. That I’m not alone.” Damian hugging onto Rowan tighter, never wanting to let go. Rowan made him feel valued, he made him feel worth something. And Rowan had magic too, sure, Rowan didn’t use his magic for good, but still. Damian wasn’t alone in that aspect either, even if Rowan didn’t know that.
Rowan held him. "You aren't alone, Damian." He replied, kissing the other male's cheek gently. "Never." He closed his eyes, holding Damian as close as he could. He didn't want to ever, ever let go. Though he would if he was asked to.
Damian would’ve stayed there for an eternity. Longer, even. Damian found someone that made him feel worth something. Most of his life had boiled down to Bailey, saving the city, job. In that order, that robotic way of life without much fun other than his dog companion. Damian had finally found someone that inspired him to be happy.
Rowan smiled at him, pressing another kiss to Damian's cheek. He wanted to just hold Damian. His own life had been…rather aimless. On the days he did show up for work, he found it difficult to concentrate on anything, too preoccupied with worry about the Reaper coming out. So he stayed home, a ghost in a too big house, haunted with too many memories.
Damian grinned brightly, this time placing a returning kiss on Rowan’s cheek in answer. He snuggled as close as possible and tucked his head in Rowan’s neck. “I should go home eventually…” He muttered, though made no move to get up or move. In fact, he only seemed to hold onto Rowan tighter.
Rowan nodded a little. "Yeah…your dog will need to be fed, won't he?" He replied. He didn't want to let go of Damian either, and hugged him tightly. He kissed Damian for real this time, planting his mouth gently to Damian's own.
"Yeah…" Damian mumbled quietly before he softly kissed him back. He melted into him, soaking in this moment—not knowing if he'd get it again sometime soon. Maybe next time he could just take Bailey here, that way he wouldn't have to leave.
Rowan nodded a little bit, pulling away after a few moments of their lips together. Much as he loved the feeling of Damian's soft lips against his own…they couldn't kiss all day. Even if he wanted to. "I can drive you home, then. Whenever you're ready." he said softly, running a hand through Damian's hair and loving the silky soft feel of it in his hands. He wished that they could just stay here and talk and kiss and cuddle. But they couldn't.
Damian sighed as he pulled away. “Thank you, Rowan,” He murmured with a soft smile before making himself pull away and stand. “I’m sure Bailey’s missing me right now,” Damian said with a small chuckle, though part of him just wanted to tumble back into Rowan’s arms instead of leave.
Rowan chuckled. He stood up as well. "You're welcome." He replied with a smile. "Come on, let's go." He took Damian's hand gently, and led him towards where the car was parked. "I'll drive you home. And if you want me to stay…I can. If you want." He gave a quick smile.
Damian squeezed Rowan’s hand, quickly deciding that he never wanted to let go of this man. Sure, physically, he’d have to in order for Rowan to drive. But figuratively… Damian wanted to spend many more morning with Rowan. He wanted to kiss Rowan many more times. “I’d like that,” Damian told him with a shy but incredibly happy smile.
Rowan smiled, and grabbed his keys from where he had set them yesterday. He had grabbed a shirt earlier, thankfully, so he just unlocked the car and opened Damian's door for him. "You'll have to let go of me so I can drive, though." He said with a smile. He released his own grip on Damian's hand, leaning over to kiss Damian's cheek.
Damian pouted, “Noooo…” He whined, but let go of Rowan and slid into the car. He simply adored the handsome male. Sure, Rowan had that one flaw about being the Reaper and murdering people, but everything else about him was amazing. Rowan just made him feel so good on the inside, Rowan made him feel valued and treasured.
Rowan smiled at him, then got into the car and started it up. "Let's go. I should be able to find your place again, but we'll see." He chuckled a little as he began to drive. "If you want the radio, I assume you know how to work the controls."
“Okay,” Damian chimed, focusing his attention to get something up on the radio. He was flipping through channels until he caught the word ‘Frost’ and paused. It was a local news radio station, and he knew he shouldn’t listen in, but…
“-left the city in a state of panic, ice covering a part of main street, along with some snow. It took a couple hours for it all to melt, delaying the clean up what the Reaper left behind. Honestly, sometimes it seems like he does more harm that good, imagine all the people walking by and seeing corpses frozen to the ground.”
Damian turned the volume down, biting his lower lip to hide his frown. “Hey Rowan, what do you think about that Frost guy?” He asked, looking out the window so his face didn’t betray himself.
Rowan swallowed, raking a hand through his hair. Hate him. A nuisance. The Reaper raspd. Rowan shivered. "I uhm…" He hesitated, not sure what to say. "I don't know. Sometimes I wish he would just…stop me. Catch me. Even if that meant I died. But…on the other hand… I don't know." He shrugged slightly, keeping his eyes focused on the road.
Damian frowned a little, “I don’t want you to die,” He told him focusing his attention on the road as well. On the other hand… Rowan did say that, didn’t he? Did he hate the Frost? Does he hate me? “I bet he- I bet he hurts you a lot, doesn’t he? When you two fight?” Damian asked softly, in part trying to probe more to see what Rowan thought of him, to pick at why Rowan did what he did to the city. The other part… Damian felt guilty, for hurting Rowan so many times.
Rowan gave a humorless laugh. "Sometimes I wish I would." he replied, about the dying part. He kept his eyes on the road. At the questions, he shrugged slightly. "Hurts me, yeah. But it doesn't matter. As for why…why do you think, Damian? Because I'm the villain and he's the hero. That's how this works." he clenched his jaw for a moment, scrubbing a hand over his face.
Damian’s heart broke a little. “Rowan?” Damian bit his lip, taking his attention off the road to focus wholly on Rowan. “Rowan, can you please pull over. Just for a minute,” Damian said softly as he turned the radio off completely. Damian didn’t like this, he didn’t like the things coming out of Rowan’s mouth. It made his heart ache for the other male.
Rowan pulled over, putting the car in park just in case. He kept his eyes focused on the road, though, unable to meet Damian's eyes. He swallowed hard, raking a hand through his hair and taking a deep breath. "There." He finally said softly. He set his hands in his lap.
Damian unbuckled his seatbelt, a saddened frown growing on his face. He leaned over and tightly wrapped his arms around Rowan, breathing him in. “I don’t want you to die, Rowan. Okay? I don’t want you to die,” Damian told him quietly yet firmly as he hugged him tighter and repeated, “I really don’t want you to die. I don’t want you to get hurt, and I especially don’t want you to die.”
Rowan swallowed, looking at Damian and hugging him back. "I-I…" He let out a breath. "Okay." He kissed the top of Damian's head, hugging Damian tightly. He closed his eyes. He wanted to die sometimes, though. When he hurt people and wasn't able to stop it, when he thought about his parents.
Damian hugged him a little tighter for good measure and repeated the words again as if to solidify them, “Rowan, I don’t want you to die.” Damian knew that he, of all people, should want the Reaper dead. But no, he did not. Damian would do anything to prevent that from happening. Damian breathed him in, memorizing his scent and the feel of his warmth. “Please tell me if I can do anything to make it better,” Damian whispered softly into Rowan’s shirt.
