Rowan grinned happily. "Alright. I need your number, then." He reached into his pocket, fumbling with his phone a little as he turned it on. "So…number?" He asked, looking at Damian with a happy, kind smile on his face. He was very different now, as compared to when he was in his villains suit. Then he could be sadistic, cruel. Didn't care if people died, but didn't go out of his way to kill, either. But there was no trace of that person in him right now; only a gentle, rather lonely young man.
Damian’s heart fluttered a little, “Um, it’s… 722-555-6847,” Damian told him slowly, looking over at his phone to make sure he got down the numbers correctly. He knew that he really needed to focus on the mission right now, but… Damian wasn’t the kind of person who got a lot of caring attention like this. He lived in solitude for fear of someone finding out his secret ‘hero’ identity, he hardly went out much, not even his own family knew him that well ever since he’d moved away and stop calling. Now that Damian was suddenly given this man who liked him, there wasn’t a chance Damian would pretend he wasn’t lonely.
Rowan smiled, and input the number, saving it. "Alright. I'll send a text so you have mine." He smiled, sending a quick text. "Hi :)". He put the phone away, looking at Damian happily. "Well. Now that that's done, what would you like to do now?" He asked, looking out at the party. "Dance? Talk? Stuff our faces?" He chuckled softly, reaching out and taking Damian's hand again, still smiling. It felt like he was smiling maybe too much, but…he couldn't stop. Didn't want to, either.
Damian smiled when he felt his phone buzz from his pocket. He tilted his head at the question, not unlike how an adorable puppy looked, as he thought. Damian wasn’t much for eating, evident by his unhealthily small size. “Would you want to dance and talk?” He asked with a slightly shy smile, intertwining their fingers together just because he wanted to. Damian… he’d let himself enjoy tonight. Only one night though.
Rowan nodded, and led him onto the dance floor again. "Sounds good." He replied with a gentle, happy smile. So adorable… He wanted to kiss Damian. He hadn't even thought of that until now, but…he did. He wanted to. Just on the cheek or something, nothing too big and crazy. His arm was tucked around Damian's waist again, their fingers laced together.
Damian smiled back at him, his heart already dancing inside his chest as they walked back to the dance floor together. He leaned into Rowan when that hand came around his waist, glancing down at their hands together. “You and your cousin seem close,” Damian commented softly with a small smile, thinking that could be a good place to strike up a conversation.
Rowan nodded. "We are." He agreed. "I stayed with her and her parents after mine…died." he replied slowly. He still had nightmares about that week of their death. The things he had done trying to get them back. "Just until I was 18, then I came back here. I've been helping pay for her medical bills." He realized that Damian would have no idea what he meant, and added, "She has cancer." He gave a small, rueful smile. "But she won't let that stop her from doing anything."
“I…” Damian had no idea what to say, “I’m so sorry, that sounds horrible.” I’m so insensitive. His parents died? And his cousin had cancer? He had been so, so ignorant. The Reaper… Damian was beginning to realize how grey things were instead of black and white. “I’m sorry,” Damian repeated softly, squeezing Rowan’s hand a little.
(cue me just realizing that that was very dark for a conversation when they barely know each other…)
Rowan shrugged. "It's fine." He replied with a smile. "Let's talk about something else, though." He shrugged a little. "Like…hmm. Tell me something about yourself, Damian." He smiled lightly, squeezing Damian's hand back. "Ot could be something common, or something weird. Up to you." He swayed with the other man to the music, doing his best to keep his attention on the conversation, not the memories trying to rise up.
(lol tbh I do that all the time on accident while rp-ing)
Damian swayed with Rowan, a hint of worry in his eyes but he tried to distract himself from his natural instincts to worry about others that he cared for. But I don’t care for the Reaper, do I? Definitely not. “Hmmmm…” Damian thought for a moment, chewing his lower lip, “Well, what about this…?” Damian reluctantly let go of Rowan’s hand so he could pull down his shirt collar to reveal the intricate tattoo on his neck. “It’s the Celtic Tree of Life, it supposed to symbolize wisdom, strength, and longevity,” He explained, then smiled shyly, “I-I got it when I travelled to Ireland, and had been really, really drunk—that was the first time I had tried alcohol.”
(lol)
Rowan smiled. "Well, it's pretty. And it's not the worst thing you could have done drunk. I mean, what if you had gotten, like…a penis tattooed on your forehead? I know a guy who did that. True story." He grinned. "He got it lasered off pretty quickly." He chuckled softly. "But that one's pretty." He wanted to trace the lines with his finger, but took Damian's hand again to distract himself. No touching! He scolded himself.
Damian laughed, grinning back at Rowan. Damian hadn’t realized how little he smiled until he started smiling so much tonight. It felt… strange. “Yeah, I got lucky. The tattoo artist had sympathy for me when I stumbled into his parlor, I think,” Damian laughed a little more, shifting a little closer to Rowan as he swayed. Damian didn’t remember much of that night, mostly just when he had woken up on a comfy couch and felt sore on his neck. The tattoo guy had took pity on him and let him stay after he had passed out, thankfully. Damian was lightweight, and ever since then he had mostly avoided drinking. “You have any tattoos?” He asked curiously with a tiny smile.
"Hmm…confession time. I was the guy with the penis on my forehead." Rowan replied, laughing. A slightly embarrassed blush tinged his cheeks. "I was 21, drunk out of my mind, and friends with a bunch of dumbasses." He shook his head a little. "I know, i know, it's terrible. I have other tattoos though, yeah. Some are more…personal, that I won't share now. But i have a tattoo on the small of my back, and one on my shoulderblade."
Damian barked out a laugh, true laughter. A laughter that didn’t usually surface often. “That’s hilarious,” He said with a humorous smile. He almost opened his mouth to say he wanted to see the other tattoos but quickly shut his mouth and blushed that that would imply Damian wanted to see him with his shirt off. Not that I wouldn’t enjoy the sight…
Rowan grinned. "Glad you think so." He replied, chuckling softly. "I got it lasered off like…three days later." He shook his head a little. "In the meantime, I wore hats. Big ones, to cover up the thing completely."
Damian laughed some more, leaning into Rowan’s chest a little—not realizing how close they really were because he was too preoccupied with happiness. “Aww, but hats would cover up your pretty hair,” He made an attempt at flirting, blushing furiously but not regretting it.
Rowan chuckled. "Yes, but I'd rather cover up my hair than walk around with a penis on my forehead." He replied, laughing softly. He held Damian close, swaying to the music. He really liked Damian. He did. Or at least, he was starting to.
Damian held back another flirty comment, though he couldn’t stop his blush from appearing at the dirty thought that came into his head. Gosh. Look what my lonely heart turned me into. I want to flirt with the Reaper of all people… But, Damian couldn’t help himself from letting his heart roam free for tonight. To let himself maybe really start liking Rowan… Damian felt a light breeze come by, but it was enough to make him shiver a little.
Rowan noticed the shiver. "You alright? Cold?" He asked, pulling Damian closer to his warm body, and looking at him. "If you're cold, we can go somewhere and warm up?" He smiled lightly. No, don't take this the wrong way. He scolded himself. Warming up means warming up. Not bed.
Damian greedily leaned into Rowan’s warm chest, savoring how comfy the other man was. “A little…” He admitted and blushed shyly, “Th-That would be really nice.” Damian often considered himself a little cursed by his powers, always too cold to get comfortable. And now, the thought of his enemy being the one to help him keep warm… Gosh, I’m so fucked, aren’t I?
Rowan smiled. "Alright." He led Damian out into a side room, and grabbed a folded blanket. Unfolding it, he sat down, pulling Damian with him, and tucked the blanket around both of them. "There. Better? Or do we need more?" He wrapped his arms around Damian for added warmth, giving him a gentle, happy smile.
Damian couldn’t help the fuzzy warm feeling in his chest, he liked being taken care of like this very much. Too much. He snuggled into Rowan’s side -Damian had a huge weakness for cuddling- and mumbled, “That’s much better… thank you, Rowan…” Damian let out a content sigh, closing his eyes, not only from his comfort to do so but also from a bit of exhaustion that had been wearing on him.
"You're welcome." Rowan replied, leaning his head against Damian's and closing his eyes. He was almost comfortable enough to just…fall asleep like this. But no, he couldn't let himself do that. If he did, he would have nightmares and wake up screaming. Or, worse, he would kill Damian in his sleep, just that simple touch enough to kill the other man. And he didn't want that to happen. Not at all.
“I’m always cold, I guess, but this is really nice…” Damian mumbled with a smile. He faintly heard the party, but that was in the very back of his mind, along with the voice shouting at him about how wrong this is and how Damian should be gathering intel right now. Damian cracked an eye opened, then reached over to grab Rowan’s hand and tug it in front of him. He looked at his palm, using his pointer finger to trace over Rowan’s palm and over those slender fingers as he silently compared their hands. One, meant to kill, the other, meant to freeze, yet upon closer examination… they didn’t look all that much different.
He smiled, and let Damian touch his hand, shivering a little at the feeling. "Mm. Well, I'll warm you up whenever you want. If you let me." He shrugged, chuckling softly as he stayed close to Damian, his other arm still around him gently.
