Damian smiled, then laced their hands together. Before he could stop himself -his very idiotic self- he leaned in and planted a quickly, almost shy kiss to Rowan’s cheek. He quickly looked away with a deep blush, but didn’t regret what he did. Did I just really kiss the Reaper’s cheek?
Rowan blinked at the kiss, opening his eyes and looking at Damian, startled. "I…what was that for?" He asked, raising an eyebrow a little. Not that he didn't like it; quite the opposite. He was startled, yes, but…not upset. Far from it.
Damian smiled shyly as he replied, “Because you’re really sweet. Because I…” Because I was wrong about you. “Because I think you’re really, really warm.” Even though it was just a simple kiss on the cheek and nothing more, Damian hadn’t kissed anyone in a long while -ever since he started focusing on saving the city or whatever with his powers rather than his actual well-being and happiness- and he was glad he did. Plus… it was a silent ’I’m sorry for a the things I’ve ever thought of you because you’re the Reaper’.
Rowan smiled. "Oh. Alright. Thanks." He pulled Damian closer. "This, then, is because you're actually giving me a chance." He pressed a gentle kiss to Damian's cheek, smiling lightly at the other male. He pulled the blankets closer around them, creating almost a tent of the soft fabric.
Damian’s eye’s widened for a second in surprise, blushing but also smiling. He just kissed me. On the cheek. Sure, Damian had done the same action to Rowan just a few moments ago, but wow it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He snuggled his arms around the other man, smiling giddily as he said, “You know how to make a man happy.”
Rowan hummed softly. "Of course I do. In more ways than one." He winked flirtatiously, a smirk darting over his face as he gave Damian a teasing smile. "But I already promised Lily that I wasn't doing that tonight." He shrugged slightly.
Damian blushed furiously, pursing his lips to attempt to hide his shy smile. He had only ever tried doing it once before, and to say it went horribly wrong was a huge understatement and they hadn't even taken all their clothes off. He opened his mouth, about to say something flirty back, but before a syllable could even leave his lips his phone went off. An alarm he’d set for himself earlier. He quickly shut it off, but frowned as he muttered, “I should get home.”
Rowan frowned a little, and nodded. "Oh. Okay." He slowly let go of Damian, hiding his disappointment. "I'll contact you, if that's still alright?" He gave Damian a quick, hopeful smile. Please don't back out on me. Please I'm so tired of being alone. He begged in his mind, biting his lower lip slightly. Please, I like you so much.
“Yes, please,” Damian replied with a giddy smile before standing up and reluctantly shifting away from the man’s warmth. “I… I had a lot of fun tonight Rowan. I’m sad that it got cut off short, and I love to repay you if you wanted to go on a datewithmemaybe?” Damian barely got the last part out, nerves creeping in on him. Please say yes. I’m a lonely guy, I hardly have a social life, I am heavily attracted to you. Please say no. I’m work best alone, I don’t need friends, physical and emotional attraction is bad anyways—you’re the Reaper. Please say yes. Please say no. Yes. No. Please. He was probably heavily blushing as the thoughts ran though his head.
Rowan nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I'd love to." He replied quickly, swallowing his excitement and giving Damian a happy, bright smile. "That would be…yeah." He grinned, letting out a quick breath. He said yes. At least for one date I won't be alone. I'll know he wanted it. I won't be… He trailed off, swallowing again. "S-so I'll…I'll text you, yeah?" He said. "That's…when are you free?"
Damian’s heart was leaping for joy, and he knew he was in deep trouble. How on earth was he supposed to fight this guy with he put on his masks and pretended to be confident and strong? Damian smiled brightly back at him “Sounds good. I’m pretty much free at any time, really…” Damian replied softly. He was really only busy when the Reaper attacked, and right now he was without a job so….
Rowan couldn't wipe the smile from his face. "Alright. Then I'll…I'll let you know." He said, trying to contain his excitement. He swallowed. "So…I'll walk you to the door, then?" He took Damian's hand, and started walking. "Do you want any food before you go?" He asked, glancing over at Damian.
Damian’s face matched Rowan’s, his heart fluttering like a thousand birds. Yep, I’m definitely fucked. There is absolutely no way I’m going to be able to fix this. “That sounds lovely,” He replied and smiled at their intertwined hands as they began walked back out towards the doors. “I think I’m good, I filled up on hors d'oeuvres earlier,” Damian insisted, though he most certainly hadn’t eaten much at all, Rowan didn’t need to know that.
Rowan nodded. "Alright. Do you…do you have a preference on where we go for the date?" He asked, looking at Damian with slightly raised eyebrows. He still couldn't wipe the smile off of his face as he looked over at the other male. "And… which one's your car? I'll walk you to it." He said as they came outside, thumb rubbing Damian's knuckles lightly.
Damian thought it over for a moment, before finally deciding to say, “Hmmm… I like surprises.” He grinned happily. Damian very much liked to be able to stretch out his moments with Rowan up until the very last second. “It’s the Ford Taurus, over towards the back.” It was from the year 2000 and had bits of rust all over it, but it was what he could afford. Damian always prayed that it wouldn’t kick the bucket anytime soon.
Rowan nodded, and started leading him towards it. "I'll surprise you, then. If you want, I'll even pick you up." He smiled at Damian, very much tempted to kiss him again. He squeezed Damian's hand gently, and sighed, unintentionally walking a little slower to delay getting to the car. Delay the other man from leaving, just a little bit.
Damian nodded wholeheartedly, “I’d like that a lot.” He smiled back at the handsome man, shifting a little closer to him as they walked. A little faint voice in the back of his mind kept screaming at him that he was talking with the Reaper for crying out loud. Curse his lovesick heart. “I like…” I like you a lot. Damian shut that sentence down, because if he said it aloud it would make it that much truer.
Rowan took a deep breath, and raised his eyebrows a little. "Hm? What?" He asked, looking at Damian curiously. He stopped as they reached the car, not wanting to let go. Not wanting Damian to leave. He swallowed, and kissed his cheek softly. He wished he were brave enough to kiss him for real, but…he didn't want to scare Damian off.
“I…” Damian tried to build up the courage to say the words, despite everything in him screaming that he shouldn’t, that the night was ending and he shouldn’t let himself fall for the Reaper like this. He shouldn’t let himself say something like that again, because he knew he needed to lock up these feelings and it’s only be harder the longer he let himself enjoy his time with Rowan. But when Rowan kissed his cheek, and immediate blush appeared on his face and he found the strength to speak again, “I really like you, Rowan. I- I didn’t think I would, but I do. And… And just thank you, for tonight.” Damian took a deep breath and leaned in to Rowan’s chest, a hint of shyness on his face but he got closer nonetheless.
Rowan blinked, taking in his words. He shouldn't let himself hope. And he knew that. He knew that eventually Damian would leave, everyone did eventually. But he wrapped his arms around Damian and leaned his head against his. "I really like you too." He replied softly. "You're welcome. And…thank you for giving me a chance. Not many people do." His identify, as Reaper, was too well known. No one wanted to get close to a man whose touch caused death.
Damian smiled softly, very much aware how close their lips were. No. Nope. Can’t do that. I cannot let that happen. “You deserve a chance… you’re really just like anyone else…” Damian mumbled, the other man’s words hitting his heart hard. How many times had he just assumed the Reaper was a cold hearted murderer? “People shouldn’t judge you based on your powers, or your appearance.” For good or for worse. Damian, though obviously not as badly judged as Rowan, could relate on a small level. People thought Damian was all suave and collected, the media wrongly assumed his life wasn’t a lonely, broke, train wreck.
Rowan shrugged slightly. "It's what people do. I should be used to it by now…" But I'm not. He looked down at Damian. He wanted to close the distance between them, kiss him, but he knew…he knew that that wasn't really a good idea. "And I'm not just like anyone else. I wish I was, but I'm not, and I can't be. Not with what I'm able to do." His eyes were pensive, a little withdrawn. Lonely. He closed his eyes for a moment, swallowing, then opened his eyes again, looking at Damian.
“But we can pretend, can’t we? For just one small moment, we can pretend to be normal, to be just like everyone else. Free from worries and pain, we can pretend that- that you’re normal.” Damian leaned a little closer, trying to give permission with his eyes. “We can forget what people think, and just be me and you. Not Damian and the Reaper, but Damian and Rowan. Just for one… small moment…” Kiss me. Don’t kiss me. Kiss me. Don’t kiss me. Kiss me…
Rowan closed his eyes, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Damian's mouth, gentle as he could. He pulled away after a moment, blushing a little. "Sorry. I…" He gave a small smile. "I want that. What…just being able to be you and me." His voice was quiet. "I'm…so tired of being the Reaper." He admitted, leaning his forehead against Damian's.
Damian melted when those soft lips met his, his eyes fluttering closed and a huge blush rising to his face. His eyes stay closed as he smiled back at him, whispering. “I want that too. I want…” Damian’s hands found Rowan’s shoulders, as if marveling the strength beneath them. “I want…”