Hero x Villain // O/O // Closed

Rowan cupped his face with a hand. His fingers lightly traced the other man's jaw. "Hm. Someone's lying to themselves." He said lightly. "Because when I look at you, I see only a handsome young man. I don't see anyone boring." He gave a gentle but flirtatious smile, fingers lightly skimming over Damian's jaw.

Damian leaned his head into the hand. How long had it been since someone touched his face like that? Probably never. “I… Y-You probably say that to all the guys you meet, don’t you?” Damian prayed that it was the truth. He honestly did, despite how his stupid lovesick heart wanted him to deny it, his brain frankly needed Rowan to admit to something like that because he was on a mission, he had a duty, he wasn’t supposed to enjoy himself.

"Nope." Rowan replied. "Only when it's true. And it isn't always." he chuckled softly, thumb brushing lightly against Damian's cheek. "In your case, it's very true. Prettiest guy in the room, and the first one to catch my eye." He smiled at Damian, a real, heart-stoppingly genuine smile.

Damian felt a fuzzy warm feeling spread in his chest at that stunning smile that was meant for him, but he immediately tried to squash it down. This is for the mission, and the mission only. “Y-You’re too sweet,” He squeaked shyly, and curse his traitorous body, he leaned into Rowan even more as they swayed together. It didn’t help him in the slightest that Rowan felt warm. Sure, Damian controlled ice and was naturally a cold person, but that didn’t mean he liked the cold.

Rowan's hand slid to his lower back to hold him close. "Hm. That's the first time I've been told that." His heart fluttered in his chest, and he swallowed slightly, holding Damian close. "But it's still the truth." He wanted…he wanted him to stay. He really did. He wanted Damian to trust him and let him…let him…he didn't even now. But he wanted someone he could love. Not just another one night stand.

Damian found himself leaning in even closer, curse his lonely heart for wanting someone. At least he stopped himself before he could lean his head on the other’s shoulder. “Are… are you as bad as people say you are?” Damian whispered before he could stop himself. He wanted to know. To know what the Reaper was like, beyond the undead armies and touch of death. He wanted Rowan to tell him something. He didn’t know exactly what, but it was like he needed for the man to tell Damian that he wasn’t the monster Damian wanted to believe him to be.

Rowan stiffened a little, eyes flickering slightly. "I don't know. Am I?" he replied. I don't know. I don't know. They say I'm a murderer, and I am. They say…they say… He took a deep breath, the smile slipping away and a pensive, slightly withdrawn look appeared. "I would rather not talk about it." he said finally. "As you have likely already made up your mind, and nothing I say will change it if you have already decided that I'm a monster."

Damian knew he messed up. He was hardly good with words to begin with, what did he expect of himself? It was probably better to distance himself from the Reaper anyways. But he couldn’t stop himself from pulling away slightly so he could speak with clarity and sureness while looking Rowan in the eyes, “I haven’t made up my mind about anything about you, except for the fact that you’ve been too kind to me,” He attempted a tiny smile, because… well, his sentence was the truth. His heart had blurred the lines a little in the brief moments they had just shared, and Damian was truly at a loss for whether to listen to his brain or listen to his heart.

Rowan swallowed. "I…alright." the smile returned after a moment. "And how have I been too kind? I've only spoken the truth." he spun Damian around, and guided him to the edge of the crowd as the song ended. He knew he should release the other man, but…he didn't want to. He wanted to keep holding on to Damian. He slowly, reluctantly removed his arm from around Damian's waist, though he was still holding his hand.

When that smile came back, Damian felt… relief. Relief? No, he couldn’t be relieved at the sight of that smile. He wasn’t supposed to like Rowan. But those worries floated away like sticks in a stream as he was spun around, his heart fluttering like a hummingbird. “Well, for starters you keep telling me I look better that what I am,” Damian insisted, then continued, “A-And I don’t deserve compliments of any kind to begin with. I’m… I’m not the kind of person you should be giving them to.” Indeed, Damian was from a different world. Sure, he was a, quote unquote, ‘hero’, as the media liked to label him, but that only solidified Damian’s resolve that Rowan shouldn’t compliment him of all people. It wasn’t right, if Rowan knew Damian was the Frost, he’d probably be disgusted. Damian couldn’t stop his smile from shrinking just a tiny bit when that gentle, warm arm left his waist, his heart longing for more of that human contact but too shy to asked to be held like that again.

(gtg to bed. Good night!)

Rowan shook his head. "Nope. You do deserve it, and I'll call you beautiful as many times as it takes until you believe me. Now, you said you wanted to meet my cousin?" he smiled, and led Damian over to a thin, young teenage girl sitting in a chair as she watched the party. "Lilly, this is Damian. Damian, this is Lilly. She designed the party."

Lilly smiled up at them. "Nice to meet you." she blushed slightly at the praise. "Rowan, stop it! You designed half of it!" she argued.

"Maybe, but you're the mastermind." Rowan replied with a wink.

Damian was about to protest again how he was not beautiful, but he nodded at the mention of Rowan’s cousin. As he was led over, he quickly shut down his original idea of his cousin being a persuasion chip. She we so young, Damian knew he couldn’t being himself to do that. “Nice to meet you, Lilly,” Damian greeted with a smile, brushing away his responsibilities for the moment, “The party is truly wonderful. It’s all amazing.”

Lilly smiled, blushing a little. "Thank you. Rowan wanted a party, but none of the responsibility." She gave Rowan a mock stern look.

Rowan grinned. "Who, me?" He teased, smiling. He still had his hand in Damian's. "Never."

Lilly rolled her eyes fondly, then broke off, coughing. Her coughs rattled in her chest a little, her thin shoulders shaking and drawing inward.

Rowan bit his lip. "Are you alright?" He asked softly. She nodded, waving a hand and taking a moment to recover.

Damian smiled at the interaction, but it quickly turned to a frown when she started coughing. He was about to ask if she was okay, but Rowan beat him to it. He paused, biting his lip. Damian… Damian felt bad at the surprise that had sprung in his chest upon seeing the Reaper see if someone was alright. It wasn’t like Rowan wasn’t human… But he’s still a villain. I have to realize that. But the longer Damian spent with the Reaper, he realized more and more that… he wasn’t just the Reaper. He was a person too.

Lilly took in a breath, letting it out in a soft huff. "Sorry about that." She said, giving a rueful smile. "Not doing great today."

Rowan sighed softly. "Do you need to go home?" He asked worriedly. It was painfully obvious that he cared a lot for his younger cousin, and didn't want her hurt or in pain.

Lilly shook her head. "No, I'm okay." She said. She looked at Damian, giving him a quick smile. "So. How'd you catch my cousin's eye?"

Rowan blushed a little, coughing now. "Lilly!" He exclaimed.

Gosh, Damian felt… he felt something in his chest. Upon seeing cold hard proof that Rowan… Rowan cared for someone. Focus on the mission, Damian… He tried to remind himself, but try wasn’t exactly do. Damian was pulled from his thoughts with the question, his face immediately blushing as he explained with a spying smile, “Well, he keeps claiming I’m pretty but I have my doubts.” He shyly smiled at Rowan, bit his lip a little but something just seemed to sparkle in his eyes.

Rowan smirked slightly. "Hey, if I say you are, you are." He replied, the smirk turning into a genuine smile as he looked at Damian.

Lilly wrinkled her nose. "Hmm. Rowan, no sleeping with people tonight. I'm staying over, remember? And I don't want to hear…anything." she waved a hand.

Rowan's eyes widened, and he turned red. "No, Lilly!" He facepalmed, peeking sideways at Damian. "I have no such plans, I swear." He said, laughing in an embarrassed manner.

Lilly smirked mischievously. She looked at Damian. "As for him calling you pretty…I agree. A little bit." She laughed softly.

Damian had blushed before, but when Lilly had said… Damian’s cheeks burned a bright red. Sleep with me? Sex? Oh my gosh…. Damian didn’t know anything about- Relief washed over him when Rowan told him that wasn’t his plans. Gosh if he had asked Damian with that intent… Damian might have -quite literally- froze up when they got to it. Although…. No. I can’t let myself think like that. “I-I really don’t deserve such compliments,” He replied shyly, shifting a little so he was ever so slightly leaning off of Rowan’s side and sapping off his warmth.

Rowan hummed softly. "Yes you do." He replied, putting his arm around Damian gently. "Stop saying you don't." He gave him a gentle smile.

Lilly grinned, then turned her attention back to the party, sensing that the conversation no longer concerned her.

Rowan leaned his head against Damian's for a moment. "You're a beautiful person. A beautiful man. And…if you let me, I would love to get to know you better outside of just this evening." He spoke softly.

You don’t understand… I’m -supposed to be- plotting your down fall, to put you in jail…. Every compliment Rowan insisted was making it infinitely harder for Damian to hate the man before him. It was harder to think about all the times they’d fought under the names of Frost and Reaper, when he was looking at Rowan’s face like he was a normal human being. So, when Rowan spoke softly to him like that… Damian knew it’d be so easy to just politely say no, to get info and leave, but gosh darn it the only thing that came out of his mouth was, “I- I’d like that very much.” Curse his heart. He tried to blame it on the mission, to tell himself he was only wanting to continue this because he could get more information that way, but even he knew that that was a huge lie.

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.”