Hero x Villain // O/O // Closed

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…”

Rowan looked down at him carefully, grey eyes searching and so, so hopeful it almost hurt. "What?" he asked softly, cupping Damian's cheek with his hand, thumb caressing the other male's cheek lightly. What do you want? He wondered. He was so…happy. Someone was finally willing to maybe look past everything, to see him for who he was and what he wanted to be. He just hoped that this didn't turn out to be a lie, like it had so many times before.

“I want…” Damian whispered and leaned in, hardly breathing. He wanted to not be the Frost. He wanted Rowan to not be the Reaper. He wanted to stay right there in that moment forever, to pretend he didn’t have his responsibilities—to pretend that he didn’t have the responsibility to put the man in front of him in prison or worse. Damian wanted to finally have someone in his life, to put his heart on the line for someone… “I want you to kiss me again.”

Rowan smiled gently, and did as Damian asked, pressing their lips together gently, lightly. He didn't want to be rough, or seem demanding or angry or anything od the sort. His hand slid from Damian's cheek to the back of his head, tangling in his hair. His other arm went around Damian's thin body. Please let this be real. Please. Please I need someone that cares. He thought.

Damian soaked in the gentleness of the kiss, the man kissing the Reaper back with undertones of care. He leaned in, deciding he’d never get enough of this, of those perfect lips- This is the Reaper for crying out loud. Why? Why must I of all people have to fall for the Reaper? His hands slid around Rowan’s back, tugging at him a little closer.

Rowan held him close, eyes flickering shut as his lips moved against Damian's. Even if this doesn't work out…at least it was real tonight. He thought, wondering vaguely if Damian was wrinkling his suit jacket, but not really caring if he did. He let out a soft breath, pulling away for a moment, then brought his mouth back to Damian's, light and gentle and kind.

Damian hadn’t remembered the last time he had been kissed. Well, he did, but he hadn’t been kissed like this. He never felt such care before, such gentleness before. I’d bet he’d be gentle if we- Nope. Not gonna go there. Bad Damian, very bad. Damian didn’t want the moment to end, but he made himself pull away a fraction of an inch to take a pause to breathe. “Rowan… I… I really liked that,” Damian whispered softly as he cracked his eyes open.

Rowan opened his eyes after a moment, his grey eyes soft. "Me too, Damian." he replied in a soft whisper, the hand tangled in Damian's hair sliding down to his shoulder gently. He couldn't remember the last time he had had a relationship that hadn't ended either because the person was only after his money, or because he scared them too much. And god, he hoped that that wasn't what was going to happen with Damian. He didn't want that to happen again.

Damian glanced at his car, having a very hard time to motivate himself to pull away, so he didn’t. Damian ended up shifting to lean his head into Rowan’s shoulder, smiling softly. He wanted to tell Rowan that he was the Frost -after all, Damian knew Rowan was the Reaper- but he couldn’t bring himself to. Not when the confession could ruin the moment, heck, it could put him in danger. But then why don’t I feel afraid? Damian, honestly felt safe snuggled up against the other man’s strong chest. “Rowan…”

Rowan looked at him with a slight, soft smile. "Yes?" He asked, rubbing Damian's back with one hand. He took a deep breath, chest rising and falling evenly, his heartbeat steady. He ran a hand through Damian's hair gently.

Damian leaned into those touches, almost like a cat. He couldn’t remember a time when he was held like this, with such affection and care. “I should go… but I want to stay…” Damian mumbled, curse himself. He wanted to cling to this moment while it lasted.

Rowan gave a small smile. "I know…" he replied softly, running his hand through Damian's hair still. "But…if you need to leave, I'll let you go." he wanted Damian to stay, but he knew that the other probably couldn't or wouldn't be able to. He didn't know why Damian had to leave, but he didn't want him to go.

He knew he needed to go, Damian needed to be at home so he could wait for his phone call. But surely a job interview wasn’t that important? Damian wanted to stay. It’s not like he even really wanted the job, especially because it was the night shift. The only problem was that he, unfortunately, needed money to sustain himself and his already small amount in his bank account was running out with each rent payment he had to make. It was so hard for him to keep jobs, because sometimes he had mysteriously disappear in the middle of his shift, right before the Frost came out to ‘save the city’ or whatever. Damian frowned slightly at the thought. “Promise you’ll text me soon?” He whispered softly, glancing at his car.

Rowan smiled. "I promise." he replied, still stroking Damian's hair gently. "If you really need to go, don't let me stop you. We'll see each other again soon, I promise." he kissed Damian's forehead softly. He wanted to kiss him again, but…kissing made it rather hard to talk. He sighed softly, arm still resting around Damian's waist.

Damian took a deep breath, mumbling, “I really, really had fun.” Much more fun than I ever would’ve imagined. I didn’t even get the information that I came here for, but I got something so much better… He bit his lip, then made himself pull away from Rowan’s warm, gentle arms. “Thank you. Next time we hang out, I won’t cut it off so soon,” He promised with a smile, then finally made himself get into his car.

Rowan reluctantly let go, silver eyes lingering on Damian. "I had fun too. And I look forward to seeing you again." he said, stepping back from the car so that Damian could drive away. "You can text or call me if you ever need me for anything." he added, giving the other a smile.

(ooh so I know how this should eventually go…so they should be happily dating and stuff for a while, and then Damian either tells him that he's Freeze, or Rowan somehow finds out, and then angst and drama lol)

(Yaas, plus I was kinda thinking they could fight against each other, but Damian would try to not hurt him as much and then end up getting hurt more often because of it, and Rowan sees bruises or cuts later when their on a date or something)

Damian grinned brightly, starting the car after two tries and putting it into drive. He gave Rowan one last smile before finally making himself drive away. His heart was still warm and fuzzy even as he drove out onto the road. Gosh, this was going to be really, really bad, wasn’t it? Curse his loneliness, if only he had stayed away from Rowan -no, the Reaper- but alas, he just had to fall for the guy.

(ooh yes! And then Rowan gets all worried and asking how Damian got hurt and stuff)

Rowan waved as Damian left. Once the other man's car was out of sight, he headed back inside, still smiling. He grabbed a drink, and walked over to Lilly, smiling still.

"Damian leave?" She asked him, looking up with a smile.

"Yeah…I'm going to go on a date with him sometime soon." Rowan replied with another smile.

(Yesss! sounds awesome, I can’t wait)
Rowan was on Damian’s mind the entire time on the drive back to his apartment. How would he tell him he was the Frost? “I can’t…” Damian muttered to himself as he drove. He didn’t want to risk it, not after what had happened. Not after he had been held with so much care and gentleness. Damian was selfish, he knew, but he didn’t want to give that up by revealing his second identity.

(same!! Do we want to do a timeskip to their date or next fight?)

Rowan sat down with a happy, contented sigh.

"It's been a while since I've seen anyone make you this happy." Lilly said softly, looking up at him.

Rowan nodded. "Yeah. I think…I think he really does like me for me. Not because of…anything else. And he said…he said he wasn't scared of me." He gave Lilly an almost heartbreakingly hopeful glance.

Lilly smiled, leaning against him. "That's good. You deserve someone like that. And he seemed nice, too."

(Hmmm, I’m cool with either, which would you prefer?)

Damian made it to his apartment safely, silently jogging up the steps to the second floor. He was still smiling as he slipped into his apartment. He was greeted by his only roommate, Bailey—his fourteen year old beagle that was laying on his dog bed near the couch. “How you doing bud?” Damian asked softly with a small chuckle, making sure to bring a dog treat for Bailey and bringing it to the dog so he wouldn’t have to get up. Bailey hadn’t been doing so good lately, Damian was pretty sure his eyesight was getting a lot worse the past couple weeks. “I met a guy, I’ll have you know. We kissed.” Damian told the beagle, who was more preoccupied with the dog treat at the moment but Damian didn’t care. “His name’s Rowan. He’s really sweet. The only problem is he’s the Reaper, can you believe that?” Damian looked to the dog, chuckling softly. He situated himself on the couch near his phone so he could wait for his phone call, patting Bailey a few times before turning on the tv.