crashout | DICK;

[Needy little shit. But something in his face relaxes at that grin. It helps quiet his mind and stop thinking of the possibilities that could've come if they'd let things go the way Dick wanted them to, and even if it's not directly at him his own grin is light but happy for once.

Sometimes it's nice to actually do this.

His focus is on a set of ruins to the west even as the boat moves. Dcom is out there and he still doesn't know why. But those connotations are on his mind, too, when Dick replies and he finally pulls his gaze away enough to look up at him.]

Glad we can agree on that. [From this close, and being this honest about it, it's a little easier to see that he's...awkward? He feels awkward and looks awkward and it's kind of a weirdly suffocating thing. He folds his arms over his chest, leans his hip against the railing and continues to study Dick as nonchalantly as possible.] ...it's...been a while since I've really done this sort of thing. Even longer without life or death situations hanging over our heads. So...

[What are you trying to say, Junpei?] We've got time right now. Any suggestions?

[Or he can take the easy route. That's fine.]

[ Dick himself is looking at Junpei out of the corner of his eyes-- but he's got the advantage of the mask, so it's not immediately obvious. The slightest tilting of his head, maybe.

The awkward body language is-- interesting, for Dick. On the one hand he's very used to that-- the rough exterior and soft core is a large portion of his peer group-- but it doesn't usually apply to ... a situation like this. Then again, this isn't exactly a normal set of circumstances, is it?

dick stays as is, for a second, pretend looking out at the horizon ]

Well... I do think I owe you some thanks, for yesterday. [ if his voice is pitched a little lower, his smile a little slyer, it's nothing compared to what he follows it up with, turning to junpei fully and chirping it almost: ] And I have it on good authority I'm pretty good with my mouth.

[ because he is terrible, and he does want to see junpei flustered, a little. ]

[He kind of wants to rip the mask off and throw it in the ocean. Wonder if it'd come back. But he doesn't and instead he continues to stand still, quietly dying and tentatively hopeful for...something. It's a process of trying to trust people but considering he literally volunteered to possibly die for this dude maybe it should be easier.

(It's not, but he can dream.)

He also hears that pitch and he raises an eyebrow in response.]

You certainly run it a lot, so I'd hope so. [It's a quip right back, but he's trying not to grin in spite of himself, a shift in his stance being the one tell that yeah, okay, it worked a little.] I'm not one to turn down a free gift, but are you sure?

[ dick seems thrilled at the quip, and he bites at his lip through his grin when he notices the shift. he seems very pleased with himself, and isn't even trying to hide it. in response to the question, he takes off his mask-- remembering what junpei said yesterday-- and pointedly gives junpei a once over. ]

Why is it that when I offer, people always ask that? [ he knows why, obviously-- it's a rhetorical question, which is why he follows it up with pushing himself off the railing fully, before falling to his knees in front of junpei with no preamble, hands rising to rest lightly on his hips. the implication is there, but he makes no further move in case junpei wants them elsewhere, simply looking up at him through his lashes and that same, sly grin. ] What do you think?

[Well. For whatever reason the mask coming off means that Junpei's shoulders relax, and he gives him an equally pointed look.

He doesn't reply because he knows it's rhetorical, but when Dick drops to his knees he doesn't stop him. Hands are on his hips and for a second he's watching him and trying to let his head decide what he wants to do. On the one hand, it's a fuck or die situation and sleeping with people is understandable. It's a fuck-conomy, and money is earned to help them survive and give them an edge for whatever happens. But this is...different. This is someone actively propositioning him and he thinks about the ring in his pocket.

Maybe he needs to sort out his own issues later and not trip them up here. Besides, if he's honest, it's...probably better to establish a point of contact. And anyway they're friends? This is fine and yesterday was actually kind of stressful and scary and maybe having Dick Grayson suck his dick in a way that didn't involve potential demons wasn't the worst idea. As a holder of multiple timelines of memories, he can't say that he wouldn't like to replace yesterday with something better.

Also, if he's being honest, dude's pretty hot and one of the few people Junpei's even remotely comfortable around. So he's busy staring while he's running through all of this before a hand moves to cup Dick's face, holding his chin steady.]

Should I be surprised you're an exhibitionist? [That's as good as a yes from him.]

[ dick's grip on junpei's hips tightens a bit when he grabs his chin, face feeling a bit warm at the call-out. dick's always liked it best when people are confident, and he's glad that, the slight hesitation and awkwardness aside, junpei seems to be more than okay with this. he wants to not think about yesterday every time he sees junpei, and this is as good a start as any.

which is why he keeps grinning through the hold, though his voice is a little breathless when he speaks: ]

What can I say? I'm a performer at heart.

[ and he opens his mouth, a bit, mouthing at junpei's clothed crotch with dark eyes, keeping eye contact-- he can't quite reach if junpei won't let him, but the sentiment, the performance is there either way. ]

[Oh god what the fuck. Ohhh what the fuck. There's a low sound in the back of his throat as his hand releases Dick's chin, hand moving to the back of his head. There's an equally low laugh and there's an almost entranced look in his eyes as his fingers curl into the back of Dick's head.]

Then put on a show for me. [He doesn't exactly mean it, but it's an attempt to practice. He's not good at dirty talk or even flirting, but he's trying to show he's okay with this. What he does do, however, is use his free hand to reach forward and start to unbuckle his belt, working his fly open and pushing Dick's head forward. He's more than okay with this, and he's ready for whatever comes next. ]

[ what came next was a little breathless laughter from dick too, and then a really good blowjob. swallowing happened. the ocean is right there, dick, you could have spit it so easy.

once that's Done, he leans back against the railing, not quite ready to get up yet. he looks very satisfied with it, but whatever arousal he shared from that, he seems to be keeping to himself, stretching his legs from where he's sitting. hard wooden decks are not meant to be knelt on for any period of time, knee padding or not. ]

Good show, or?

[ he's right back to quippy, and if his voice is a little rough, well. eh. he's got his mask in one hand as if hesitating whether he should put it back on, now, but-- doesn't, for now. ]

[So that happened. That happened and when it's all said and done Junpei finds himself sliding down to sit next to him. He leans his head back against the railing, working on catching his breath and clearing his mind. With his eyes closed though, there's a satisfied smirk and he doesn't immediately answer.]

Might need an encore. [He opens an eye.] You good, or...[He lets his gaze slide to Dick's lap. He's apparently more than willing to accommodate. Equal opportunity and all.]

[ dick leans a bit into him when junpei sits down next to him, reflexively, but he shakes his head. ]

Nah. [ the arousal's there-- he'd be lying if it wasn't-- but it's bearable, and he wants-- he lets out a low sigh and moves his leg so it's touching junpei's just that little bit more. ] I'm good right now. Raincheck?

[ would he be willing to again later, is the implicated question, even outside circumstances ]

[Now that his brain's less fuzzy and he's less aroused he's paying attention to his surroundings. For someone who's been trained to pay attention to even slight movements, he sees how Dick moves and feels the shift of his leg. Wordlessly, he lifts one shoulder enough. It's an invitation to lean if he wants. Whatever. ]

...yeah. Is that weird? [It's a question he's been asking a lot lately, but now isn't the time to dissect everything. He's just kind of glad to be alive. ]

[ he does absolutely lean and, in fact, seeming to relax and unwind when he does. dick hums at the question, seemingly thinking it over before shrugging one shoulder ]

I don't know that I'm the right guy to ask, dude. I've got a few working "friends with benefits" relationships back home. [ he smirks a bit ] I wouldn't say it's any weirder than anything else that's happened to us on this ship, though.

[Well okay. He lets this happen, doing nothing to push him off and instead trying to accommodate for the extra weight to make them both comfy like this. He can't see the ruins behind him and instead he stares at the pool and the hot tubs in front of them.]

Of course it's a few. [He doesn't sound bothered or impressed. It's more like a fact.] You could be right. [There's a pause and he lifts a hand, gesturing to his own head.] It's a mess up here, so sometimes...it's hard to tell.

[He hates being anywhere near remotely vulnerable but after everything he figures he can at least say that.] It's been a long week and it's only Thursday.

[ he digs an elbow lightly into junpei's side for that matter of fact dig, but doesn't verbally defend himself. as for his comment about his head being a mess...

he knows a thing or two about that. not in the way junpei means, but. different messes, similar overthinking results, maybe. he's not sure what to say about it. ]

Ugh, don't remind me. [ so he concentrates on the part about it being a long week-- ] It feels like way longer. And we've still got the mess of the weekend to look forward to. [ there's an edge to his voice-- because someone will die and he can't stop it, and he's been on edge all week because of it-- before he sighs ] Anticipanxiety. That's what it feels like.

[ that's not a word. ]

[He feels the dig and there's a half-grin. It's well deserved on both parts. He doesn't mind Dick side-stepping the comment because as far as he's concerned it's his own mess to figure out, but the made-up word gets a short laugh from him.]

Yeah. Anticipanxiety is a great way to describe it. [Someone will die tomorrow and he wonders what it was all for then. What did they go through that entire mess for if someone was bound to die anyway? He's not going to lie and say that maybe it won't happen. He trusts Dick to be a realist.] ...whatever happens this weekend, we'll figure something out. Pretty sure you're safe and I'm safe, but...[...something's sticking in his head but he doesn't want to verbalize it and bring down the mood.] Ever feel selfish for just wanting everything to stop for five minutes?

[A subject change is fine.]

[ dick is. more than okay with the subject change, though he looks up a bit at the sky to think. ]

Superhero, remember? Constantly. [ it's a joke and a bad one, and he hesitates for a second before admitting, a bit quiet: ] I was-- before winding up here, I was taking a... a leave of absence. Not from the whole hero thing, but--a big part, that I'd-- that I'd been a part of for years. [ he grins, but it's mostly melancholy ] So much for that, right?

[Are they...bonding? He doesn't respond right away because it does, in fact, explain some things. He doesn't know how long years are but he assumes it's been a lot longer than his own stuff.]

...can't say I blame you, you know? [He kind of wants to ask why, but doesn't. Maybe it's not right for that.] I thought I was done playing the action hero, but...then we came here.

[...] You get why I prefer you to Nightwing, don't you?

You'd make a terrible Bruce Willis.

[ he can't resist the quip, even though he's glad junpei isn't asking, because he really doesn't want to talk about wally right now. or-- well, ever. still, the question throws him for a loop. ]

Not... really? [ he lifts his hands up a bit to stare at them ] I get the principle of it, but-- I'm the same. Mask or no mask. I kept it a lot more separate as a kid, but I don't... This is kind of my full-time job.

[ it's hard to explain, because so many other heroes have-- day jobs, or college, but the second he could dick went all in as nightwing. between his own city and the team, he didn't have a lot of spare time. ]

Maybe, but I'm a great Marty McFly. [It's equally thrown out there, if only because it's an easy comparison. On the other hand he didn't think he'd have to explain so he stares at his feet stretched out in front of him.]

...ah. I get it. [Whatever he gets, he doesn't share and he shakes his head.] Kind of one of those things where you accept all or nothing, then. Guess I'm still trying to figure out who you are.

Chea-ting. [ in a sing-song? ] Back to the Future was sci-fi, not an action flick. [ of course he's pedantic about that? and it's also a good distraction from. that question. he's quiet for a bit. ]

Maybe I am, too. [ the pause for the team had been an attempt at... maybe doing things differently. he'd been grieving, and he needed a break, and he needed-- who's dick grayson, ultimately? nightwing doesn't want to be batman, great. so who is he? he'd separated the hero, but hadn't really thought about much else. hadn't had the time. and this is a very gloomy personal subject so let's veer the fuck away from it-- ] Well, Dick Grayson fun fact number one: I was in a circus.

I miss movies. [He's not good at dropping subjects that work as distractions. So he just kind of responds to everything that's said. However, he's also patiently waiting for Dick to work out whatever he's thinking, even if he shifts just enough to let him lean more if he wants.

He also clings to the subject change, because that's not entirely unexpected either. He rolls with it, turning his head just slightly to look at him and laughing, a low, quiet sound almost in his ear.]

That would explain why you're so...[He moves an arm in a wiggle, likely meant to mean "bendy."] And that's where acrobatics came from?

I miss the Internet.

[ what he wouldn't give for a working connection right now. but if they're going for that subject change-- and the grin on his face is sly at junpei's wiggled arm movement for bendy-- he'll go for it. ]

Yep. It was a family thing-- we were aerialists. [ past tense, but he doesn't bother explaining, moving on-- ] The flips worked out surprisingly well incorporated into crime fighting.

And video games. [He's not even homesick, he just hates this fucking boat. And he misses a life he had before everything went batshit, but nobody needs to know that. There's a playful lift of his eyebrows when he sees that grin, but he's also working an angle here and keeping hold of the subject.]

Fancy terminology and everything. Call me impressed. [But that doesn't surprise him either.] You can clear some long distances and drops that way, if the physics are right. I...have never really been that graceful. Pretty sure if I tried a flip I'd crack my skull open.

...when'd the crime fighting start?

You have to start smaller than flips if you want your bones in one piece. [ and he knew the question was coming, knows it's bound to happen whenever he mentions the circus, and-- he'll always be upset about it, but he likes the older memories too much to not even attempt to share those, so: ] My family was murdered when I was nine. During a show. One of the people in the crowd that night was a superhero. He took me in, helped me bring the guy responsible to justice. I've been doing this since.

[ he's staring at his hands. it's been a decade, now. he's been without his family-- with batman-- longer than with. it's wild to think about. ]

[...well. That also explains some things, but unlike everything else it does actually surprise him. He grows quiet again, processing that information and tucking it away in some Dick-Grayson-Shaped file in his head. He doesn't say "I'm sorry" because it seems insincere, especially for something so long ago and something that impactful.

So instead, he tips his head a bit to rest on Dick's and stares at his feet while Dick stares at his own hands. He's hard-pressed to ever be openly affectionate, but time and effort means sometimes he'll make an attempt.

Where do you go from there...?]

Makes sense then. Habits are a hard thing to break. [Being a hero full time, he means.]

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