Chapter Text
Jason had always known his position in the world. It was the one thing fate had delivered to him with crystal clear clarity. From the years spent paying off his father’s debts and his mother’s dealers, to the single night his whole life changed—his position in it never did.
“There you are, Little Wing.” The voice came from behind him, a smooth purr that heated his blood, and he tilted his head back just as hands slid over his shoulders and down his chest. “Should have guessed you’d run away to here.”
“You know the sweet-talking and shoulder-rubbing is your area, not mine, Dickie,” Jason said, tilting his head as Dick’s teeth skimmed the curve of his jaw. “Safer for everyone if I’m not involved.”
“Hmm. And since when did you care about anyone’s safety?”
“I care about yours,” Jason said, leaning his head back farther as Dick’s hand encircled his throat, fingers slipping between the open collar of his red dress shirt to stroke up to the black and blue leather band around his neck.
“And yet you left me all alone to fend for myself against the vultures.” Dick clicked his tongue in admonishment, but Jason felt the curve of his smile against his cheek. “Some bodyguard you are, Jay.”
Jason snorted at that and closed the book he’d been reading. “We both know outside of Bruce, you’re the last person in that room who needs protection.” Jason turned his head, catching the kiss aimed at his cheek against his lips. “You’re just upset you have to play nice.”
“You’re not entirely wrong,” Dick said, nipping at Jason’s bottom lip hard enough to sting. “But with so many strangers around, you know I don’t like it when I can’t see you. What if someone tried to spirit you off and take advantage of you?”
“You mean like you?”
Dick’s hand clenched down hard on Jason’s throat, the other brushing up his cheek to sweep away the fringe of his bangs as his blue eyes darkened with a possessive anger. “That’s different,” he said. “You belong to me, Little Wing. No one else gets to touch you.”
Jason’s eyes fluttered closed as a warm haze threatened to encroach on him with the strangling pressure against his throat, but he pushed into the touch, enough to close the distance between their lips again.
When Dick finally eased up, Jason’s lips twitched in a self-deprecating smile. “And you know that’s not strictly true.” Jason sighed as Dick’s hand curled enough to press the bite of his nails into Jason’s skin, a warning to watch his next words. “I belong to you in every way that matters, Dickie, but Bruce owns me.”
The rumbling darkness in Dick’s expression deepened, but he eased his grip on Jason’s throat and kissed the indentations where his nails had pressed. “That won’t always be true.”
Jason felt himself soften and made a concerted effort to drag the dismissive arrogance back into his expression. Because Dick was right, and also so very, very wrong. “You should get back to the party,” Jason said. “They’ve probably missed you.”
“They’ll survive,” Dick said, waving the idea off as the edges of his smile sharpened. “I’ve got more interesting ideas on how to spend the rest of the evening.”
“Dick, we can’t—you can’t. Bruce will kill me if I let you disappear for the night.” Jason sat forward on the couch and pulled out of Dick’s arms, climbing to his feet. “Come on, I’ll go back with you.”
Dick rolled his eyes but straightened, stretching his back and shoulders with effortless elegance. “Fine,” he said. “You used to be more fun, Little Wing.”
“Survive the rest of the party, and I’ll be as fun as you want me to be,” Jason promised, sealing it with a kiss to the corner of Dick’s mouth. “For now, you’ve got to go be Richie Grayson-Wayne.”
Dick hummed at the statement and hooked his fingers into the ring at the front of Jason’s collar. “With my loyal pet and bodyguard at my side.”
“Always,” Jason murmured, dipping his head to meet Dick’s lips as Dick’s hold dragged him down by his collar.
Dick’s kisses tasted like petrichor and lightning and always left Jason reeling like the aftermath of a hurricane. He pressed the long, lean line of his body against Jason, one leg sliding between Jason’s thighs in a teasing brush, and using the predictable gasp to shove his tongue deeper into Jason’s mouth. Jason’s hands settled on Dick’s hips, holding him lightly as he submitted to the harsh, biting exploration, until his head threatened to tip towards foggy compliance.
“Dick,” he said, pulling away enough to speak. “Please don’t.”
Dick’s eyes flashed, and he curled his fingers tighter in the collar, tugging until Jason choked. “You’re my property, Little Wing,” he said. “I should drag you back out to the party, strip you down, and whip you in front of everyone for thinking you’ve got any right to tell me no.”
Jason rested his forehead against Dick’s and smiled, the small, private one that was only ever for Dick. “You should,” he agreed. “But you won’t.”
“No?”
“No,” Jason lifted his hand and covered the one tangled in his collar, not tugging, just holding. “Because we both know I’d do anything you wanted, and you already hate the way they stare at me. You’d never give them more.”
“Not always true,” Dick murmured, mouth turning up in a playful smile. “Sometimes I like to show you off. Let them see what they’ll never get.”
Jason shuddered and closed his eyes, pressing closer to Dick as an arm slipped around his waist. “Not tonight,” he said, the words too close to a plea. “Sionis is here tonight.”
The arm around Jason tightened, and Dick’s muscles tensed as he practically hissed at the name. “Is that why you left?” He asked. “What did that bastard do?”
“Nothing he’s not allowed to.”
“Little Wing, if he hurt you—”
“Then you’re not going to do anything about it.” Jason stroked his fingers along Dick’s side, the rich fabric of his black suit jacket smooth beneath his fingers. “I’m a Sub, Dickie. Owned and good for only one thing, as far as society is concerned. As far as Bruce is concerned. It’s fine. You have your role to play, and I have mine.”
Dick glared for a few seconds longer, and Jason’s grip tightened around his waist, afraid Dick’s infamously rash temper would win over good sense. When he blew out a slow breath and leaned his forehead against Jason’s shoulder, Jason relaxed with his own soft sigh.
“Stay beside me,” Dick said into Jason’s black-trimmed shirt collar. “Roman won’t try anything in front of me, and if he does—well, I could use some excitement tonight.”
Jason shook his head, but brushed his lips along Dick’s hairline before pulling out of the embrace. “I’ll stay with you,” Jason said. “As long as you promise not to pick a fight if Sionis tries to bait you. It’ll end badly for me, Dickie. Not you.”
“I’ll talk to Bruce,” Dick said, ushering Jason out into the hall before pulling the library door shut. “He’ll back Sionis off.”
Jason hummed an acknowledgment, unable to bring himself to actually agree. Bruce knew exactly what was going on between Roman Sionis and Jason, had told Jason to cultivate that interest to make Sionis more pliable in negotiations. After all, that was Jason’s role in things. But Bruce was already critical of Jason’s perceived influence over his eldest, and he had no interest in fanning those flames with further suspicion.
As they wound through the twisting halls of the manor back towards the main ballroom, the hum of music, clattering dishes, and bright conversation floated toward them. Dick paused before the double doors and hooked a finger through the ring on Jason’s collar. “I should have gotten your leash,” he murmured, dragging Jason down and skimming their lips together. “Make sure you can’t wander off on me again.”
Jason shivered as the leather flexed against his neck, and he melted into the pressure of Dick against him. “I don’t want to be anywhere but by your side.”
Dick gave a satisfied hum and then yanked Jason close for a biting kiss. He sank his teeth into Jason’s bottom lip until blood bloomed from two sharp puncture marks. Jason swiped his tongue against the marks, relishing the metallic taste as Dick broke the kiss.
Dick grinned but didn’t step away, releasing Jason’s collar in favor of wrapping a possessive arm around his waist. “Once more unto the breach, and all that.”
Jason snorted, but dipped his head to brush a kiss against Dick’s temple. “Referencing Shakespeare,” he murmured. “You are trying to seduce me.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure I’ve already done that,” Dick said.
“True enough.”
With a final, long-suffering sigh, Dick turned the handle on the door. By the time they were stepping back into the ballroom, Dick’s expression had morphed from the sharp-eyed threat of wicked temper and intelligence to the affable and slightly vacant smile of Richie Grayson. A part of Jason hated the transformation, while the other relished hoarding Dick’s true identity to himself.
Jason allowed Dick to steer him through the doors with the arm around his waist. Music and mingled voices washed over them as they stepped inside the ballroom, and Dick’s hold on Jason tightened. Jason took the unsubtle hint and shifted closer to Dick, but was careful not to return the embrace or do anything that might be construed as a claim on the Wayne heir.
“Oh, good,” Dick purred in a voice that promised trouble. “My plus-one is here.”
Jason followed Dick’s gaze to the other side of the room, and his pulse kicked up as he spotted the familiar figure, tall and broad with ice-white hair and an eyepatch that was impossible to miss. “You invited Wilson.”
“I needed something to keep me entertained,” Dick said, dragging Jason along as he waded into the crowd. People scrambled to part the way for them, and whether it was because of Dick’s status or Jason’s glower, he wasn’t sure.
Wilson turned in their direction when they were still several feet away, and the smirk tugging at the corner of his lips said he’d been aware of them for far longer.
“I was starting to think I’d been stood up, pretty bird,” Slade said dryly before he nodded toward Jason. “Todd.”
“Wilson.”
“Ugh, must we suffer through the posturing,” Dick muttered. “Can’t we just skip to the part of the evening where Slade and I have you begging and panting under us, Jay? I like that part so much better.”
Jason flushed, heat crawling up his neck and across his cheeks as Slade appraised him with a knowing eye. “Still haven’t learned that patience is half the reward, have you, Grayson?”
Dick swiped a champagne flute off a passing tray and rolled his eyes at Slade. “What’s the point in drawing out the inevitable?” He asked. “We all know how this evening is going to end. Or did you think I invited you for your sparkling personality?”
“I think you invited me because you enjoy testing the limits of Wayne’s notoriously thin patience,” Slade said, and then dipped his head so his next words brushed the air between them like stroking fingers. “And I think you invited me because you like how pretty I can make Todd beg. I’m happy to oblige on both accounts.”
Dick’s smile was serrated, the light in his blue eyes a feral tempest. “Which is why I’m confused as to why we’re still standing here.”
“Because at least one of you understands your obligations this evening.” A large hand settled on the back of Jason’s neck and squeezed. Jason stilled immediately under the grasp, barely biting down the submissive whimper that climbed the back of his throat.
Dick tightened his arm around Jason’s waist in either comfort or retaliation and tilted his head to the side. His smile was too wide. “Bruce.”
“I was growing concerned that the two of you had disappeared for the evening,” Bruce said, fingers tightening further on Jason’s neck.
“We just needed some air, B,” Dick said, all breezy confidence. “You know how stuffy I find these things, and it would be irresponsible for Jason to leave me unattended and vulnerable, wouldn’t it?”
“Indeed.” Bruce’s smile was as pleasant and relaxed as Dick’s, but Jason recognized the gritted impatience in his tone. “As you are back inside, I believe you can spare Jason’s attention. I have need of him elsewhere.”
Dick’s smile tightened, and danger darkened his blue eyes. “I’d rather not.”
“I wasn’t asking,” Bruce said, implacable. “And it would seem you have your own guest to attend to, as I don’t remember placing him on the list of invitees.”
Slade met Bruce’s barbed accusation with an amused huff and took a sip of his whisky. “Relax, Wayne,” he drawled. “I’m not here as a challenge.”
Bruce looked pointedly at the scant inches between Slade and Dick. “Aren’t you?”
Dick ignored the whip-crack tension between Slade and Bruce, and squeezed Jason again, gaining his attention. He tilted his lips to press against Jason’s ear. “Come find us when you’re done,” he said, gaze never wavering from Slade. “After all, you promised me all the fun I wanted after this.”
“I did,” Jason said, his pulse jumping at the thought of a night spent in Dick and Slade’s company. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d fallen into bed with them, and their arrangements were always memorable.
Dick pressed his mouth to Jason’s fluttering pulse point and sucked hard. Jason clenched his fists as he fought against the fog trying to drag him under. He hated the vulnerability of the haze, but he suspected Bruce’s intentions and having Dick’s claim on him was worth the risk of tipping into submission. Satisfied with the bruise purpling Jason’s pale skin, Dick swiped his tongue over the mark and then stepped away.
“I want him back, Bruce.”
Bruce made a noncommittal noise that froze Jason’s insides and waved Dick off. “See to your guest.”
Without another word, Bruce turned, towing Jason along beside him. Bruce squeezed Jason’s neck until Jason whined in both pain and submission. His knees threatened to buckle, and it was only sheer force of will that prevented Jason from dropping to the floor to beg Bruce’s forgiveness. “I’m sorry,” he gasped. “Sir, I’m sorry.”
“Do you even know what you’re apologizing for?” Bruce asked, marching Jason forward with his unrelenting grip.
“For stealing Dick’s attention,” Jason said. “I’ve tried to stay away from him, but he always tracks me down.”
“Try harder,” Bruce said. “He has responsibilities, none of which involve being distracted by and infatuated with a whore. You are a tool for this family, Jason, and you should be grateful that I allow you that much.”
Jason flinched at the words but nodded. “I know,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
Bruce sighed. “It doesn’t matter,” he said after a few moments. “It’ll soon cease to be a problem.”
Jason’s stomach dropped. “Sir?”
Bruce ignored him, continuing to drag Jason along the edge of the ballroom until they stopped at a simple door set back into an alcove. It led to the servants’ hallways that wound throughout the Manor, giving easy but invisible access to all parts of the home. Bruce opened the door, shoved Jason into the hallway beyond, and followed him.
Once they were out of sight, Bruce pinned Jason to the wall, one hand on his shoulder while the other closed around the front of his throat. “Sionis has made arrangements with me for your company tonight,” Bruce said. “You’ve already kept him waiting. I trust you can find your way to the East Drive, where his men will escort you to him.”
Jason stared, icy terror curling up his spine from his stomach. He’d expected Bruce to encourage him towards Roman for the evening, not give him away. “You’re—you’re sending me away. To him?”
“For the night,” Bruce said. “He knows I expect you to be returned tomorrow in satisfactory condition.”
Satisfactory condition. Jason wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. Instead, he did the only thing he could and nodded. Because Jason knew his place. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.”
Recognizing the dismissal, Jason started down the hallway. He’d taken a handful of steps when Bruce’s voice stopped him. “Wait.”
Jason turned, knowing better than to hope for a change of heart. “Sir?”
Bruce stepped into Jason’s space and reached for his throat. Jason swallowed hard but didn’t flinch as Bruce’s calloused fingers skimmed his neck. They paused briefly on the bruise Dick had sucked into his skin, before moving to the clasp on his collar. Jason sank his nails into his palms to prevent himself from lunging at Bruce as the man stepped away, Jason’s collar held between his fingers. The collar Dick had picked out, specifically for Jason. The collar that marked him as the Wayne’s submissive. The collar that protected him.
“I expect you to remember that it is my family name you are representing, Jason,” Bruce said, tucking Jason’s collar into the pocket of his tailored slacks. “Do not disappoint me.”
Jason ducked his head. “Yes, sir.”
Bruce nodded, and then he was gone, back out the door to his party and his guests. Jason steadied himself against the wall, but knew better than to linger. There was no escaping Sionis because there was no escaping Bruce. Jason rolled his shoulders back, set his jaw, and walked into the dark.