Chapter Text
The bar wasn’t the nicest, seedy in all the wrong ways and in deep need of a thorough mopping, the floor sticky as Jason crossed the spanse of the room.
He slumped into the bar stool next to his friend, shooting him a glance before turning his attention to the surly bartender before him, eyeing the older man’s impressive, greying beard for a brief moment.
“Whiskey, neat.”
The bartender eyed Jason over and frowned slightly before pouring the drink and sliding it across the bar to him.
The bar was quiet, the vague hum of old rock music playing from a battered jukebox in the corner and the clack of the occasional pool ball knocking against another filling the silence in the air.
Jason hadn’t expected Roy to be especially talkative but he was unnerved by just how quiet the redhead was being.
“I’ll take another, Johnny” Roy eventually piped up from Jason’s right, pushing his empty glass towards the bartender who took the glass with a nod. Roy sighed and turned to look at Jason, his head resting heavily on his arms that were crossed over the battered wood of the bar, no doubt sticky from the wood's surface. “Come to yell at me?” He asked dejectedly, muttering a bitten off ‘again…’ after a moment.
Jason couldn’t help but huff an empty laugh, shaking his head as he stared into the golden brown liquid in his glass. He watched as Roy eyed the drink the bartender placed in front of him, his eyes widening in slight surprise when Roy sighed and pushed it away slightly. “I’d be a hell of a hypocrite if I were,” Jason sighed and looked down at the bar, his shadow warped from the grimy finish on the wood, outlined by the dim, yellowed lights above him. “I get it, though, don’t support it but… I get it-“
Roy let out a lengthy sigh and sat up enough to take a long sip of his drink, setting it down and spinning the glass absently, “yeah… I suppose that’s fair.”
Jason looked up from the bar, staring instead at the shelves behind it, “I’m gonna miss her too, man.”
“Didn’t say you wouldn’t.”
“I know,” Jason met Roy’s gaze, a sympathetic smile struggling to stay on his face. Roy looked so tired. The circles under his eyes had reached a deep purple, his eyes sunken in from lack of sleep, his cheeks had been reddened slightly from the alcohol but had previously been a dull, pallid color for the past few days.
Kori’s absence had made him quiet, which was a rarity for him. Roy had been a loudmouth as long as Jason had known him.
They both understood why she had gone back to her home planet with her sister, but Roy had never done well with people leaving. Plenty of others had made sure of that.
Jason bit back the anger that threatened to flood him at the thought. He sighed and threw an arm over Roy’s shoulders, “we should get some food in you, can’t have you wasting away here-“
Roy groaned in turn, reaching for his drink and downing the rest of it, “let me drown my sorrows, Jaybird.” He grumbled dropping his head onto the counter after calling for another drink.
Jason sighed in exasperation, taking the new drink out of Roy’s grasp and downing it before the redhead could, earning a smack from Roy in return. The blow was heavily weakened but still well aimed, hitting Jason across the bridge of his nose. “Rude-“
“You stole my drink, that’s objectively ruder,” Roy countered, his words slurring together as he spoke.
Jason’s face contorted in disgust, clamping a hand over Roy’s mouth as the other man attempted to order a new drink, pulling away as Roy licked him in retaliation. “One, ruder isn’t a word, two, gross.”
Roy snickered as he watched Jason wipe his hand on his pants, taking a swig of his newly acquired drink, “you’d think you'd learn to anticipate that after all these years."
"I do, I just forget how gross it is," Jason grumbled, huffing disapprovingly when he spotted the new drink in Roy’s hand, raising an eyebrow as he met Roy’s gaze.
“I don’t wanna hear it, Jay. I’ll- I’ll talk to Waylon tomorrow alright? Just.. let me have this tonight, please.” His tone was quiet, fragile, Roy glanced at Jason briefly, eventually avoiding the others gaze as he stared at the bar, his brow furrowed as he awaited the inevitable words that came next.
“Back on the bandwagon tomorrow?” it came out as less of a question than he'd meant it to, he didn't expect Roy to stray from his word, but better to be careful than pay for it later.
“Back on the bandwagon. Promise,” Roy didn't back down from Jason’s gaze, holding it intently as he spoke, adding a nod for good measure
Jason chewed his lip as he contemplated. Roy had been clean for a while now, his relapses few and far inbetween despite Jason’s casual drinking. Waylon had been there every time to help in the aftermath, but Jason, despite all his posturing, was thoroughly floundering.
He released his lip, running his tongue over the flesh that was now faintly raw, “fine, but you’re not gonna wallow alone in this shitty dive bar.” Jason stated firmly.
Roy’s pensive expression turned to mock insult, the smile teasing at his mouth betraying the serious crease of his brow, “hey! Don't insult Johnny's shitty bar, only I get to do that.”
Jason scoffed at the remark, shaking his head at Roy's antics. He watched as Roy’s expression changed again, morphing into something he knew well. He’d seen it many times before, it was the same look Roy got when he had gotten an idea for a new Roy-Bot, when he’d made a new trick arrow, laughing despite himself when it blew up. Jason had seen that grin when Roy had seen Kori the first time, and again and again on jobs when Roy had thought up some outlandish plan of action. It was terrifying and enticing all at once, and Jason had always struggled to resist it.
“So… if I can't wallow here, do I get to pick our new place?” Roy questioned, his eyes glinting in the light adding an almost childlike appearance to his face, not unlike that of a kid plotting to catch Santa on Christmas Eve.
“Sure, that seems fair,” Jason shrugged his better judgment having left him with Roy’s last drink, replaced by mild apprehension and excitement. “Where to then, Harper?”
Jason found himself quickly pulled out of his seat by the collar of his jacket, momentarily preparing himself for a fight before realizing it was Roy who had grabbed him and was making his way towards the door. He scrambled to leave a crumpled twenty on the bar where they had been sitting.
“Dude what the hell? Thought you liked this Johnny guy?!” Jason swatted at Roys hand until he released his collar, readjusting his jacket once he'd been freed of the other man's grip.
They ducked out into the cool Gotham night air and Jason frowned, finding it oddly warm for the season, warm for Gotham in general. The clouds above them eluded to rain, however. At least there were some constants in life.
Roy snorted in disbelief, rolling his eyes as he turned around to face Jason, walking backwards as they made their way across the street. “He’s just as seedy as that bar,” Roy answered simply.
Jason followed after Roy who led them across the street and through a dimly lit alley, painted in a reddish hue from fluorescents mounted to the dilapidated brick. The building at the end of the alleyway looked old and run down, but light poured out the upper windows and a faint vibration could be felt as they moved closer.
“You were casing the place?” Jason raised an eyebrow at him, Roy was swaying slightly as they walked, tripping every few steps before hopping jauntily to regain balance.
Roy shrugged and spun on his heel as they neared the entryway, stepping in line with Jason “Eh, vaguely— Now shush, no shop talk. I hear booze calling my name.”
Jason squinted and spotted a sign over the door in front of them— painted black with ruddy pink accents —but before he could make out the neon words he was dragged inside.
The room they entered was hot and flooded in red and blue light, people all but surrounded them, moving to the rhythm of the music being pumped through the speakers above their heads. A bar was tucked into a back corner of the converted warehouse, a DJ manning a turntable on the other side of the room. A cat-walk-like stage ran down the center of the room, sporting a series of poles that a few dancers were utilizing to their full potential, others opting to stay on their feet. Above their heads were smaller levels with walkways that crossed over to connect each other, the larger platforms sporting sets of tables and chairs.
Jason squinted in the low light and was able to make out layers of dark foam covering the metal roofing.
Smart… he thought.
Jason let out a low whistle and looked over at Roy, noting that the other man had been watching him, a grin splayed across his features that Jason mirrored, “not bad, Harper. Not bad,” he shouted over the music.
Roy only laughed, shouting something about getting drinks before dragging Jason over to the bar with him.
“Four tequila shots and a rum and coke,” Roy called out to the bartender, earning a questioning glance from Jason. “Hey man, if I’ve got one night I’m having some fucking fun.”
Jason rolled his eyes, taking two shots from Roy. They knocked them back in unison, Jason laughing as Roy grimaced at the burn, chasing the taste with his rum and coke.
“Still not over that, huh?” Jason teased
Roy flipped Jason off playfully and turned to the bartender once again, “hey, you guys got any place for coats and shit?”
The bartender wordlessly pointed over to a wall of lockers and returned to serving the crowd of people at the bar.
Roy grinned, “genius-“ he beckoned for Jason to follow him and shucked off his jean jacket, gesturing for Jason to follow suit.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hands off the jacket there, Flyboy, ” Jason swatted at him defensively, clutching the leather to his chest.
“Oh c'mon, Jaybird. What's the point of being fit if you dont show it off,” Roy drawled, grinning incredulously as he tugged at the fabric of Jason’s jacket.
Jason eventually relented with a roll of his eyes, letting Roy pull the jacket off of him and stuff it alongside his own jacket in the locker.
Once Roy had made his mind up he didn't back down and Jason didn't feel like fighting over something so inconsequential. Especially not after getting him to listen once tonight, more than that was pushing his luck right now.
Jason followed Roy back over to the bar for another round before pulling him unceremoniously over to what seemed to be serving as a dance floor.
“You know I don't dance, Roy,” Jason clocked the redhead with a scowl, his words lacking their typical heat.
Roy bit back a laugh as his eyes landed on the crowd, prompting Jason to follow his gaze. His eyes landed on a woman eyeing him from across the room, she was pretty, in that sort of sultry way Jason had grown familiar with in Gotham. Her hair was a vibrant auburn that shone under the red lighting of the warehouse. Her dress was a velvety black that outlined her figure well, low cut with a slit trailing up one side.
“You may not dance Jason, but I think she does-”
Jason struggled to find a retort, opting instead to swat the back of Roy’s head good naturedly. Roy responded in kind, leading the pair to trade a few playful blows before they were interrupted by a new voice.
“Well, you’re new here,” the woman stated, a far cry from a question.
Jason looked over to the source of the voice and coughed in an awkward attempt to cover his embarrassment, “yeah, no. Not a regular, I take it you are?"
The woman chuckled and stepped closer to him, if he were to step towards her their chests would be mere inches away from touching. She cocked her head to the side just slightly, gazing up at Jason with a smile that could only be described as alluring.
"Name's Fiona, and if I played my cards right, you're taking me for a drink," the woman– Fiona –glanced between him and the floor, looking up at Jason through her lashes as she took yet another step forward.
Jason paused and shot a look at Roy, who he now realized had been watching him blunder through the exchange and was not-so-subtly trying not to laugh. "Well—"
"Oh, Oh I'm sorry— Are you two together?" Fiona pointed back and forth between them, dropping the previous act of seduction she'd conjured up.
Jason blushed at the accusation and looked over at Roy who had begun to laugh.
"Nah, just friends, you're all good—" Roy answered, his words slightly disjointed despite the air of nonchalance from his shrug and easy smile.
"I see," Fiona's smile returned fiercely as she beckoned for someone behind her to come closer, fixing Roy with a sly look as she did, "you know... They say three's a crowd, but four's a party."
Another woman had walked up beside Fiona, equally as gorgeous but in an entirely different way.
She was tall, her dark hair done up in some complex braid that hung against her back. Highlighter dusted her cheekbones, glinting in the colored light. Her arms were toned, as were her legs, her bronze skin seeming to glow slightly under the red lights.
Jason heard Roy whistle next to him, and sure enough, he turned and saw him staring, awestruck, at the new addition to the conversation.
The woman smiled and held out her hand for a hand shake, a purse tucked under her other arm. "Chel."
Roy swiftly took her hand turning her palm to ther floor before leaning down to give her knuckles a chaste kiss. "Roy, or whatever you want me to be-"
Jason rolled his eyes, fighting back a smile at his friend. That was another thing Roy had always been, flirty and dumb for anyone who could take him, in a fight or otherwise.
"Alright! Drinks are on me!" Jason heard Roy call out, his arm now wrapped snugly around Chel's waist as he headed back towards the bar. He felt a hand circle around his bicep, squeezing playfully at the muscle there.
"Shall we?" Jason looked down and found Fiona smiling seductively up at him, pulled close to his side.
Jason gave a light chuckle and began to follow after his friend, "might as well..."