Chapter Text
“I can’t believe you wanted to come here ,” you say, pressing your hand to your half-empty glass.
“It’s not like he owns the place,” your friend Caroline chides. "Plus, we found this place first. Even if he does show up, you can do whatever you want! You’re a free woman,” she says, raising her drink to cheers with yours. You sigh, half-heartedly raising yours to clink with hers.
“Yeah, yeah.” You raise your drink to your lips, draining the rest of it. This bar had been the place you and your ex, Kevin, frequented. It was the place you first met. You had been celebrating a friend's birthday, fresh out of your second year of college, and his friends had begun to join your party after the birthday girl bought a round of shots for everybody. He had made some dumb joke, and you were drunk enough to laugh. And then give him your number. And let him take you home. Surprisingly, he called the next day, and you hadn’t left his side since. That is, until you tried surprising him with lunch and found him with his hands full of his secretary.
You startle when your friend lightly kicks your shoe, breaking you away from your thoughts.
“Hellooo? Did you hear me?” she said, leaning in to catch your eyes.
“Yeah, for sure,” you replied, hoping she wouldn't catch on.
“Right, so what did I say then?” she asked, crossing her arms with a smile. You look around the booth you two are sitting in, trying and failing to pick up on what she may have been talking about.
“I forgot,” you finally manage.
“I said ,” she teases, "it’s time for you to move on. There are plenty of hot men around who would love to help you forget about that troll.”
“I’m not ready to get into another relationship. And I don’t want to have a one-night stand. I don’t want to use somebody like that, it just seems… I don’t know, dirty?”
“Only if you want it to be,” Caroline winks. “Fine, you don’t have to go home with anybody, but you should at least flirt with some guys. Let it remind you how hot you are!”
You glance around the room, surveying the patrons at the bar.
“I don’t know, Caro, I don’t really see anybody,” you say, shrugging.
“Please, don’t tell me you’re giving up that quickly. What about them?” Caroline says, pointing towards two dark-haired men just entering the room. You look over your shoulder, assessing them. They look similar, both tall, with dark hair and broad shoulders. One of the men, the taller one, catches your eye. You quickly look away, pretending to look past them. Turning back, Caroline whispers, “Dibs on the blue-eyed one.”
“Stop pointing!” you push her arm down. “They can see you!”
“That’s the idea,” she says, smiling at the pair. She waves them over, gesturing to the open seats on either side of your booth.
“What are you doing?!” you ask, panicked.
“You’re welcome,” she replies, not taking her eyes off the men as they make their way to your booth. “Hi, boys, looking for something?”
“Or someone,” says the blue-eyed man, offering Caroline his hand. She takes it, and he brings it to his lips, kissing it. She giggles and introduces you both, twirling her auburn hair between her fingers.
“I’m Dick, this is my brother Jason,” Dick says, gesturing to the man standing behind him. He turns towards you, his green eyes scanning your face like he’s assessing if you’re a threat or not. Weird, he’s the one dressed like a scary biker.
“Bothers?” Caroline exclaims. “Wow, your dad must be the most handsome man in all of Gotham!”
You nearly roll your eyes at her bold flirting when the green-eyed man, Jason, scoffs.
“Yeah? Well, Jason here’s adopted.” Dick says, sliding into the booth next to Caroline.
“So are you,” Jason mutters, his hands coming down to rest against the table as he leans down. Wow. You take in his large hands, eyes running up his arms, black tattoos peeking out from the sleeves of his tight black t-shirt. You’ve never been one for arms, but the glow of the yellow bulbs highlights the way his muscles wrap around him, and you begin to wonder how they might feel under your fingers. Dick’s sudden laugh tears your eyes away from Jason’s arms, and a blush begins to creep up your cheeks as you realize he was definitely watching you. You look up at him, still standing, and offer him a seat, pressing yourself into the corner of the booth. He offers you a small smile, giving you as much room as he can. It isn’t much, as his large frame eats up much of the small space the booth offers, and you see him practically curl into himself, trying to make himself as small as possible.
You glance across the table and see quite the opposite situation, as Caroline is essentially sitting on Dick’s lap, his arm curled around her, engrossed in conversation. You have to hand it to her, when Caroline wants something, she gets it. You two had met in your Freshman year of school at Gotham University, her being the last person to arrive in your English Lit class. You had moved your bag from the seat next to you, offered her a pen and a few sheets of notebook paper when you noticed she had nothing with her but some lip gloss and a Red Bull. She hugged you, and you two have been fast friends ever since. She promised to make it up to you by taking you out for drinks, so later that night, you found yourself dressed up and in this very bar, watching her point out various men and calling dibs, successfully scoring tons of free drinks for both of you.
“So, you two live around here?” Caroline asks, finally turning towards Jason.
When he doesn’t reply, Dick answers for both of them. “I moved away last fall. I’m just here visiting my baby brother,” he teases. The man beside you glares at his brother, but doesn’t say anything. He turns away, scanning the room.
“Do you want anything to drink?” he says suddenly, looking at the three of you. Caroline and Dick give him their drink orders, you shake your head and thank him, and he sets off towards the bar.
“Sorry about him,” Dick shrugs. “He doesn’t like being the center of attention.”
“It’s alright, I get it.” You reply, a polite smile on your face.
Caroline gasps, calling your attention to her wide eyes as she looks at the door.
“No way, look who just walked in!” she says, pointing.
You glance behind you, quickly shrinking down in your seat as you grab her hand once more and push it into the table.
“Caro, stop pointing at people!” you whisper-shout, trying not to call attention to your table.
“Who is that?” Dick says, his tone tilting towards disgust as he gives him a once-over.
“Her ugly-ass cheating ex-boyfriend, Kevin,” Caroline replies, her voice dripping with disdain.
You shrink lower, hoping the lights are low enough to distort your face as he rounds the corner, beelining to the bar. You watch as he steps right in front of Jason, who had been politely waiting for the bartender to return to him with the drinks. Oh no. Jason looks down at him, clearly confused. You watch in horror as he taps Kevin’s shoulder, says something, and points towards your table. Oh my god, what is with all the pointing lately? Does nobody have manners anymore? He reaches around Kevin, grabs the drinks, and heads back to the booth.
“I see you’ve met Kevin,” Caroline says, accepting her drink from Jason.
“Yeah,” he grimaces. “He’s a peach.”
“He’s an asshole, that’s what he is,” you scowl.
You lock eyes with Kevin, seemingly unable to look away. It had been 2 months since you had talked to him last, the longest you two hadn't spoken in the two years you were together. He looked exactly the same. Not much time had passed, you considered, but you had definitely changed. You stopped doing pretty much anything you loved to do in the past few weeks, opting to stay inside and throw yourself into your studies, grateful for the distraction. It helped that finals were only 3 weeks later, though now that they were over, you no longer had an excuse not to go out when Caro begged. Now, you were here, about to be confronted by the man who had broken your heart and trust.
Kevin blinks at you, surprised to see you out. He grabs his beer, throws some cash next to the bartender's outstretched hand, and begins to walk towards you. You take some deep breaths in an attempt to quell the rising panic in your chest, straightening out your sweater.
“Hey Kevin, how have you been?” You ask once he gets close enough.
“I’ve been alright, thanks.” He replies, eyeing Jason. You see the tension in his shoulders, figuring it must have something to do with what happened at the bar. “Caroline,” he says, nodding towards your friend.
“What are you doing here?” she replies, sipping her drink.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he says, narrowing his eyes.
“It’s a bar, we’re getting drinks,” she replies, almost bored.
“KEV!” A scream sounds through the bar. Every head in the building turns towards the door to a small blonde girl standing in the doorway. “There you are! I was looking all over for you!” She saunters to your booth, wrapping her arms around Kevin's neck and shoulders, making sure to show off the rock on her ring finger.
“Hey, babe,” he replies, kissing her cheek.
Babe? That was fast. To be fair, he wasn’t loyal when you were together in the first place. Your heart sinks in your chest as you take in the ring. He truly did not care about the two years you had spent together.
“Kev, who are your friends? Aren’t you going to introduce me?” she says, eying your party. Caroline speaks before you can even begin to think of how to respond, pointing to each person and stating their name. “... and this is Jason, her boyfriend,” she finishes with a wink, gesturing to the two of you.