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Things had been fine.
There were no problems to be had. His intentions had started innocently enough. Dick had left to the bathroom, entrusting his pup into Jason’s care, and Jason trusted Roy enough to indulge in his request. Roy took the pup, who was just two years old, and bounced him in the air. He liked to throw Lian up in the air, too, and he thought that Damian might enjoy the same treatment. Instead, when Damian lands back in his hands, the pup creates a heart-twisting whimper. Roy watches in horror as the toddler’s eyes fog over with building tears. Roy’s little affectionate gesture had turned into a torture tactic, and Damian was going to let him know with a hard sob.
Jason straightens himself in the booth that they’d all been sitting in. He gets tense. It was hard to ignore the cry of a pup, but that wasn’t the only reason he had tensed. He feared the reaction of the puppy’s alpha, the man who’d dismissed himself to go to the bathroom, and the fear was infectious. Roy catches onto it, too. He desperately attempts to calm the sobbing child by patting his back. He hushes him in an attempt to soothe. It didn’t help. Damian invests all of his energy into a loud wail.
Roy freezes when he feels the intimidating aura behind him.
Jason stares, wide-eyed, lips sealed. His fingers dig into the paper of his cup.
Roy turns slowly. Dick takes a step forward. His nose almost brushes against Roy’s, and Roy might’ve thought it intimate if Dick wasn’t growling. He was flashing his fangs. He reaches a hand up to grab hold of Roy’s collar.
“Release him,” he threatens.
Roy pushes Damian into his arms. Dick retrieves him, but he doesn’t look away. Roy can hardly stand his mean gaze. It tears into his soul. It punishes him for experimenting. He should’ve played it safer, but how was he to know that Damian didn’t like being thrown in the air? Lian enjoyed it. Roy naturally thought Damian would like it, too, but apparently making such an assumption was a giant mistake.
Damian’s sobs die down as he holds onto his father’s shirt. Dick keeps him close to himself. Damian’s cheek rests on his shoulder. He sniffles pathetically.
Dick side steps into the booth. He doesn’t remove his eye. Roy was a victim to his dead, evil, stare. Jason uncomfortably shuffles in his seat. Dick settles next to him, but Jason scoots away. His body-language was defensive. He was preparing himself for a potential fight.
Damian’s cries die down. Dick narrows his eyes at Roy as he sits across from them.
“Here you are.”
The waitress who’d taken their order delivers their food. Dick still doesn’t break eye-contact as his fajitas were placed in front of him. Roy diverts his own gaze to timidly thank the waitress. She gives him a big smile.
Jason stares at his food. His hands are fists in his lap. He doesn’t dare eat.
Damian turns to look at the food on the table. He rubs his nose on Dick’s shirt, and then he reaches out a grabby hand.
The tension is broken. Dick relaxes.
“Want to try some of daddy’s food?” He coos, pushing the hot steaming plate away from Damian’s fingers, because he didn’t want his boy to burn himself.
Roy is stunned at the sudden change. While he'd been greatly tempted to remain submissive by keeping his eyes off of Dick, now he couldn’t help but observe him, because he was shocked at how quickly Dick had switched moods. Dick seemed like a completely different person. He wasn’t an angry alpha. He was a doting father who wanted to take care of his baby.
Dick starts to hum. He grabs hold of a napkin, and begins to sort out food for Damian to try. Damian watches him impatiently. He, too, was different. He wasn’t sobbing like the scared little boy who’d been thrown up in the air. He was completely fine. He was simply content to be in his father’s arms again.
Dick glances over at Jason. His eyes then return to Roy.
Roy tries not to look like a nervous wreck.
Dick tilts his head. “What’s wrong with you two? Not hungry?”
Roy blinks.
Had Dick not been aware of his own behavior? That couldn’t be right. That just didn’t make any sense.
Jason wordlessly grabs hold of his burger. He stuffs it in his mouth. He remains silent. Roy catches his gaze. Jason communicates, through eyes alone, not to piss off the protective alpha. Roy decides to comply. He starts working on his tacos, cupping one in his hand, and bringing it up to his mouth.
Dick makes a pleased sound. He looks back down at the table. He grabs hold of a piece of chicken, and offers it to Damian to try. Damian grabs it, shoves it into his mouth, and smacks happily.
“Taste good?” Dick rumbles.
Damian holds out his hand. Dick gives him another piece. This time he tries to put it in Dick’s mouth, instead. Dick is all too happy to accept the gift. He gives a happy purr when he lets Damian push the food past his lips.
“Yum,” Dick babbles to his baby. His voice adopts the baby-talk tone. “Delicious. Thank you.”
Damian smiles. Dick melts.
“You’re so cute,” he sighs aloud. “Isn’t he cute?”
“Oh yes,” Roy immediately agrees. “He’s adorable.”
Jason says, “I can’t imagine a better looking pup in the world.”
Jason’s voice sounded calm, but his body language suggested differently. It showed that he wanted to bolt out of the restaurant. Roy could empathize. He, too, wished to run.
Damian gets another baby-sized piece of chicken again, and this time he twists his body to hold his hand out towards Roy. Roy didn’t know what he was trying to do. It takes him a good couple of seconds to figure out that he was trying to offer him a piece of food.
Dick smiles. It is the scariest smile Roy has ever seen.
“Well, Roy,” he says, darkly, “aren’t you going to take it?”
Roy nods quickly. He grabs the chicken from Damian’s hand, uncaring that his hand was not the most sanitary thing, and stuffs the food into his mouth.