In Conner's defense, Jason also immediately didn't like the man's hand on the nape of Tim's neck. He tensed, eyes narrowing as he watched Tim's small flicker of displeasure. That was his cue to give the man an out, to make it abundantly clear to this overstepping stranger that Tim was dancing with him and was flirting with him and might even possibly go home with him that night, but that Tim was also never alone. Never again, at least for as long as Jason was on his contract.
He wasn't about to step in until Tim needed him to step in, though. If Tim's reaction had been different, Jason still wouldn't have liked it, but he wouldn't have stopped it. It wasn't his place to judge if Tim liked a little slap with his tickle, after all. It was just his place to keep him safe while he indulged.
Kon, apparently, hadn't gotten that memo. Or, more accurately, had thrown it out in a fit of possessive jealousy.
He was up the moment that Tim's face said he didn't appreciate the overly forward grip on his neck, drinks forgotten as he rounded the table. Before he could get there, however, Conner was there and escalating the situation more than it needed to be. Jason frowned, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he wove his way through the growing crowd of onlookers. If Conner was going to always escalate things like this, he was going to have to plan accordingly. If nothing else, for every stray punch that clipped Tim, he'd return to the older boy with interest.
By the time Tim started to really look around for him, Jason was sliding his bulk between the young CEO and the fight that had broken out. He could hear the club's security starting to fumble at the edges of the crowd and the last thing that Tim (or Bruce) needed was Tim's name showing up in any news coverage that came out of all this, so Jay simply caught the man around the waist and snugged him against his chest, lifting just enough to clear those heeled boots off the ground so Jason didn't have to worry about tripping as he started to force his way through the ring of Looking-Lu's to put distance between them.
Oh, Tim absolutely preferred a little slap with his tickle in the right mood, but never with a stranger. There had to be a certain level of trust for that to be acceptable. Even in a fury of hormones he was far too smart to blindly hand himself over willingly to someone he knew absolutely nothing about, handsome or not.
Jason popped up out of fucking nowhere and Tim barely had a moment to gasp in a breath before he was being pulled in. The size difference between the two of them had never been more apparent than when Tim was crushed against his bodyguard's chest like that. A strong arm wrapped around him and pulled him up and it really wasn't Tim's fault that his natural reaction was to put his arms around Jason's neck for something to hold onto. The likelihood of him being dropped was astoundingly low, but his brain kicked into survival mode and wanted to make sure he kept hold of his lifeline.
While Tim wasn't particularly bulky, he had enough muscle not to be considered a complete waif, so it shouldn't have been so easy for Jason to just haul him around like a ragdoll. It was so incredibly sexy and Tim had to force himself to think about literally anything except the idea of Jason being the one to fill the need that had pushed him towards the club in the first place. "Huh?" He asked, because it took a few seconds for the synapses in his brain to fire properly. "Oh. Uh, no? No. Conner's an idiot but he wouldn't hurt me." Tim was pretty sure the guy would rather die than cause him the slightest hint of pain.
The guy had gripped his neck harder than he should have, but Tim was hopeful there wouldn't be any kind of bruise left behind. He wasn't that delicate. "Let's just--let's just go. I'll text Conner once we get outside." Not that he planned on waiting around for his friend, Tim was a little to pissy about having things ruined for that. Conner did at least deserve to know he'd left, though. And that he was safe, no thanks to him.
Tim wasn't a complete waif. Jason was just built like a brick shithouse. Most of his team were. It was an occupation that tended to call for people with particular skillsets and most of the time that skillset came with a certain minimum degree of physical conditioning. Not always, of course, but it was a stereotype for a reason. Especially on his team, something that Tim would get to personally learn in a few days when everyone else filtered in from where they'd been enjoying their various downtimes.
Tonight, however, it was just him.
Tim wrapped toned arms around his neck and Jason hummed a little in appreciation of the boy's reflexes even as he turned to point them back towards the door they'd come in through. Were there closer exits? He didn't know, he hadn't had time to get a schematic of the building. Better to head for an exit he was certain of than to waste time and risk getting caught in a potential situation looking for something that might be closer.
"He's something, alright..." Was it his place to grumble and judge his employer's friends? No. But he wasn't going to stop himself, either. Bruce knew the kind of no-nonsense person he and his team were when he hired him. Tim hadn't, but that wasn't Jason's problem. "We're going to have to have a talk with him before this happens again. I don't tolerate people making my job harder because they're jealous."
It also wasn't his job to protect Conner's feelings.
The crowd parted easily enough for them, the bouncer at the door giving them an understanding glance, and then they were back out into the evening air. It wasn't 'fresh', nothing in Gotham was ever 'fresh', but it was several degrees cooler than the body heated club and some of the tension in Jason's shoulders eased as soon as the doors closed behind them and the worst of the thudding bassline was cut off.
He didn't put Tim down, though. Not until he'd put a couple dozen steps between them and the front door, and even then he still kept an arm securely around slender shoulders. To anyone on the street, he just looked like a protective boyfriend. Or maybe a possessive one. Jason didn't really care what he looked like as long as eyes slide over them like unfocused water and he could keep them going in the direction of Tim's -and now his own- building.
"I was going to call an uber so we weren't walking, but I don't think either of us are as tired as I thought we'd be. I'm sorry your night got interrupted."
It sounded like quite the way to spend an afternoon, watching Jason lecturing Conner on not getting jealous. Conner wouldn't handle that well at all and Tim wasn't sure that Conner had a chance at beating Jason in a fight if it came down to it. Still, it felt important to correct him so that things didn't end up getting out of hand. "Conner wasn't jealous. He's just protective, that's all." Tim was never the sort of guy people developed genuine romantic feelings for. A good time? Sure, but that was something different entirely. "I'll let him know it's your job to look out for me now so he doesn't need to."
Speaking of which, he did say he would text Conner once he got outside. Tim pulled out his phone and typed out a message about Jason walking him home, expressing prissy irritation at having his night ruined, and to just leave his security up to Jason until he got Bruce to call off the contract. Tim had every right to rail against an assigned bodyguard because it was all about him, but he expected Conner to respect Jason's job and not make it harder. Jason was just trying to earn a living, after all.
Bruce and his paranoia have made Tim wary about taking Ubers when he didn't have to, so he was grateful to walk, even if he would be a lot safer in a stranger's car now that Jason was with him. He'd still rather not. The sigh that left him at the mention of his ruined night was more dramatic than it needed to be, and he crossed his arms over his chest like a petulant child. "Sure, you sound devastated." Mostly he was just pissy he wasn't going to get laid.
A thought occurred to him then, and it wasn't a particularly smart one, but even Tim couldn't always be a genius. He glanced at the hand connected to the arm that was wrapped around him, then up towards Jason's face. Hm. Jason was very much his type, and if the two of them had met under different circumstances, Tim would've certainly tried to shoot his shot by now. There was something to be said about not mixing business and pleasure, and anything physical happening between the two of them could make a working relationship harder in the future, considering they already bickered plenty.
Still, Tim offered Jason a little smirk before he turned his head back towards the direction the two of them were headed. "I might be able to think of a way you can make it up to me."
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no subject
He wasn't about to step in until Tim needed him to step in, though. If Tim's reaction had been different, Jason still wouldn't have liked it, but he wouldn't have stopped it. It wasn't his place to judge if Tim liked a little slap with his tickle, after all. It was just his place to keep him safe while he indulged.
Kon, apparently, hadn't gotten that memo. Or, more accurately, had thrown it out in a fit of possessive jealousy.
He was up the moment that Tim's face said he didn't appreciate the overly forward grip on his neck, drinks forgotten as he rounded the table. Before he could get there, however, Conner was there and escalating the situation more than it needed to be. Jason frowned, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he wove his way through the growing crowd of onlookers. If Conner was going to always escalate things like this, he was going to have to plan accordingly. If nothing else, for every stray punch that clipped Tim, he'd return to the older boy with interest.
By the time Tim started to really look around for him, Jason was sliding his bulk between the young CEO and the fight that had broken out. He could hear the club's security starting to fumble at the edges of the crowd and the last thing that Tim (or Bruce) needed was Tim's name showing up in any news coverage that came out of all this, so Jay simply caught the man around the waist and snugged him against his chest, lifting just enough to clear those heeled boots off the ground so Jason didn't have to worry about tripping as he started to force his way through the ring of Looking-Lu's to put distance between them.
"Are you okay? Anyone clip you?"
no subject
Jason popped up out of fucking nowhere and Tim barely had a moment to gasp in a breath before he was being pulled in. The size difference between the two of them had never been more apparent than when Tim was crushed against his bodyguard's chest like that. A strong arm wrapped around him and pulled him up and it really wasn't Tim's fault that his natural reaction was to put his arms around Jason's neck for something to hold onto. The likelihood of him being dropped was astoundingly low, but his brain kicked into survival mode and wanted to make sure he kept hold of his lifeline.
While Tim wasn't particularly bulky, he had enough muscle not to be considered a complete waif, so it shouldn't have been so easy for Jason to just haul him around like a ragdoll. It was so incredibly sexy and Tim had to force himself to think about literally anything except the idea of Jason being the one to fill the need that had pushed him towards the club in the first place. "Huh?" He asked, because it took a few seconds for the synapses in his brain to fire properly. "Oh. Uh, no? No. Conner's an idiot but he wouldn't hurt me." Tim was pretty sure the guy would rather die than cause him the slightest hint of pain.
The guy had gripped his neck harder than he should have, but Tim was hopeful there wouldn't be any kind of bruise left behind. He wasn't that delicate. "Let's just--let's just go. I'll text Conner once we get outside." Not that he planned on waiting around for his friend, Tim was a little to pissy about having things ruined for that. Conner did at least deserve to know he'd left, though. And that he was safe, no thanks to him.
no subject
Tonight, however, it was just him.
Tim wrapped toned arms around his neck and Jason hummed a little in appreciation of the boy's reflexes even as he turned to point them back towards the door they'd come in through. Were there closer exits? He didn't know, he hadn't had time to get a schematic of the building. Better to head for an exit he was certain of than to waste time and risk getting caught in a potential situation looking for something that might be closer.
"He's something, alright..." Was it his place to grumble and judge his employer's friends? No. But he wasn't going to stop himself, either. Bruce knew the kind of no-nonsense person he and his team were when he hired him. Tim hadn't, but that wasn't Jason's problem. "We're going to have to have a talk with him before this happens again. I don't tolerate people making my job harder because they're jealous."
It also wasn't his job to protect Conner's feelings.
The crowd parted easily enough for them, the bouncer at the door giving them an understanding glance, and then they were back out into the evening air. It wasn't 'fresh', nothing in Gotham was ever 'fresh', but it was several degrees cooler than the body heated club and some of the tension in Jason's shoulders eased as soon as the doors closed behind them and the worst of the thudding bassline was cut off.
He didn't put Tim down, though. Not until he'd put a couple dozen steps between them and the front door, and even then he still kept an arm securely around slender shoulders. To anyone on the street, he just looked like a protective boyfriend. Or maybe a possessive one. Jason didn't really care what he looked like as long as eyes slide over them like unfocused water and he could keep them going in the direction of Tim's -and now his own- building.
"I was going to call an uber so we weren't walking, but I don't think either of us are as tired as I thought we'd be. I'm sorry your night got interrupted."
no subject
Speaking of which, he did say he would text Conner once he got outside. Tim pulled out his phone and typed out a message about Jason walking him home, expressing prissy irritation at having his night ruined, and to just leave his security up to Jason until he got Bruce to call off the contract. Tim had every right to rail against an assigned bodyguard because it was all about him, but he expected Conner to respect Jason's job and not make it harder. Jason was just trying to earn a living, after all.
Bruce and his paranoia have made Tim wary about taking Ubers when he didn't have to, so he was grateful to walk, even if he would be a lot safer in a stranger's car now that Jason was with him. He'd still rather not. The sigh that left him at the mention of his ruined night was more dramatic than it needed to be, and he crossed his arms over his chest like a petulant child. "Sure, you sound devastated." Mostly he was just pissy he wasn't going to get laid.
A thought occurred to him then, and it wasn't a particularly smart one, but even Tim couldn't always be a genius. He glanced at the hand connected to the arm that was wrapped around him, then up towards Jason's face. Hm. Jason was very much his type, and if the two of them had met under different circumstances, Tim would've certainly tried to shoot his shot by now. There was something to be said about not mixing business and pleasure, and anything physical happening between the two of them could make a working relationship harder in the future, considering they already bickered plenty.
Still, Tim offered Jason a little smirk before he turned his head back towards the direction the two of them were headed. "I might be able to think of a way you can make it up to me."