The Great Pretender (Dick and Lydia)

[utilitybelted]

When Dick had been on a lengthy mission in the middle of nowhere (aka Beacon Hills, California), the last thing he'd expected was to make a really good friend.
Well, technically the last thing he'd expected was to get mixed up in a weird werewolf pack showdown, but the friend thing was a close second - and he was definitely much happier about it.
Lydia had turned out to be one of the best friends he'd ever had, and if he maybe had just a little bit of a crush on her that was neither here nor there, so he'd been eager to keep in touch after heading back to Gotham.

It helped that she was somebody who knew his identity (not that he told Bruce that part) without being directly involved in his crime-fighting life, so she was someone he could talk to about that part of his life when it was getting too much for him. Conversely, he hoped him being someone who knew about the weirdness in her life without being directly involved was helpful to her as well.

It all added up to him being glad to hop on a plane and come see her whenever he had the chance, so when she told him she needed him to come to Beacon Hills to help her with something important one weekend, he didn't even ask what it was.

So right on schedule he was heading into the arrivals lounge at the nearest airport, looking out for a familiar redhead.

Comments

[sanguinescry]

After giving him a quick squeeze, Lydia steps away and smiles back at her friend. "Good, I'm glad. It wasn't too bad," she replies, shaking her head. Traffic can get a little bad, but this time of day isn't too bad, because most people are at work or in school for another hour or so before the commute gets heavy.

"Come on, let's go," she says, nodding in the direction of the baggage claim. As she starts to lead hm through the throngs of people, Lydia gives him an apologetic sort of smile. "So...my cousin's wedding is this weekend..." she prefaces almost sheepishly.

Might as well just get right to it, she thinks, because that way, if he's going to shut down the idea, he hasn't gotten too far from the place where he'll need to be to turn right back around and go home, right? That's the least she can do.

[utilitybelted]

At first, Dick doesn't understand what she's getting at, he winces sympathetically and shrugs.

"That's okay, don't worry about it, I can entertain myself while you're away I'm sure," he assumes she forget about it when she invited him to come and stay, but he'd still get to spend time with her. Unless she hadn't forgotten "Oh, unless you need me to do something for you while you're gone? That's fine too..."

He doesn't really know why she wouldn't ask one of her friends who was here already, but he isn't going to pass up the chance to spend more time with her.

[sanguinescry]

Lydia's lips part to reply, but she lets him keep talking instead, weaving the two of them through the crowd until they make it to the baggage claim. There are less people milling around there than there had been outside security.

But then, he stops and sounds confused, so she stops walking and lifts her eyebrows at him. "...I can't go to a wedding by myself," she intones, giving him a suggestive look and hoping that he picks up the hint she's dropping. Then she looks apologetic again.

Lydia lowers her voice and starts to walk again, taking his free hand to get him to follow her. "I can't go without a date. Not to this wedding. I'd never hear the end of it, and I mean never. I have to show up with my boyfriend," she goes on and then looks over at him. "You know, the one I don't have anymore," she reminds him, because he's one of the only people she's really talked about the break up with Stiles with since it happened. Her apologetic look slips into something more desperate, then.

[utilitybelted]

He's still mystified for a moment, though he reaches out to grab her hand and give it a sympathetic squeeze when she mentions the break up - he knows how hard it's been for her, and it makes perfect sense that she wouldn't want to go to the wedding alone, even if she didn't have obnoxious family who'd ask a lot of questions about it.

That's when it clicks - or, at least, that's when he thinks it clicks.

"That's why you wanted me to come here!" he realises "You need me to be your wingman." yes, yes that was a deliberate bird pun.

"I will do everything I can to help you find the perfect boyfriend to take to this wedding." he announces firmly, and he ignores the tiniest pang of jealousy that those words trigger. This is not about him, this is about helping Lydia.

[sanguinescry]

He seems to get it and Lydia relaxes only to tense again almost immediately with incredulity when he goes on.

"No, stupid," she laughs, shaking her head. "I found the boyfriend to take to the wedding. You just have to actually be willing to go with me and play the part," she says, rolling her eyes a little. "Oh my God, Dick, did you really think I had you fly out here to find someone to go to a wedding with me, like I couldn't do that by myself?"

She'd be offended if she weren't so amused by it.

[utilitybelted]

Batman would be so ashamed of him right now, because he really should have put that together quicker. In fact he barely even put it together once she actually said it. He blinked stupidly at her for a moment until realisation finally, actually dawned.

"Oh! Oh, right, I'm sorry I just-" he laughed, running a hand through his hair at his own stupidity and he hoped he wasn't blushing "Apparently I'm dumb today."

He also wasn't sure what it said about him that he thought it was genuinely possible she asked him to fly halfway across the country to help her find a guy.

"Of course I'll go to the wedding with you, anything you need. I'll be the best fake boyfriend you've ever had."

[sanguinescry]

Lydia has the grace to look sympathetic. She probably should've just said it over the phone so as not to blindside him, but she had tried. She really had. She just...hadn't been able to make herself really say the words out loud. It felt pathetic to need this the way she does, and that's why she hadn't been able to say it, she supposes, after trying for months.

She relaxes again when he agrees to come and her smile is more genuine than nervous finally. Throwing her arms around him again, Lydia hugs her friend tight and gives him a squeeze, closing her eyes and tucking his shoulder beneath her chin.

"Thank you," she whispers. "Seriously, so much. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate this and I know you will, sweetie. That's why I asked you," she says, finally pulling back and smiling brightly at him. "Come on, let's go get you settled at the lake house."

[utilitybelted]

Dick gladly hugs back and tries not to think about how difficult it might be to pretend to be her boyfriend. It's only a little crush he has on her, honestly it is, and he loves being her friend. What if this preview into what life might be like dating her pushed him over the edge into full on unrequited love. What if he started pining.

He's not very good at not thinking about things.

"Hey, anything you need, I mean it," he tells her seriously, even if she had asked him to fly halfway across the country just to help her find a date, even if she'd asked him to fly halfway across the world he'd probably do it, if it was what she needed. She was one of his best friends, he'd do anything for her.

"Here I was thinking you asked me because none of your family know who I am and it'll be easier to pass me off as your boyfriend," he teased "That or you have family with a weird interest in Gotham high society and you're just using me to impress them," he threw a hand up to his forehead dramatically.

[sanguinescry]

With a smile, Lydia looks back at him fondly. She believes that, actually. Dick is an incredible friend, she's found as they've grown closer even with the physical distance between them. This should be easy enough for them both, she thinks. How hard can it be to continue to be affectionate with someone she adores when the only difference she can foresee between their actual relationship and the feigned one is that maybe they'll have to share a few kisses? He's cute, it's not like she's going to have to endure any of it. It might even be kind of nice, actually.

"...both of which are actually really good reasons..." she says, her tone that of realization, because she honestly hadn't even thought of the latter and while she'd thought of the former, it hadn't been the driving force behind her asking him to come out so much as it was an especially good bonus.

She moves with him closer to the baggage claim belt. "I resent the verbiage 'using you,' though," she adds belatedly, lifting an eyebrow and smirking a bit. "Get your bag, let's go get you settled. Are you hungry at all?" she asks. "We can grab something to eat and discuss how we want to approach this whole thing."

[utilitybelted]

"Oh no," Dick groaned with exaggerated horror "Am I going to have to answer questions about how amazing it is to be Bruce Wayne's son and have I really seen Batman?" not that he didn't answer those questions constantly day-to-day, and he didn't really object to doing it if he helped Lydia out (actually, being around her would probably make it a little more bearable), but she wasn't going to get away from this without at least a little bit of teasing.

"Hey, you can use me all you want babe," he jokes, throwing her a wink. He's really glad he spots his bag after that, though, because it gives him a reason to look away and hope desperately that he isn't blushing. He's pretty sure he can trust her to take it with good humour, so he's not flustered for long, by the time he's grabbed his bag off the claim and turned back to her he's composed again.

"Food would be amazing."

[sanguinescry]

Rolling her eyes playfully and grinning as she lightly backhands him "No, you'll just help legitimize the farce that my mother and I are still wealthy when we haven't been since my dad bailed," she says honestly and casually, if only because she doesn't actually mind that he knows the truth. She's alluded to it in passing in the past, anyway, so she figures it won't really come as a shock to him or anything.

A laugh escapes her at his comment, but thankfully he turns away before he can catch the way Lydia feels color rising in her cheeks. Nobody's called her that since Jackson, because Aiden never had any nicknames for her and Stiles just called her Lyds or Lydie when they were in private.

"What are you thinking? Takeout or should I cook?" she asks, nodding in the direction from which she'd originally come, implying that he follow her back out that way. If he wants to eat sooner than later, takeout is probably the option, but if he's not starving and he can wait, Lydia's actually quite good in the kitchen.

She leads the way out to the shuttle bus that will take them to the parking lot where she's left her car. "There's a rehearsal dinner later tonight, but we don't have to go if you'd rather settle in a little more before we carry out this charade," she tells him as they take their seats, and the shuttle pulls off a moment later.

[utilitybelted]

Sometimes he wishes he could be like Bruce and just unashamedly flash his cash all over the place, but also it isn't really his cash and also he just feels awkward about it, and he knows other people do too - Bruce gets away with it but he doubts he'd be able to pull it off in the same way.

He's really tempted to ask her to cook, but when she mentions the rehearsal dinner he hesitates, because as much as he'd love a Lydia-cooked meal, he's here to help her out and he doesn't object to getting stuck in. They can discuss details in the car, and it's not like they don't know each other well enough to pull it off.

"How about we grab something small on the way and then we can eat properly at this rehearsal dinner," he offers "I mean, if I was really your boyfriend coming in for the weekend I'd probably already know about the dinner right? It sells it better if I'm seen with you more than just at the wedding itself." Plus it gave him a chance to scope out if any of Lydia's family did know who he was.

[sanguinescry]

His foresight is appreciated, mostly because Lydia is lacking it in the stress of the whole situation. She's not looking terribly forward to this wedding as it is, but now she's dragged her best friend down with her and all she can say is, thank God he's thinking ahead.

"That's a good point, yeah... Yeah okay, we'll get something quick and small, get you unpacked and settled in for the weekend, and then we can get ready for the rehearsal dinner. I'm so glad you're here," she says, leaning against him as they sit side by side on the shuttle bus to the parking lot. Lydia lets her head rest against his shoulder. "I feel like I've been going crazy with all the preparations, trying to get you here and figure out what I could afford to buy because I didn't have anything to wear, helping my mom..."

She sighs. "And the bachelorette party was obnoxious and only last weekend, which was also the weekend of the bridal shower, because evidently her maid of honor has no concept of time and the fact that other people do not have unlimited amounts of it."

[utilitybelted]

"Sounds good," Dick agrees, shifting her slightly so he can wrap an arm around her and make them both more comfortable. He's always been a very tactile person, and it's nice to have the kind of relationship with Lydia where they can sit like this. It's also going to make selling their fake relationship a lot easier.

"Why don't I buy you a dress?" he offered, feeling a little awkward but wanting to do something helpful, she sounded pretty stressed by everything and if he could make it even the slightest bit easier he would "We could go out shopping tomorrow morning maybe?" It would help her sell the 'still rich' claim and he figured she'd feel a lot better about everything if she could walk into the wedding looking absolutely stunning (not that she didn't always, but he knew the power of fancy new clothes)

"I know so many people like that," he shook his head despairingly "They assume just because daddy's money means they don't need a job that nobody else has any reason to get one either."

[sanguinescry]

Lydia lifts her head at his offer, looking over at him. She almost rebukes him; does he really think she waited until the last minute to buy a dress? But then she realizes that he probably doesn't think that at all, he just has money and he's willing to pamper his friend in her hour of need. Lydia's expression melts into gratitude.

"I have a dress, but it's nothing spectacular," she agrees, giving him a smile after a moment. "I would appreciate that, so much. You have no idea." He really doesn't. Her dress is nice, but you can only get something so nice when you're thrift shopping. "Only if you're sure and you don't mind," she interjects suddenly.

A huff escapes her and she rolls her eyes a little, resting her head against his shoulder again and relaxing against him. "Yeah, I used to be one of those people, once upon a time. Now, that's embarrassing to think about because oh my God, it's really and truly obnoxious."

The shuttle comes to a stop in a little roundabout near the parking lot and Lydia lifts her head again. "Come on, I'm actually not parked very far from here. The sooner we can get to the car, the sooner we can get some snackage and get you unpacked and breathe for a few before the show must go on." She says that with a hint of apology in the tone, because she knows he probably won't mind that much, but all the same, she feels guilty asking him to feign a deeper relationship with her than they actually share. She doesn't get the feeling he's a big fan of lying if he doesn't have to.

[utilitybelted]

Dick almost breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't take his offer as an insult, and beamed brightly at her - he just wanted to treat his best friend, it was nice to get the chance to. "I don't mind one bit. It'll be fun to shop with you... besides, you'll need to make sure my outfit matches."

He wasn't really a fashion sort of person, so while he knew that the suit he brought with him was a good, expensive and flattering suit (Alfie got it, of course it was), he also wasn't sure if it would be up to Lydia's exacting standards - and if they were going to make an entrance, be the It couple and steal all the attention away from the bride and groom (not that he'd ever do that, really he wouldn't), he would have to make sure they both looked perfect.

He knows all about putting on a charade, and while the Wayne Family riches were no subterfuge, they pretended in a lot of other ways, and Dick knew exactly the kind of persona to present to all her family to pull off the image that he assumed she wanted, although he did intend to make sure exactly what she wanted before throwing himself into the role.

"Sounds great, lead the way gorgeous," he grinned "Just seeing what sounds good, are there any pet-names off limits?."

[sanguinescry]

Laughing a little in spite of herself, Lydia looks incredulously back at him. "You have the luxury of never having been shopping with me before, so it's easy for you to say that it'll be fun. It's okay, you'll learn," she says playfully as they make their way toward her car.

The grin on her face causes a wrinkle of her nose with amusement when he asks about pet names. "Anything that sounds kind of private or lame, we should probably steer clear of, but the normal ones are fine," she replies. When she says normal, Lydia's mostly thinking of the things Jackson used to call her and it's a little embarrassing to realize that it's been that long since she's been called by a pet name. Stiles didn't use them all that often, or if they did, they were little cutesie inside joke sorts of names reserved for when they were in private.

"Gorgeous is a good start," she adds for clarification, bumping her shoulder against his as she pulls out her keys and presses the button to unlock her car on the fob, causing a nearby vehicle's headlights to turn on. "Onward," she says, gesturing toward it, and once they've gotten settled into the car she turns to look at him and asks, "what do you feel like? For food, I mean."

[utilitybelted]

"Oh no, what did I just volunteer for?" he joked, though whatever she said wouldn't convince him really that it was going to be bad, he loved spending time with her - why would shopping be any different, right?

"Nothing lame, huh? So pookie and schnookums and..uh.. cupcake are probably off limits?" he asked teasingly, though he wouldn't be caught dead using any of them unless it was to mock somebody. Gorgeous and babe would suit him just fine, though he still intended to get a little experimental until he found something that worked - it was more fun that way.

"Not that I think you'd use it, but I'd just like to veto 'pudding' here and now." he shuddered theatrically "Too many negative connotations."

Settling into the car he looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging "Anything is cool with me. Wanna just grab some fries or something from the first drive-through we see?" it didn't have to be anything fancy or big after all, not if they had a rehearsal dinner to go to later.

[sanguinescry]

"A very long day," she responds, but she's grinning and she's mostly joking. It would be the truth if they weren't on a time constraint, but since they are, she'll have to give him Lydia Lite at the mall.

As she starts the car, she smirks over at her friend. "You're such a smart ass," she laughs, rolling her eyes playfully and then turning herself around in the seat as she shifts into reverse so that she can watch where she's going as she backs out of her spot. "But yeah, those are all off limits and you don't have to worry about 'pudding,' largely because that's super lame and you couldn't pay me to call someone that," she replies. Lydia drops back in the seat again, facing forward once more, and shifts the car into drive.

Lydia can appreciate that he's being flexible. She's not really that hungry, mostly because she's nervous about how well — or poorly — this whole thing is going to go. Well, her body is hungry, but her mind is a million miles away from French fries. "Yeah, we can do that. Or we can just grab something in the food court at the mall... Do you want to eat before we shop or do you not care?" Because, either way, first things first, she's taking him to the lake house so they can drop off his things. If he wants to eat before they go shopping, then maybe she'll just swing through a Wendy's or something on the way to the lake house.

[utilitybelted]

Dick laughed, feeling all the tension ease out of him as he relaxed into the car eat - regardless of her assurances he was in for a long day or that her family were going to be terrible or any other warning she might throw his way, he felt good to be here, to be able to laugh and joke with his friend and only worry about making a good impression and what pet names they could use rather than any life-or-death scenarios. It was nice, he was pretty sure, for both of them to get into the more normal dilemmas for a change.

However normal fake-dating your friends was.

"We should probably eat before shopping," he decided after a moment's though, flashing her a cheeky grin "I'm going to need to keep my strength up for the trials ahead."