One day, Tim is looking at Cassie just like he might on any other day, and he feels like there's something tugging on his heart. It kind of hurts, and he certainly notices it, but he doesn't really mind it. It's sort of a happy tug, and he's not really sure what that means, and again, he doesn't really mind it. He writes it off as a one-time thing, and returns to the task at hand.
But this tug - it is certainly not a one-time thing. It's not a two-, or three-, five-, or even ten-time thing. It starts happening every time Tim catches a glimpse of her luxurious blonde hair or sparkling blue eyes or creamy tan legs and arms. He can't make it stop, and it's starting to scare him. So he goes to the best source he can think of - Dick Grayson.
And Dick laughs and laughs and laughs and laughs. Tim is really confused but he waits out the older man's amusement because he really needs advice. So when Dick finally quiets down, Tim asks again, and Dick goes back to cracking up. This happens several times but Tim still sticks because Dick is the foremost authority on girls and if the original Robin can't help him then no one can.
Eventually Dick stops laughing every time Tim asks, and the two raven-haired boys get down to business. Nightwing informs the younger boy that he clearly has a crush on Cassie, and Robin vehemently denies it, but the elder keeps insisting, and the younger eventually accepts it as fact. And now he's stuck with the question of what to do with this information.
Time goes on and Tim finds himself more and more drawn to Cassie with each passing day, and really this is starting to scare him, but he has no idea what to do. He's too awkward to go ask her out, and he's sure that she's never thought of him in any sort of romantic way. But he pines for her, he longs for her, he yearns for her, and if he doesn't express himself soon, then he truly thinks that he might just burst.
It's on her sixteenth birthday that something finally happens between the two. Tim has been listening very carefully to her for the past few weeks - not to be a creeper, but so that he can figure out what to get her. He thinks he's done a pretty good job of finding something, but the butterflies run rampant in his stomach as she picks up the gift and unwraps it. And then she's squealing and flinging herself at him and their lips are colliding and his ears are burning and his hands are awkwardly hovering around her waist area and he can sort of hear cat-calls around the room and he's not sure if he's doing any of this right but he's in such a state of pure bliss that he can't do anything but try to kiss her back.
Then she pulls away and her cheeks are fire-engine red and she's grinning with her gorgeous pearly teeth and Tim is grinning back because he's not sure if this was all an accident or not but he doesn't really care because he's never ever going to forget this. Not as long as he lives. They're staring into each other's eyes and not saying a word because what could really be said at a time like this? And, still not saying a word, Cassie rises, grabs Tim by the hand, and leads him to her room here at the Watchtower.
When Tim emerges the next morning and walks into the entertainment room, he is greeted by cheers and whistles from his male teammates and giggles from the females and his face is as red as a tomato but again he really doesn't care. He didn't make it past second base but that's all right with him because she's just so perfect and now she's his and there are few things that will make him happier than this for the rest of his life.