A/N: Sorry this took so long! D: Life's been slightly hectic. :/
Chapter Three
Blunt Force
"There is a force that drives everything in this universe; you may call it anything you like, names that fit in tongue; when you're close to it, you have the power to do anything."
-Toba Beta
Tim grabbed his red hoodie off the coat rack and slipped it on, pulling the hood over his head. He reached for the door handle, but paused when he heard a voice behind him.
"Where are you heading off to?" He turned to see Bruce standing there dressed in a suit, obviously about to attend some meeting or something at Wayne Enterprises. He opened his mouth to reply, when Damian also entered the room.
"He is probably going to stalk some female he has a fascination with."
Tim glared, the faintest of blushes coloring his cheeks. "What did Dick tell you?"
Damian rolled his eyes. "Grayson told me nothing. I had simply been listening in on your conversation with him the other day. As usual, you were oblivious to your surroundings."
"Dick didn't notice you either!"
"-tt-"
"Ahem." They both turned to Bruce. "Damian, go help Alfred with breakfast."
"I re-"
Bruce glared.
"Fine" Damian spat, indignant, before walking off, Titus following at his heels. Bruce then turned to Tim.
"What's this about a girl?"
Tim struggled for a reasonable explanation that wouldn't get him sent straight to Arkham. "It's just… a girl… who went to my school… I, um, just want to catch up with her and stuff… we had been kind of close, I guess." He could lie to a criminal or civilian no problem, but lying to Bruce might as well have been like signing his own death certificate; shaky and near impossible.
Bruce cocked an eyebrow, obviously debating on whether or not to call Tim out on it. He eventually chose the former, moving to go about his business. "Alright." Tim watched Bruce leave, before letting out a small sigh of relief, glad that he had managed to survive that one. He then opened the door and exited the Manor.
He took a taxi to his destination. The driver didn't recognize him, so he held out hope that no one else would. The last thing he needed was a swarm of people who wanted to get up close and personal with one of Bruce Wayne's wards. He had instructed the driver to drop him off a block away from the address.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets, taking on a casual stroll despite his impatience. He kept his head down in extra measure to not be recognized. The streets were crowded and he wasn't sure whether this was an advantage or disadvantage. It didn't matter, though, because as soon as he turned onto the street of his destination, the crowds died down. It was a residential street, lined with nothing but apartment buildings, most of which were slightly ran down.
He stopped in front one of the buildings, recognizing the number. He faced it, looking up at a window he was pretty sure was hers. There was something off about this place, he felt, as if he had expected her to live somewhere else. The curtains were closed and it was the middle of the day, so he had no way of knowing if she was inside or not. He felt his heart speed up at the thought of catching a real glimpse of her. But what would he do when that happened? Would he be able to move on with his life, or would he be filled with more questions? It was an endless equation with too many variables and too many possibilities.
But there it was, out of the corner of his eye, a blur of blonde. His heart stopped and he turned his head immediately, his eyes landing on her face just before she turned into an alleyway. His breath caught. He'd seen those eyes a thousand times by now. It was her. She was real. She was flesh and blood and made of real cells. She had a name, she had a story; he wanted to know every little detail.
It was a moment later when he realized he had begun to follow her. He realized that following a girl into an alleyway probably wasn't the smartest idea, but he'd been trained in stealth. He kept a reasonable distance, one that allowed him not to lose sight of her for too long, while maintaining enough of a distance to hopefully not cause any attention.
The alleyway led to a currently inactive construction zone, which she just kept walking through. Tim's brow furrowed. Where was she going? Why did she walk right past her home in the first place? He watched as she picked up a brick without stopping. This only confused Tim more. What in the world was she doing? She rounded a corner and he lost sight of her. Resisting the urge to speed up so he wouldn't lose her, he kept the same pace. He reached the corner and walked around it.
Bam!
Something hard and rough was slammed into his face, forcing his head to the side. For a split second, everything went black and words that seemed to be from another lifetime floated into his mind.
"It's late."
"Yeah."
"I wish this never had to end."
"Same here."
"What was that for?!" he questioned, kneeling over and cupping his now incredibly sore jaw. He eyed the brick in her hand, hoping she wouldn't try to hit him with it again.
"You were following me!" she accused, pointing a finger at him.
He stood up straight, his hand still on his jaw. He was going to have a nasty bruise there. He wondered how he'd be able to explain that one. He could already see the scowl on Bruce's face.
"Was not!" He wasn't sure what the point in defending himself was, when he was so obviously guilty.
"Yeah, you were! You were even staring at my apartment, creep!"
His face reddened to match the cheek that had been assaulted. He hadn't expected her to notice that. "I was just…" There really was no excuse for it, was there? She stared at him angrily, her grip on the brick tight and her posture defensive. It was a nice posture, he admitted. She definitely had potential-
What was he thinking?
"Sorry" he mumbled. Looking at her so closely was surreal. He had the urge to reach out and touch her, make sure she was real and this wasn't another dream. He resisted the urge, knowing that would make him seem like even more of a creep. Instead, he settled for pinching himself. He winced slightly, thankful for the pain.
Maybe he did belong in Arkham.
"Well?" she demanded after a moment of tense silence. "What do you want? I swear if you're one of them…"
That caught his attention. "One of who?" He stood up straight, his brows already furrowing. Was someone threatening her? Was she in some sort of trouble? He suddenly had the urge to take her away from here, from whatever was troubling her.
Her lips pursed for a second, as if trying to decide if his lack of knowledge was sincere or just some ruse. Her face quickly hardened once more, though. "Answer my question!" She took one step toward him, as if she was going to hit him again. Tim took a step back, not willing to take that risk. He was finding it difficult to predict her actions, yet another feeling he wasn't used to.
"Listen, I'm sorry." He racked his brain for an explanation that made sense, his body relaxing slightly when he finally found one. "I just saw you at the library the other day and you caught my interest, so I asked one of your coworkers about you and they gave me your address." He couldn't wait until that was blown away. She was bound to question everyone else who worked at the library.
The hand holding the brick lowered slightly, a good sign. Her eyes moved over him cautiously, still not quite ready to believe him. "Then why were you following me like some creepy stalker? Is that just some pastime of yours or something?" Her sarcasm was thick.
"No," he replied, trying not to become defensive. "I was just trying to get closer so when I called you, you'd hear me."
"Who did you ask about me?"
"Some woman. I don't remember her name."
"What'd she look like?"
He wondered how much he'd be able to take out of his account without Bruce getting suspicious. He'd have to pay off that librarian at the library to make sure she stuck to his story. "Dark hair."
Stephanie waited for more information, glaring when it became apparent that she wasn't going to get anymore. "Did she tell you my name?"
"Uh, just your first. Stephanie, right?" The name flowed effortlessly off his tongue. He enjoyed the sound of it. Even more so now that he could put a face to the name.
She nodded cautiously. Tim frowned, trying to come up with some way to earn her trust, especially now that he seemed to have abolished any trust she would've given him, had they met under different circumstances.
"Look, I'm sorry." He couldn't remember the last time he had apologized so much.
A shoe flew at his face, accompanied by an angry, familiar voice.
He blinked, surprised by the sudden flash. What had he done to make her throw a shoe at his face? He shook his head. Didn't matter.
"Can you please just put the brick down and let me make you an offer?" he continued. He watched as she blinked, before looking at the brick, as if she had totally forgotten that it was still gripped in her hand. The smallest of blushes came to her cheeks and Tim had to resist the urge to stare at the sight, finding it more appealing than it really should've been. After a moment's hesitation, she dropped the brick, tossing it aside, but obviously not too far away. She would likely still be able to dive and grab it at a moment's notice. He felt a small amount of satisfaction at how prepared she was, until he reminded himself that he would be the one getting a brick to the face if that happened. Again.
She crossed her arms, putting on a poker face and raising an eyebrow. Tim swallowed down his amusement. He was in trouble and he had to make this right.
"I'm listening." Her voice told him that he had approximately five seconds before she turned on her heel and left.
"I know we haven't gotten off on the right foot, but can we talk some more? I promise I'm not a creep." He gave her a smile that he hoped was charming, or friendly, or just anything but creepy. Her expression didn't change. Her poker face could give Damian a run for his money. "Let me take you to a café or something. Just get a drink and maybe a bite. McDonald's even. Whatever you want." He had her in his grasp now. How could he possibly let her go now?
It seemed like forever while he waited for her reply. He had no idea what she was thinking. "Fine." The word came out curtly and grudgingly, but it was good enough for Tim. "There's a small diner down the street. Their mashed potatoes are amazing. You can take me there." A sigh accompanied the end of her statement. Tim tried to keep his grin small as he nodded.
"Alright."
He turned to follow her, a recent dream flashing in his memory.
"Alright, what happened?" Tim exited the kitchen of Stephanie's house, carrying a full plate of mashed potatoes in his hand. Steph sat on the couch in the living room, hugging a pillow and playing the hem of her pajama shorts.
"Nothin'" she replied, not looking up until he stopped in front of her. She took the offered plate and began to eat the potatoes. "You didn't have to come over here and make me these." A small smile flitted across her face, however. She was probably surprised that he remembered her ultimate comfort food.
Tim walked around her, before sitting down next to her on the couch. He ignored the way their hips brushed. He honestly hadn't intended to sit that close, but it seemed to come naturally. He put his arm on the back of the couch and looked at her, eyes slightly concerned.
"Oracle told me that you started acting strange right before you got off patrol tonight. Something about no witty remarks and plenty of openings?" He let out a single, quiet laugh, trying to get some sort of smile out of her. He felt rather successful when the corners of her lips turned up slightly.
"So, O told you to come here?" she questioned, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow, before taking another bite of potatoes.
He shook his head. "Oracle didn't tell me to do anything." After a moment of silence, he pressed on. "Did something happen? Did you lose a fight? Did you see something that-" He cut himself off as she began to shake her head.
"Nope, Batgirl's still kicking ass and she's still perfectly aware of the gruesome side to life. This is a Steph issue."
So there is an issue. "Tell me."
Stephanie looked at him and their eyes connected. In her eyes, Tim could see their memories floating around and replaying in his reflection. The urge to just simply lean forward was so great that he was about to, but was broken out of it when Steph sighed. She took a bite of potatoes, before beginning her explanation, swallowing the bite only after her first few sentences.
"So, there was this guy who stole from the jewelry store today. I don't know which one, they kind of all mush together after a while. Anyway, I chased him down to the park, where I took him out, because I'm skilled like that, y'know? So yeah, the police arrived and I handed the guy over to them. I was just about to leave when I saw the kids playing on the playground. Most were staring, but there were some who couldn't care less. They were all so cute, y'know? Those kids don't have a care in the world. And the little girls, with their pigtails and little dresses. And… and I kind of thought of my daughter. I mean, I figure I had a girl 'cause Bruce kind of let that slip on my 'deathbed.' Anyway, I just started to wonder about her. What does she look like? What's her favorite ice cream? Is she happy? I want to know, Tim. I mean, I know that I kind of gave up that right, and I'm not saying that I want her back. I'm sure she's happy with a nice family and everything, but… I don't know that, do I?" She sighed again, before glancing at him, a cautious smile playing at her lips. "I don't sound crazy, do I?"
Tim had been listening intently to her, giving her his undivided attention. His eyes were glued to her as understanding filled his face. He shook his head. "Not at all." He adjusted his position to face her more and leaned forward. He reached to place his hand on hers, before hesitating and clasping his own hands together in his lap. He hoped she hadn't noticed. "You're being perfectly reasonable, Steph. If you want, I can look into it for you."
Stephanie frowned slightly as she looked at him. "But you've been so busy lately…"
"I'll find the time" he replied instantly. Steph eyed him for a moment, before a grin stretched across her face and she let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head in amusement.
"Alright," she said, "it's a deal." She set the plate of potatoes on the coffee table and held out her knuckle to him. Tim eyed the knuckle, before raising an eyebrow at him. His Really? rang through the air. Steph just nodded enthusiastically, biting her lip most likely to keep from laughing. Eventually, Tim let out an over exaggerated sigh, restraining his own amusement, and returned the fist bump. A small chuckle managed to escape from his lips, however.
Steph put on a movie after that. It was Tangled and Tim couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself when he noticed a few similarities between Rapunzel and Steph- besides their hair color, of course. It was on the lake scene, when Tim couldn't help but glance down at Steph. She was asleep, probably tired out from the night's patrol, and her head was resting on his shoulder. His arm was around her and it reminded Tim greatly of the old, simple days of crosswords and the sound of a piano. Her face had always looked so peaceful when she was asleep, and it still did. He couldn't help but smile slightly when he heard a light snore come from her. To this day, she still denied that she ever snored, but Tim knew that she knew. She knew everything. At least, he hoped so. Either way, he would make sure to remind her. Someday. He just prayed he wouldn't be too late.
A/N: There ya go! :D Told you things will speed up a little bit in this chapter. I've had that bricking scene in my mind since I started this. :P Let me just once again thank all of your who review, favorite, and alert! ^^ This is my most popular story yet, I think. ;) By the way, I'm just curious, but how many of you are from tumblr? :P Anywho, responses to guest reviews are on the bottom as usual. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.~ Review please! ;D
Aprillis: Thank you! And haha, I do love me my jabs.~ ;P Thanks by the way for clearing that up. :P I feel the same way about Cass and Tim's relationship. :)
Guest: ("THANK YOU FOR UPDATING! PLEASE CONTINUE!") YOU'RE WELCOME! :D
Guest: ("OMG ME GUSTA! Your fic is really good! I really miss timsteph and this story makes it less painful :(") Gracias! I know, their absence is painful. Glad I can lessen that torment, though! ;)
Guest: ("please update quick please. i've always voted for tim and steph") I'll do my best to update as often as possible! And yes, Tim and Steph belong together.~
Guest: ("Amazing :) post soon") Thank you! :D
