"Steph."

"Get out of my apartment." She snarled.

"I just wanted to talk to you!" He held up his hands in defense.

"We'll talk. I'll have a recorder and every horrible word you say will go to print." She retorted, stalking from the couch with a throw pillow in her hand. "What are you doing here? Why are you wearing that?" She whipped the pillow into his stomach.

"I was on patrol, I figured you'd moved in by now." His voice was innocent, but Stephanie knew his body was a wonderland of sin.

"So you broke into my apartment? Did I occur to you to leave when you heard my bathtub starting or were you going to wait here all night?"

"We both know you listen to music—"

"When I'm bathing, thank you for reminding me more that I wouldn't like you to know about me." Stephanie Brown had a talent of looking very much like a snake when she glared.

It was quite frankly terrifying.

"We're going to see each other some—"

"In a professional setting, we are going to see each other in a professional setting." Stephanie retorted. "I'm a professional now, remember? Not just a kid whose house you can break into at will."

"But we can also communicate in a social setting." Tim Drake replied, his tongue hitting the word sociable in a way that conjured up images of a nerd discussing the rules of the fifth edition of DND. "I could take you grocery shopping."

"The only thing you should be taking is a long drop out my window, away from me."

He frowned at her like she was some sort of crazy madwoman for not wanting to go grocery shopping with him.

"Fuck you." Stephanie vocalized.

"What?" He countered, surprised and confused.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like I'm missing out on the great secret that is Tim Drake." She squinted at him before turning her head toward the fridge. With a march, she opened the door and showed the contents. Three white castle burgers. "I have enough to eat anyway."

"You're not missing out on me, you know me. But those burgers hardly count as food." Tim motherfucking annoying as hell boot me out a window throw a mug at my head drake.

"See, I used to think I knew you, but god knows I didn't."

Tim sighed, leaning back in her chair before she kicked out the leg, forcing him to fall back first on the tile. He glared at her from his back on the ground, before getting to his feet.

His mask was still firmly in place, he felt to make sure.

She made a noise of disgust.

He rolled his eyes at her.

She gestured to the window above the sink that she had left open early that day. It was obvious that was his choice of the entrance as it had no screen.

He sighed.


Stephanie Brown sat facing her future, a fiftysomething blonde with a disappointed look in her eyes.

In the morning hours, Stephanie had called her mother, Crystal Brown to inform her that yes she did manage to make it into town in one piece. For some reason, Crystal Brown did not entirely believe this fact and insisted on seeing her daughter in person.

This led to their current encounter, in which the both of them are in her mother's favorite restaurant, Victor's.

Stephanie Brown sat in her seat across from her mother, picking at a moderately priced greek salad as her mother indulged herself in falafel to an ungodly extent.

"And you honestly need to do this article?" Crystal brown questioned.

Steph swallowed a cherry tomato whole before responding, "Mom, I'm sure. It was heavily hinted that if I turn this down my boss will be disappointed."

"All I'm saying is, if you can, don't." Crystal shook her head at her daughter. "It's just too close to how things used to be, I don't want this to end with you getting hurt."

"Mom, I have steeled myself against Tim Drake and guys like him."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about."

Oh.

Steph cast her eyes away from her mother.

"You were seriously injured." Crystal continued. "You're lucky to still be here."

"I know."

The older woman shook her head. "No you don't, you're lucky you can walk at this point."

"Mom-"

"A building fell on you, Stephanie." Crystal sighed. "What part of that do you not understand?"

"It wasn't the first time."

"It was the first time you had to be kept for two weeks, you're lucky that Leslie was there otherwise someone else would have had to take the mask off."

"It wasn't that bad."

"You were hardly breathing, you had eight breaks and a multitude of fractures, not to mention the concussion."

"But I'm okay now."

"So long as you stay away from your previous trouble." Her mother sighed. "I refuse to watch you killing yourself daily."

In a way that reminded her mother much of Stephanie Brown seven years ago, the other woman sighed and mumbled a response of, "Who wants to live forever?"


Again, I'm so sorry to tell you, Tim is so busy I had to double book you today. He insists you'll have to perform your first interview as he goes grocery shopping or miss out entirely."


Nutrigrain?"

"God no," Stephanie replied as they lingered too long in the health food aisle. "First engagement?"

"Yes." He replied, holding up a whole grain pasta blend. "Multicolored penne?"

"No." She rolled her eyes at the situation in general. Her second day and she had seen Tim twice and suffered his unbearable personality a thousand times. "First time considering engagement?"

He looked at her carefully. "Yes." Picking up a jar of organic vodka sauce, "Vodka sauce?"

"Is there sugar?" She asked. A swallow without meaning too at the question on her sheet up next, "How many girlfriends?"

"How many boyfriends?" He rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to write down too many." Stephanie countered him.

"Write three." His voice was even. "Reality is confusing."

"You're disgusting," Stephanie replied.

"How many boyfriends?"

"Fuck off." She shook her head, bending down and grabbing a can of alfredo sauce, extra cheesy.

He kneeled down beside her. "How many?"

"Fuck off." She replied more venomously. She crawled away from him on her knees a bit.

"How many?" He seemed too curious.

"Why is it your business?" She responded a bit too loudly, a woman across the aisle pulled her uniform wearing brat into her hip and muttered under her breath about couple disputes.

He seemed to think of this for a moment before standing back up.

She blinked at him from the ground. "Two."

"Fair."

"How did you meet her?"

"The real story or?" He began.

"The bad one."

His smile reached his eyes.

"Okay, okay, more cheesy question?" She stood up and deposited the pasta sauce into the cart.

"Go for it."

"What do you like best about her?" She started to pull the cart without his permission, he moved to the handle to gain control.

Control was a bad idea, as he slipped and rammed the cart into Stephanie's side. She squeaked in paid and cast him a glare. He blinked in response as she began to massage her side and the customers surrounding them stared.

"Seriously Tim?"

He shook his head.

"Her smile."

Steph wasn't convinced.

She moved to the less dangerous side of the cart and walked beside it. Pressuring him to turn into the sweets aisle.


Author's Note:

Ran all the chapters through another grammar check and fixed many awkward portions.