Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~800
Characters: Rhea (age: 14), Leo (age: 16), mentioned: Maria (age: 21), Jayden (age: 23)
Photo Inspiration: link on profile

October 2, 2042 – Two Days before the Engagement Party
Gotham City Downtown Shopping District, 11:22 AM

Sometimes he wonders if Rhea has absolutely no stage fright. It's a weird thing to wonder, he knows, but he's not really sure what to call it. For as long as he's known Rhea (which is basically her whole life), she's never had trouble being around people, even if they're absolute strangers. Usually you show some healthy anxiety or skepticism, right?

Obviously that's not the case for Rhea.

They haven't once walked into a store or passed one without being stopped because someone recognized Rhea. And like, it'd be different if it were just Gotham, because that's her hometown, or if it were just a brief, casual conversation, though some of them were. But it happens wherever they go, and sometimes she gets stopped for autographs or something crazy like that. You'd think he'd be used to it by now, the fact that Rhea's family is internationally famous and that that's put her in the spotlight since she was born, but he really isn't.

"Who was that?" Leo asks after the lady was gone. She basically almost attacked Rhea with a hug before they could set a foot inside Forever 21.

"Someone who works for my grandmother's wildlife preservation organization," she answers. "She just wanted to see if Nana kept up with all of her filing dates. You know how much she hates all of the paperwork."

"Right," he laughs.

She shrugs and sips her blueberry-banana smoothie, licking her lips after she's swallows. "So, did you think of anything yet?"

"No," he groans. "You've got to help me here, Ree. What would your sister want?"

"Nothing." He scowls. "She wouldn't. You know Maria. She'll be happy that you even thought of her at all."

"Well, great. Thank your sister for being like, the nicest person on the planet and making it impossible for me to buy her and Jayden an engagement gift." Rhea giggles and takes another sip of her smoothie. "I didn't even know that you buy a present for an engagement. I thought it was just for the actual wedding?"

"The engagement party is more of an announcement thing," she explains. "But Maria's birthday is in a week, so that's why everyone's bringing her presents."

"Ah," he says. "See, that makes a lot more sense."

"I told you all of that yesterday! But you never listen to me."

"I'm sorry, what?"

He laughs as she shoves his shoulder, hard. He's kind of used to it by now, because he's always messing with Rhea and her first reaction is to hit him, or at least push him really hard when they're out in public. It looks playful and harmless to anyone who could be watching (she told him so), and like, obviously he teases her the most when they're out.

Of course, it makes everyone—everyone—think that they're together since they always manage to make it into a small article or magazine section of how Stars Are Just Like Us whenever he hangs out with Rhea. He doesn't really mind it, and maybe he's thought about it, once or twice, what it's like to look at Rhea as a girl he could potentially date. She's sweet and charming and smart and a lot of fun and never leaves her house without a camera around her neck, which is kind of adorable, really, because she'll get excited suddenly and stop him to take a picture of something because she just had to. It's kind of silly to think it like this, but she's always at her prettiest when she's got a camera in her hand.

Not that he's going to tell her any of this.

"What do you think?"

He reaches for a necklace amongst a freaking wall of them. The pendant is shaped like a bird with its wings spread out and kind of looks like her Nightwing emblem, but then he sips his smoothie and frowns, thinking that maybe that might be a little too obvious. Of course, there's always…

He hears the shutter go off and turns to see Rhea's face behind her camera, the lens pointed right at him. She twists the lens a little, zooming.

"What are you doing?" he asks with a laugh.

"Sorry, you get this little…" She shifts her camera into one hand and reaches over, running her thumb between his eyebrows. "You get this wrinkle when you're concentrating."

He arches an eyebrow in amusement. "And you just had to take a picture of it?"

She giggles and adds, "Well, that, and you picking out jewelry."

He rolls his eyes.

She grins, drapes the strap of her camera back around her neck and grabs her smoothie where she set it down on a shelf of makeup. "And if you're having trouble, buy something you think is cool," she suggests. "Chances are, she'll probably find it really neat."

"She'll find backpacking neat?"

"Sure," Rhea laughs. "But think a little beyond that. Get her something that resembles some of the places you've been. I mean, your pictures weren't as great as they could be…" He rolls his eyes again and she stifles another giggle. "I'm teasing. But the scenery you get when you're backpacking? It's really pretty. Think of that."

And he smiles because, yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense. "What would I do without you?" he asks, ruffling her hair, and she sticks her tongue at him.