Dick tapped his fingers against the table as he perused the coffee shop's menu.

Barbara wasn't here yet. Their date hadn't been set for-he glanced at his watch-another ten minutes.

"Can I help you?" Dick glanced up at the pretty girl in a waitress uniform hovering next to him, pad and pencil in hand. He glanced at her nametag. Becky.

He shook his head. "I'm waiting for someone," he told her.

"Ah." Her eyebrows went up knowingly and she gave him a conspiratorial smile and wink. "Just between you and me then, sir, you couldn't have picked a better place. Your lady friend will be pleased, I'm sure."

"Er, right. Thanks then."

"Call me when you're ready." She gave him a parting wink, before turning her back on him and strolling back to the kitchen.

Dick settled back.

The bell above the door chimed, as it swung inward and Barbara walked in.

She was wearing jeans, a denim jacket over an olive green blouse. Her outfit was accented by a tiny silver chain hanging around her neck.

"Hey!" She smiled, sliding into the seat across from him. Her red hair was tied loosely at the back of her neck. "Beth's, huh?"

"Um, yeah. I heard it's supposed to be… magical." He gave her a playful grin, remembering Wally's so-called coffee shop magic.

"Magical…" Barbara made a show of looking around, and then leaned forward, propping herself up on her elbow. "I think that's the first I've heard Beth's called magical."

"But it is!"

Barbara jumped back, startled.

The waitress from before had returned and she stood, her face a bright tomato red.

"Sorry. Sorry," she apologized hastily. "I was only coming to bring a menu for, uh, for you, ma'am."

She quickly laid it down in front of her.

"No, it's okay," Barbara said, stopping her. "I've been here before. I know what I want. I'll take a strawberry milkshake."

"Make that a chocolate one for me," Dick added.

The girl nodded, relieved that her intrusion wasn't commented upon. "Right. Okay. Coming right up. Anything else?"

Barbara shook her head, ponytail swishing from side to side. "Nope," she said.

Dick shook his head too when her questioning eyes found his and she hastily departed, promising that it wouldn't take long.

"So," Barbara folded her hands together. "Magical, huh? What brought that word to mind?"

"Ah, now that would be telling."

"Please." Barbara shook her head, amused. "If this is some 'top secret' secret, it's a bad one."

"Hey!" Dick protested, even as he laughed along with her.

The waitress brought their drinks, leaving quickly once they thanked her.

"We should tip her," Barbara said, watching her as she bit her lip. She took a sip through her straw. "Because I'm pretty sure we just scared her off."

Before Dick could actually answer her, she tapped her nail against the table. "So did Jason ever tell you where he was hiding last night?"

"After a long and lengthy interrogation," Dick told her seriously, "I'm certain that that's one secret he'll be carrying to the grave."

Barbara chewed on her lip, a knowing smirk in place. "You never actually asked him, did you?"

"No. Was I supposed to?"

Barbara shook her head, bemused. "No."

"Good." He sipped his milkshake. He sighed in satisfaction and leaned back. "You know, I don't think words can capture just how great these milkshakes are."

"The word 'great' certainly doesn't," Barbara remarked.

"What about delicious?"

"Too much of an understatement," Barbara said, folding her hands. "But it works."
Dick raised an eyebrow. "Someone's picky," he observed.

"Guess so," she said, smirking around her straw.

She set the shake aside.

"Did you know I wanted to be an FBI agent once?" she asked suddenly.

"No," Dick said, wondering where this line of questioning was heading. "You never told me."

"It was around when I wanted to be a cop. My dad made it clear that was never going to happen. So I looked into the FBI."

"And?" Dick asked.

Barbara shrugged. "I went to the FBI office in Gotham." She gave a small laugh. "They told me I had some growing to do."

"Um… wow." Dick still wasn't sure what she was getting at so he settled for something neutral.

Barbara noticed his confusion and laughed. "The point," she said, "is that if I had joined the FBI, I might not have stayed in Gotham." She reached out, placing her hand over his. "And I'm glad I chose to stay in Gotham."
For a moment, something warmed Dick's heart…

… and then he flashed a cheeky grin. "Are you sure it's me and not just a certain nighttime hobby? Because I'm certain that'd beat the FBI any day."

"Shut up!" Barbara withdrew her hand, lightly slapping his, but she was grinning too. "'But, you know, now that I think about it, you might be onto something there."

"Hey!" Dick gasped in mock offense. He clutched a hand to his heart. "And here I was thinking this was all about me."

Barbara rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Sorry to dent your ego," she cracked.

Dick grabbed his milkshake, taking another sip. "You know, I'm not sure I'll ever get over it," he said.

"You're a big boy," Barbara said, grinning still as she finished her milkshake. "I'm sure you'll get over it."

They'd finished their drinks and paid, leaving a tip for the waitress.

"You giving any thought to your career?" Barbara slipped her hand in his as they continued their casual stroll down some of the nicer streets.

There was a small park across the street, complete with a duck pond (and ducks).

Up close, the grounds were nearly always littered with some form of garbage-soft drinks, take out food containers-tossed there by inconsiderate passers-by.

City workers rarely had the time to clean the mess and, when they did, it was generally replaced within a week.

Still, from a distance, it was a nice sight.

Dick sighed. "Lucius has mentioned my becoming a part of WE someday. Maybe even the head. After all, I am Wayne's heir and all that."
"But you don't want to." It wasn't a question.

Dick shrugged. "Not really. I don't think I'd be able to spend half my life in an office."

"Then don't," Barbara said simply. "Choose your own path."

A wry smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "That's what I keep telling my… crap! This is supposed to be a date, Babs!"

She leaned against his shoulder. "Seems to be the perfect time to talk about the future to me," she said.

Dick laughed then, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. "Alright then, miss. Why don't you talk?"

"Uh uh." Barbara shook her head. "Keep talking, buster. We're discussing you first. Then I get to tell you all about my boring college programs. So you don't want to run WE. I'm sure you have some idea about what you're going to do."

"I do," Dick confessed. "I've just… never really told anyone. Truth is, I'm not that sure about it myself."

Barbara was quiet. She wasn't pushing him to continue. He had a feeling she was simply waiting for him to speak instead of expecting him to remain silent.

"I was thinking about joining the GCPD," he said. "I know that's what you really wanted to do and…"

"And a year ago, I might have been jealous," Barbara said matter of factly. "But I'm happy where I am now."

There was a clatter to their left, something knocking over a trash can.

Dick whipped around, feeling Barbara do the same.

He knew she could take care of herself, but it was almost on autopilot that he moved to stand just a little in front of her.

He stopped dead when he saw the cause of the commotion.

It was a dog.

Dick almost laughed. They'd been startled by a dog.

And a small one at that!

But then he sobered up.

It was on the streets, most likely starving.

Dick didn't think it was a puppy. Not exactly. But it certainly didn't look full grown.

The dog whimpered when it saw them.

It had been trying to knock over a garbage can, unsuccessfully, to get at the food inside.

Now it backed away, clearly favoring one of its paws.

Dick wondered how it had been hurt.

Barbara had already stepped forward, crouching down lower to make herself less threatening.

"Hey there," she said softly, holding out her hand.

The dog withdrew further from her, but at least it didn't run away.

So it was wary, but not completely afraid.

Dick found himself wondering how long it had been on the streets. He didn't think it had been that long.

The dog had probably been abandoned. And maybe only for a week or so.

"Dick!" Barbara interrupted him. "Get him something. We'll have an easier time getting him to trust us."

"You sure it's a he?" Dick joked.

Barbara sighed. "Dick…"

"Right." Dick grinned and winked. "Don't worry. Some fast food doggie chow will be coming right up."

"Thank goodness." Barbara rolled her eyes.

There was a Big Belly Burger only a couple blocks away. Ridiculously, Dick wondered what exactly they thought was appealing about their name of choice for their restaurant.

Big Belly Burger.

It sounded like the kind of place you went to get fat.

His lips quirked up as he pushed open the door. That could make a great slogan.

Big Belly Burger! The kind of place you go to get fat!

He'd like to see how business went with a tagline like that.

The teenager at the counter looked at him like he was crazy when he ordered a burger and then proceeded to insist that no, he didn't want fries and a shake with that.

Apparently, everyone wanted the fries and shake with that.

He shook his head as he headed back out the door and jogged back to where he had left Barbra, clutching the paper sack in his hand.

He reached in, pulling out the burger and hastily unwrapping it, so he could place it in Barbara's outstretched hand.

Barbara thanked him with a look, before breaking it in half and holding it out to the pup.

The dog skittered back several steps, before coming to a stop, nose twitching.

It took a tentative step forward.

"That's it," she said, keeping her voice low and soothing. "Come on, boy!"

It hesitated a split second longer, before hunger won out and it trotted forward, wolfing down the bit that was in her hand.

She wiped her hand off on her jeans.

The movement startled the dog and it tensed.

Barbara immediately stilled, letting her hand stay where it could see it.

The dog didn't run though. It seemed to sense that there was more food to come and it stayed where it was, licking its chops and quivering.

He could see its ribs, Dick realized.

Wherever it had come from, it hadn't had an easy life.

His heart ached in sympathy.

Barbara reached for another bit of food, holding it out to the puppy.

It accepted and soon, she had it close enough for her to run her hand gently down its bony back.

"So," she looked up at Dick, "can we keep him?"

Note: I'm kind of making a leap and assuming that Big Belly Burgers are universal to the entire DC universe and not just the Arrowverse. Not too much of a leap, but still.

So... something else you should know about me: I'm a dog person. I love dogs. That being said, I love the idea of the Batfamily having a dog so... of course, I'm going to find a way to bring Ace in. ;)