Ch. 5 Deeper
I am so screwed. The sun's rays danced through my window as the birds chirped their morning songs. Yesterday I went out on a date with Jason Todd. The date itself was amazing. It was the most fun I've had in the past couple of weeks. Jason seemed like such a different person last night. The stories everyone's told me made me think of him as a criminal and a murderer. But last night I saw a man fueled by passion and loneliness. Maybe there was another side to Jason that no one else has seen since his return. And that kiss definitely caught me by surprise.
But Jason wasn't the reason I'm freaking out. The problem was that Damian knew about the date! That little gremlin. What was he going to do about it? He could easily tell Dick, Babs and Tim about it, but that isn't his style. He has a plan and it's not going to be pretty.
I heard a knock on the door, forcing me to get out of bed. I quickly ran downstairs, not wanting to wake my mom. She's been super tired since she's taken on the night shift at the hospital, and I'd be a crummy daughter if I woke her up. I reached the door and opened it, wondering who would be visiting so early. Tim was standing on the other side of the doorway, holding a rose in his hand.
"Morning Steph," Tim smiled.
"Good morning to you too sunshine. What's the occasion?" I asked, accepting the rose and smelling it.
"Well, since you didn't text me back last night, I thought that you were mad about me bailing on you. So I decided to make it up to you, do you have any plans today?" Tim asked hopefully.
Wow, two date proposals in two consecutive days from two guys. This must be a new record.
"You're in luck boy wonder. I don't feel like going to my English class this morning. C'mon in and have a seat… I have to go find something cute to wear," I flirted. Tim blushed as he walked in and took a seat on the couch. I placed the rose in a vase, smiling at the flower one more time. I then skipped up to my room and opened my closet to look for potential outfits.
I finally settled on a purple sundress that passed my knees. It was a sunny day, and it was perfect weather. I quickly brushed the knots out of my hair and brushed my teeth. I slipped on a pair of black flats and went down the stairs to join Tim. He had dozed off on the couch, probably exhausted from taking on my patrol route. I sat down on the arm of the chair and brushed some of his hair away from his face, resting my hand on his cheek. He looks so serene. Tim stirred from my touch and opened his eyes.
"Whoa, you look good," Tim groaned as he rubbed his eyes.
"Flattery will get you everywhere, boy wonder. Let's go." I grabbed a purse as Tim led me to the Redbird. He opened my door to let me in before getting into the driver's seat.
He brought me to the Manor, where Alfred was waiting with a smile on his face. He ushered us into the dining room where there was a small breakfast buffet waiting for us. The buffet consisted of an assortment of fruits, pastries, sausages and scrambled eggs. We grabbed our plates and made our way to the alluring aroma of Alfred's cooking. Once we both filled our plates, Tim pulled out my chair and took his seat across from me. We began to eat quietly before I heard someone enter the dining room.
"Brown," Damian greeted. He looked more tense than usual.
"Good morning Damian," I chirped. I have to keep on his good side.
"tt. So looks like you've gotten fat during your time off. You must be eating out a lot," Damian spat.
"Damian, get out of here!" Tim yelled at his adopted brother. Damian always got on his nerves.
"This is my father's house, who are you to order me around, Drake?" Damian condescended, locking eyes with Tim, initiating a staring contest to prove his dominance. However, Damian's eye contact was broken by a familiar holler.
"Damian, can't you see Steph and Tim are having breakfast? Don't be so rude," Dick scolded from atop the steps. Damian grumbled as he left. Dick then greeted us good morning before retreating to his room. Tim and I both chuckled.
Our breakfast was delicious. Alfred had definitely outdone himself. While finishing a glass of orange juice, I noticed a bit of jelly that was on Tim's chin. I reached across to wipe the jelly off with my thumb and brought it to my mouth. Tim instantly blushed, and I laughed in response. I loved that I still could make him feel like that.
"So what did you end up doing yesterday?" Tim asked. Oh, just went on a date with a criminal. Don't worry I had fun, and he was a complete gentleman. He even kissed me, and I think I liked it.
"Oh, nothing really. I just stayed in last night and watched some TV." I could have sworn I heard Damian snicker in response to my lie.
"Well, I'm glad I didn't ruin your evening," Tim smirked.
"What were you doing last night?" I countered, interested in seeing what story Tim would come up with to cover his meet with Lynx.
"Oh, you know I was patrolling all night. It wasn't anything major though. I stopped some bank robberies and roughed up Penguin at the Ice Berge Lounge," Tim coughed. He obviously wasn't ready for my retort and had to think up a story off the top of his head. At least the lie was creative enough, so I let him get away with it.
After finishing up the morsels that remained on our plates, Alfred came over to clean the table. We stood up and exited the dining room, thanking Alfred for the wonderful meal. Tim then led me to the living room. As we sat down on the couch, I kicked off my flats and rested my feet across Tim's lap. He then grabbed the remote and started to channel surf. He finally settled on the news, which was reporting on some sort of international disturbance the Justice League helped settle. It seemed like Tim wasn't paying attention to the TV though. He grabbed my calves and started to massage the soles of my feet. I giggled at his touch, but then as his fingers found a rhythm, I allowed myself to be lulled by their comfort. I looked at the ceiling, focusing on nothing in particular, simply enjoying the silent interactions between Tim and me. My lack of focus quickly turned into heavy-eyed drowsiness. The last thing I noticed before I fell asleep was a smile flash on Tim's face.
When I woke up Tim was asleep, still trapped under me. The sun was already setting, and it was almost time for Tim to get ready for patrol. I carefully removed my legs off of Tim and slipped my flats back on. I turned off the TV and walked towards the Batcave. A chill ran down my spine as I passed through the grandfather clock and descended the stairs into the cave. I turned the corner to face the giant computer. Damian was furiously typing away, consumed by his work.
"What are you doing here, Brown? I didn't know my father allowed streetwalkers in the cave," Damian grunted.
"Oh, I just wanted to hang." I replied, ignoring his obvious insult. Wow, that was pretty hard to say.
"If this is about what happened the other night, you don't have to worry. I won't tell Drake about your indiscretions. I plan on making you suffer all by myself. Now if that was all, please leave, I have work to do before patrol." Damian hawked.
He can be such a jerk, but at least he won't tell anyone. I turned to leave the cave and almost ran into Tim.
"Oh, hey! I thought you left," Tim said.
"I was just visiting the cave. It's been a while, you know." I haven't gone out to patrol for more than a week, and it was starting to take its toll on me.
"Don't be in such a rush to get back out there; you were hurt pretty bad. You're lucky that doctor found you and helped out. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you, Steph." Tim turned his head away, but his expression showed obvious concern.
"Don't worry boy wonder. I'm not going anywhere," I reassured, bringing him into an embrace. "Now get outta here… you have a long night ahead of you."
Tim flashed me a smile as he walked past me to change into his costume. I took a quick look around the cave and my eyes fixed on Jason's Robin costume. He was a part of this. Bruce's legacy. Seeing his Robin costume reminded me of my own time as the girl wonder. It also reminded me about what he said the day I left his apartment. Why was he so sad? Why doesn't he come back? Those questions resonated in my mind until the chill of the cave became too much for me to handle.
As I exited, Alfred was waiting for me. He offered me a coat and asked if I needed a ride home. I nodded and thanked Alfred as he placed the coat around my shoulders. The ride home was quiet; Alfred kept to himself and left me to my thoughts.
Tim's been so sweet lately, but is he just doing it out of guilt? But it wasn't his fault that I got shot. Today was the most comfortable we've been together since I confronted him. I missed it, but did he? Or was this just Tim being Tim?
My phone vibrated through my purse, breaking my train of thought. I looked to see that Tim texted me.
Since we ended up sleeping all day, want to go out with me again tomorrow?
I instantly responded that I would love to. This is good. Tim wants to spend more time with me. Maybe he isn't seeing Lynx anymore. Before I could get too accustomed to the thought of my second date with Tim, I realized that I was home.
The car stopped, and Alfred opened my door. "We have arrived, Miss Stephanie," Alfred smiled.
"Thank you Alfred," I replied and kissed him on the cheek, shrugging off the coat and running into the house.
"Steph, is that you?" Mom called from the kitchen.
"Hi, mom! Who's the bouquet for?" There was a beautiful bouquet that joined the lone rose Tim gave me earlier.
"It's for you sweetheart, and there was a card that came with it," Mom said, handing me an envelope, raising an eyebrow as I took out the card.
Steph, call me.
-J
I turned the card over and saw a phone number. All of my earlier concerns and anticipation regarding Tim vanished as my body filled with excitement. I ran upstairs to my room to get some privacy. I jumped on my bed and laid on my stomach, dialing Jason's number. As I waited for the call to go through, I absentmindedly hummed in tune with the dial tone. I haven't been this excited to talk on the phone for a while.
"Hey, Steph." He sounded sleepy, which caused me to release the breath that I didn't know I was holding.
"Hey, thanks for the flowers." I couldn't help but play with the stray strands of hair that fell across my face.
"I'm glad you liked them. So I was wondering what you were doing tomorrow night," Jason purred.
"Well, I'm not sure, Romeo. I am a busy woman, I think I'm going to have to check my schedule," I teased. In reality, I really did want to see Jason again. There was something about him that made my heart flutter and my breath quicken.
"You better clear your calendar. I'm taking you out!" I could almost hear his smirk. I couldn't help but smile.
"Well if you put it like that, how can a girl resist?" I answer. Why deny it? I wanted to see him, and he wanted to see me.
"Great, pick you up at seven," Jason affirmed.
"Alrighty, Romeo, sounds like a plan," I answered. We then said our goodnights and hung up, but something kept me smiling even after the call ended. However, my smile quickly disappears as soon as I looked at the screen again.
Great, I'll pick you up at seven. - Tim