A/N) Just another Steph/Tim piece. I am adding to their pairing one fic at a time. This is mostly slice of life, just Stephanie feeling uncomfortable at a bar and a sexy guy (Tim) makes her feel better.
Enjoy!
When her 'friends' said it would be fun, Stephanie Brown was idiotic enough to believe them.
But really, she should have known better than to go out after strenuous exams with a bunch of party happy sorority girls that she pretends to fit in with.
News Flash, she's an idiot.
She's just pretending so that she doesn't have to feel like the scholarship reject kid from the lower east side of Gotham. Like she has been all year. She's still pretty sure most of these fancy collage girls think of her that way.
Ergo, they aren't really her friends she's just pretending like they are.
"Come on girls," a particularly fake blonde calls shrilly as they walk into one of Gotham's more boujee bars that her daddy's paying for, even if he doesn't know he is, "let's get smashed!" And the group of fake blondes shriek in agreement.
Stephanie cringes and smiles dimly, the lights and bass music is already hurting her head. She did not bust her butt to pass her Econ exam only to get her head busted. She is not in the mood for drinks and dancing.
Especially since her douche-bag of a boyfriend just ditched her for a stripper.
Maybe she should walk around naked.
That ought to get some idiots attention. Ugh, being a girl sucks.
"Heeeya Stephy-"
"It's Stephanie."
"Yeah, whatever," Karen, Cindy, or whatever her name is, nudges her, "get us a spot at the bar okay!"
"Umm-"
"Hey Carla!"
"Hey guuuurl!" Oh Carla, that's her name.
Screeching and over exaggerated hugging ensues and Steph feels like her ears are bleeding by the time they stop and Carla flips her extensions at her with a smug smack of her lips.
"Anyway, we're gonna dance, get us a spot!"
"Okay." Stephanie mutters unamused and slouches her way to the swanky bar, it feels like a separate room with the low lighting and the oak bar top surrounded by low leather cushioned stools.
Stephanie sighs loudly and slides into one of the booths next to the bar instead of the stool.
Ugh, she is so done with this college experience. It is not what she wants, she just wants to graduate as best as she can and get a job that will help pay off her mom's mortgage.
"Rough night?"
"Oh my god!" She gasps and clutches her chest as she turns fully to see a stranger in the shadows of the curtain, "sorry, I didn't know this was taken."
"It's fine, I was here with some... associates... they're busy so..." the mystery man says slowly, "I could do with some company." He takes a sip of his drink, "could you?"
"Hmm? Me what?" She says absently, trying to get a better look at the shadowed man.
"Could you use company?"
"Oh, yeah, sure."
It grows quiet in the booth.
"So... you come here often?" He says calmly.
"Um - no. Definitely not."
"Special occasion?" He asks conversationally.
"I guess?"
A shriek from the dance floor sounds off.
"Friends of yours?"
Stephanie scoffs, "not even close. Just... a means to an end I guess."
He snorts, "cold."
"Yeah."
He leans forward now and the light catches his face, Stephanie catches her breath.
"Damn." She whispers.
He was... gorgeous.
Sharp face, full lips, thick hair, and sharp cornflower blue eyes with thick flutters of lashes that should be illegal also that jaw and throat line that dips into his open collar and loose tie...
Shit.
He was drop dead gorgeous and she thinks she might have died and gone to heaven.
Sexy dark mysterious man heaven.
"Hello." He grins and it's a slash of gorgeous white teeth and arched brows, "Tim Drake." And he holds out a hand, his forearm bare from the elbows down.
Shit, shit, double shit, even the way his sleeves are rolled up is sexy.
She takes his hand, it's rough but warm, and she doesn't want to let go.
"S-Stephanie Brown."
God, get a grip Steph.
He's just a sexy guy with a sexy smile and he smells... good. So, so good.
"Nice to meet you, Stephanie."
"Yeah... so – um - what's a pretty boy like you doing in a place like this?" Shut up shut up shut up. She leans back with an attempted smirk.
He snorts, "I'm not here by choice."
"Oh? Intriguing." She leans forward on her elbows.
"Not really. My – er - brother likes a good strong drink sometimes."
"Oh... brother huh? Is he half as good looking as you?" Seriously Steph, shut up.
"He thinks he is."
She laughs with him and for some reason she forgets where she's at and this stranger is the only person here, she doesn't see anyone else and her headache is gone as they banter some more and pretty soon she discovers quite a few things about this charming stranger and she...
Thinks she may be falling in love.
Shit.
Hours and five drinks later, Stephanie is now on his side of the booth and she can't remember having this much fun or laughs in a long while.
"So you do what again?"
Tim takes a sip of his drink, "I own my own software company,"
"Ooh, you own a company, impressive, you must be super genius or something." She slurs a bit.
"Well, I mean, I did graduate top of an Ivey league university at the ripe old age of seventeen so."
She does not miss the subtle not so subtle bragging, but it's charming, like he only told her because she would be impressed, she laughs, "wow, rich, gorgeous, smart, and humble. Aren't you an all-around perfect guy."
"Mm, I try."
She giggles and finishes her drink.
"What about you?"
"Hmm? Oh no, I am no genius, just a scholarship kid, nothing impressive." She says coming down from her high. She suddenly realizes that maybe this guy is way out of her league.
"Sounds impressive to me. Scholarships are hard to come by in Gotham." He says gently.
She looks at him and his eyes sparkle even in the shadows, "thanks."
"For what?"
"For the good time tonight. I wasn't-"
"Expecting to have fun?"
She looks at him, he's leaned in to hear her now, the music fading in the background, "yeah."
"Well," he breathes and his hand coming up, his finger gently brushing a stray strand of her hair away from her face, "for what it's worth, I was in the same boat."
Steph gives him a bright smile and he matches it, her heart flips, "thanks for letting me on your boat."
"Yeah." His voice drops an octave and Stephanie is buzzed, really buzzed, but even if she wasn't there is no mistaking the draw that's between them and the magnet that's pulling them closer and closer and-
He smells like the ocean and spearmint, and something else but she doesn't have enough unaffected brains at the moment to figure it out as he tilts closer, his fingers graze under her jaw and he's pressed his lips to hers.
Steph can help the soft moan that escapes her when she opens her lips and the tip of his tongue brushes her bottom one.
Oh. Shit.
She matches him and her hands grip his tie, bringing him closer, then she's pressing into him, then she's against him, then she's straddled him on the bench and the fire in her belly is raising her blood pressure to phenomenal heights. His hands fall to her waist, heavy and strong and warm.
"Mmh, I think we should-" Tim gasps against her hungry mouth.
"Shut up." She rasps and grips his face in her hand, her hips rolling against him as she drags her fingers up and into his hair, fisting the soft strands and tugging them back, Tim groans against her when her lips drag down his jaw line, to his throat, to his Adam's apple and, shit, she's drowning.
His fingers find their way under her shirt and he's dragging them up her spine and into her the shoulder blades and her skin prickles with a million tiny electric bumps when he drops his head into the juncture of her neck and shoulder and breathes her in, his breath hot and tingly.
"Well, you seem busy." A rough voice bursts their heated bubble like a sledgehammer to a wall.
Steph gasps and her eyes widen when Tim backs away, lips swollen, hair mussed, and eyes bleary as he turns to see a tall young man smirking behind them.
"Uh... sorry?" Steph stammers and aims to move off of Tim's lap.
He grips her hips and casts a clearly annoyed look at the other man.
"Need something Jason?"
Jason, apparently, snorts and holds up his hands, "no, no, I'm good. I'll just be heading out then. Have fun Timmers... but – um -" his eyes flicker to Steph and then back to Tim, "- don't do anything even I wouldn't." He winks and waves at them as he shrugs on a worn leather jacket and heads for the bars exit.
After a weird silent moment, Stephanie is acutely aware that she is still straddling a very hot guy.
"Um... hi?" She says awkwardly, looking down at him.
"Hi." He smiles softly, "sorry about that."
"Friend of yours?"
"That was my brother, actually. We - uh - hang out sometimes."
She nods, puckering her lips, "right, turns out he is hot."
Tim grimaces, "yeah, a lot of people seem to think so, including himself."
She laughs a little, "Is that jealousy I hear there?" She teases.
Tim sighs and grasps the back of her neck gently, bringing her face back towards his, "just a tad."
"Yeah, just a tad huh?" She says slyly, eyes flickering down to his lips.
"Uh huh, a tad." He agrees playfully and presses their lips together again.
Steph melts against him then remembers where they are, "hey," she pulls back and brushes her nose to his, "are we... allowed to get out of here?"
His eyes darken as he searches her face then he flushes a little when he realizes what she's said.
"I think we should go out properly first."
Steph blinks at him in surprise... did a guy just turn down sex? In this day and age? And he didn't even have to buy her dinner first.
"Um... I... would like that."
He smiles, and for the first time he looks a little shy. It takes his hotness clear through utterly adorable.
"Me too."
She smiles back and presses a sweet kiss to his lips before moving to get off of him and check her phone.
Oh... it's nearly three a.m.
Wow.
She didn't even notice the time fly.
"I gotta go, but here's my number," she passes him a note with her number scrawled in glitter pen.
"Can I take you home?" He asks kindly and Steph lets out a sigh as she collects her things.
Stephanie gives him a wide smile, "don't, you cannot become even more perfect."
"Hardly perfect, just... I know someone who would be appalled if I didn't at least offer a lady a ride home."
"Ooh, a lady, I like that." She smiles, her eyes sparkle at him, "it was... great to meet you Tim, I had a really good time."
"We can do it again? Saturday? Dinner? I'll pick you up at seven." He says before she could leave.
Stephanie feels her heart flip at the idea of seeing him again and she nods, biting her lip, "yeah, see you then."
"Definitely."
And she can't really tear her eyes away from his beautiful face as she walks backwards all the way to the door.
He waves at her sweetly and Stephanie nearly runs into the door in her distraction.
She doesn't breathe until she's hidden in the dark of her dorm, her elusive roommate snoring already.
Stephanie feels her heart thumping under her hand and she lets out a satisfied sigh, his pretty face still in her minds eye as she suddenly feels all kinds of loopy and giggley.
Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.
Thoughts are appreciated.