a/n:

do you call it bubble tea or milk tea? pearls or boba?

because where i live we call it milk tea and pearls, i don't know why i suddenly starting typing up bubble tea but here we are...


Bubble Tea

The fact is, Jason isn't a fan of trendy places. He dislikes the gimmick, the music selection, and the crowd that it draws in. He also doesn't want to risk being caught in the background of photos that are sure going to pop up on social media. He doesn't want the risk of people finding out where he is, who he's with, figure out the pattern of his everyday life.

So, the new bubble tea shop—The GCBT or the Gotham City Bubble Tea shop—is the worse place for him to be in. Yet here he is, surrounded by Gotham University students, children, and pastels all because she saw one of the drinks on her Instagram page.

Because the fact is, Jason's weak to her, can't find it in himself to tell her no when she's excited to try something new, something out of her comfort zone. That, and it really is his own fault. He knew he should have taken a different route back to their apartment, but he'd made a wrong turn just because he thought he saw a dog with a broken leg limping down the street.

Turns out the dog was fine, liked to play jokes on people, garner their sympathy only to trot away once he got what he wanted, and now here Jason is lining up to get…bubble tea.

He can't imagine what Alfred would think of all this. The old butler turned his nose up at putting ice in his tea.

"Is this drink really that good?" Jason asks, shoulders hunches as a group of sorority sisters gathered to take a photo, colorful drinks held up to their faces.

"I mean, this place is packed, it must be." She takes his hand in hers, pulling him further into the shop. Jason holds onto her tightly, knowing from experience how easy it is to lose her in a crowd. "You have to admit, it sounds pretty efficient. Chewing and drinking at the same time."

"It sounds like a choking hazard," Jason says when he sees the drink up close. "Do you remember that article I sent you about mochi?"

"If you find one about tapioca pearl related deaths, I promise I won't make you come back."

She pats his arm and smiles at him encouragingly. It's the kind of smile that says, that reminds him that they wanted to experience being college students, being young and carefree, and this, this was part of the experience. It brings some comfort, her touch, her excitement over this drink, but the pop music blaring on the speakers is for sure going to play in his head while he's on patrol later tonight, so, that's great.

He heaves a sigh. "Let's just get this over with."

"Don't worry, I'll be quick," she squeezes past a couple who were in the middle of taking a selfie and Jason ducks his head in time to avoid being part of the photo. "Here's the line. Whoa. Look at all her orders."

A woman walks away from the receiving counter, both hands holding plastic bags filled with colorful drinks. Jason doesn't think he's ever had anything purple before and he's sort of tempted to try it just so he could say that he did.

"Do you know what you're getting?"

And, it seems like the wrong questions to ask, because she looks at him in surprise, mouth slightly open. It's the same look she gets when she finds out that two of the items in her online shopping cart are on sale, but she can only afford to buy one of them.

"I mean, we have to get the best seller, right? But it's just black tea, isn't it? Is that playing it too safe? Should we get the seasonal drinks? Or the one with coffee. The coffee might be good. But it might be too early to have the caffeine…oh! There are juices, too! But would that be good with the pearls? I really want to try the pearls…but they have other toppings, too! Oh, wait, no, they're called sinkers. Oh. I get it. Ha. So, there's pudding and lychee and…grass jelly? What's that? Jason, oh my god, there's so many choices no wonder that lady ordered like twelve drinks! I—"

"Mouse," Jason places his hand on top of her head, easily shutting her up like an alarm clock. "Breathe, would you?"

"Jason," she gasps and the overwhelmed look in her eyes makes Jason smile. She really has no business looking that cute. "I should have done my research before we got here. Look, let's just come back—"

"Welcome to the GCBT! What can I get for ya?"

"Noooo," she groans out quietly, tucking her head into Jason's chest, hiding. "I'm not ready…"

"Uhm," the cashier begins, looking just about as uncomfortable as Jason feels. He loves his little mouse, he really does, but they're in public.

"We'll have two of your best seller, please," Jason cuts in, taking out his wallet. "To go."

Jason watches her stab her drink with the straw and mix the pearls around. He has his own drink in his hand, cooling his skin.

"Good call getting the milk tea," she says, holding her drink closer like someone's going to take it from her. "If this isn't good, then nothing on their menu is, right? It's what their brand should be known for."

"Just drink it, mouse."

"Yeah, of course, I, just, do I drink then chew or chew then drink?"

"You're going to have to drink or else you'll have nothing to chew."

"Right, of course, well, here goes nothing."

Jason watches the pearls shoot up the straw in rapid succession before she chokes on them. He already has a bottle of water ready for her, but she waves him off, hunched over, coughing. Jason should be concerned, really, feels the burn even on his end, but he sort of saw this coming. He's just glad that she didn't choke on any of the pearls or else he'd be completely useless to help her.

Death by secondhand tapioca choking did not seem like the way to go.

"So, chew first or…?"

"I, I hate you," she wheezes out.

"I take it we're not going back?"

She straightens, pushing her hair away from her face. There're some tears in her eyes but the grin on her face tells Jason that she's fine and that he's not going to like her answer to his question.

"Jokes on you. I like it." She mixes the pearls around with her straw once more before taking a sip, an actual sip because that's what she should have done in the first place, approach it with caution.

"You literally choked."

"You're exaggerating," she says, chewing on the pearls she managed to keep from going down her throat. "Try it."

He tries to give his untouched drink to her. "I like living, thanks."

"Oh," she holds up her hand. "But unless you've tried bubble tea, you haven't quite lived, Jason."

"Mouse. It's been two minutes. Don't go preaching to me about the wonders of bubble tea."

"It was life changing. I'm converted. I saw God."

"Because you nearly died."

"Just try it, Jason."

"No thanks."

"It's good."

"Alfred would never forgive me. It's not tea."

"Yeah, it's bubble tea. It's better."

"Blasphemy!"

"Jason. Please?"

And the fact is, Jason doesn't like trends, doesn't particularly care if he's on trend or not, but he's always been weak to her, weak to her eyes, weak to her requests, so even if it kills him, at least he can say he died trying to make her happy.

"So? What do you think?"

"It's…okay."

"Shut up. You like it."

"Fine, I do. But I'm never stepping foot in that shop again."

"It's alright. We can order it online."

"Thank you."