Work Text:
It started off as a coincidence. And from there it spiraled.
Because of course it did.
[earring]
It was Friday night, which meant that all the bats would head over to the manor to eat dinner together. After Bruce had returned from being lost in the timestream, Alfred had made a suggestion that wasn’t actually a suggestion–no matter how politely it was worded–that the family should all meet together at least once a week. And they all may be crazy considering they fought crime at night in colorful costumes, but no one was crazy enough to not listen to Alfred.
So the weekly dinner ritual had begun. And at the risk of Alfred’s wrath, unless there were extenuating circumstances or other valid reasons, the bats made sure to show up.
Timi sighed and pushed her laptop away. She’d missed last week’s dinner because she was in San Francisco with the Team and had missed the previous week’s too because she was working and forgot. Work would have to wait, it seemed. She’d have to leave soon if she wanted to be on time and avoid Alfred’s raised Eyebrow of Doom .
She reluctantly slips out of her fuzzy pajamas and into an off-black knitted sweater and jeans. She notices the earrings on her fireplace mantle as she’s grabbing her keys.
They were asymmetrical, the left one was a small hoop with a dangling silver moon and the right one was a string of beads with a red star at the bottom. Cassie had given them to her when she, Bart, and Kon had dropped by last week. Timi had meant to put them away, but had forgotten.
Cute, she thinks. A minute later, she’s out the door. A bottle of sparkling apple cider in hand and earrings that sway in the wind.
[dinner]
“Miss Timothi, it’s wonderful to see you,” Alfred greets warmly as he opens the door.
“Hey Alfred,” Timi smiles. “Hope I’m not late.”
“No, you’re just in time,” He says as he accepts the cider. “Thank you, this will go well with dessert.”
Timi leaves her boots in the foyer and follows Alfred to the dining room, listening to his updates about the rest of the family.
As soon as she enters the dining room, Steph cheers and turns to Dick, “you owe me twenty bucks!”
Dick pouts, but fishes a twenty from his wallet to give to Steph.
“I thought you and the Titans were supposed to be in Kansas with the Kents until Tuesday,” he says.
“We were. I got back to Gotham last night though,” Timi responds.
“I was right,” Dick says, turning back to Steph. “Timi was supposed to be in Kansas until Tuesday.”
“Yes, but the bet was on whether she would be at dinner or not. So I win,” Steph says.
“It’s a draw because–” Dick starts.
“No, it’s not!” Steph objects.
“Yes, it is! I was half right–”
“We’re all very glad you could make it Timi,” Bruce says, interrupting the squabble and starting dinner.
She notices Jason staring at her a few times throughout dinner. He looks away when she makes eye contact.
[realization]
She ponders over this a few days later. She’s been awake for over 72 hours and had finally decided that coffee wasn’t enough anymore and had decided to sleep.
It hits her a second before she falls asleep. The earring and the sweater. The distinct red and dark but not black charcoal. They were the same shades of red and off-black that Red Hood wore.
[shopping]
She and Casp are at the mall and are on their way to a bubble tea shop to meet up with Steph and Duke when she sees it on the display window.
A newsboy hat. A red newsboy hat.
A minute later, she exits the shop with a bag in hand.
“Let’s go,” she says to Casp, who had been waiting outside.
[hat]
She walks into the coffee & breakfast bar, wearing a red newsboy hat and a gray-black scarf. Yesterday, Dick had mentioned that he and Damian were going to meet up with Jason for brunch. Timi had hacked Dick’s phone and scrolled through his texts to Jason to discover that the café they were meeting at was one she visited often.
It was the perfect opportunity and she refused to let it slip by.
As expected, they were sitting at a corner where the rest of the café could easily be observed from. Dick notices her and beams as he waves her over.
“Timi!”
She walks over to their table, noticing how Jason’s eyes flicker to her hat and scarf before looking back at his chocolate croissant. Timi smiles.
“Drake,” Damian scowls, “It appears you have never taken etiquette lessons. It is rude to wear a hat indoors.”
Jason snorts and turns to Damian. “That’s practically prehistoric. No one cares about hat etiquette anymore.”
“Regardless, it is still improper to leave it on.”
“I’m leaving it on,” Timi says.
Damian clicks his tongue. “Tt.”
“Anyway, I didn’t know you came to this café, Timi,” Dick says. “I thought you preferred the one near WE.”
Timi grins. “That one’s pretty good. But I come here from time to time and before WE meetings. There’s a really strong espresso blend that I like here.”
“A Timi Espresso for Timi!” The barista calls.
“You have your own drink?” Jason asks.
“Yup,” Timi says. “It’s on the secret menu. I’ve got to get going now. Tam said she’ll strangle me with my own intestines if I’m late.”
Damian nods in appreciation. “Good threat.”
She waves goodbye and goes to the coffee bar to pick up her espresso. She glances back right before walking out the door and sees Jason staring back. Her lips curl into a smirk.
[hair-tie]
The next time she sees Jason is Friday. She makes sure to turn her head left to talk to Steph when he looks over and brushes a few bangs behind her ear.
Red scrunchie and an off-black blazer.
She looks over and meets his gaze a few seconds later.
The corners of her lips rise in a grin.
Jason blinks.
Timi takes another bite of her dessert and turns to speak to Steph again. After dinner ends, she’s the first to leave. A quick excuse on how she’s behind on WE paperwork to Alred and she’s out the door.
[red]
The game continues. Red lipstick, charcoal sweater dress. Red nail polish, off black boots. Red anklet, gray-black skirt.
Jason’s ears don’t redden anymore. He doesn’t try to avoid eye contact.
Instead, when they’re at the manor library, with darkened eyes and a husky voice, he whispers in her ear, “You look delectable in my colors.”
Timi flushes.
Jason smirks.
[preen]
Timi spent the next two hours sulking. After contemplation, Timi had finally decided on her move.
She’d been careful to avoid Jason since that time at the library. It’s finally Friday evening, and she slips into the outfit that she planned to wear five days ago.
Jason’s eyes dart to her as soon as she walks into the dining room and his eyebrows pull together in a frown before his expression relaxes.
Timi grins.
Her smile only widens throughout dinner as she notices how Jason’s eyes keep flickering to her, but he looks away before any of the other bats notice his distraction. By the time dinner ends, Timi is preening.
[endgame]
Timi slips into the library after dinner, and a moment later, Jason follows. He pauses about a step away and observes her. She’s sitting languidly on a chaise with a magazine propped in her hand. He observes her for a second before snatching the magazine and dropping it onto the table.
“You’re not wearing anything red,” He states sulkily, sitting next to Timi when she moves her legs to make room for him.
Timi smiles, “I am.”
“You’re not.”
“I assure you, I am.”
He observes her carefully.
He still doesn’t see anything red…
Jason blinks. He looks at the top two buttons of Timi’s shirt which were left fashionably undone.
She tosses a leg over his lap, straddling him and grins. She undoes the third button and Jason sees a trace of bright red.
“Tease,” he accuses.
Timi laughs.
.
.
.
Fin.
[extra: secret menu]
After hearing about the secret menu, Dick decides he wants to try it out for himself. He walks up to the barista and smiles charmingly.
“I heard you have a secret menu.”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to order the Timi Espresso.”
A look of concern appears on his face. He opens her mouth as if to say something, but hesitates. After a moment, he leans forward and asks in a hushed whisper, “It’s very strong. The caffeine is highly concentrated. Are you sure?”
“Ummm,” Dick blinks, not having expected this response. “Yes.”
The barista–Josh, his name tag reads–nods sagely. He waves over a co-worker and they speak in hushed whispers, turn to look at Dick, and whisper again.
“It will be ready in a few minutes,” Jane says finally.
A few minutes later, Dick returns to the table with a Timi Espresso. He ignores Jason and Damian, who are arguing over the best way to kill people and takes a sip.
The reaction is instantaneous. Tears leak from his eyes as the utter bitterness and he chokes.
“Water,” He croaks, as both Jason and Damian look at him with concerned expressions.
He downs the water placed in front of him directly from the jug, not questioning how it showed up.
“Sorry,” Josh says as Jane approaches holding a second jug. She offers it to Dick, who downs the second jug as well.
“We proposed a waiver for the Timi Espresso, but HQ hasn’t approved it yet,” Jane says.
“A waiver?” Jason asks.
“Yes, Jane explains. “There’s about 1300 milligrams of caffeine in a Timi Espresso, which is only 8 ounces. The recommended daily consumption of caffeine is only 400 milligrams. A lot of our other customers had the same reaction to the Timi Espresso because they didn't expect it to be this concentrated.”
“Tt,” Damian comments. “Of course Drake would be dependent on caffeine to function.
“Yes,” Dick manages, his voice still hoarse. “A waiver would be a good idea.”