Caffeine Withdrawal | T. Drake ✔

[14] Breaking The Ice

Isadora was surprised when she pulled back the grill of the balcony and found Red Robin perched up on the railings. He turned around sensing the movement behind him and before she could say anything or even move, he spoke up, "please, no floor mops. I have no intentions of breaking in."

"No bo staffs either," she remarked pointedly.

He nodded agreeing to her condition, "I wanted to apologize for my terrible behavior earlier. And I understand now that it was stupid of me to assume that I would not get hit upon unexpectedly turning up at your place. I deserved that."

She sighed stepping into the balcony at last, "I'm sorry too. For hitting you even though you were already injured."

"So I suppose there are no hard feelings on both sides?" He asked, his voice going up an octave expectantly.

"No hard feelings," she replied. 

The cowl hid his eyes but a smile had lit up his face.

Then after a short pause she spoke up, "has your flask drowned in the sewer again or were you just here to apologize?"

"Well actually, I did run out of coffee and my flask is bone dry at the moment," he elaborated, "but apologizing was the main incentive, trust me."

"Knew it. And I still don't trust strangers."

He shook his head as if disappointed, "oh so we're still on that note."

She shrugged nonchalantly, "you might be a friend of my brother's but I don't know you at all. So yes, we are still on the same note."

"Hey, where's Al?" he asked noticing that there was no other sound that could hint at his presence, "it wasn't his Chinatown shift tonight, I am certain I did not mess up the days again on my calendar. There's no way a weekend could come up too soon."

She replied, "yes it's not a weekend but he had some work to tend to."

His lips pursed together in a small frown, "don't let him apply to another part time job. He would work himself to death otherwise."

"I don't know what he's up to but I'll talk him out of it if he does apply for another job," she replied, then extended her hand towards him, "give me your flask and wait here till I get it refilled."

"Oh thank you so much," he readily handed her the flask, "I appreciate the generosity a lot."

A smile threatened to break out on her features for the remark reminded her of how Tim used to thank her for the coffee. It was unnervingly similar with the formal expression of gratitude in the beginning and a few words of praise joined at the end. 

Her eyes narrowed a little at the fact, something which did not escape Red Robin's gaze. "Is anything the matter?"

She shook her head, "no, you just reminded me of someone."

"Oh," the color drained from his face at considering the possibility of her figuring out his actual identity, "hope I didn't remind you of someone bad."

"Not at all," she smiled at last, "I have a friend who speaks like that sometimes. You reminded me of him."

Friend. 

Hearing that word sent a mixture of happiness and anxiety inside him. Happiness that Dora actually considered him, or in other words Tim, as a friend. And anxiety that she could very easily relate the likeness to him and figure out the truth.

But he chose to keep silent for the time being and watched as she stepped back and closed the grill after her, locking it. She was still very cautious and he respected the fact, it was a smart move for a person in Gotham to be wary of her surroundings and not even to trust vigilantes all the time.

"Wait here, okay?"

He nodded, "sure, I'm not going anywhere without my flask."

She went down to the kitchen and put the coffee on the stove, adding the required amount of milk and sugar in it. When it was properly brewed, she poured it into the flask and placing all the items back she finally went up to the balcony.

Red Robin was still there though he had been chatting with Selina who had just retreated to her apartment. She pushed back the grill and handed him his flask which he quickly opened and took a deep gulp from.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"No problem."

She was leaning against the grill, not stepping into the balcony as if she thought it would be better to maintain some distance.

"So since how long have you known Alex?"

A nostalgic smile took over his face, "ever since the night I crashed in through the glass windows that had just been put up. This place was still under construction then and Alex had not opened his coffee shop back then."

"Oh so like for a few years now," she calculated the time span in her head, "probably two years?"

"I suppose so too," he remarked, "your brother is extremely nice though. Instead of asking me for reimbursement for his windows, he offered first aid and a nice hot cup of coffee. But of course I did pay for the windows even though he had refused initially."

She was thinking over his words in her head, "and why did you crash in through the windows?"

"I was involved on a mission and unfortunately for me, Killer Croc thought I would make a great Frisbee."

She couldn't stop the slight chuckle that escaped her and saw that he was smiling as well, "poor you."

"Exactly what I tell myself every time I get beat up," he shrugged nonchalantly as if he was quite accustomed to it, "but it's not all that bad. Most of the times, the other party is thrown around like a Frisbee."

"And since how long have you been a vigilante?"

"Since I was twelve," he replied.

Her eyes widened, "twelve? Isn't that a bit too young for crime fighting?"

"You should meet Nightwing then. He was seven when he joined the team and of course holds the title of original Boy Wonder."

"Nightwing?" Surprise flickered on her face, "but he used to be Bludhaven's vigilante."

"Oh so you're from Bludhaven... Of course you would know Nightwing then. He fluctuates between the two cities. A few years back he was primarily operating in Bludhaven alone."

His comm started beeping so he got off the railings, looking at the screen of the gadget and immediately the smile from his face faded.

"Gotta go now, the city needs me," he looked up and dipped his head in farewell, "thanks for the coffee though and I suppose we have moved on from the stranger note."

She smiled slightly, "perhaps. Best of luck though."

"Thank you, I'll definitely be needing it."

His cape spread out behind him as he took off from the railings, the red of his suit gradually fading into the night sky as he soared through it with the help of his grapple gun.

***