Work Text:
Tim wore a soft smile as he walked along the pavement towards the small café located near Wayne Enterprises. It was still early, the sun just peaking over the trees situated on the horizon, its colors clashing with the sky like fire making it a beautiful purple mixed with blue. Now of course it was completely unnecessary to walk all the way to the café when not only his office, but the break room and the cafeteria had perfectly good coffee machines, but it was a gorgeous morning. And he had a very good reason to anyway.
He walked into the store, the bell giving a little chime signaling his arrival making a few heads glance toward him. He made a beeline for the counter where he had already ordered ahead and the wonderful caffeinated drinks sat waiting for him. That barista who had long since gotten used to being in the presence of a Wayne themself, especially one with such a death wish from the amount of shots he asked for that they weren't legally allowed to give him nor had enough space in the cup to, gave him a friendly smile and nod as he picked up the drinks returning the pleasantry.
He walked over to the corner of the shop, one where he had a perfect view through all the windows and the doors and a good escape if needed-you could never be too careful especially in a place like Gotham. He sat down, carefully setting down the beverages before situationing himself, dropping his black backpack on the floor and pulling out his laptop. He had just placed it on the table when the door chimed once again causing his eyes to dart toward it watching the person enter.
Yeah. He had a very good reason to come here.
He watched his black haired friend immediately lay eyes on their table- because it was their table; they always sat there and when his companion had affectionately dubbed the table their table , in a moment of absolute impulsivity, he bought the table so no one else could sit there and the owners were completely okay with that since money is money- and her smile lit up the room more than the bulbs and sun did, made his chest feel warm and tingly in a way that he couldn't blame the sun's heat for because she was his sun. Marinette bounded over to him happily and sat down across from him, her foot playfully knocking his leg as she always did purposefully.
"Good morning Tim!" she greeted him excitedly.
Tim smiled and slid her the drink he had already bought her so she couldn't argue, "Good morning Marinette."
Marinette eyed the drink, "It was my turn to buy you know … which ones this?"
Tim chuckled, "That new one you experimented with. Iced venti chai tea latte with six pumps of chai, a caramel drizzle, whipped cream, light ice, oatmilk, and your extra shots."
Marinette snorted as she opened a straw and put it in the cup. She was quite peculiar, she never drank hers without a straw unless it was in a mug. Marinette raised a brow at him as she took a sip. He could see the happy quirk of her lips and the sparkle in her eyes showing her enjoyment of the drink meaning he memorized it correctly.
"How'd you even remember that?" Marinette giggled, "I literally have only had it once and it was just random things thrown together."
Tim shrugged, because how was he to explain that he noticed everything about her. Because every tiny quirk of hers was adorable and beautiful. From the small freckles littering her nose to the way her eyebrows scrunch together as she sticks out her tongue when she's really focused and likely won't hear you when you walk into the room as she's working, to the way she likes all the coffees she's drunk, that she likes sweet coffee the best, but doesn't mind bitter.
How was he supposed to explain he couldn't help it when she was the most gorgeous and interesting person he's ever met and rather find out every tiny thing about her than run on rooftops and play hero. When he'd prefer her happiness over his own fathers love and praise which he's chased for so long.
Really, how was he supposed to explain that?
Marinette shook her head and accepted his nonanswer, taking another sip of her drink. Her atmosphere changed slightly, still positive and wonderful like a flower just beginning to bloom ready to seize the day, but with a tinge of anxiety stirred in that made her nervously tug the ends of her hair which was left loose over her shoulders while her other hand mixed her drink a bit with her straw. Another quirk he loved about her.
"Is something wrong?"
Marinette looked up at him and they just stared at each other for a moment, no words floating between them as they got lost in the oceans of each other's eyes. Marinette opened her mouth to say something…
Tim's alarm warning him for work rang loud in the quiet shop, yet no one glanced toward it, far used to it by now. Tim quickly shut it off and stood up. He tucked his computer in his back quickly, slinging it over his shoulder before putting his hand to Marinette. She smiled and gratefully accepted, bringing her to her feet before they both grabbed their coffees and headed for the door. He opened it up for her with a smile. They walked out and approached his work. He looked to her, appreciating the way the sun reflected off its surroundings and gently draped her features.
"So … what did you want to say?" Tim timidly spoke, hating to ruin the peaceful comfort of silence that wrapped round them like a blanket, but needed to know so it wouldn't be something that ruined her day.
She shrugged at him a little helplessly, body more tense than normal. "I-" she started, taking a deep breath before continuing, "this is probably going to make things awkward between us, but it didn't feel right not to tell you. I like you?"
Her sentence, although sounding like a question, but that was probably nerves, echoed through Tim's soul. He didn't- He didn't know what to say.
"Thank you for telling me," he offered helplessly. He was suddenly more aware of everything: his hands, his eyes, her body movement, her words, his actions and every interaction they'd had in a long time. It wasn't like he wanted to judge everything so harshly, but with this new knowledge he had to. He had to figure out how he'd missed that she returned his feelings.
He stood, grabbing his things hastily, "I have to go," he declared as he moved to leave.
"Tim," she cried out when she registered what was happening.
"Sorry," he muttered, turning away from her and leaving the store, "I've got a meeting."
No.
He had to figure out what to do now.
Tim was a nervous wreck all day long. He zoned out during his meeting, he put salt instead of sugar in his coffee, he picked up papers only to throw them down in a fit when he remembered how he treated her. How he treated her. How could he do something like that?
She was the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful person he's ever met. Her smile was sprinkles of rain as it reflected into gorgeous rainbows, her eyes waterfalls as they trickled down mountains in a beautiful display of wonder, her laugh wasn't bells, no it was a harmony of harps playing the sweetest tunes enough to make someone cry, her hugs were fire, simmering into his soul and warming him all over, a wonderful flame igniting in his chest that lit his soul. He didn't know how he could possibly just brush her off like that.
He paced back and forth in his office muttering profanities at himself for being so stupid and angrily shoved papers off his desk to spill all over the floor. He saw the mess and stopped in his tracks for a moment. He looked around and a knife pierced his chest as he gripped his hair. He was a disaster. He heard the door creak open and his head shot toward it, already ready to yell at whoever it was to just go away. He was surprised when he saw his older brother push it open.
Dick blinked as he glanced around at the state of the room.
"Were you attacked?" he inquired wearily, eyes already darting alert around the room.
Tim shuffled his feet in embarrassment as he spoke a quiet, "No."
Dick carefully walked over to him, avoiding stepping on any of the paper littering the floor, until he stood in front of him.
"Hey, what happened Tim?"
Tim let his shoulders sink, finally showing the true weight upon them as he sighed.
"Do you remember Marinette?"
Dicks eyes lit up like a Christmas tree immediately, "Of course I know the little blueberry! She's awesome! Why what happened?"
Tim looked away from him, his eyes finding a spot on the horizon outside the window to focus on instead.
"She told me she liked me today."
"Oh," came Dicks soft voice. Usually he'd be excited about that, but he read the mood of the room, "I'm assuming you don't return those feelings then?"
Tim didn't say anything, just stared blankly out the window.
"Well…your friendship can survive this crush, it'll be ok. You just…have to let her down easy."
"How do I do that?"
"Just…be honest with her. Tell her how you feel."
Tim sighed deeply, his eyes sliding shut, "I can't do that."
He could hear the confusion dripping from his voice as he asked, "why not?"
He felt the frustration build in his chest once again as he whipped around to face him finally, "because if I tell her she might get the impression that I want to get in a relationship."
Dicks eyebrows pressed into a confused line, clearly pondering hard on what that meant, "why would she think that?"
"Because I'm…" he paused and let everything sink in for a second, his feelings coming to light as everything was finally mixed together to help him see exactly what was being made, "I'm in love with her."
It came out in only just above a whisper as it was a shock to even himself. He knew his feelings for her were more than platonic, but he didn't know to what extent, he didn't think he loved her.
"What?" Came Dick's surprised voice.
"Just a little bit!" Tim quickly backtracked.
Dick shook his head in disbelief, "You just figured that out didn't you?"
Tim let his hand come and scratch the back of his neck nervously.
Dick sighed, "Well … do you want to be in a relationship with her or do you really want to just stay friends? Because at this point, that decision is up to you. Don't make the choice based on something everyone else wants and expects of you ok?"
Dick placed his hand on Tim's shoulder as Tim looked up at him. He gave him one of his charming smiles. "Do whatever makes you happy, but don't make a decision you'll regret later on because you decided not to follow your heart, ok?"
Tim nodded as Dick gave him a last comforting smile, not waiting to hear his decision as he departed from his office. Tim stood for another moment, pondering over what to do.
He was lost in thought when his phone vibrated in his hand, signifying a text. It snapped him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to the real world where he had problems to deal with. He fumbled, heart racing slightly from the shock of being dragged out of his thoughts.
Looking at his phone, he couldn’t stop the smile on his face when he saw who had messaged him.
He knew what he had to do.
One wouldn’t call Tim Drake a nervous man, or at least not the Tim Drake that the public saw, that Tim Drake was calm and collected. He had to be given his status as one of the youngest CEOs in the world, especially with such a successful business to run like Wayne Industries.
The Tim Drake that could be seen now was nothing like that. He was stressed, constantly rubbing his hands down his trousers, and tapping his foot impatiently. Of course he couldn’t appear too stressed in public, which is why from an outside perspective he wouldn’t seem too nervous. But inside? Inside he was screaming and needed to talk to Marinette as soon as he could.
As soon as he could, he burst into the manor- shooting a quick greeting towards Alfred who had already let Marinette in and helped her set up- quickly darting through the halls to where he knew Marinette was waiting.
“I got your message,” he offered sheepishly, “and got here as fast as I could.”
She laughed a little as she stood from his chair, filling the room with the symphony of her smile. “You really didn’t need to. It’s just a fitting for the gala. You’ve been late to plenty of those before.”
Tim started muttering under his breath, “I didn’t want to make a bad impression.”
“We’ve known each other for years,” she deadpanned, slightly wondering why she had feelings for this lovable dork.
"Right, yeah." He was totally blowing this. He was going to lose his second chance with her.
Marinette giggled at him as she told him, "Okay, well go and change into this. Then we can start the fitting."
Tim nodded and did as he was told. After five mins or so, Tim came back.
"Okay! So, Let's get started! Stand over there." Marinette pointed at the podium with her head, "let's see," Marinette squinted at him, "It needs a little fitting at the chest and legs."
She hummed thoughtfully. Standing close to him, so close that Tim could smell her shampoo. Marinette grabbed her kit and got to work while Tim had a little crisis. He rejected her, well he didn't reject her, he did something even worse. Rejection would be better. He ignored her feelings for him!
As Tim snapped out of his little crisis, he realized their closeness. She was close , she needed to be close to do her work of course. But she was so close. He could just lean down and kiss her! Her hands touching his chest constantly weren't helping either.
"Just a little sewing here, and a little here, and that'd be better."
"Marinette please stop for a second?" Marinette looked up at him from where she had just bent to fix his pants. She furrowed her eyebrows at him.
"Why?"
"I have something to say."
Marinette got up without a fight. Tim carefully stepped down, careful not to damage the suit too much.
"So, uh, remember when you confessed this morning."
Marinette made a hurt face and looked away. Tim realized that it might have not been a great idea to bring that up. He took hold of her hands.
"Please look at me?" Tim asked in a soft voice, "please Marinette?"
Marinette hesitantly looked at him.
"I just wanted to say that I reciprocate your feelings. I know it didn't feel that way from my behavior in the morning but I've been thinking about it, and there's no one I'd rather be in a relationship with rather than you Marinette."
"Wait, are you saying that-"
"I love you. Yeah, I always have, I just never realized it. So what do you think, I still have a chance?"
Marinette leaned in a bit, giving him a little time to back away, when he didn't, she took the leap and kissed him fully. The kiss was soft, and warm, and everything Tim had hoped for. No matter how many people he had kissed before, that was definitely his best one yet.
"I hope that answers it." Tim nodded and kissed her again.
When they pulled back they let their heads rest against one another with dopey smiles gracing their features. They really did love one another. Marinette watched as Tim's eyes widened and suddenly a slight smirk was on his face.
"What is it?"
Tim chuckled, "Marinette, would you do me the great honor of going out on a date with me instead of going to the gala?"
Marinette giggled, "won't your dad get mad?"
This time he gave a full smirk, "of course."
Marinette rolled her eyes at his antics. Oh well, Bruce usually slipped out during the galas because he shoved it all on Tim anyway. Might as well give him a lick of revenge. Marinette pulled Tim's collar gently so their lips could crash once again.
Bonus:
Bruce gave a nervous smile as he tugged the collar of his shirt watching the crowd of people around him while simultaneously listening to all the guests surrounding him. He had absolutely nowhere to go as Tim wasn't there to discuss business with them nor any of the other boys to entertain the guests.
Marinette and Tim both laughed at the tv screen that was showcasing this, most likely without Bruce's knowledge if he was this nervous.
"He deserves it," Marinette stated with utter confidence as she took a sip of her wine.
And Tim was not only in complete agreement, but also completely in love.