Hide your angst, hide your emo, hide your linkin park songs...

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

Characters: Stephanie Brown and Tim Drake
Setting: TIM'S ROOM 1-06
Format: Starting action, but we can go to prose, if you prefer that!
Summary: Tim is having feelings of the angst and guilt varieties, so Steph is going to beat him cheer him up.
Warnings: SHE STILL HAS THAT BRICK AND THE WAFFLE IRON, DRAKE.

[ Tim, there's a quiet knock at your door.

And if you don't answer, there's a louder knock. ]

Tim, it's Steph.

Comments

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

[With all that's been going on in the tower recently, Tim is torn between avoiding Steph and clinging to her. He longs to be around someone familiar but with Bart disappearing, he doesn't want to start relying on her presence. Which means that he ends up settling for stalking her more than usual. But now that she's approaching him, he doesn't really have a choice, because if he knows anything about her, it's that she's not going to give up until she gets what she wants. He has no idea what that is, so he opens the door to the room cautiously.]

Did you want something?

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

Only to see your bright and cheerful face on this hypothetically sunny day.

[ She knows about the stalking, Tim.

And the excessive amounts of sadfaces. ]

I seem to see less and less of it lately.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, well, there's not exactly much to be cheerful about here. [He only sounds slightly bitter.]

I'll make more time to come see you, though. [She might be able to tell that he's lying, as usual.]

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

Not so fast, you know I'm not just here to get your attention, right?

[a beat

And Stephanie, as per usual, shows all her emotions on her face. ]

I wanted to make sure you were okay--are okay? As much as you can be here, anyway.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

[Sighing, he quickly mentally debates lying to her. It's no use; she knows how he is.]

I wasn't okay before I got here. But it's nothing to worry about. I can handle it.

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

[ She just looks at him like he's insane. ]

Because you seem like you're handling it so well on your own.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

I'm not that bad, am I?

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

Bad enough to make me worry, and come bang on your door.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

[Crap. He didn't realize something stupid like this would make her worry.]

Sorry. Look, I'll try harder to be happy from now on, okay? [There's an attempt at a reassuring smile, but it can barely be called that.]

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

Don't try to be happy, Tim, just...do you want to talk about it?

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

Not really. But I probably should.

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

Don't feel like you have to.

I do have a plan B, y'know, which involves you, me, a cheesy feel good movie, and somewhat burnt waffles. Also, I somehow manage to cheer you up with my cheerful personality and effortless charm.

[ Because she just wants to help ;_; ]

I'm still listening and serious if you prefer option A, though.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

How about we try plan B first and go back to plan A if it fails? I know it's kind of backwards, but burned waffles are sounding pretty good right now.

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

As if we ever do things in a conventional order.

To the kitchen!

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

[His mouth quirks up into a smile.] Lead the way, Batgirl.

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

[ And to the kitchen they go! ]

Oh man, I just missed a "to the batkitchen, Red Robin!" joke, didn't I?

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

You did. I have to say, I'm disappointed.

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

Not as disappointed as I am.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, I'm sure the opportunity for that bad joke will come up again.

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

And I won't miss it, pinky promise.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

Good to hear. So, how long have waffles been a comfort food for?

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

A looooooong time. They're right up there with mashed potatoes.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

[He raises an eyebrow.] Then how come I haven't seen you binge on stacks of waffles before?

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

Maybe I didn't want you too.

[AT THE KITCHEN]

Nah, they're actually pretty recent, I guess.

Waffles are the food of my freshman year of college.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

[He actually has no idea how to make waffles, so he's going to let Steph take charge here. It's been years since he's used a waffle iron.] So I'm assuming college is pretty stressful if you've found a new comfort food already.

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

It's not really college that's stressful. It's my...extracurriculars.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

Oh. [Yeah, he knows how that is.] You eat waffles to deal with that?

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

No, I eat waffles because they're delicious.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

That's a bit more straightforward. Should have guessed.

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

I'm not really the "drown my sorrows in food" type.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

[He's never really eaten his pain, either, just labored through it, so he glances around the kitchen in an attempt to change the subject.]

So, how long does the waffle process take, in your experience?

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

Not too long. Like, ten minutes or so.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

Shall we get started? [He rolls up his sleeves and flashes a smile at her, feeling not-quite-as-broody enough to fake one now.]

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

You better not be faking that smile, Wonder Boy.

[she claps her hands] We need flour, eggs, sugar, milk, salt, aaand baking powder.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

[Oops. He drops the smile almost immediately and looks bashful.]

I've actually never been in the kitchen here. Where is all that stuff?

[thefourthtry.livejournal.com]

Eggs are in the ancient fridge thing, as is the milk. The rest of the stuff is scattered around the cupboards.

So, you handle the fridge stuff, and I'll play "Where's Waldo?" with the other ingredients.

[chapsandcowl.livejournal.com]

Sounds good.

[He goes over to brave the fridge, decidedly ignoring anything in there that isn't milk or eggs.]