Sequel to this (aka, the ficlet where Jason meets Caroline at a bar)
Jason ended up talking to Caroline for the better part of two hours. Beneath that mousy exterior was a razor sharp wit and a dry sense of humor that matched his own. He laughed more with her than he had in months. It was great. It was glorious. It was...
"Oh crap," Caroline said after glancing at her wristwatch, a functional piece with a dark tan leather band and nary a smart feature to be seen. "I didn't realize it had gotten so late. I need to get going. I've got work in the morning."
Damn. He had to get going too. Tim's place wasn't far but he still had to swing by his apartment to get his case file and the data stick he'd stored the video surveillance on.
It was gutting that he had to cut the night short.
"Well, I guess I'd better leave too," Jason said, gesturing again for the bartender, this time with some cash in hand to indicate he was closing out his tab. "Can't have you see me turn into a pumpkin."
Caroline laughed, which made the corners of her eyes crinkle up cutely. "Oh, I don't know. You seem more like the Flynn Rider type."
"A charming thief with an over-inflated ego?"
"More like the charming rogue with a heart of gold under his burnished exterior." She ducked her head shyly. "Sorry, that was kinda cheesy."
"No, this is cheesy." Jason took her hand, noting the calluses on her palm that could only come from hard work. It was yet another unusual feature in the mental catalog he'd started. Raising Caroline's hands to his lips, he brushed a kiss along her knuckles.
Color flared to life along her cheeks and she laughed again. "You're right, that is cheesy." She squeezed his fingers lightly. "But it's also cute," she admitted.
"I can pull off cute sometimes."
The bartender arrived and Jason handed over two folded twenties, enough to cover both their beers and a tip. "For both of us," he said. "No change."
"I can pay for myself, you know." Caroline sounded a little indignant as she hopped off the stool. Her breasts jiggled, rising and falling like a wave.
They hadn't attracted him before. Still didn't for that matter. His thoughts from before hadn't changed much either, but now he had answers. Caroline was in the nursing program at Gotham University and was in the midst of her hospital rotations. She was supposed to graduate in the spring and wanted to work at one of Gotham's overly-busy and always understaffed emergency rooms.
She had goals. She was smart. She wanted to save lives and help people.
And that more than anything was what made her so attractive in Jason's eyes.
"I know," he said, gently taking her elbow to guide her toward the door. "But maybe I want to be the gentleman for once rather than the rouge."
"Then what does that make me?" Caroline asked, pulling open the bar door before Jason had the chance. "The damsel in distress?" She grinned, bright and cheeky as she stayed put until he stepped outside first.
"Nah." Jason took her hand again, wanting to feel her touch one more time. "You're the princess who's going to save the day."
Caroline snorted, which returned the blush to her cheeks again. "Oh my god, I'm sorry. You're trying to be nice and I'm such a dork and..."
She was so damned cute it made Jason wish he didn't have to meet Tim and that she didn't have a hospital rotation in six hours. That they could just go back inside and close the bar down, then maybe take things back to her place where he'd treat her like a princess and make her scream his name.
Instead, he kissed the back of her hand again. "Want to do this again sometime?"
"Do what?" A glint appeared in Caroline's eyes as she composed herself. "Have a drink together or watch me act like an idiot in front of a really handsome guy?"
"As long as that guy is me, why not both?"
For some reason, those words sobered her. Her gaze grew heavy, assessing and weighing him against some still unknown standard. Slowly, a crooked smile grew on her lips and she nodded slowly.
gummygunk
kianamaiart
andulkaphoto
