dcxdp fic (Part 1 HERE part 3 HERE)
*a coffee shop au written by a barista thats havin a time this holiday season*
Danny couldn't believe it.
Things were going good, well, as good as they can in Gotham for a half dead food service employee. His coworkers were showing up to their shifts (or had been let go), he got the Hot Guy from the shoot outs number and they had been talking. Batman had even pointedly reminded the owners of the coffee shop that Danny had saved them with his quick thinking and that firing him for 'misuse of company property' and 'destroying proprietary machinery' was ridiculous.
There may have been threats about an IRS audit or checking into their paperwork or something.
Danny didn't really know. Didnt really care. Things were good for a half dead Gotham barista.
Until Star walked in. With her two year old.
and then an off duty (or former, Danny didnt really know) Agent K.
and it was like the flood gates opened.
Suddenly his past was there, in front of him, haunting him, taunting him.
He ran into Mr. Lancer at Wawa.
He was getting nervous, anxious. too many people knew he was here. He had wanted to start over. Away from everything. Everyone. Away from ghosts and people that knew his parents and the trappings of being a half dead teenage superhero.
dont go there Danny. Even if they knew you were here, they have no reason to find you.
no reason to come looking.
He squashed the half thought out ill concieved wisp of apologies and reconcilations and could've beens and might've beens and focused on the task at hand. and the fact that the cute boy he was kinda maybe sorta seeing had just walked in and grabbed a seat, waiting for him to get off shift so they could go on a lunch date.
He caught Tim's eye and relaxed, felt himself smile the smile of a love stricken idiot.
He just had a few more guests to get through and he was outta there.
"Hey how are we doing today?" he said without looking up as he finished wiping the counter down.
"Fine and yourself-" no. it couldn't be.
He had just tied up a case that had been bugging him for months and everyone involved was either in jail or safely back home.
Bruce and Clark had been sighted looking extra cozy in what they swore was a totally platonic and work related interview. (they were both beet red and refused to meet anyone in the eye)(Alfred was over the moon).
Jason was alive. Angry and violent sure. but alive.
Damian was down to only one stabbing a week which was celebration worthy on its own.
And Tim had met a cute guy.
A brilliant normal snarky cute guy who didnt try to limit his caffine intake and, infact, encouraged it. A cute guy who was able to reprogram a notoriously finnicky espresso machine on the fly and take out not one, but two Men with Guns AND get all the customers out safely-prioritizing the most at-risk first (and arranging to have them picked up if they didnt have a safe way home).
And Cute Guy (Danny) liked HIM. and not cuz he was a billionaire. (guy didnt even recognize him at first. and, upon finding out, didnt care-finding out had actually turned him off and Tim had had to do MAJOR damage control to get back in his good graces. Apparently he had a Thing about rich people.)
Danny was normal. (if one counted being an unhinged engineering genius as normal). As far from being a vigilantee as one could get. He was snarky, and brave sure. but there was a-nervous?- energy about him. Like one would see in a rescue animal. Danny was always looking over his shoulder, keeping his distance. Ready to bolt at a moments notice. But he wasnt a coward either. inspite of his nervousness, or maybe because of it, when backed into a corner, he wouldnt just cower, he would go full crazy and start biting.
Even Damian liked him. or at least tolerated him. Danny had been walking a dog (Not HIS dog as he insitently repeated, the dog was a free spirit and occasionally showed up wherever Danny was for cuddles and walks before disappearing again.)
(Tim was almost certain the dog was a meta or science experiment or alien or something, even apart from the fact that it was so green it almost glowed-Danny tried to say it was dyed but the lie would have been obvious to even the most socially inept person alive. it was way to strong for a puppy, and could find Danny -anywhere-) well the dog had been walking him, and Danny had fallen flat on his face. In front of Tim and Damian. and before doing anything else, Danny had rushed to make sure the pup was alright.
and when a bunch of out of town paparazi tried to get an embarassing picture of Damian, Danny had ~appeared~ from seemingly nowhere, made a bunch of ridiculous commentary and somehow managed to shame them into deleting their sim cards. and when Damian tried to call him a fool for trusting them to delete them, Danny handed him a handful of memory cards, presumably taken from their cameras, though neither of them had any idea how the barista had managed it, neither saw him get anywhere close enough to the cameras, or photographers.
And when Damian had tried sneak attacking Danny. Danny had ducked and flipped him over in one, single, fluid motion. Landing Damian squarely on the ground. Danny had then recognized him, apologized, and never mentioned it again. which was prbably the only reason Damian had been mildly impressed instead of angry.
Suffice to say, Danny was a Normal, albiet mildly insane, guy. Fairly predictable once they spent a little time with him. He brushed off pretty much everything. Moving through life unphased by even the craziest things Gotham had to throw at them. Even amongst the skittishness and mild paranoia.
Which is why Tim, currently sat so he could make heart eyes at his almost but not quite boyfriend while waiting for him to be done his shift, was currently capital C Concerned. Danny's face had lost what little color it had, his hand gripped the marker it was holding tight enough that Tim could see it bending ever so slightly. Tim watched as his eyes flickered over and met his. Danny seemed to settle, his face going carefully blank as he finished the transaction and passed it off to his coworker. Tim watched as Danny turned and said something to a coworker who nodded in response before taking off his apron and hat and walking away.
Tim got the hint and carefully gathered his things, keeping the customer that had shaken Danny in his peripheral vision. A part of him (a very large part) wanted to call Oracle- find out who the person was, their connection to Danny.
But then what? Confront Danny with the information? Track the person down and confront THEM?
And what would that say about him? Tim Drake. That he was just some obessed billionares son who used his connections to cyber stalk/illegally gather information on the man he was trying to romance? (outside of the standard, completely legal, background check Alfred had run, and that Tim had told Danny-red faced- about. of course). Danny wouldn't forgive him. He had understood Tim's pseduo grandfather checking on the guy his grandson was inamored with to make sure it wasn't a gold digger situation, but had made his distrust of the ultra rich clear, and Tim wasn't going to cross that line. He wasn't. Really.
There was Danny. Tim straightened up, smiled, grabbed the crook of Danny's elbow, and led them both away from the cafe. Where, conviently, Alfred was waiting for them in the drivers seat of their most inconspicuous car, a fake Lyft sticker in the rear window to really sell the bit.
yousharknotpass
vaporwave
annaxmalina
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germansingergirl
origamiaround
gummygunk
