Fic: Homecoming [DC comics, Tim/Cissie]
Title: Homecoming
Authors: lady_sarai and zoe_chan
Pairing/Characters: Tim/Cissie.
Rating/Warnings: PGish
Disclaimer: We do not own anything or anyone. We promise.
Summary: Cissie went and competed in the Olympics, which meant three weeks in Beijing with divers in Speedos and muscley archers. And three weeks for Kon to tease Tim about it. Welcome home, Cissie.
Authors' Note: Well, we had good intentions--we started writing this before the Olympics ended and planned to post it in a timely manner, but does that ever happen? Tim and Cissie are 19, and the everyone's sanity, let's just pretend the Athens Olympics never happened. ;) Making these the first Olympics since Sydney.
This is set in our Altering Fate verse, which is the one where Cissie went back to being Arrowette, joined the Titans and she and Tim fell in love. They've been dating for about two years by this point. Also, as Cissie has no canon birthday, we invented one for her.
~*~
"Thanks, Cass."
Cassie grinned, floating a few feet into the air after setting Cissie down on the Tower roof. "No problem. I've gotta run-I promised Diana I'd help her with something, but I'll see you later."
Cissie waved her off before shouldering her duffle bag and heading for the entrance to the Tower. As she reached for the door, it opened inward to reveal Tim, who grinned broadly at her.
"Hey!" He stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug. "Missed you."
She gave a happy squeak and dropped her bag so she could throw her arms around his shoulders and return the hug. "I missed you!" she cried, squeezing him. She pulled back just far enough to kiss him soundly. When they broke apart, she beamed at him. "Three weeks is entirely too long."
He laughed and kissed her again. "You're telling me?" he asked. "You got to spend it in Beijing-I had to spend it with Batman!"
She giggled, tightening her arms around him and touching her forehead to his. "Poor Tim. Does this mean you have some time off to spend with your jet-lagged girlfriend?"
"Mm, definitely. I have all weekend. Bruce promised I won't get a call unless the city is actually exploding, and then only so that I can have marshmallows with Dick."
Cissie giggled again, making a happy noise and rubbing her nose against his. "Can I come along for the marshmallows? I like it when they catch fire."
Tim laughed. "Sure-I'll take you flying over the rubble."
She laughed with him and hugged him. She was happy to just hold him-she had missed him. She hummed happily, giving him several light, quick kisses and speaking between them. "I have presents. I brought souvenirs for everybody. And I got you a shirt." She pulled back to grin at him. "I just don't know what it says, because it's in Chinese. But the only person who would know if it said anything inappropriate would be Bruce, so that's okay."
Tim laughed. "Fair enough. Well, and me and Dick, but I'm pretty sure Dick and I would just laugh."
"You'll have to tell me what it says," she said, smiling. "I wish you could have stayed longer," she added, pouting. "You could have been my personal translator and you would have been everyone's hero by stopping Brady before he ordered everybody beef intestines for lunch."
"Eew," he grimaced. "Did you eat it?"
She wrinkled her nose, sticking her tongue out. "Yes," she grumbled. "Well-a piece, anyway. The coaches gave us this whole lesson on etiquette before they let us go out. It would have been rude to refuse it. And that was my birthday!"
Tim laughed "That seems a little unfair."
Cissie nodded, sticking her lip out in a deeper pout. She gave Tim the saddest look she could manage. "It's very unfair. I was all alone in China for my birthday and I didn't get to be with my boyfriend and then I had to eat cow intestines. I don't know if I can recover from the trauma."
Tim bit back a smirk. "Well. There were muscley archers and swimmers to help make up for it."
She wrinkled her nose. "One of the muscley archers ordered me cow intestines for my birthday lunch, and the other muscley archers were boring, and none of them were you. I did enjoy the swimmers, though-but that's probably because I didn't have to spend any time with them," she added with a wink. She kissed his nose. "We're still outside, you know. It's getting a little cold up here."
He laughed a little and made a face. "We should go inside. It's just us, by the way. Everyone else had stuff they had to do this weekend."
Her eyes widened and she grinned. "Really? I don't have to share you at all?"
Tim laughed again and pulled the door opened, gesturing for her to go ahead. "Nope-not even a little, not even at all-barring the disaster in Gotham I mentioned."
Her grin widened and she grabbed her bag before entering the Tower. "That might be the best birthday present yet," she said as they made their way to the rec room.
"What, disaster in Gotham?" he asked with a slight smirk. "Come on-I know things are bad, but that's no reason to start over again from the ground up."
She dropped her bag into one of the chairs and stuck her tongue out at him. "Ha, ha. Very funny. You know very well I was referring to the flaming marshmallows."
Tim grinned. "We can probably do those this weekend. Light a fire outside-pretend we're camping?"
She felt another silly grin cross her face-she couldn't stop grinning. "Really? I'd like that." She went to him and began pulling him toward the couch. She sat down and tugged on his hands. "I really missed you."
He sat down next to her and immediately pulled her into another hug. "I missed you too, beautiful."
She hummed happily and curled against him. She twisted her head to smile up at him. "Did you pine?"
"I did," he replied solemnly. "I wasted away without you."
Cissie grinned and leaned up, kissing his cheek. "My poor Tim. However will you recover?"
He smiled at her, leaning his head against hers. "This is helping."
"Good," she murmured. "Is there anything else I can do, since it's my fault you wasted away?"
"Hmm, I'll let you know. How was your trip?"
She wrinkled her nose, grunting. "It was fine-long. I really wanted to see you before now, but I think I slept for about fourteen hours when I finally got home."
Tim laughed. "Yeah-I'm like that whenever Kon and I get back from Japan. I can never get enough sleep."
She smiled at him, repositioning in his arms. "I know," she said with a wink. "And I think my sleep schedule might actually be in sync with yours right now."
He made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. "Hmm. You may be right. Awesome."
Cissie giggled. "Awesome indeed," she murmured and caught his face in her hands, pulling him close for a kiss. When she pulled back, she beamed at him. "So-what'd you get me for my birthday?"
He gave her a mock-exasperated look. "I can't tell you-it wouldn't be a surprise."
She stuck her lower lip out in a pout, giving him a wide-eyed look. "But my birthday was a whole week ago," she said petulantly. "And I didn't get to see you and Ollie gave me a pink armguard. It's neon."
Tim bit back a laugh. "That sounds… pretty."
She looked at him incredulously. "It's practically Day-Glo. It's like-Barbie-pink meets radioactive waste. On my arm."
"Too bad you didn't have it with you when you competed. I bet Ollie would have had a huge grin seeing it from the stands."
She looked at him in something like horror. "Oh my God, I'm going to have to wear it to competitions."
Tim struggled to keep a straight face. "It would mean a lot to him, I'm sure."
She dropped her head to his shoulder with a groan. "He's trying to turn me into Archery Barbie, one accessory at a time."
"At least it's not Arrowette the Action Figure."
She made a face, lifting her head again. "My mother wants me to be an action figure and my father wants me to be a Barbie doll. What about my boyfriend?"
He kissed the tip of her nose. "A happy Cissie, doing and being whatever she wants."
She smiled, melting a little and feeling the tension that always came with thinking about her parents drain away. She leaned in to kiss him lightly, resting her head against his. "I like that best," she said. "Happy Cissie wants to be with you."
"Well," he grinned. "Lucky for you, you've got me right here. I'm not going anywhere."
"Good," she said with feeling. She kissed him again, happily. "Now. About that birthday present."
He shook his head, laughing a little. "One track mind."
She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him. "Usually you like that about me."
"I'll have to get up, though," he said, whining slightly.
She pouted slightly. "Yeah... but then you could give me my present," she said slowly, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "And I could say thank you."
Tim stood immediately. "Wait here-I'll just run and grab that."
Cissie blinked in surprise from her spot on the couch where she had been unceremoniously dumped out of Tim's lap. "Hey!" she cried, jumping up. "Not so fast, Mister!"
He stopped and turned, surprised that she was following. "Oh-you don't have to get up-I was going to be right back."
She rolled her eyes and hugged him from behind. "I haven't had quality Tim time for over three weeks. I'm not letting you out of my sight."
Tim smiled. "I missed you, too."
She grinned and hopped on his back, hooking her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "Good. I'm coming with you."
Curling his arms under her legs securely, Tim started racing toward the sleeping quarters in the Tower, stopping abruptly at his own door and putting a hand out to keep them from banging into it. "Your stop, miss?"
Giggling, she squeezed her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, kind sir," she said, hopping down so he could open the door.
He laughed and pushed the door opened. "Uh-give me a minute. I think it's still packed…" He headed toward the duffle bag on his bed and started rifling through it.
She followed him, still wearing a silly grin, and jumped onto the bed, bouncing a few times as he rummaged through his bag. "You mean you haven't unpacked yet? I'm shocked."
Tim gave her a mock glare. "I was waiting for you."
Her grin widened. "Before you unpacked? Aww, sweetheart. The socks go in the top drawer."
"You're mocking me!" he accused. "Do you even want your birthday presents?"
Cissie's eyes widened innocently and she stuck her lip out in a pout again. "I'm sorry! Will you ever forgive me?"
He eyed her darkly. "I don't know…"
She dropped her head and did her best to look dejected and sad, lowering her shoulders and letting her pout deepen. She glanced up at Tim. "I'm really sorry?"
He shook his head, laughing. "Fine-you're forgiven. Catch." He tossed a few paper wrapped packages her way.
She caught them, grinning, and waited for him to join her on the bed. She spread her gifts out on the blanket between them and beamed at him. "What should I open first?"
"I recommend this one," he replied, indicating a thin rectangular package.
Grinning, Cissie picked it up. She began unwrapping it, wrinkling her nose and sticking her tongue out as she fought with the ribbons and tape. "You know, every time you give me something, I wonder if you actually want me to have it."
Tim gave her an innocent-looking smile. "Of course I do-but there's no reason you shouldn't work for it."
She wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "Ha ha," she grumbled as she continued fighting to open her present. She finally managed to find a spot to rip the paper and proceeded to tear it open, tossing the wrappings off the bed-she aimed for the trashcan, but not particularly carefully. She turned the DVD over in her hands, smiling slowly. "I don't have this season!" She looked up at Tim with a silly grin. "You bought me Friends. You don't like Friends."
"No, I don't like Friends," he said with a smile. "But you do-which is why that's your birthday present, not mine."
She leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you," she said. "Which next?"
"Hmm… This one." Tim handed her a larger package. "And please don't yell at me for it."
She shot him a curious look, smirking a little as she worked at opening it. "Why would I yell?""she asked, as she finally tore into the paper. She tossed the paper to the floor and pulled the lid off the box. She laughed when she pushed aside the tissue paper and saw the contents. She pulled the red and white armguard out of the box and pushed the red gloves aside enough to reveal the matching chest guard underneath. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Kevlar?"
He nodded. "Yeah-the liner. The outer layer is Nomex, and there's ceramic plate armor between the two. This is why I asked you not to yell at me. It's not overprotective. It's just the right amount of protective."
She laughed and dropped the armguard back in the box. She leaned forward and caught his face in her hands, pressing her forehead to his. She shook her head, grinning fondly. "It is overprotective, but I also happen to find it adorable when you apologize preemptively. And they're perfect." She kissed him and when she pulled back, she smirked. "Paranoid Bat."
"Not paranoid," he muttered. "Careful. There's a difference."
She kissed him again before sitting back, unable to stop smiling. "Careful Bat doesn't have the same ring to it," she said, putting her DVD in the box with her new Arrowette gear and setting the box on the nightstand. She grabbed the last present and beamed at him. "And now I'm opening this one!"
He started to blush a little as she opened it. "It's… homemade," he explained as she peeled away the paper to reveal an unlabeled DVD-R.
She turned it over in her hands, curious. She looked up at him. "What is it?"
"It's a program to help you get into… just about any secured-access system that you want."
Her eyes lit up and she looked at it again, a slow grin spreading across her face. "Really?" she asked excitedly. "That's so awesome!" When she looked back up, she laughed-he was blushing and looked incredibly embarrassed. She put her gift aside with the others and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "What's wrong?"
"You don't think it's dumb?"
She pulled back enough to give him an incredulous look. "Why would I think it's dumb that you put the time and effort into making me an insanely awesome computer program that probably took you forever to create?"
He made a face. "Because it's incredibly geeky and way too practical for a birthday present?"
"Tim," she said, raising an eyebrow. "You are incredibly geeky and I happen to love that about you. And that is awesome and maybe it's practical but you made it for me." She smiled, shaking her head at him. "I love it."
"Good," he gave her a relieved grin. "I'm glad. Just wait 'til you see the interface."
She gave a happy squeak and hugged him. "Tell me!"
He laughed and hugged her back tightly. "Arrow-theme."
Cissie made another pleased noise. "You are the best boyfriend ever," she announced, pulling away just enough to kiss him soundly.
He laughed. "You're biased." He pulled her back into a hug, lifting her so that she was half in his lap, so he could rest his head on her shoulder. "And you are so the best girlfriend," he added, his breath tickling her ear.
She laughed, squirming a little in response. She brought a hand up and played with his hair. "And you're not at all biased either."
"Hmm, nope." He kissed her ear lightly.
Humming happily, she tilted her head to give him better access to her neck. "Have I mentioned that I really missed you?"
"I heard that rumor," he murmured against her skin.
She ran her fingers through his hair and across his neck, shivering a little as he kissed his way down hers. His fingers found the hem of her shirt, slipping under to draw patterns on her skin and making her open her eyes and bite her lip. She didn't want to, but she had to tell him before they went any further. She stiffened slightly and began pulling away. "Tim?"
"Hmm?" he asked pausing and pulling back to look at her.
She bit her lip again, suddenly nervous. "There's something I want to show you, but you have to promise not to flip out."
Tim blinked a couple of times. "Okay…" He smirked. "You didn't get your nipples pierced, did you?"
Cissie laughed, rolling her eyes. "God, no. No piercings."
"Oh, good. Because some guys like that kind of stuff, but I don't want to have to worry about taking you through a metal detector, and beating up the security guy when he starts using the wand thing to find out where the metal is."
She laughed again and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "You don't have to worry about that," she promised. "It's nothing like that… Well. Sort of. It's-" She paused, taking a breath before plunging ahead. "I may have kind of gotten a tattoo."
He raised his eyebrows a little, laughing. "How do you 'kind of' get a tattoo?"
She blushed and shoved his shoulder. "You know what I mean."
"What?" he asked, his eyes lit with amusement. "Henna? Permanent marker? Iron-on?"
Cissie groaned, dropping her head to his shoulder. "Here I've been worrying that you'll hate it and be mad and you're just being impossible."
"Yes," he said with an unrepentant grin. Then he shrugged. "I don't get them for professional reasons. Robin doesn't get to have identifying marks. But if you want one, it's your choice. What is it?"
She sat up, looking at him uncertainly. "Really? No lectures or disapproving looks or noises? No quiet repressing? Not that I'm complaining!" she added quickly. "Do you want to see it?"
"Well, of course I'm going to worry," he said with a little laugh. "Identifying marks? Our profession? But-yeah, I want to see."
Cissie grinned and leaned in to kiss his cheek before slipping off his lap and pulling her shirt off, turning so that he could see her back-and the Olympic rings tattooed low on her right shoulder blade. She reached back and unhooked her bra; if she didn't, part of the tattoo was hidden. She glanced over her shoulder at him, chewing her lip-she was suddenly very anxious. "Well?"
Tim was quiet for a moment and reached to trace his finger over the circles of the tattoo. "You… had to take your shirt off to get this, huh?" he asked, his voice sounding thoughtful.
She laughed a little, fighting the urge to blush. "No, they did it through my shirt, silly."
"And your bra."
She twisted a little to better look at him, frowning at the odd tone in his voice. Her heart sank a little when she saw the calm expression on his face. It was entirely too calm-the bad kind of calm. "You don't like it."
He blinked. "No-I do. It's nice." He smiled a little, but it didn't quite meet his eyes. "Kind of jealous, actually. I wouldn't mind getting a tattoo someday, but… Professional reasons."
"Yeah," she murmured, frowning. "But… are you sure? Because… you're acting kind of funny."
He hummed a little in the back of his throat. "Yes, I'm sure. It's cool." There was an almost imperceptible pause. "Saw it on a lot of the other athletes as well."
She looked down at her lap, letting her shoulders drop a little. Whether he was telling the truth about liking it or not, there was something he was hiding from her. "Yeah," she murmured. "It's… maybe not very original."
He frowned a little at her reaction. "But it's cool."
She bit her lip, looking back at him uncertainly. "You think so?"
He nodded. "Yeah." He continued to trace his finger over it lightly, looking distracted.
Cissie watched him, frowning slightly. She twisted a little to better see him without continuing to strain her neck. "Then-what is it?"
"Kon," Tim muttered, frowning down at his hands. "Kon and his stupid big mouth."
Her frown deepened-what on Earth did Kon's mouth have to do with her tattoo? Kon didn't know about it; no one did, except for Tim. She reached behind her and hooked her bra shut again, turning around completely to face him. Taking his hands in hers, she squeezed them and waited for him to look up at her. "What about it?"
"Strong, attractive Olympic athletes," Tim said, his gaze dropping again so that he didn't have to meet her eyes. "Which I am not."
Cissie stared blankly at him for a moment before laughing and immediately clapping a hand over her mouth. When she trusted herself not to continue laughing, she dropped her hand and squeezed his. "Tim. Are you saying you're jealous?"
He gave her a dark look. "Are you laughing at me?"
She smiled a bit sheepishly. "A little. But-I'm serious. Is that what this is?"
"Maybe." He shrugged stiffly.
Cissie smiled fondly and reached to touch his cheek and make him look at her. "Tim. You're not really jealous, are you?"
"You're saying you're not going to dump me in favor of a diver?"
"Tim. No," she said, taking his face in both of her hands. He sounded utterly pathetic and was looking at her like a kicked puppy. She wouldn't have believed it, but-he was entirely serious. "Why on Earth would you think that?"
"Because they are unlikely to be freaky and obsessive. They are attractive and muscley." He frowned. "They wear those little diving trunks."
Cissie shook her head, smiling. "Item the first-Divers are very freaky and obsessive. Just-about diving. They're not very good conversationalists. Item the second-you are attractive and muscley, too. And you would have my complete support if you ever wanted to wear a Speedo." She winked at him. "I would oogle you. I would enjoy the oogling. Not that the oogling would last long before those Speedos came back off," she added in an undertone, leaning in to touch her forehead to his.
"Can't wear a Speedo," he mumbled, blushing furiously. "Too many scars."
She kissed him, and began trailing kisses along his jaw until she reached his ear and murmured, "You know, a lot of women find scars to be very sexy."
He gave her a skeptical look. "I look like a jigsaw puzzle."
She laughed and pulled back again, sitting on her heels. "You do not. Stop insulting my boyfriend. He is very sexy and attractive and muscley and if I wish he had less scars, it's only because I wish he got hurt less."
He ducked his head, embarrassed. "Same goes for you, too, beautiful."
She smirked. "I'm sexy and attractive and muscley?"
"Definitely," he grinned, tugging her into his lap. "Emphasis on sexy and attractive."
"Thank you." She curled against him, wrapping an arm around his back and tucking her head against his shoulder. She put her hand on his chest and tapped a finger. "So. This jealousy thing. Talk to me."
"Hmm, no," he said, smiling a little. "We're happy now-don't want to ruin it."
She frowned a little, continuing to tap her finger against his chest. "Not if you were jealous. Are. What did Kon say to you?"
"Divers," he said insistently. "And swimmers, and Michael Phelps, and the rest of the archery team, and gymnasts. It sounds stupid when you're here, and looking at me like that, but it sounded very reasonable when you were on the other side of the world."
Cissie wrapped her arms tightly around him, pushing her face against his collarbone. "I'm going to kill him," she muttered, voice muffled. "He's a dead man."
"That implies you're going to get to him first."
She smiled a little. "If you want first shot at him, go ahead. But I get to take a few shots, myself. Where do you keep your Kryptonite, anyway? Or magic. Magic might work."
"In my belt-no magic, though," he added with a grin. "Too unpredictable."
Cissie pulled back enough to face him. "Good. But-you do know there's no reason for you to be jealous, right? Ever?"
"Hm," Tim replied, frowning a little.
"Hey." She frowned and reached up to make him look at her. "I'm serious. I love you. Don't you know that?"
"I know… I love you too. You're just… too good for me. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."
Cissie's eyes widened and she gave him an incredulous look. "Tim, that's-what?"
"Incredibly stupid, I know, and I'm shutting up now."
"No," she said quickly, catching his face in her hands. She leaned in and gave him a long, slow kiss. "I mean-yes, it's stupid, but-Tim. You're too good for me," she said with a slight smile. "Listen. There is no other shoe. There will never be another shoe."
He shoved her lightly. "Don't say that. I'm not too good for you."
She frowned deeply. "Then don't you say it, either. I mean it, Tim. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I am never leaving you. Ever. I promise. If I do, you need to assume there's been some body snatching or blackmail or something, because I need you." She caught his chin and forced him to look at her. "Do you hear me? You're stuck with me. I'm not going anywhere."
He smiled a little and pressed his forehead against hers. "Me either. Promise. I need you, too."
Cissie returned the smile and moved her fingers over his neck to run them through his hair. "Good," she said emphatically, leaning in to kiss him. "The next time I see Kon, he is a dead man," she murmured, speaking through kisses along his jaw. "Now. Do you want to see my tattoo again?"
"Yes," he said with a grin, gently turning her so that he could see her shoulder again. He traced his fingers slowly over the lines, making her shiver. "I like it."
She smiled coyly over her shoulder at him. "I'm glad," she said. "Of course-my bra strap is probably in the way."
"Oh, yes," Tim replied seriously. "A huge obstruction." He hooked his thumb underneath it and began sliding it down her shoulder. "Let me take care of that."
She shivered again as he moved his hand down her arm, then leaned back against him, catching his hand and pulling his arm across her shoulders. "I'm so glad to be back," she murmured. "I missed you." She laced her fingers through his and squeezed his hand, dropping a kiss on his arm. "I love you."
He wrapped both arms tightly around her, resting his chin on her shoulder and leaning his head against hers. "I love you, too."
~*~
Feedback is love.
Authors: lady_sarai and zoe_chan
Pairing/Characters: Tim/Cissie.
Rating/Warnings: PGish
Disclaimer: We do not own anything or anyone. We promise.
Summary: Cissie went and competed in the Olympics, which meant three weeks in Beijing with divers in Speedos and muscley archers. And three weeks for Kon to tease Tim about it. Welcome home, Cissie.
Authors' Note: Well, we had good intentions--we started writing this before the Olympics ended and planned to post it in a timely manner, but does that ever happen? Tim and Cissie are 19, and the everyone's sanity, let's just pretend the Athens Olympics never happened. ;) Making these the first Olympics since Sydney.
This is set in our Altering Fate verse, which is the one where Cissie went back to being Arrowette, joined the Titans and she and Tim fell in love. They've been dating for about two years by this point. Also, as Cissie has no canon birthday, we invented one for her.
~*~
"Thanks, Cass."
Cassie grinned, floating a few feet into the air after setting Cissie down on the Tower roof. "No problem. I've gotta run-I promised Diana I'd help her with something, but I'll see you later."
Cissie waved her off before shouldering her duffle bag and heading for the entrance to the Tower. As she reached for the door, it opened inward to reveal Tim, who grinned broadly at her.
"Hey!" He stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug. "Missed you."
She gave a happy squeak and dropped her bag so she could throw her arms around his shoulders and return the hug. "I missed you!" she cried, squeezing him. She pulled back just far enough to kiss him soundly. When they broke apart, she beamed at him. "Three weeks is entirely too long."
He laughed and kissed her again. "You're telling me?" he asked. "You got to spend it in Beijing-I had to spend it with Batman!"
She giggled, tightening her arms around him and touching her forehead to his. "Poor Tim. Does this mean you have some time off to spend with your jet-lagged girlfriend?"
"Mm, definitely. I have all weekend. Bruce promised I won't get a call unless the city is actually exploding, and then only so that I can have marshmallows with Dick."
Cissie giggled again, making a happy noise and rubbing her nose against his. "Can I come along for the marshmallows? I like it when they catch fire."
Tim laughed. "Sure-I'll take you flying over the rubble."
She laughed with him and hugged him. She was happy to just hold him-she had missed him. She hummed happily, giving him several light, quick kisses and speaking between them. "I have presents. I brought souvenirs for everybody. And I got you a shirt." She pulled back to grin at him. "I just don't know what it says, because it's in Chinese. But the only person who would know if it said anything inappropriate would be Bruce, so that's okay."
Tim laughed. "Fair enough. Well, and me and Dick, but I'm pretty sure Dick and I would just laugh."
"You'll have to tell me what it says," she said, smiling. "I wish you could have stayed longer," she added, pouting. "You could have been my personal translator and you would have been everyone's hero by stopping Brady before he ordered everybody beef intestines for lunch."
"Eew," he grimaced. "Did you eat it?"
She wrinkled her nose, sticking her tongue out. "Yes," she grumbled. "Well-a piece, anyway. The coaches gave us this whole lesson on etiquette before they let us go out. It would have been rude to refuse it. And that was my birthday!"
Tim laughed "That seems a little unfair."
Cissie nodded, sticking her lip out in a deeper pout. She gave Tim the saddest look she could manage. "It's very unfair. I was all alone in China for my birthday and I didn't get to be with my boyfriend and then I had to eat cow intestines. I don't know if I can recover from the trauma."
Tim bit back a smirk. "Well. There were muscley archers and swimmers to help make up for it."
She wrinkled her nose. "One of the muscley archers ordered me cow intestines for my birthday lunch, and the other muscley archers were boring, and none of them were you. I did enjoy the swimmers, though-but that's probably because I didn't have to spend any time with them," she added with a wink. She kissed his nose. "We're still outside, you know. It's getting a little cold up here."
He laughed a little and made a face. "We should go inside. It's just us, by the way. Everyone else had stuff they had to do this weekend."
Her eyes widened and she grinned. "Really? I don't have to share you at all?"
Tim laughed again and pulled the door opened, gesturing for her to go ahead. "Nope-not even a little, not even at all-barring the disaster in Gotham I mentioned."
Her grin widened and she grabbed her bag before entering the Tower. "That might be the best birthday present yet," she said as they made their way to the rec room.
"What, disaster in Gotham?" he asked with a slight smirk. "Come on-I know things are bad, but that's no reason to start over again from the ground up."
She dropped her bag into one of the chairs and stuck her tongue out at him. "Ha, ha. Very funny. You know very well I was referring to the flaming marshmallows."
Tim grinned. "We can probably do those this weekend. Light a fire outside-pretend we're camping?"
She felt another silly grin cross her face-she couldn't stop grinning. "Really? I'd like that." She went to him and began pulling him toward the couch. She sat down and tugged on his hands. "I really missed you."
He sat down next to her and immediately pulled her into another hug. "I missed you too, beautiful."
She hummed happily and curled against him. She twisted her head to smile up at him. "Did you pine?"
"I did," he replied solemnly. "I wasted away without you."
Cissie grinned and leaned up, kissing his cheek. "My poor Tim. However will you recover?"
He smiled at her, leaning his head against hers. "This is helping."
"Good," she murmured. "Is there anything else I can do, since it's my fault you wasted away?"
"Hmm, I'll let you know. How was your trip?"
She wrinkled her nose, grunting. "It was fine-long. I really wanted to see you before now, but I think I slept for about fourteen hours when I finally got home."
Tim laughed. "Yeah-I'm like that whenever Kon and I get back from Japan. I can never get enough sleep."
She smiled at him, repositioning in his arms. "I know," she said with a wink. "And I think my sleep schedule might actually be in sync with yours right now."
He made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. "Hmm. You may be right. Awesome."
Cissie giggled. "Awesome indeed," she murmured and caught his face in her hands, pulling him close for a kiss. When she pulled back, she beamed at him. "So-what'd you get me for my birthday?"
He gave her a mock-exasperated look. "I can't tell you-it wouldn't be a surprise."
She stuck her lower lip out in a pout, giving him a wide-eyed look. "But my birthday was a whole week ago," she said petulantly. "And I didn't get to see you and Ollie gave me a pink armguard. It's neon."
Tim bit back a laugh. "That sounds… pretty."
She looked at him incredulously. "It's practically Day-Glo. It's like-Barbie-pink meets radioactive waste. On my arm."
"Too bad you didn't have it with you when you competed. I bet Ollie would have had a huge grin seeing it from the stands."
She looked at him in something like horror. "Oh my God, I'm going to have to wear it to competitions."
Tim struggled to keep a straight face. "It would mean a lot to him, I'm sure."
She dropped her head to his shoulder with a groan. "He's trying to turn me into Archery Barbie, one accessory at a time."
"At least it's not Arrowette the Action Figure."
She made a face, lifting her head again. "My mother wants me to be an action figure and my father wants me to be a Barbie doll. What about my boyfriend?"
He kissed the tip of her nose. "A happy Cissie, doing and being whatever she wants."
She smiled, melting a little and feeling the tension that always came with thinking about her parents drain away. She leaned in to kiss him lightly, resting her head against his. "I like that best," she said. "Happy Cissie wants to be with you."
"Well," he grinned. "Lucky for you, you've got me right here. I'm not going anywhere."
"Good," she said with feeling. She kissed him again, happily. "Now. About that birthday present."
He shook his head, laughing a little. "One track mind."
She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him. "Usually you like that about me."
"I'll have to get up, though," he said, whining slightly.
She pouted slightly. "Yeah... but then you could give me my present," she said slowly, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "And I could say thank you."
Tim stood immediately. "Wait here-I'll just run and grab that."
Cissie blinked in surprise from her spot on the couch where she had been unceremoniously dumped out of Tim's lap. "Hey!" she cried, jumping up. "Not so fast, Mister!"
He stopped and turned, surprised that she was following. "Oh-you don't have to get up-I was going to be right back."
She rolled her eyes and hugged him from behind. "I haven't had quality Tim time for over three weeks. I'm not letting you out of my sight."
Tim smiled. "I missed you, too."
She grinned and hopped on his back, hooking her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "Good. I'm coming with you."
Curling his arms under her legs securely, Tim started racing toward the sleeping quarters in the Tower, stopping abruptly at his own door and putting a hand out to keep them from banging into it. "Your stop, miss?"
Giggling, she squeezed her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, kind sir," she said, hopping down so he could open the door.
He laughed and pushed the door opened. "Uh-give me a minute. I think it's still packed…" He headed toward the duffle bag on his bed and started rifling through it.
She followed him, still wearing a silly grin, and jumped onto the bed, bouncing a few times as he rummaged through his bag. "You mean you haven't unpacked yet? I'm shocked."
Tim gave her a mock glare. "I was waiting for you."
Her grin widened. "Before you unpacked? Aww, sweetheart. The socks go in the top drawer."
"You're mocking me!" he accused. "Do you even want your birthday presents?"
Cissie's eyes widened innocently and she stuck her lip out in a pout again. "I'm sorry! Will you ever forgive me?"
He eyed her darkly. "I don't know…"
She dropped her head and did her best to look dejected and sad, lowering her shoulders and letting her pout deepen. She glanced up at Tim. "I'm really sorry?"
He shook his head, laughing. "Fine-you're forgiven. Catch." He tossed a few paper wrapped packages her way.
She caught them, grinning, and waited for him to join her on the bed. She spread her gifts out on the blanket between them and beamed at him. "What should I open first?"
"I recommend this one," he replied, indicating a thin rectangular package.
Grinning, Cissie picked it up. She began unwrapping it, wrinkling her nose and sticking her tongue out as she fought with the ribbons and tape. "You know, every time you give me something, I wonder if you actually want me to have it."
Tim gave her an innocent-looking smile. "Of course I do-but there's no reason you shouldn't work for it."
She wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "Ha ha," she grumbled as she continued fighting to open her present. She finally managed to find a spot to rip the paper and proceeded to tear it open, tossing the wrappings off the bed-she aimed for the trashcan, but not particularly carefully. She turned the DVD over in her hands, smiling slowly. "I don't have this season!" She looked up at Tim with a silly grin. "You bought me Friends. You don't like Friends."
"No, I don't like Friends," he said with a smile. "But you do-which is why that's your birthday present, not mine."
She leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you," she said. "Which next?"
"Hmm… This one." Tim handed her a larger package. "And please don't yell at me for it."
She shot him a curious look, smirking a little as she worked at opening it. "Why would I yell?""she asked, as she finally tore into the paper. She tossed the paper to the floor and pulled the lid off the box. She laughed when she pushed aside the tissue paper and saw the contents. She pulled the red and white armguard out of the box and pushed the red gloves aside enough to reveal the matching chest guard underneath. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Kevlar?"
He nodded. "Yeah-the liner. The outer layer is Nomex, and there's ceramic plate armor between the two. This is why I asked you not to yell at me. It's not overprotective. It's just the right amount of protective."
She laughed and dropped the armguard back in the box. She leaned forward and caught his face in her hands, pressing her forehead to his. She shook her head, grinning fondly. "It is overprotective, but I also happen to find it adorable when you apologize preemptively. And they're perfect." She kissed him and when she pulled back, she smirked. "Paranoid Bat."
"Not paranoid," he muttered. "Careful. There's a difference."
She kissed him again before sitting back, unable to stop smiling. "Careful Bat doesn't have the same ring to it," she said, putting her DVD in the box with her new Arrowette gear and setting the box on the nightstand. She grabbed the last present and beamed at him. "And now I'm opening this one!"
He started to blush a little as she opened it. "It's… homemade," he explained as she peeled away the paper to reveal an unlabeled DVD-R.
She turned it over in her hands, curious. She looked up at him. "What is it?"
"It's a program to help you get into… just about any secured-access system that you want."
Her eyes lit up and she looked at it again, a slow grin spreading across her face. "Really?" she asked excitedly. "That's so awesome!" When she looked back up, she laughed-he was blushing and looked incredibly embarrassed. She put her gift aside with the others and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "What's wrong?"
"You don't think it's dumb?"
She pulled back enough to give him an incredulous look. "Why would I think it's dumb that you put the time and effort into making me an insanely awesome computer program that probably took you forever to create?"
He made a face. "Because it's incredibly geeky and way too practical for a birthday present?"
"Tim," she said, raising an eyebrow. "You are incredibly geeky and I happen to love that about you. And that is awesome and maybe it's practical but you made it for me." She smiled, shaking her head at him. "I love it."
"Good," he gave her a relieved grin. "I'm glad. Just wait 'til you see the interface."
She gave a happy squeak and hugged him. "Tell me!"
He laughed and hugged her back tightly. "Arrow-theme."
Cissie made another pleased noise. "You are the best boyfriend ever," she announced, pulling away just enough to kiss him soundly.
He laughed. "You're biased." He pulled her back into a hug, lifting her so that she was half in his lap, so he could rest his head on her shoulder. "And you are so the best girlfriend," he added, his breath tickling her ear.
She laughed, squirming a little in response. She brought a hand up and played with his hair. "And you're not at all biased either."
"Hmm, nope." He kissed her ear lightly.
Humming happily, she tilted her head to give him better access to her neck. "Have I mentioned that I really missed you?"
"I heard that rumor," he murmured against her skin.
She ran her fingers through his hair and across his neck, shivering a little as he kissed his way down hers. His fingers found the hem of her shirt, slipping under to draw patterns on her skin and making her open her eyes and bite her lip. She didn't want to, but she had to tell him before they went any further. She stiffened slightly and began pulling away. "Tim?"
"Hmm?" he asked pausing and pulling back to look at her.
She bit her lip again, suddenly nervous. "There's something I want to show you, but you have to promise not to flip out."
Tim blinked a couple of times. "Okay…" He smirked. "You didn't get your nipples pierced, did you?"
Cissie laughed, rolling her eyes. "God, no. No piercings."
"Oh, good. Because some guys like that kind of stuff, but I don't want to have to worry about taking you through a metal detector, and beating up the security guy when he starts using the wand thing to find out where the metal is."
She laughed again and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "You don't have to worry about that," she promised. "It's nothing like that… Well. Sort of. It's-" She paused, taking a breath before plunging ahead. "I may have kind of gotten a tattoo."
He raised his eyebrows a little, laughing. "How do you 'kind of' get a tattoo?"
She blushed and shoved his shoulder. "You know what I mean."
"What?" he asked, his eyes lit with amusement. "Henna? Permanent marker? Iron-on?"
Cissie groaned, dropping her head to his shoulder. "Here I've been worrying that you'll hate it and be mad and you're just being impossible."
"Yes," he said with an unrepentant grin. Then he shrugged. "I don't get them for professional reasons. Robin doesn't get to have identifying marks. But if you want one, it's your choice. What is it?"
She sat up, looking at him uncertainly. "Really? No lectures or disapproving looks or noises? No quiet repressing? Not that I'm complaining!" she added quickly. "Do you want to see it?"
"Well, of course I'm going to worry," he said with a little laugh. "Identifying marks? Our profession? But-yeah, I want to see."
Cissie grinned and leaned in to kiss his cheek before slipping off his lap and pulling her shirt off, turning so that he could see her back-and the Olympic rings tattooed low on her right shoulder blade. She reached back and unhooked her bra; if she didn't, part of the tattoo was hidden. She glanced over her shoulder at him, chewing her lip-she was suddenly very anxious. "Well?"
Tim was quiet for a moment and reached to trace his finger over the circles of the tattoo. "You… had to take your shirt off to get this, huh?" he asked, his voice sounding thoughtful.
She laughed a little, fighting the urge to blush. "No, they did it through my shirt, silly."
"And your bra."
She twisted a little to better look at him, frowning at the odd tone in his voice. Her heart sank a little when she saw the calm expression on his face. It was entirely too calm-the bad kind of calm. "You don't like it."
He blinked. "No-I do. It's nice." He smiled a little, but it didn't quite meet his eyes. "Kind of jealous, actually. I wouldn't mind getting a tattoo someday, but… Professional reasons."
"Yeah," she murmured, frowning. "But… are you sure? Because… you're acting kind of funny."
He hummed a little in the back of his throat. "Yes, I'm sure. It's cool." There was an almost imperceptible pause. "Saw it on a lot of the other athletes as well."
She looked down at her lap, letting her shoulders drop a little. Whether he was telling the truth about liking it or not, there was something he was hiding from her. "Yeah," she murmured. "It's… maybe not very original."
He frowned a little at her reaction. "But it's cool."
She bit her lip, looking back at him uncertainly. "You think so?"
He nodded. "Yeah." He continued to trace his finger over it lightly, looking distracted.
Cissie watched him, frowning slightly. She twisted a little to better see him without continuing to strain her neck. "Then-what is it?"
"Kon," Tim muttered, frowning down at his hands. "Kon and his stupid big mouth."
Her frown deepened-what on Earth did Kon's mouth have to do with her tattoo? Kon didn't know about it; no one did, except for Tim. She reached behind her and hooked her bra shut again, turning around completely to face him. Taking his hands in hers, she squeezed them and waited for him to look up at her. "What about it?"
"Strong, attractive Olympic athletes," Tim said, his gaze dropping again so that he didn't have to meet her eyes. "Which I am not."
Cissie stared blankly at him for a moment before laughing and immediately clapping a hand over her mouth. When she trusted herself not to continue laughing, she dropped her hand and squeezed his. "Tim. Are you saying you're jealous?"
He gave her a dark look. "Are you laughing at me?"
She smiled a bit sheepishly. "A little. But-I'm serious. Is that what this is?"
"Maybe." He shrugged stiffly.
Cissie smiled fondly and reached to touch his cheek and make him look at her. "Tim. You're not really jealous, are you?"
"You're saying you're not going to dump me in favor of a diver?"
"Tim. No," she said, taking his face in both of her hands. He sounded utterly pathetic and was looking at her like a kicked puppy. She wouldn't have believed it, but-he was entirely serious. "Why on Earth would you think that?"
"Because they are unlikely to be freaky and obsessive. They are attractive and muscley." He frowned. "They wear those little diving trunks."
Cissie shook her head, smiling. "Item the first-Divers are very freaky and obsessive. Just-about diving. They're not very good conversationalists. Item the second-you are attractive and muscley, too. And you would have my complete support if you ever wanted to wear a Speedo." She winked at him. "I would oogle you. I would enjoy the oogling. Not that the oogling would last long before those Speedos came back off," she added in an undertone, leaning in to touch her forehead to his.
"Can't wear a Speedo," he mumbled, blushing furiously. "Too many scars."
She kissed him, and began trailing kisses along his jaw until she reached his ear and murmured, "You know, a lot of women find scars to be very sexy."
He gave her a skeptical look. "I look like a jigsaw puzzle."
She laughed and pulled back again, sitting on her heels. "You do not. Stop insulting my boyfriend. He is very sexy and attractive and muscley and if I wish he had less scars, it's only because I wish he got hurt less."
He ducked his head, embarrassed. "Same goes for you, too, beautiful."
She smirked. "I'm sexy and attractive and muscley?"
"Definitely," he grinned, tugging her into his lap. "Emphasis on sexy and attractive."
"Thank you." She curled against him, wrapping an arm around his back and tucking her head against his shoulder. She put her hand on his chest and tapped a finger. "So. This jealousy thing. Talk to me."
"Hmm, no," he said, smiling a little. "We're happy now-don't want to ruin it."
She frowned a little, continuing to tap her finger against his chest. "Not if you were jealous. Are. What did Kon say to you?"
"Divers," he said insistently. "And swimmers, and Michael Phelps, and the rest of the archery team, and gymnasts. It sounds stupid when you're here, and looking at me like that, but it sounded very reasonable when you were on the other side of the world."
Cissie wrapped her arms tightly around him, pushing her face against his collarbone. "I'm going to kill him," she muttered, voice muffled. "He's a dead man."
"That implies you're going to get to him first."
She smiled a little. "If you want first shot at him, go ahead. But I get to take a few shots, myself. Where do you keep your Kryptonite, anyway? Or magic. Magic might work."
"In my belt-no magic, though," he added with a grin. "Too unpredictable."
Cissie pulled back enough to face him. "Good. But-you do know there's no reason for you to be jealous, right? Ever?"
"Hm," Tim replied, frowning a little.
"Hey." She frowned and reached up to make him look at her. "I'm serious. I love you. Don't you know that?"
"I know… I love you too. You're just… too good for me. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."
Cissie's eyes widened and she gave him an incredulous look. "Tim, that's-what?"
"Incredibly stupid, I know, and I'm shutting up now."
"No," she said quickly, catching his face in her hands. She leaned in and gave him a long, slow kiss. "I mean-yes, it's stupid, but-Tim. You're too good for me," she said with a slight smile. "Listen. There is no other shoe. There will never be another shoe."
He shoved her lightly. "Don't say that. I'm not too good for you."
She frowned deeply. "Then don't you say it, either. I mean it, Tim. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I am never leaving you. Ever. I promise. If I do, you need to assume there's been some body snatching or blackmail or something, because I need you." She caught his chin and forced him to look at her. "Do you hear me? You're stuck with me. I'm not going anywhere."
He smiled a little and pressed his forehead against hers. "Me either. Promise. I need you, too."
Cissie returned the smile and moved her fingers over his neck to run them through his hair. "Good," she said emphatically, leaning in to kiss him. "The next time I see Kon, he is a dead man," she murmured, speaking through kisses along his jaw. "Now. Do you want to see my tattoo again?"
"Yes," he said with a grin, gently turning her so that he could see her shoulder again. He traced his fingers slowly over the lines, making her shiver. "I like it."
She smiled coyly over her shoulder at him. "I'm glad," she said. "Of course-my bra strap is probably in the way."
"Oh, yes," Tim replied seriously. "A huge obstruction." He hooked his thumb underneath it and began sliding it down her shoulder. "Let me take care of that."
She shivered again as he moved his hand down her arm, then leaned back against him, catching his hand and pulling his arm across her shoulders. "I'm so glad to be back," she murmured. "I missed you." She laced her fingers through his and squeezed his hand, dropping a kiss on his arm. "I love you."
He wrapped both arms tightly around her, resting his chin on her shoulder and leaning his head against hers. "I love you, too."
~*~
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