Fool Me Once | T. Drake ✔

[29] Intertwined Fate

It had been a year since the fire that had led to the reopening of the Donnelley-Castellan case.

Things were slowly coming on track for the fragmented Donnelley family. Colin was pursuing his career in medicine, Anya was faring much better than before with therapy and medication, while Roxanne was finally ready to face a chapter of her life that she had to close earlier rather unwillingly.

In the past year, she had focused on herself and gone through a positive change.

She had accepted her past mistakes and moved on with the firm resolution of becoming a better person. She had not done anything that could put her in trouble with the law again and she had paid off all the fines imposed on her.

Finally, she was free to look ahead of her to a new beginning untainted by Romero or Adrian.

And finally, she felt she was ready to return to the city of Gotham where her heart seemed to have been stuck, latched onto a person who in her opinion deserved so much better than her.

Despite feeling that he deserved better, she couldn't convince herself to abandon him just like that. For some reason, the last time she had seen him at the hospital after the fire rescue, it felt as if his eyes held a promise of meeting again.

Those beautiful blue irises had still looked at her with the same love and devotion she had caught brief glimpses of back when they were supposedly together.

Timothy Drake was too good for her but leaving him was a decision that would cause pain to both of them. That whole year of absolutely no contact between them was unbearable already.

As she boarded the flight to Gotham, the only thought occupying her head was Timothy Drake. 

She was going to see him one last time and had thought to leave the decision of accepting her or not in his hands.

Both of them had been through a lot so it was understandable if their supposed relationship came to an end with that visit. At least it would be an end both of them could agree on, unlike the hasty departure she had made from his life and that city a year ago.

After a long flight, she finally reached the city of crime, gargoyles and Bat vigilantes.

She should have gone to her house and rested as she was clearly exhausted but her feet led her in a different direction. Even a second longer apart from him felt excruciating but at the same time, she wasn't sure about approaching him first.

It had been a year since they had last seen each other and a lot could change in a year. He could have moved on, he could have started to forget her, all those possibilities stopped her from calling him directly.

So she was doing the only thing she could at the moment. She was leaving it up to fate.

Gotham was the same as ever with its towering gargoyles, dreary weather and gloomy streets. Her shoes clicked against the cobblestones and the point of her folded umbrella firmly tapped the ground as she walked down Robinson Square.

She spotted the coffee shop immediately as she turned the corner, that place reminding her of a late night encounter that she had set up as a test for Tim Drake.

She pushed open the door as she entered, her eyes settling on the same corner table that Tim had taken her to the last time they had been there. It seemed so long ago and true, a year could feel like a hell of a time if spent agonizingly apart.

She ordered a cappuccino and upon receiving her order, she took the tray to that empty corner table. 

It was all up to fate from then onwards. And after a long time, she felt as if she was at the right place at the right time.

She had waited one whole year, a little more couldn't possibly do any harm.

***

Tim was running late and it wasn't a new thing for him. 

He had resumed his post as the deputy CEO of Wayne Enterprises soon after he had returned to Gotham and plunged himself deep into work. Drowning himself in work was his preferred coping mechanism to deal with anything that affected him on an emotional level.

And that case with the Donnelleys had taken quite a toll on him, leaving him confused, heartbroken and still yearning for a person who he shouldn't have gotten involved with in the first place.

It had been a year and he was finally coming to terms with everything that had happened in that chaotic mission. He was adjusting back to his version of normal life but his habit of drowning himself in work still hadn't subsided.

He had stayed overtime at the Wayne Plaza again and by the end of his tiring day, his caffeine rate had been drooping to a zero. Knowing that it would be risky to keep going without any coffee in his system, he decided to stop by his favorite coffee shop for a refill on the way back home.

Caffeine was Timothy Drake's fuel or in Steph's words, it was his drug. He had gotten so accustomed to it that he couldn't trust himself to get back home safely if he didn't get his daily dosage fulfilled.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee engulfed him as he pushed open the door of the shop, stepping in to a very familiar environment. The barista at the counter gave him a friendly nod as he was their most frequent customer and she knew already what he would want to order.

He had stepped closer to the counter out of habit but paused as his eyes landed on an unexpected figure seated on the corner table he usually took.

It was clear that she was Roxanne Donnelley but her presence there was quite unexpected for him. He couldn't mistake her for anyone else as there was just something about her that magnetized him with the same force he had felt the first time he had met her.

His heart quickened as he watched her from a distance. Roxanne appeared lost in thought, her eyes gazing out of the window at the bustling Gotham streets.

She hadn't yet seen him and if he turned on his heel and stepped out, she wouldn't even know he had come there. But he couldn't do that, his feet were rooted to the spot.

Tim hesitated, uncertainty gnawing at him. He couldn't help but recall the time they had spent together, the bond that had formed between them during a challenging period in both of their lives. 

It had been a year since she left, and he wondered what her return might mean. Summoning his courage, he approached her table. 

"Roxanne?" He asked tentatively, eyes meeting her startled gaze.

Her eyes were wide in surprise, and then a smile slowly spread across her face. 

"Tim," she breathed, letting it sink in that he was really there in front of her.

They stayed there for a moment, simply looking at each other, the silence filled with unspoken emotions. It felt as though time had come to a standstill, the silence between them feeling louder than any words they could say to each other at the moment.

Finally, Roxanne gestured to the empty chair across from her. "Join me?" She asked, although a bit uncertain of his reply. 

Fate had brought him back to her but whether he would stay or not was another question altogether.

Tim settled into the seat, and voiced out the only sentence that he could say for certain after recovering from the shock of seeing her there. "I can't believe you're back in Gotham."

She nodded, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. "I missed it. And, well, I missed you."

The words hung in the air, filled with possibility. Tim's heart quickened as he realized that their story was far from over. They were standing on the edge of a new beginning and that could only be determined if both of them were willing to accept that second chance and start afresh.

***