Before a Coin Flip

Chapter 5: A Game

A week went by since the attack on the apartment building Teo lived in and even though she said she was fine. Her brother Jack could tell that she wasn't telling the truth. She still had nightmares and flashes of horrifying things from time to time as a side effect that was still taking its time to go away like a lot of the other residents of the building. But now a lot of them were going back home to their apartments. "Harvey, Someone called Jack Broere is here to see you" Harvey's secretary said over the phone. He said it was okay to let him in and soon the brunette's sibling was in his office. Having a look of slight worry on his face as if he was emotionally torn on what to do. "Mr Broere...Jack. What can I do for you?" Harvey asked. The district attorney looking up from the latest file he had nearly finished reading. Jack said it was about his sister and Harvey instantly guessed in his mind as to what it was about. Being told by Batman prior in the hospital that night that the fear toxin Scarecrow had been using was a new test sample which was supposed to last longer, bring out more intense fears and nightmares and even be slightly contagious. The villain having wanted to make fear itself spread across the city like a plague until Batman put a stop to it. "I know you and Teo haven't been friends for that long but I need your help. I want you to make sure she's really okay..." Jack said. Her brother adding that he wanted to stay in Gotham a little bit longer, but couldn't. Saying that he lived in Star City and only recently was able to get a job at a company called Bowhunter Security. Harvey having heard about the company and that it worked in private security. "My boss said that I could come back when I'm ready but our mum is...well..." Jack said before explaining more to him about her. "I want you to do this for my because I have to leave. Can you do it?" he finally asked. The district attorney straightening his tie a little before he agreed. Saying the brunette would always be in safe hands with him. Adding Batman would probably be too busy himself.

Teo still sat in her hospital bed. Not knowing when her brother would be showing up. Turning to look outside and seeing that the weather looked okay for once in a while for the city. Yet she could already imagine her mum's nagging driving her up the wall. Other things from her past making things worse. "Hello Teo" Harvey said. The brunette instantly turning to see the district attorney with a kind smile on his face that she liked more and more when she saw it. He asked her if she was ready to go home and she nodded her head before leaving the hospital in his car. "I think we're going the wrong way Harv. I think my apartment is the other way" Teo said yet Harvey said they weren't their yet. The brunette being confused and a little nervous yet she didn't know if she should be afraid. Eventually after around half an hour the car finally stopped outside an apartment building she hadn't seen before. "Teo. I'd like for you to live with me...I don't care what your mother says. I just want you to be happy...because..." Harvey said looking nervous. As if what he had made himself look in court was all just for the cameras and she wondered what was going to happen next. The district attorney then leaned forward and started to kiss her, the brunette being surprised before she soon felt herself starting to kiss back. Fear of being seen being thrown out the window as she quickly put herself on his lap and deepening the kiss. Everything feeling perfect, before she felt his cold, leathery burnt hands marked with blisters go roughly past her cheek. Feeling that something was horrifyingly wrong with half of his face before she suddenly woke up and saw she was yet again, back in her apartment. Neither Harvey or her brother anywhere in sight. "Stupid nightmares" Teo murmured to herself.

Yet she felt that the kiss part of her dream was somehow nice. Her mind only thinking that the city's district attorney could have been a very nice person to get a kiss from, but she wondered why she dreamed of her friend Harvey kissing her instead of someone else like the playboy Bruce Wayne. A knock at the door came and she cautiously went to it. Looking through the peephole to be greeted by the shocking sight of a man who looked like Harvey, yet it was the one from her nightmare. Quickly closing her eyes and looking away from the peephole before looking again and seeing Harvey look just how her mind had seen him before that day. Harvey asked if she was okay and Teo said she was fine before asking where Jack was. The brunette trying to resist the urge to do something like kiss him to see if he really was real. Imagining it would be awkward and ruin their friendship if she did and he was real. Guessing he had more important things to do them kiss her. Yet she still tried to hold back other things that could show that she was lying and wasn't really okay. "Jack had to go back to Star City. He wanted me to check up on you" Harvey replied. "Well now you have. Goodbye" Teo tried to say quickly yet it gave away how scared she really was as she was about to close the door. "Teo...please don't try to shut me out" Harvey said. Adding that he knew what Scarecrow had done to everyone and wanted to do everything in his power to make sure she really was okay. He kindly asked to come in and she soon did so. Part of her wanting to curse at how good he was with his words. Only being able to imagine what it would be like in a courtroom instead of by her apartment front door.

"Gotta say Teo. You seem to be living okay from all this" Harvey said looking around the small apartment she stayed in. Seeing that the laundry was drying on a clothes horse not too far away from a small collection of funko pops. Some of them appearing to be members of the Justice League if they were made out of gingerbread. The district attorney not wanting to ask if she'd still been having any nightmares since her eyes were already telling him the answer. He wondered how to cheer her up and soon an idea came where they could learn even more about each other and have some fun as well while doing it. "Hey Teo. How about we play a game?" Harvey asked with a smile. The brunette replied that if it was something like darts or chess then he was dreaming, if it was something like bingo then he could forget it and just leave her then and there. Harvey said it was like truth or dare and a small part of her soon couldn't help but smirk as she decided to have a twist with it. The brunette asked if it could be decided by a coin toss and the district attorney chuckled saying he couldn't see why not. "Lets have it like...." Teo said before saying if the coin landed on heads he had to do the chicken dance, but if it landed on tails he had to tell her his least favourite breakfast from childhood. Harvey couldn't help but keep smiling as the game progressed. Some of them being a choice of truth or dare while others was a choice between two truths or a choice between two dares if they really wanted to. Harvey checked the time and saw it was getting later in the day. He didn't feel like wanting to leave her just yet. Not without knowing she'd be okay during the night by herself. Knowing from her brother that her mum's form of helping usually was seen as self sabotaging at best. 

"Even though I wouldn't mind staying here Teo. I don't think I have any spare suits here for if I needed them" Harvey said. A small part of the brunette wanting to whine at it yet she didn't know why. Mental flashes of her dream before it went back soon appearing in her mind again. Harvey asked if the last one could be a choice of a dare and the brunette was pulled out of her mind again before she quickly agreed to it. Saying it was probably his turn last to do a dare. The lawyer nodding his head in agreement. "hmmm....heads, then you have to kiss me with stings attached. Tails, Bruce Wayne has to kiss me with no strings attached" Teo said making part of herself feel like wanting to scream at herself for being an idiot. "A kiss? Why between me and Bruce?" Harvey asked. Having a small smile on his face yet on the inside part of him wanted to end the game and kiss her right now. His crush for her still being there and the thought of feeling her lips on his own was starting to make things worse. Part of him also thinking if it landed on tails then Bruce could get to kiss her when he wanted to. His best friend claiming her as his girlfriend before giving her a life he knew he would struggle if not find impossible to match, let alone surpass. He felt like he didn't want that to happen. "...no reason. I just guessed that Bruce Wayne needed some competition" Teo chuckled before saying the playboy did look more handsome in a suit. Harvey flipped the coin and hoped it would result in him winning. Feeling just as nervous on if a jury would be swayed by his words, before he looked down at the coin and saw it was on heads. "Looks like Bruce Wayne just lost a kiss" Harvey said with a triumphant smirk on his face. The brunette soon panicking and saying that she suddenly changed her mind on the dare. "It's alright Teo. I've put away some of Gotham's worst criminals, I can handle a kiss" Harvey said before he asked what strings there were. 

The brunette let out a shaky breath and said that he could give her a kiss that either meant nothing or didn't, yet it had to happen when he won three trials where he was prosecuting against one of Batman's rogues gallery. Harvey agreeing to the rules and saying he would wait. Yet on the inside he wanted to break the rules and kiss her right then. Looking down at his phone to see he now had to leave or else he might get into trouble. "I'll see you soon Teo. I am Gotham's youngest district attorney. Have a good dream tonight..." Harvey said before he quickly kissed her on the forehead. "What was that?" Teo asked. Being surprised yet tried to hold back a blush filled smile. "a kiss that meant nothing" Harvey replied, coming up with the first thing in his head while trying not to blush himself. Quickly leaving hoping that he could get to kiss her soon in a way that he wasn't going to pretend was nothing. Hoping his crush on her didn't already ruin things as he went home. The district attorney not knowing that the brunette he was slowly falling for was starting to get a crush on him too.