Caffeine Withdrawal | T. Drake ✔

[25] Floor Mop Phobia

The sky darkened announcing the onset of yet another rainstorm. It wasn't unexpected for the city to get fairly abundant rainstorms throughout the year, contributing to its gloomy and bleak character.

And Gotham was at its worst during the rain for puddles littered the ground and local transit was not so easily available then.

Tim and Dora had gone to the amusement park and had almost taken every ride over there, then stopped by at the pizzeria but the weather had worsened on their way to Gotham Square so they had to change plans.

"Another fucking rainstorm... Guess we'll have to run back," Tim mumbled, eyes lifting up to the sky, "or else the weather will grow worse and we'll get stuck."

"All the way back?"

"Unfortunately," he replied, "it's either we run all the way back or wait here until the rain stops which I don't think would happen anytime soon. And it won't be safe to wait out here for that long."

She nodded, judging the weather, "right... Guess we'll just have to take the risk."

"Yeah. The least riskier option of the two, to be precise."

Tiny raindrops were falling as they headed back towards Dora's Coffee Haunt but not long afterwards, heavy rain began to shower down at the city. All the people were rushing for their homes or seeking shelter for the time being as Tim and Dora dashed past, feet splashing through puddles and hands held tightly.

When they reached the coffee shop at last, the sky had grown so dark that it was hard to see even and the two were soaked from head to toe. And while Tim would usually be bothered at the situation, his companion's abrupt laughter and shining brown eyes didn't let it be so.

Dora had been thrilled by the whole escapade through the rain and her light laughter resonated as she fumbled in her bag for the keys, turning open the lock in the door.

A smile was playing upon Tim's lips too as he stepped inside after her and she closed the door immediately so that the rainwater wouldn't flood in.

"Now that was an adventure," she remarked as she switched on a single light.

"An unexpected one I may add."

"But that was the fun of it," she added as she led him to the kitchen, "how about we toast this adventure with some coffee?"

"Sounds great to me," he replied with a soft smile.

Her eyes twinkled as she spoke, "anything with coffee is a plus for you, isn't it?"

"I can't say no to coffee," he truthfully admitted.

"And what about floor mops," she caught him off guard by pointing the floor mop at him that she had picked from the side.

Tim had gone in a quick reflex mode as he backed off immediately, perching over the chair close to him with a cat like agility as an effect of his training, "no floor mops, Dora."

She had burst out laughing at his reaction and a slight splatter of red tainted his face. "Red really suits you, Timmy," she remarked playfully as she turned back to the stove, preparing coffee for the two.

But Tim was slightly apprehensive because to him it seemed as if Dora had purposefully tested him with almost shoving the floor mop in his face. As if she had figured out that he and Red Robin were one and the same.

Though his assumption wasn't far fetched because that was exactly why she had alarmed him as such. She had her suspicions and that was just a subtle way to confirm it. 

Isadora had been in Gotham for a month and even though she didn't go out much, she knew all the frequent customers of the shop very well by then out of whom the most consistent visitor was Timothy Drake because he needed heavy doses of coffee daily.

But there was only one other person in Gotham whose caffeine addiction was as bad as Tim's.

Red Robin.

Just like Tim, Red Robin too was a frequent visitor during his nightly patrols. And it would make perfect sense to her if Red Robin was actually Tim under the cowl and vigilante attire.

"Do you know, this floor mop has worked as a very good defensive weapon for me," she resumed casually but her eyes were keenly taking in each flicker of expression on Tim's face, getting convinced by every passing minute that she had struck upon the right clue, "I have discovered it's great in deflecting bo staffs."

He couldn't decide how to respond to that statement, "and how did you discover that?"

"I thought Steph would have told you," she replied offhandedly, placing a cup of frothing hot coffee in front of him as she too sat down on the chair opposite his own, "the first time I had met Red Robin, I had thought he was an intruder and almost broke his ribs. By this floor mop."

"Poor him," he mumbled but kept his focus on the coffee, not wanting to meet her observant gaze.

There was a short pause as if both were thinking on what to say next but then Dora broke the silence. "Today was great though," she changed the topic because she did not want to make him uncomfortable any further, "I enjoyed a lot despite the unexpected rainstorm."

"Good to know that," he smiled at last, slightly relieved that she wasn't going to probe him further about Red Robin, "as for the rainstorms, we should have gotten used to it by now but it is always such a nuisance that I forget its Gotham and realize only when its pouring down."

She laughed, "Bludhaven isn't that rainy. But it was a slightly chillier weather there than here so it's a change for me now."

"Right."

His phone started ringing and Steph's contact was flashing on the screen.

"You know you can stay here till the storm stops, right?" Dora suggested.

"Thanks," he nodded then picked up the call.

Steph's voice was unmistakably loud such that even Dora could hear her as Tim held the phone slightly away from his ears. "Where the fuck are you, Timbers? And how's Dora? Don't tell me you forgot her in the park or something..."

"Calm down grandma, my ears are throbbing. And Dora's perfectly fine, of course I did not forget her in the park... What do you take me for? A four year old who can't remember where his friends are?"

"No, a seventy year old who has bad memory," she replied and Dora chuckled slightly at the remark.

"Whatever."

"When are you coming back?"

"As soon as the rain stops," he replied, glancing out the window but there seemed no chance of the storm to stop anytime soon.

"Give the phone to Dora, I am still not sure whether she's alright."

Tim's eyes flickered in irritation, "now I am worried, you have a very low opinion of me."

"What's new in that? You have a very low opinion of yourself either way."

However, he handed the phone to Dora.

"Hi Steph," she spoke and then burst into laughter as Steph had gone into a long exclamation of relief that she was alright, "oh come on... I enjoyed a lot. You were right, Tim's a great tour guide."

Steph remarked teasingly, "just a tour guide?"

"To be honest, this is the best date I have ever had," Dora answered and her eyes flickered over to Tim who was quite visibly getting flustered though a small smile had tugged up on his face. It was the best date he had ever had as well.

***