The manor was in a hectic array as the hours went by. Tim’s friends had gone back to their universe around noon, leaving the family to finish preparations themselves. Tomorrow, Stephanie would arrive back home, and it was filling Tim with too many jittery nerves for him to deal with. 

He didn’t know what to do with himself. It would be the first time he’d seen her since leaving with Cass to get Damian, and he was not prepared for the onslaught of emotions that was sure to come with her visit. It’s not that he didn’t want to see her. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

It was just… he knew she would probably still be mad at him. And he always hated it when Steph was mad. Especially when her anger was directed towards him. 

And he knew that she wasn’t wrong to be upset. Her feelings were totally justified and her reactions completely correct. 

That just made him more nervous to see her.

But he was also excited. No matter what had happened thus far, Tim still thought of the egg-plant loving blonde as his best friend. And yes. Okay. He might still have feelings for her.

But he knew that getting into a relationship right now would not be healthy. Especially when she was still upset.

Besides, the chances of Steph still liking him were  extremely low. And him continuously  making her mad would  not be helping in the least. 

Nevertheless, Steph’s fall break would be the best one she’d had yet, if Tim had anything to say about it. 

And he most certainly did.

…

“I’ve just stopped by to see how things were going.” Barbara’s dad, the chief of police, Commissioner Gordon said, smiling at his daughter. “And, also, to talk about the latest police case.” Holding up a tray of coffee, he smirked. “I’ve brought compensation.” 

“Fantastic!” Barbara said. “Come right in.” 

Jim did so, shutting the door gently behind him. “I take it Dick is at work?” 

Babs nodded. “Yep. You just missed him, actually. He’ll be disappointed he missed you.” 

“I’m sure I’ll be seeing him later tonight.” 

Babs rolled her eyes fondly. Apparently the Wayne kids weren’t the only ones making innuendos to their nightly work. 

“Hardy har. You’re such a comedian.” 

“I do try.” 

Babs got out her computer, setting it down on the coffee table as her father sat next to her.

“Now,” she started, cracking her knuckles for show “What’s with this case?” 

…

“Tt. What is the point of this?” Damian asked as Jason pulled into the parking lot of Batburgers. 

“Damian, Damian, Damian.” he sighed, dramatically throwing a hand over his heart. “When I learned you’d never had Batburgers before I was absolutely beside myself with grief. And I thought to myself: We must fix this! And so I rallied my forces and here we are!” 

Damian glanced over at Duke in disbelief. “He cannot be serious.”

Duke just winced in sympathy. “I’m afraid he is.” 

Cass just smiled sweetly when the five year old looked at her and shrugged.

Damian sighed. “Very well. Let us try this, “Batburgers”.”

Jason whooped and hopped out of the car. “Hell yeah! Let’s go!!” 

The four headed into the restaurant, some more excited than others.

After ordering, (2 Robin Deluxes, a Batgirl salad, and a Nightwing burger with the special Bluejay sauce, respectively.) they sat down at a booth in the corner that gave them privacy but allowed them to see everything that was happening around them. 

Jason, Cass, and Duke all watched with anticipation as Damian took the first bite of his salad. 

He chewed, swallowed, and looked at the plate with hidden interest. 

"It is… satisfactory." he finally said, after a moment of silence. 

His older siblings all cheered, high-fived, and dug into their own food. 

…

The next day, Cass and Babs were waiting at the airport for Steph, both grinning happily when they saw her. 

“Steph!” Cass cheered, launching herself at her best friend. 

“Hey, Cassie! I didn’t know you were picking me up with Babs.” Steph said, hugging her back just as tightly. 

“We’re kidnapping you and having a girl’s day.” Babs explained. “Everyone else can have you at dinner.” 

Babs grinned, grabbing Steph’s hand. “Until then. You’re all ours.”

"Awesome." Steph smiled brightly. "What's first on the agenda?"

… 

When Cass, Steph, and Babs arrived at the manor for dinner, they all felt very refreshed. 

They'd gone to talk to Ivy about the flowers, got their nails done (on both their feet and hands), streaked Steph's hair with purple dye that came out after a few washes, and got messages. 

All in all, a very productive day that they would not regret. 

And then they walked into the manor, and all of that charm immediately vanished. 

Because they'd walked into a chaotic warzone. 

"I don't know what we expected." Steph said, snickering. 

"What is going on here?" Babs asked, looking around in shock. 

Damian was standing on a stool, yelling at Jason, who was smirking. Bruce stood nearby, a "tired dad"™ look on his face. Dick was in the corner, watching with Duke, both whispering to each other. 

"Dick was asking who they thought the ring-bearer should be for your wedding. Jason said Damian was a short midget and would be perfect for the role." Tim piped up, appearing next to them. 

No Steph did not jump. Definitely not. 

"What the hell, dude, where did you come from?" Steph exclaimed, trying to calm her racing heart. (She decided against wondering if it was because he startled her or because he still made her heart beat faster than average. She would ignore her feelings like the mature adult she was, thank you very much.)

Tim looked at her, his eyes widening a moment before his face went eerily blank (the way it used to when he didn't want to think about something), and he shrugged. "Sorry."

He did not sound very sorry. 

"Mmmhmm." Steph muttered. "Yeah, sure you are."

Tim snorted, glancing away. 

Steph looked over at Babs and Cass to find them smirking and exchanging knowing looks with one another. 

Steph decided to elbow them as revenge. 

She did not succeed in her revenge, but it's the thought that counts. 

"Hello, beautiful." Dick said, sliding over next to them and kissing Babs on the forehead. 

Now it was Steph's turn to exchange looks with Cass. Ah, karma is a wonderful thing sometimes. 

"Hey, Dickie. I solved the flower problem." Barbara smiled at her future husband, her gaze just a little love sick. 

Dick grinned, "Hey, that's great! Who'd you get?" 

"Ivy said she would if she and Harley were allowed to come to the wedding." Babs was saying, leading Dick away to talk alone. "I was thinking they could pretend to be my-"

Steph turned to Cass, only to find the other girl had left at some point, leaving her alone with Tim. 

Shit. 

They stood awkwardly, neither really acknowledging the other. Tim was eyeing her though, looking mildly distraught and a little bit nervous. 

"I'm still mad at you." Steph snapped, looking at the wall. Was that scratch always there?

Tim sighed. "I know."

"What you did was a really shitty thing to do." she continued, still looking at that crack in the wall. 

Tim nodded in agreement. "The shittiest."

Steph hesitated a moment, before saying, "Well, not the shittiest but it certainly was up there on the list."

Tim tried to hide his amused smile. 

He did not succeed very well, but Steph didn't comment about it. 

They were silent for a few more beats. 

It was Tim that broke it this time. 

"Steph… I'm sorry. I know what I did hurt you, and it probably could have gone differently, but… I wasn't thinking. Not really." he whispered, looking down at his feet. 

And he was absolutely not cute when he looked at her with those big blue eyes, whatever do you mean?

"I'm not going to say it's okay. Because it's not. It wasn't an okay thing to do, Timmy. You could have died!" 

"I know." was the quiet response. "And I'm not asking you to forgive me. But you should know that I am so sorry." 

Steph gave a faint smile. "I know. And I can't forgive you. Not yet."

Their eyes met. 

"But I'll work on it. And you're still my best friend." she finished. 

Tim grinned the first happy grin she'd seen since arriving here. 

And Steph was suddenly finding herself reminded of one of the reasons she fell in love with him. 

"Dinner is ready, ladies, gentlemen." Alfred announced, appearing suddenly into the doorway. 

Tim glanced at Steph one last time before walking over to Damian, kneeling down to talk to him quietly. Damian smiled, just a little, and nodded. 

Apparently, while she was dead/gone, Tim had learned how to be a good brother. 

It was a good look on him.