---- From Chapter 34 ----

D: OKAY
D: I was hanging out with the fam, right? And outta nowhere poor, innocent, totally-faking-cluelessness Tim looks at Jason and says "What does BDSM stand for?" I choked on my drink and Babs was about to answer him right? Only, before she can an oblivious Jason slams his hands on the table and screams "BIBLE DISCUSSION AND STUDY MEETING"

----

Dick shielded his eyes from the sun by dropping a pair of expensive sunglasses into place over his vision, transforming the world to a dark tint, and turning away, looking back at the sleek shine of the car he had just exited. Barbara stepped out too, her converse sneakers clacking against the pavement as she let the door swing shut and joined him in waiting on the sidewalk.

A few moments later, Tim emerged from the other side of the car and nearly tripped in his effort to join them before Jason could catch the back of his oversized hoodie, holding a plastic cup filled with iced coffee. Jason rushed out after Tim quickly, slamming the car door shut.

The car peeled away from the sidewalk moments after, and the four of them were left standing on the sidewalk outside the city's mall. It was a rare sunny day in Gotham, and Alfred had quickly declared that they would not be spending it inside, so they were shipped off to spend the day together out of the house. Since Tim needed a new camera lens, and Barbara had been meaning to get a haircut, the mall became their set location.

The glass doors slid open automatically, exposing the endless traffic of people going from store to store, some with bags upon bags of items, and others just wandering aimlessly with friends. A few eyes glanced towards them briefly, just looking over at the sound of the doors opening, but other than that they were ignored and unrecognized.

Dick clapped his hands together, turning to the three other teens he was with. "alright, team, it's game time," he started, and he looked each of them over, analyzing, and getting serious and, in Tim's case, tired looks in return as they each stood at attention, before continuing, "Babs and I will head to the hairdressers, then the hardware store for undisclosed reasons." He waved off any questions.

"Tim!" said boy looked up with a sense of alarm at the sound of his name being shouted, as if he hadn't been paying attention, "You and Jason can go to the tech-store and wherever Jason needs to go."

Dick paused, and gave them a look, "Please don't spend all your money on coffee or cigarettes." They nodded obediently, in a way that showed they had no intentions of obeying, but Dick didn't bother pressing, lest they ask what he's going to get from the hardware store.

"We'll meet in the food court in two hours," he offered a solute, and they each returned the gesture with intensity before Dick clapped his hands again, a loud "break!" coming from his lips before they split up and started in opposite directions.

He felt Babs tense beside him momentarily, like she remembered something she had forgotten, and she spun on her heel quickly, nearly elbowing him in the process, "And no PDA," she yelled at the retreating backs of Jay and Tim.

Dick turned to see Jason with his arm already thrown over Tim's shoulders and leaning into his personal space but at Barbara's call, he sighed and dropped his head onto Tim's shoulder.

"So close!" he groaned, as if in mourning, and Dick stifled a chuckle, high fiving Barbara as they disappeared behind some large bush-like potted plants. She was his right-hand woman for a reason.

----

The electronic store was large, with sleek white tiles and a bad pop-song being played over various brands of speakers. Against the back wall, television's played a mix of commercials and an Ice Age movie at a low volume. Three out of four of the employees, looking almost as tired as Tim, alternated between sweeping the floor and staring off into the distance with a dead look.

Jason resisted the urge to find a wall to bang his head against as Tim continued to talk tech-jibberish with the fourth and seemingly only lively employee. She was about their age, brunette, with happy green eyes and a smile that was genuine. She must not have worked there long.

She laughed happily at some tech-centred joke that Tim had made, and Jason's eyes narrowed dangerously, taking a break from his suffering to watch the way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and pushed Tim on the shoulder lightly, still laughing a little.

"Hey, Timmy," He said, forcing the words out in an overly-sweet tone, "don't you have a new lens to get?"

Tim looked to him with confusion that quickly turned to amusement, and checked his watch, a grin finding its way to his lips, "You're right, Jay." He turned his back to Jason completely, focusing on the girl.

"You can help me, right?" he asked lowly, leaning forwards a little, and he must have done something with his eyes because the girls face lit up with understanding.

"Of course," the girl replied, nodding, before taking Tim's hand in hers and tugging him passed Jason and around the corner, into the aisle over. She gave Jason a smug look as she passed, and he returned it with a chilling glare.

The lense section took up nearly an entire aisle, the other half being expensive cameras and other camera equipment that Jason deemed unnecessary but Tim seemed to hold in high value if the way his eyes lit up at the sight of them meant anything.

"So," the girl started, standing in front of the display case filled with lenses, "do you have any idea what you're looking for?" she gave Tim a look layered with innuendo, "in a lens, that is."

Tim seemed momentarily distracted by the lenses, spellbound by the pieces of technology, and his hands went to the camera hanging around his neck, "Something that will take good pictures in the dark." His eyes slid to Jason for a second, and the 'from a rooftop at three am' goes unsaid.

Then, Tim seems to remember that he was apparently too focused on the girl to pay attention to Jason, because he took his blue-eyed gaze away and turned back to the girl, going over the pros of cons of each lens, in detail.

Jason's teeth-grinding was practically audible and Tim smirked as he turned away.

----

The hairdressers were nearly uninhabited, only two women sitting in salon chairs in front of large mirrors on opposite sides of the room, and two hairdressers armed with scissors and brushes standing behind each of them respectively. One of the working women finished just as they entered and pulled the gown off her client with a flourish, shaking strands of loose hair to the floor and moving in the opposite direction as her client, who moved to the front desk to pay and fetching a broom from the far wall.

A man with sleek silver hair smiled at them, and Dick had to step to the side to allow the woman who had just paid to leave, flashing her a courteously charming smile as they passed each other.

"Just one or both of you?" the man asked once they approached the desk, shuffling a few papers into shape and setting them aside, then knocking his black-rimmed glasses into place on his face.

Barbara turned to look at Dick with a questioning eyebrow raised, and he ran a hand through his hair under the stare, nodding slightly, "Sure." The blue highlights in his hair could use a touch-up anyways, or soon they would be completely faded.

Barbara turned back to the man behind the desk, "Both, please."

The man nodded, told them "one second," and wandered into the salon area, prepping a station and gathering scissors, while the woman who had just finished sweeping did the same next to him.

Taking the moment to talk, Dick stuffed his hands into his jean's pockets and elbowed Barbara lightly, "You sure about this?" he asked lightly, not looking at her but lingering close enough that their shoulders brushed together.

Barbara looked down for a moment, then returned to watching the two hairstylists work, threading her hands through her long red hair, "Yeah."

"Alright," he returned, and they stood in silence for a minute, before he continued, "It'll be weird not having to braid your hair for you every few weeks though."

"Oh shut up," she said with a laugh, elbowing him back a little harder. He chuckled, pulling his hands from his pockets and giving her the universal gesture of 'meaning no harm,' showing her both palms and trying to smother his grin.

He looked back up to see the two hairdressers waving them over, and the two of them walked back into the salon area, each taking a seat in front of a hairstylist. There was a chime of the bell above the door as the last woman left, followed by the sweeping of the third hairstylist.

Dick rubbed his palms on his jeans as the male hairdresser made eye contact with him in the mirror, smiling kindly, "So, what do you want today?"

He smiled, a little nervously, but relaxed as he heard Barbara laugh next to him, already chatting and laughing with the woman who would be cutting her hair.

"Just a touch up on the highlights."

----

Tim stifled a yelp as Jason suddenly pushed him into an alleyway-like space between two stores, a firm, steel, 'staff only' marked door catching him and chilling his skin even through his hoodie. He clutched his newly-acquired coffee close, fingers splaying across the lid to secure it.

The irritated 'what the hell, Jay?' was already half out of his mouth when Jason's hands suddenly thumped against the door, efficiently boxing him in and forcing him to draw his coffee closer to his chest as he was overshadowed by Jason.

He leaned over slightly, not enough to risk spilling his coffee, in an effort to see around Jason's broader body and peer back into the crowded mall where shoppers passed by them unaware.

"You're a dick," Jason accused, one rough, calloused hand forcing Tim to straighten back up and tilting his chin upwards.

Tim, unphased by Jason's aggressive tone and touch, flashed an innocent grin, "Actually, being a dick is Dick's job; I prefer comedic-genius."

"Ha, ha," Jason said sarcastically, scowl still in place, and Tim kept up the innocent act for a moment longer, but eventually sighed and gave in under Jason's unforgiven glare.

He stood on his tippy-toes, quietly cursing Jason's height in his head, and pressed a quick kiss to the other's lips, just to make the scowl disappear. When he lowered back to his flat feet, Jason wasn't scowling anymore and looked mildly surprised, so Tim counted it as a victory and added it to his mental tally as such.

He grinned again when the kiss sunk in and Jason's cheeks stained a little red, then hid the grin in his coffee cup, taking a long sip of the hot liquid.

When he was finished, he lowered the cup and pushed on Jason's chest lightly, ready to head back out into the mall, "So, where do you want to go?" he checked his watch out of the corner of his eye, "We still have an hour before we have to meet Dickie and Babs."

Jason didn't budge under the light pressure, and did the opposite of Tim's intentions, sliding closer and forcing Tim against the door. Tim cast a concerned look to his coffee, which was suddenly in danger.

"Actually, I think I'd rather stay right here," Jason said quietly, voice barely above a whisper and growled from his chest. Tim laughed a little nervously, wondering if he had to remind Jason that they were in public, but the idea disappeared when he felt Jason's hand against the small of his back, followed by Jason's cigarette-tasting lips on Tim's.

He had one last fleeting thought of concern for the safety of his coffee before he was distracted completely.

----

Dick sighed heavily, elbows resting on a mildly-clean food court table and knocking his knuckles against his forehead, worsening his headache and shaking the table slightly.

He heard Barbara mimic him, sighing for a different reason, and looked up to see her wearing a nervous expression and running her hands through her now-short hair, fingers curling into her palm when her hair stopped, unused to the lack of weight on her shoulders and ends tickling her neck. The action spiked his memory of his own new hair cut, suddenly completely aware of the light feeling on his neck, and once again left to wonder why he let that hairdresser talk him into the windswept, bedhead-like mess that was so different from his usual orderly-ish hairstyle.

Determined to ignore the strange feeling that he would soon get used to, Dick once again scanned the food court for Jason and Tim, who were now nearly fifteen minutes late, but after once again not seeing them, he turned to Barbara.

"Maybe we should go look for them?" he asked, reaching forward to the center of the table and grabbing a french fry out of the box they came in. Barbara looked a little shocked at being addressed, lost in her thoughts and distracted by her hair, but levelled him with a look once she registered the words.

"Do you really want to do that?" the pink bubble-gum she was chewing was visible as she asked, giving him a look like he'd suggested lighting themselves on fire and trying to use gasoline to put it out. He thought about it and agreed. Probably best they just waited.

Then again, if they died on his watch, Alfred wouldn't bake him cookies for at least a month.

He sighed again, "We'll give them another five minutes," he compromised, "if they don't show up by then, we'll call them again, then go looking." He took a sip of his drink- some lemonade-like pink liquid- as he finished talking, watching the girl over the rim of the plastic cup.

Barbara nodded, easily agreeing, and she popped a bubble with her gum, "Good plan, boss."

He nodded again, to himself, and cast his eyes across the cafeteria again before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone, sending a cheeky 'no promises ;p' in reply to Bruce's text about not spending all of his fortune in one place, before texting Wally a quick update about the mechanics of knitting needles as effective weapons.

About four minutes later, just as Dick was distracted by his conversation with Wally, he felt two new presences and glanced up to find Jason and Tim approaching the table with a tray of food. He put his conversation with Wally on hold for a moment, taking another sip of his drink as the two grew closer and closer, with no way to avoid his crushing stare.

Eventually, they reached the table, and immediately Dick's gaze when he saw the slightly red, rubbed raw skin of Jason's wrists where his jacket sleeves had slid up.

"Did you get arrested?" he asked. Jason, holding the tray of food, had no way to hide the marks, but judging by the way Tim nervously pulled down his hoodie sleeves and he slid into the open seat next to Barbara, Dick was correct.

He sat back in his chair, only able to manage a hypocritical "unbelievable" as Jason set the tray on the table.

Tim took a long sip of his new coffee before locking eyes with Dick across the table, "If it's any consolation, it was Jason's fault."

Jason paused his actions of taking his jacket off to stare at Tim and defend himself, "My fault? If you weren't so damn lou-" he cut himself off abruptly, huffing a breath as he finished taking off his jacket and set it over the back of the empty chair next to Dick, before dropping into the seat.

Dick sighed again, longing for the days when he was an only child, just him and his potted cactus, Marc, against the world.

He was reaching for his drink again when Tim suddenly spoke around a bite of the hamburger he had taken off the tray they brought, speaking like he was continuing a conversation they had already started, with a tone that suggested he already knew the answer, "So, what does BDSM stand for anyway?"

Dick choked on his drink, the pose he had been sitting in falling in exchange for both feet flat against the ground as he coughed, citrusy liquid dripping down his chin. He was breathing a little heavy but looked up in time to see Barbara open her mouth to bluntly answer Tim's question, and wasn't recovered enough to stop her, when Jason suddenly slammed his hands against the table, shaking it and leaving Tim's coffee teetering dangerously before the boy saved it.

"BIBLE DISCUSSION AND STUDY MEETING," he yelled, loud enough that nearly the entire food court went quiet for a moment. Even some shoppers walking by on the balcony-like floor above them and some people on the escalators stopped and stared at them with confused and questioning looks, whispering amongst each other.

The silence was broken by a nearby call of "there they are!" leaving all four teens to turn in the direction of two seemingly very angry mall security guards, heading in their direction very quickly.

"Nice going, Jason!" Barbara hissed, gathering the fries and her own drink into her arms and struggling to uncross her legs and escape her chair.

"Me?" Jason asked as he hastily threw on his jacket and grabbed his own hamburger from the tray, "It's Timmy's fault!"

"Unheard of," Tim replied, holding his coffee and already a few feet away from them, struggling through the maze of tables and pushed-out chairs, as well as people watching and judging them.

Dick quickly swallowed the last of his drink before also abandoning their table and struggling to both text the situation to Wally, tweet about it, and run at the same time.

There were calls of "stop right there!' and "come back here!' as they fled, but they ignored them as they escaped the food court. They only stopped when they reached the security room to erase all footage that had caught them on camera, despite the fact that the scene was probably already a trending moment on Twitter, and then to buy Babs a really cute flannel they passed before they were escaping through the side doors and into the parking lot.