Damian Wayne (grownup_robin) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-12-22 21:19:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, damian wayne (robin), stephanie brown (batgirl) |
Who: Damian Wayne and Stephanie Brown
What: Damian isn't a stalker. Promise.
When: Backdated: Friday, December 20th. Afternoon
Where: Granny's Diner
Rating: Family Friendly
Status: Complete
Ever since Stephanie had shown up at Stark Manor, Damian had been thinking about her even more. It helped to take his mind off of Alyssa, which was a good thing as far as he was concerned. Sure, they still needed to talk about what had happened, but he’d been dwelling on the breakup for so long now that it was nice to have something else to think about. Stephanie being there also renewed his hope that someday he’d find his real father and maybe even the rest of his dream family.
Thinking about Stephanie made him want to see her again and he recalled what she’d said in her first post about working at a diner in Huntington Beach. It wasn’t that difficult to find Granny’s, but it wasn’t until he stepped inside that he realized that she might not even be working today and if that was the case then he’d just look like some big weirdo. Okay, so no one else would know why he came by, but he’d feel like a giant weirdo for sure.
“You know,” Stephanie said to another waitress while she counted out change for her most recent table. “I’m really starting to love this job, three tables ago the guy left me a tip of a pack of Juicy Fruit and I haven’t had to see anyone in a towel today. I could so get used to this.” she and the other waitress laughed at that before glancing up at the sound of the bell on the door. She didn’t see Damian right away, instead turning to deliver her change when the other waitress called out to him in welcome and told him to sit wherever he liked.
As always she was quick and light on her feet, the change delivered and the customer wished a ‘Happy Holidays’ with a smile in record time. It was when she went back behind that counter that she finally spotted Damian. It took her a moment to remember but she liked to think she never forgot a face and was quite happy she had been right. He had been filed under ‘the guy with the wolves’ in her mental rolodex and she found herself giving him a little wave hello. The snow had slowed business so he could sit virtually anywhere and she would be the one serving him, but the counter would be the best if he wanted to talk.
Damian didn’t see Stephanie at first, his attention on the waitress who had greeted him. Glancing around the diner, Damian found an empty booth and sat down. He probably could have asked Bran to come with him so that this wouldn’t seem quite so stalkerish, but if Stephanie was there, he wanted to be able to talk to her without his best friend making wise ass comments about the fact that he might have had a crush on her. That and considering how comfortable Damiand and Bran were with each other, it was completely possible that Bran would make some comment about them being a couple or something and he didn’t want Stephanie to think that. It was too early for her to understand how weird they were together.
They had started putting the menus in holders behind the sweeteners and the condiments but the bussers hadn’t been required to put down a new placemat and silverware so that was what Stephanie brought to him aside from a smile and her usual ‘up’ work attitude. Her mind didn’t immediately jump to the possibility that he had come to see her, after all he hadn’t told her his name online and she hadn’t told him she worked here when she delivered the package so to her it was just a happy coincidence. But even if she had known she wouldn’t have been bothered, she might even have blushed. “Well hello there, welcome to Granny’s. Can I get you something to drink?”
Damian glanced up at the sound of Stephanie’s voice, blue eyes widening ever so slightly, because for a moment he’d thought she wasn’t there and he was a little surprised to see her, “Um, yeah. Diet Coke is fine.” Now that he was actually there and she was standing there, he wasn’t actually sure what to say to her. This was definitely something he should have thought out a little bit first, but he’d just wanted to see Stephanie again.
“Diet coke.” she repeated, the smile staying put on her lips. She had noticed he looked a little surprised to see her, leading her even more to believe that this was merely a coincidence. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” she put down his placemat and his silverware then turned on her heel and headed back to the counter. It was a quiet day so it took her very little time to fill a diet coke and a second drink that she ended up dropping off at another table before returning to Damian’s. “Here we go, diet coke. Do you know what you’d like or do you need a few minutes to look over the menu?”
When Stephanie left to get his drink, Damian almost facepalmed, but stopped himself, because there was no doubt that she would see it and that would just make him look like a complete loser. He had just opened his menu when she came back and he glanced up at her, “I’m not sure yet. I’ve never actually been here before.” And were it not for the fact that Stephanie worked there, he probably wouldn’t have come there at all, “What do you recommend?”
“Well, I always get the waffles. We have the best waffles in like the whole of California.” she leaned in a little on the next part, lowering her voice for a moment. “Please don’t try to hold me to that because I totally don’t know, but they are the best I’ve had here and I always make a point of trying the waffles when I go places.” standing straight again she smiled. “We’ve got all kinds too, waffles with fruit, with chocolate chips, with like eggs and bacon and hash on top, my favorite thing is to get one with strawberries and whipped cream and then add some bacon and hot maple syrup on top. So good. But if you’re not into waffles we’ve got fantastic burgers, we’re known for our burgers and pie.”
That was a lot to take in, but she had him at waffles so it was pretty easy for him to decide once she’d stopped talking, “Well, now I’m going to have to try the waffles and see if you’re telling the truth. So, I’ll have a waffle with chocolate chips, chocolate sauce and whip cream.” It was how his mother had made his waffles when he was little and it wasn’t until he’d ordered it that he realized that this would be the first time he’d eaten them like that since she’d died. This realization caused him to frown slightly, forgetting for the moment that Stephanie was there.
She nodded along with his order, taking out her ticket pad and writing down his order. When it was all written down she glanced at him. The frown caught her attention. Normally she would have just given him a supportive smile and gone to put his order in, but as they knew each others names and had spent a few minutes talking she felt that they were halfway to being friends. And Stephanie didn’t let any frowns or sad faces among her friends go without seeing what she could do to help, “Hey, is, uh… You okay, Damian? Something wrong?”
Damian hadn’t actually expected her to inquire as to what was wrong so it took him a moment to process the question before he glanced back up at her, “Uh, yeah. I mean...my mom died almost a year ago and that’s how she used to make my waffles. I just realized that I haven’t actually had them since before she died.” Damian had never really had a problem talking about Talia and her death, but with his first Christmas without her coming up, he’d been a little more reluctant to talk about her. It had been like that throughout the year with all the major holidays, especially Mother’s Day.
“Aw, I’m so sorry to hear that. My condolences.” her expression had turned sad and sympathetic. She couldn’t imagine losing her mother, and she had come close a few times when her mother had overdosed, but now things were good and they had a second shot at things. Those close calls broke her heart and she didn’t know how she would have handled it if she passed. Probably not was well as Damian seemed to be at just a year into it. “I’ll go put this in for you and see if I can do something special for you.” and with that she headed back to put in his order in, not giving him the chance to stop what she was already planning.
“Thanks. It’s been hard, but I’ve managed.” He’d met Alyssa at just the right time, not long after he’d moved to California, looking for his biological father and then he’d become friends with Bran, so he hadn’t really been alone. The next week and a half were going to be the really tough days, but at least we had Ban and his family to help him through it. Stephanie left so quickly after that, that he didn’t have a chance to try and stop her from doing whatever it was she had in mind, because he hadn’t told her about his mother to try and get anything free, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
They had the waffle irons running all the time so a very short time later Stephanie reappeared with his waffles. They were smothered in double chocolate chips, double chocolate sauce, an extra big helping of whipped cream and finally a cherry on top because she believed that mounds of whipped cream required a cherry on top. And this of course would only be the first part of what she had decided to do for him, but he wouldn’t know about it until later. “Waffles with chocolate chips, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.” she announced as she set it down before him, her brighter mood having returned while she was away. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
Damian had expected it to take a little longer than that, so when Stephanie came back out with his order, he couldn’t quite believe it, “Wow. That looks amazing.” He couldn’t quite believe how much of everything she’d given him and couldn’t help but wonder if this was how the waffles usually were or if she’d given him an extra amount of toppings, “Thanks. I think I’m good for now. In fact, I think I’m good for the rest of the day.” Damian was pretty sure that once he ate these waffles he’d be full for the rest of the day.
“Great. Here at Granny’s we do our best to keep you satisfied, if not over-stuffed.” her smile grew at his words happy to see he was pleased. Even if she barely knew the guy she liked to see everybody happy, especially her customers. It made work a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable. “Well, I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes but if you need anything before then feel free to give me a shout and I’ll come running. Enjoy!”
"I can see that. Thanks." Damian didn't even know where to start with the waffles, "I do have a question though. Are you sure there's actually waffles under all this chocolate and whipped cream?" Damian smirked up at Stephanie as he picked up his fork and knife, "And careful what you say or I really will yell for you then everyone is going to give me weird looks."
“Maybe, you’ll just have to eat your way through to find out.” she laughed, happy that he was smiling. She had a theory that waffles could fix anything, so far she was right. They had at least played some major role every time she needed a little help getting better. She would have to write a book one day: The Power of Waffles. “Hey, if you don’t mind a weird look I don’t mind a weird look.” She left him to his waffles then, having to meet and greet her next table.
"Then I'll be sure to yell for you if I need anything," Damian said just before Stephanie turned to greet her next table. And if Damian watched her as she did it, he wasn't exactly aware of at first. When he finally took his eyes off Stephanie, he started eating his waffles. All the chocolate made the waffles extremely rich by the time he reached the halfway point he was leaning back against the back of the booth, full beyond belief, which was quite a feat since Damian usually had a bottomless pit for a stomach.
Stephanie knew that look. It was a look she saw several times a day every day she worked, she even saw it on herself a lot of the times she ate there. As far as she was concerned it was a better way of drawing customers in than Ruby’s incredibly long legs. In fact all Ruby’s legs did for Steph was make her want to jump on a treadmill, always keep her legs covered or invest in some leg-lengthening surgery. “Hey there,” she smiled as she came up. “How are we doing? Feeling a little full? Can I get you another diet coke or a box? Maybe a ginger ale to help it all down?”
"Very full." Damian said, sitting up straight as Stephanie came back, "I think a box would be best." While Damian had technically only seen Stephanie's legs once, when she delivered the package to Stark Manor, he'd seen her in her Batgirl costume in the dreams and those costumes were rather form fitting even with the Kevlar and he didn't think there was anything wrong wit her legs. "I'll eat the rest for breakfast tomorrow, I think." He might even let Bran have some if he didn't finish the half he had left.
“And maybe the next day and the next, chocolate waffles never seem to end. Be right back.” She had to stop along the way, drop off another table’s bill before she returned with said box. Maybe she wasn’t as friendly with the others as she was with Damian but it was clear that she did try to bend over backwards for the customers. And when she found someone to be as friendly to as Damian her head pretty much touched the floor, only a very small group of people got comped after all. “Here we are,” she said as she dropped off the box with a smile. “Now you’re sure there’s nothing else I could get you?”
"Thanks a lot," Damian started putting the leftover waffles into the box, "No, I think I'm good. At least for this visit. Next time I think I'll have to bring my friend, Bran. He'd probably like it here too." That is, as long as Bran promised not to embarrass him in front of Stephanie.
“Maybe the large waffles then, that’s definitely a two man job. But sure, it would be great to have you stop by and see us again, especially with your friends.” Most probably would have been eager to see him return in hopes of a big tip in return for the kindness she was showing now, but Stephanie didn’t see things like that. To her she was simply doing something nice for a new friend and didn’t expect a thing back other than the smiles he had already given her. “Thanks for coming in, hope you have a very happy holidays.”
Damian was about to wish her a happy holidays as well when he realized that she hadn't brought him the check, "I think you forgot to give me the check." It was entirely possible that she'd forgotten since he'd been talking to her and she'd been dealing with another table since he'd come in.
“No I didn’t.” she said in a sing-song voice with a knowing smile. She then turned on her heels and headed back to the counter. And there was the second part. Sure, even if he didn’t have anything to do with the Stark’s massive house he clearly wasn’t suffering any financial difficulties. The wasn’t the point. He just deserved something nice, especially if it reminded him of his late mother. Half way there she turned again, walking backwards now and giving him a little wave, “See you later, Damian, have a good rest of the day.”