2685/Not At All What Was Expected

Not At All What Was Expected
Date of Scene:	29 July 2020
Location:	Tim Drake's Home -- Chelsea
Synopsis:	Well that's an awkward conversation.
Cast of Characters:	Tim Drake, Carrie Kelley

---

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim Drake doesn't really do off time. Full time school, part time job at WayneTech, full time vigilante. Not to mention building and upgrading a secret base and minor bits of equipment for the Bat Family. Oh, and working out constantly to try and keep up with his much more combat skilled siblings.

He doesn't really so much relax as run himself to a breaking point and collapse for a day or two. Which is why when his sister texted him to see what he was up to, his response of 'meh' probably doesn't go over too well. A few exchanges of texts later reveals that Tim is at home, with no desire to go out or do anything, but tacitly agrees to eat carry-out and be somewhat social with Carrie if she wants to swing by. 'Front door is unlocked' is the last text Tim sends to her, as he returns to being more of an ooze than a young man on one of the living room couches, opposite the fish tank. This is how Carrie will find him, draped exhaustedly in bare feet, lightweight light grey sweats and a white tank top. His phone is laying on the coffee table beside a half drunk bottle of water.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Well that wasn't entirely unusual to hear from Tim. She knew he pushed himself too far quite often so it wasn't unheard of to catch him in one of his 'down' moods. Even if it just meant down due to sheer exhaustion. Either way it was as good a time as any to visit.

"I come bearing gifts of food and electrolytes, nerdboy," she calls out cheerily while letting the door swing shut behind her with just a nudge of her foot to ensure it does indeed close. Bags are in both hands, takeout in one, and convenience store in the other which she hefts up on two fingers to indicate the drinks within. "Figured you might need a little more to catch up on your hydration," she points out as she strides across toward him with a wry smirk.

Her own attire was casual, but not 'casual Wayne' as she sometimes did. Just jeans, a t-shirt with the logo of some old forgotten game system (Amiga) and sneakers good for running in. Nothing that screams 'look at me I'm rich!'

Tim Drake has posed:
"Could use both," Tim admits, sitting up. His eyes are a bit sunken with dark circles under them, exhaustion clear on his face. Without her even opening the convenience store bag, the mini-detective lifts a brow. "I'll take the red one. You may as well keep the blue. Seems to be your type." Exhausted but at least still with some sense of humor. "How is that going, anyway? I'm assuming all right if you're trying to find a place closer to where he's at."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley moves to take a seat next to Tim, but with enough distance between them that she doesn't risk getting yucky boy sweat on her. It's when she sits that a pashmina of soft linen shifts around her shoulders. It had seemed like a part of her t-shirt at first until it fluttered with her downward movement. A new addition to her wardrobe no doubt. It's ignored as she digs in to pull out the red drink offering it over only to snort when she pulls out the frost blue.

"Ha ha. It's going well. He's a perfect gentleman and we have a lot of similar interests. I was just out getting him a gift not long ago actually though I don't think it's quite as good as that necklace he got me," she admits sheepishly. This whole dating thing was still a bit new to her, too.

The other bag is plonked on the table to pull the sides down revealing a few boxes of sushi. "Here, easy to digest and protein filled. Some of that tiger roll is mine though," she adds. "Speaking of how things are going though... You and Rose, huh?"

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim isn't covered in icky boy sweat, thanks! The slight dampness to his hair, now that Carrie is close enough to see it, is clearly from a very recent shower. Which probably means (especially since Tim's pretty good about it when he's not sucked into a project) the clothes are fresh, too. He takes the red drink with a smirk and cracks it open, draining about a third of it in a single go.

Definitely exhausted and pushed past his limits, yes.

This actually seems to wakes him up enough to look interested in the styrofoam containers of sushi, though. He meticulously pops them all open to peer at the options. "Huh. Tiger roll, spicy tuna... dynamite?" He grabs a pair of the chopsticks and pops them apart, using one stick to prod at one of the rolls. "Is that fried sweet potato in this one? ...Oh nice. Spider roll." He pops one off that roll and into his mouth before moving to the others. "Okay, not sure on that one, looks messy, so probably good... and... god. This one... shrimp? and... salmon? and... like four kinds of sauce. Not sure what that is either but I'll trust your judgment. Pretty sure it may take a bit but we'll knock them all out."

Nineteen year old boy and food. Is there a more iconic duo. He does grab one of the Styrofoam bowls of miso soup first with a spoon, though, and settles back to work on it before tearing into the sushi proper.

"Glad to hear it's going well, though. I mean, if someone needs to loom all brotherly at him, though, you probably want to take Jason. He's more of a loomer." He chases a piece of the tofu down with his spoon, considering his answer about Rose. Finally he sighs a bit, casting Carrie a weak half-grin. "Yeah. Me and Rose, I guess."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"I'm not sure on that one," Carrie admits with a shrug of indifference. "It's a new house special they're trying out. I like their other stuff though so figured I'd give it a try." At the very least it wouldn't hurt to have something new. Picking up her own chopsticks she breaks them apart and then points to the sauces. "Ponzu, shoyu, shoyu with wasabi and creamy sesame. Way better than it sounds."

"Nah, Jason gets along with him pretty well. Besides, he's as much of a punster as some of us are," Carrie points out with a fond grin at the recollection. The thought is shaken away as she settles back with a few choice bits of sushi. "Well that's ... good I guess. Even if I can't say much for the choice of, well..." Her chopsticks waggle in the air a moment before she lets out a sigh. "You guys *are* being safe, right?" She'd seen the goofy looks on Tim lately.

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim's spoon stops halfway to his mouth for about two seconds, his pale skin flushing a bit, and then he is suddenly extremely interested in his soup. Very. Interested. He's mostly trying to consider how to answer that.

Sighing, he puts the bowl down. "Well. Uh." He flinches. "The first two times, yes. This last time, I... wasn't thinking. Pretty sure the drugs we got hit with sort of melted my brain for a bit." He sinks back against the back of the couch, looking fairly defeated. "So, ah. Ugh. I remember everything, I just was a complete idiot and I know this is going to bite me in the ass somehow."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley stares at Tim. And the stare continues as he turns red causing her own eyes to widen at the realization of what would get him that embarassed. He only confirms her worst thoughts with his explanation earning a hand clapping over her face. "Jesus, Tim. You know they do make things for after, too. Hopefully she's smart enough to have taken care of that, but if not..." She pauses here, debating exactly how to ask how long ago the drug incident was. It had to have been longer than 72 hours so she just lets that go with a sigh.

"No more drugs for you. Seriously, I'm kind of glad I got pulled away at the last minute with my own duties," she mutters shaking her head slightly. "At least be careful from now on. I mean. Yeah."

Tim Drake has posed:
"I hadn't exactly looked in depth into this sort of thing, Carrie," Tim grouses. "Let me be blunt, I wasn't planning to sleep with her. I mean... I don't really regret it." He sighs again, leaning forward and hanging his head for a couple seconds. Then he grabs his bowl and drains it, snagging his chopsticks back. "I don't regret it at all, and I thought I would. And yeah, no more drugs seems obvious. I didn't exactly intend on taking them in the first place though, Carrie." He frowns a bit. "They hit Conner pretty hard too, actually. Which worries me, but the analysis I have of the bloodwork from me, and Jaybird and Rose...? Doesn't show anything off." He scowls. "But I'm not a biochemist. I can muddle, but..."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley opens her mouth only to shut it with a sigh. "I have to quit jumping to the suggestion of offering Henry's skills. He's more than happy to help but I'm also trying to keep the rest of you a secret. So far as he knows, you're just my adopted family and that's it. He hasn't even pried to ask if any of *you* know my 'other identity.'" Which has been rather helpful for her in that regard so she doesn't have to come up with any lies.

"And, I get it. I know sometimes the unexpected happens, just... After it becomes obvious it might be a thing, time to start thinking of that sort of thing," she points out only to glance down at her sushi tapping her chopsticks against the plate. "I dunno. Maybe it's just something women think of more in that regard since it's... kind of tougher to walk away from."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim snorts. "I had condoms in my nightstand since I was 14. My Dad put them there 'just in case', and when I moved over to Wayne manor I was amused and not shocked when Alfred did the exact same thing. And I kept some there myself once I moved out. It wasn't not... thinking about it beforehand." He grimaces. "It's that I felt like it didn't matter right then. I even THOUGHT about them and just blew them off. And I know that's not me, sis. Not even a little bit." He looks somewhat embarrassed at the conversation. Best thing to do? Stuff maw with sushi, which he does, in silence, for a little bit.

He sighs a little after a few individual rolls are in him. "If anything... happens. You know I'm not like that. If it happens, it happens, and we add another picture to the outside of the Box at the cave, I guess," he says self-depreciatively. "Besides." He's not exactly willing to out Stephanie's secret, but he shrugs. "I... don't think I'd be the worst at that kind of thing. You know." He snorts.

"I mean, other than probably getting killed by you, Bruce, Rose, or Rose's dad. You know."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"I know you're not. You're not as impulsive as Jason, or Damian. Though I don't think we have little Damian's to worry about at least given his preferences." There's a slight smirk at that, and she watches Tim stuff his face. Reaching out she lightly daps his shoulder with her fist by way of silent apology. The topic is over for now.

"The Boss wouldn't kill you. ... Can't speak for Rose or her dad though. I mean that's a very high possibility there," she reasons quietly. "Though that could just be due to dating her in the first place." Grinning wryly she adds, "And no, you wouldn't be bad at it. Just think you'd be better at it if you were wanting to go that route to begin with instead of having a surprise." Lightly she clears her throat, and shrugs.

"Well. It could be worse. I mean. Bruce could have given you the talk."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim chuckles. "I mean, does Bruce actually have room to talk?" he asks with a half-grin. He snags another roll and pops it into his mouth. "I mean..." he gestures vaguely with his chopsticks. "Damian exists, right?"

He sobers a bit thinking about Rose's dad. He's seen the Bat files on Deathstroke, and he's not exactly comfortable for a moment. "Rose is nothing like her dad," he mutters, mostly to himself.

We all tell ourselves comfortable lies sometimes.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley stares at Tim with that deadpan stare that sometimes settles over her in the quieter moments in the cave. Not when she was jovial, but when she was thinking. When she was at rest... when she was most reminded in the quiet times of a world long gone. The gaze is almost that of an old soldier in spite of her age. She had SEEN things. DONE things. Things she often allowed herself to forget... but for just a moment now she does recall.

"HE may not, but trust me, that is NOT a talk you want to have." She finaly blinks and allows herself a faint grin. "Though he'd probably be better at it than the one I had. He is not good with girls in that regard. Raising them I mean."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim reaches out and pats her shoulder warmly. "This is the one you have now." He means it both ways, both Bruce and family. "The rest of it? It doesn't matter." He eyes the tiger roll. "And you better finish that before I do."