Chapter Text
Dick heard the bell above the door and felt the light breeze of morning air before it closed again.
He smiled as the customer walked up to him. ”Good morning, welcome to Amy’s! What can I get you?”
”Hi, I’d like an espresso to go, thank you” The customer said kindly as he put his bag down.
”Coming right up!” Dick turned around to prepare the coffee. He'd worked here for two months now and was quick and efficient, every step well practiced and familiar.
After scribbling a smiley and ”have a nice day!” on the side of the cup, he turned back to the counter.
”That will be three dollars, sir” Dick said, placing the cup on the counter.
After the Titans split up Dick hadn't know where to go or what to do. He could have gone back to Gotham, but that meant dealing with Bruce, and Dick hadn’t done in over three years now. He did miss Bruce and wished they were on better terms, but he felt like it was just not meant to be. Bruce could never have a normal conversation without turning it into some sort of life lesson and it got old, really fast. He was always so serious and Dick was sure that by this point, Bruce was the disguise, not Batman.
So Gotham had not been an option. He had considered Blüdhaven since it was close to Gotham (he figured he could sneak by the Manor and talk with Alfred, maybe eat a few cookies) but that city was severely corrupt and he wasn’t sure he could handle the stress of trying to fix it. Instead, he had moved into an apartment in Jump with Roy. He, just like Dick, wasn’t on great terms with his previous mentor. Now they were both working at least two day jobs each to pay for rent, food and some gear. It was kind of ironic that the wards of two billionaires worked several jobs just to pay the rent and live a decent life, but it had to be done since neither of them would ever ask for money. Being independent was worth any work they had to do.
Dick lived as Richard Grayson almost full time now, except a couple of nights a week when he and Roy would go out on patrol. Being his civilian Id wasn’t hard, here in Jump no one knew who he was, so he didn't have to worry about paparazzi or kidnappings.
”It’s ten o’clock, my turn at the counter.” Amy said as she came through the door to the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. Amy was the owner of the shop and Dick was the only worker there besides her.
”Oh, right.” They usually switched every two hours. Dick left the counter, making his way to the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves to get to work. It was a small cafe but they sold bread, small cookies, some salads and of course, coffee. Dick started rinsing vegetables and preparing a cutting board. A business company across the street had lunch at 12 o’clock and some of the workers were regulars, so he and Amy always made sure to have freshly made bread and salads ready for lunch time.
Dick had just finished the last salad, humming along to some songs on the radio they had in the kitchen, when he heard the bell over the door, telling him there was a customer. He put the dirty knives, bowls and cutting board in the sink and started washing them, idly listening to Amy chat with them.
”Hello Sam! The usual?” Amy asked and Dick could imagine her smiling.
”Yes, please” Dick heard hear Sam chuckle. He was one of their regulars and he was always fun to chat with. He'd been a regular for a long time so he'd known Amy for a while, and had gotten to know Dick as well through their daily small conversations while he ordered. Sam usually came alone and was joined later by some of his colleagues, but today it seemed he had brought someone with him, because Dick heard another voice.
”And what would you like, sir?” He heard Amy ask.
”I haven’t been here before, so why don’t you surprise me.” The voice clearly belonged to a grown man but it was hard to imagine what he might look like.
Nodding, Amy said ”With pleasure! Meanwhile, please take a seat, we’ll have your food ready in a minute.”
With that she walked into the kitchen.
”The gentleman wanted a surprise order, so I was thinking the olive salad, what do you think?”
The olive salad was a loved classic at Amy’s.
”Might as well get him hooked from the beginning huh?” Dick laughed.
”You know it!” She joked back. ”I have their coffees ready, so you can bring out the salad and Sam’s usual as soon as you’re done.” With that she walked out again.
After making sure he had the right orders, Dick put the two plates on a tray and walked out of the kitchen to Sam and his friend.
- - -
Slade had a contract in the city outskirts. Getting an apartment nearby and getting himself a position at a small company was easy. Now all he had to do was lay low for a while before striking. The job and apartment was technically not necessary but the liked to go the extra mile. Besides, he had the chance to thoroughly meet people and hear gossip, which had proven useful in the past. He was currently sitting in a meeting room, full of people in suits, listening to the woman in charge talk about statistics and profit. He didn’t really pay the meeting any attention, instead letting his thoughts drift.
Slade would never admit it out loud, but it was boring. The contracts he got was well paid, but always an easy kill. There were no challenges, no action, no thrill. Ever since the Titans split up, Slade had been.. bored. They had been a part of his everyday life for almost three years and he had spent a great deal of time messing with them. It was entertaining. The teens fought back, they improved, sometimes even posed a challenge. Especially Robin.
Slade mentally sighed when he thought of the boy. He had so much potential, if only he’d allow Slade to teach him. He realized that his methods had been .. rough, maybe even wrong, but he didn’t know any other way to get through to the boy.
Robin didn’t have superpowers and that made him all the more impressive. He relied on his experience, instinct and intellectual. But most of all he relied on his friends, his team. He was a great team player and a natural leader.
Slade didn’t know where the boy was now, or what he was doing.
Enough about the boy. Slade hadn’t heard of or seen him for a couple of months and he was probably not even in Jump anymore. He was probably laying low in his civilian id for a while, maybe taking a break. The business woman had said something and was looking at him, so he smiled and nodded, hoping he hadn’t been asked a question. He scolded himself for being so distracted, he had a job to focus on. A boring, unexciting job.
It was 12 o'clock when the meeting finally finished and they could leave for lunch. Walking out of the conference room Slade headed for the elevator. The doors were just about to shut when he heard someone call ”Hold it!”, and he did.
A man in his 30’s joined him in the elevator, slightly out of breath from running. He turned to look at Slade, slightly panting a ”Thank you”. Taking a closer look, the man smiled. ”Hey, you’re the new guy! I’m Sam, nice to meet you.” He held out his hand.
Slade was not here to make friends but he wasn’t rude, so he shook it. ”Likewise, Sam. The name’s Slade.”
Sam nodded, letting go of his hand. ”So, you’re eating out as well huh? I heard you’re new in town, and I know this place with great coffee, if you’re interested?”
Slade merely nodded. Coffee sounded good.
- - -
The shop was small, but it smelled great and had a welcoming feeling to it. Entering behind Sam he saw a woman at the counter smile when she saw them.
”Hello Sam! The usual?” The woman asked.
Sam chuckled, ”Yes, please.”
She then turned to Slade, asking what he’d like. He didn’t know so he asked her to order for him. His day was probably not going to get more exciting than ordering something random for lunch.
- - -
Dick saw the two men sip their coffees and walked over with their food. Sam was facing him whilst the other man sat on the opposite side, his back to Dick. He immediately noticed the white hair, which struck Dick as odd, because judging by the posture and voice, the man couldn't possibly be more than forty. Of course, the man could have colored his hair, but that wasn't something Dick would expect from a regular office guy, and most people in that age would try to color their hair darker, not strikingly white. Well, it didn't matter anyway. he was a customer and indirectly paying Dick's bills, so he was just as happy to see him ordering. He reached their table and holding the tray with one hand Dick turned to Sam first, serving his sandwich before turning to face the other man, serving him his salad as well.
Dick had just placed the salad before the man, and had looked up, smiling, saying ”I hope you enjo-” Dick had fast reflexes, but no one could blame him for not dodging this.
He couldn’t finish the sentence before he saw the man’s face take on a weird expression and barley a second later, Dick's face was sprayed with coffee and surely some spit.
”YieH!” Dick flinched back and let out a strangled sound of surprise and disgust as he quickly backed away. He was soaked in coffee. The man started coughing but Dick was too busy wiping the liquid from his eyes and nose to care.
”Oh dear, are you alright? Here, let me help- ” Sam said, trying to dry some coffee out of Dick’s hair with a napkin.
”Is everything alright?” He heard Amy ask as she hurried over with paper towels.
Slade felt a blush climb up his neck, and accepted the towels to clean where he had gotten coffee on himself.
”Thank you” he managed. His voice was still a little choked. Slade was hardly ever surprised, but when he saw the waiter’s face, he'd choked.
- - -
Slade must be more stressed out than he thought. His thoughts had drifted to the Boy Wonder more often than not lately and Slade would lie if he said he wasn’t curios as to what Robin was doing these days. Lost in thought, Slade hadn’t heard the waiter come up to him with his food. That was .. unsettling. Slade always heard people coming, so either that boy walked very quietly or Slade had been in much deeper thought than he’d realized.
The waiter had his back turned, giving Sam his meal and Slade took the opportunity to scan him over. Judging from his hight and body, he’d guess the boy was in his late teens, maybe 18 or 19 years old. He was lean but he was definitely not skinny, if his bicep holding the tray was anything to go by. Slade suspected he practiced some sport, since he was clearly fit but not bulky.
The boy then turned to him, head tilted down to look at the food as he placed it in front of Slade. The raven black hair fell into his face and Slade couldn’t help but be reminded of Robin. He decided to take a rather large sip of his coffee to distract himself from the unwanted similarities. The waiter looked up, Slade saw a strong jaw, dark eyebrows and blue eyes. (Hm, even his face was somewhat similar to - no, stop thinking about Robin.) Slade had closed his eyes, only for a moment, to try and enjoy a sip of coffee without thinking of Robin, when he heard ROBIN say ”I hope you enjo-”. He could have sworn that the voice, although kinder, was Robin’s. His realization resulted in a small gasp that lead to inhaling coffee.
The poor boy hadn’t had a chance to react before Slade had spit an entire mouthful of coffee in his face. The waiter shrieked in surprise and quickly took a step back, bending forward as he wiped his face and eyes of coffee. Slade watched Sam try to help the boy, - he read the name tag - Richard, and oh god it was even in his hair-
The woman from before came rushing to them, and apologized, ”Sorry for the mess sir, we’ll make you a new coffee right away.” She gently took Dick’s arm and led him to the kitchen, whispering ”let’s get you cleaned up.”
- - -
Slade watched the girl lead Richard, who was still wiping coffee from his face, to the kitchen. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this embarrassed. Not only because he had allowed himself to be surprised, but also because he had made a fool of himself in front of his coworker, the girl and the poor waiter. The boy had never met Slade in his life and got spit in the face because he couldn’t stop thinking about Robin. But the waiter boy didn’t know that, and from his point of view, he’d just had a complete stranger spit coffee all over his face for absolutely no reason.
Quickly standing from his seat, Slade went to the counter. The girl and Richard were still in the kitchen. Pulling out some cash he paid and left a big tip, along with a note saying ”sorry”.
Sam didn’t protest when Slade left and was unsure what to do. In the end he settled for eating his sandwich. After all, he had work in half an hour.