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You were under no illusion when it came to the horrors that galas could be. With how much Tim ranted, how could you not know?
But despite knowing intimately how the guests were the worst, like the amazing and cool friend you are, you agreed to go with Tim.
Well, at least you were able to wear a pretty dress, but that was the silver lining to a whole bunch of crap.
Obviously, being the date to the seventeen year old CEO of Wayne Enterprise and son of none other than Janet Drake, you were bound to get attention.
No one recognised you, obviously not being elite. While this might cause ridicule for anyone else, with Tim beside you, people kept their comments to themselves.
Well… not every comment.
“Miss l/n, might I say you look beautiful tonight.” A young man around your age comments, a fake smile plastered on his face.
A grimace threatened to surface, only warded away by the glass of wine that took the edge of this. (That’s a lie, it was apple juice, but no one needed to know.)
With your own very underdeveloped gala smile, you turned her attention to the brunet. “Thank you Mr View."
The name came easily, a man Tim had been very specific about avoiding. Apparently in his time going to the restrooms, Ryan View swooped in to approach the fresh meat.
“Say, how did you meet the Drake boy?” Ryan laughed, his own beverage slushing in the dainty glass. “I’ve heard he’s a real player, gets around, you know?”
Okay, well maybe this guy just really didn’t like Tim, but by the way he was edging towards you, another thought stuck out. You wished Tim would come back around now, you really didn’t need some ass flirting with you.
A blank look overtakes your features, boring into the man with as much unamusement you could interject. Either you were terrible at giving signals or he was just bad at giving a shit.
“I can’t help but notice he’s left you alone.” With a punchable smirk, Ryan leaned against the refreshments table. “What do you say we get out of this stuffy place? You smoke?”
You were really glad that at that very moment, a familiar calloused hand placed itself gently on your shoulder, a black haired figure shifting into your line of sight.
“Hey there, sorry I lost you back there!” Tim smiles down at you, something strained behind his smile.
With your own smile, you lean into the hand. That seems to be a problem to no one but Mr View.
“Ah, Drake! I was just getting acquainted with Miss l/n here!”
Tim inherited a lot genetically wise from his mother, but in this moment the particular strand of calculation and condemnation directed to Ryan was nothing that could be learned, just pure talent.
After a moment too long or silence, Tim smiles sharply, something simmering under there you couldn’t quite identify. “Ah, Mr View, how’s the internship going?”
It was impressive just how fast Ryan recoils, shock and fear running through his face before he schools it. For a moment, Ryan looks around nervously before adjusting his collar.
“Yeah, it’s uh, it’s great!” Patting down his pockets, Ryan laughs weakly. “Sorry Mr Drake, I have to go grab something. Nice talking to you!”
“Wow.” You watched in amazement as the man retreated, facing a mildly smug Tim with narrowed eyes. “What was that about?”
Shrugging, Tim’s hand shifted from your shoulder to back, prompting you forward through the crowd. “Maybe he was just messing with stuff he had no business in?”
Knowing you weren’t going to get anything from him, you shifted your attention to navigating through the people.
As they walk and the harder it is to get through the mounds of people, Tim’s hand slides down to your waist. He manages to guide you to the front balcony for some fresh air.
Moving to lean across the banister, you look up to Tim, watching his face closely. He stared out at the lawn, a muscle in his jaw clenched.
“Okay, what’s wrong with you?”
Tim turned, already bristling at the comment before he sees your face, sighing when he realises it wasn’t a jab.
Shaking his head as if to rid himself of his thoughts, Tim pressed his mouth into a thin line. “It’s nothing.”
“Bullshit, View was totally bothering you.” You huff, turning to lean your back against the support.
“He’s an asshole, that’s all.” Tim sighed, avoiding eye contact.
“Fine, have your secrets boy blunder.” You scoff with a small smile, finishing off your drink in one swig.
In all honesty, you had an idea of what was really bothering him. Despite arguably being the best detective in the world, somehow he couldn’t grasp the idea that you weren’t oblivious.
Well, a little jealousy never hurt anyone, and really it was his fault he couldn’t even figure out the concept of reciprocated feelings.
Detective of everything but feelings.
“Come on, let’s ditch.” Tim said suddenly after a bit, grabbing your empty glass and propping it in a spot easy for clean up to see.
With a snort, you follow. “I thought you were supposed to be a good influence.”
Grinning, Tim looked back as he made his way to the back door. “Never said that, did I?”
You roll your eyes, but follow him regardless. You never liked stiff parties anyway.