In the semester break, Tim returned to Gotham from Seton Hall. College life had done him well as he radiated energy, eager to spend the holidays with his family.

He was the same as ever; the only difference was that a few inches were added to his height, and his messy curls had grown longer. In Steph's words, he badly needed a haircut, but he kept them tied in a bun, so it didn't make much of a difference.

He had a lot to talk about, and as he had turned up at night to surprise them, Steph took an off from patrol, and they spent the whole night talking to each other and even having a movie marathon. When the Bat vigilantes returned home, they saw the two asleep on the couch, the credits of some movie still rolling on the screen.

Cass brought a blanket for them and made sure that Jason didn't wake them up with all the teasing remarks he had up his sleeve. However, they all knew breakfast would be a rather lively affair.

Tim woke up a few hours later, and his dull blue eyes flickered in the direction of the clock immediately. It was time for breakfast, and he could already hear the rest of the family gathering in the kitchen. Alfred must have made pancakes because a delicious smell had wafted out from the kitchen.

He tried to get up but then paused, realizing that his left side was frozen. He tilted his head and held his breath, taking in the sight that met his eyes. Steph was snuggled close to him on the couch, her head resting on his shoulder. A blanket covered them, which made him realize that they must have fallen asleep while watching the movie, and when the others returned from patrol, they would have seen them like that.

His face fired up with color, and he wondered why they hadn't woken them up. There was no way Jason would have passed that opportunity to tease them unless Cass intervened.

Thinking about Cass, he realized that blanket was from her room, so of course, he had her to thank for keeping Jay at bay.

"Stephanie," he called out softly, trying to wake her up. "Hey, it's morning. We have to go get breakfast before the rest of them finish it all."

She stirred but didn't open her eyes. Tim breathed shakily to keep himself calm, knowing full well that his face had gotten redder than a ripe tomato. If she woke up, she would make fun of him, too. But he couldn't move otherwise, so he had to give it another try.

"Stephie, you're crushing me," he whispered, "You know my bones are very fragile, and they will break if we stay like this any longer."

Hearing that, Stephanie woke up, and before she could say anything, Tim rolled off the couch. A soft thud sounded as he hit the floor, and she sat up in alarm.

"Are you okay?" She asked, seeing him sitting on the floor.

His curls fell all over his face messily, and he was busy getting the blood to flow to his numb left side. "Yeah, just a little frozen."

"You have a terrible iron deficiency, you know that, right?"

He shrugged, the color from his face fading back to the usual pale complexion, "I bet it's not just iron. Throw some vitamins and calcium in the mix, too."

"It's not something to be proud of, Timmy." She stood up from the couch, folding the blanket, and then held her hand out to Tim, "Come on, get up."

He took the offered hand, and she pulled him up to his feet, ignoring his painful groans as his left leg was still numb. The blood immediately rushing down felt like needles sticking into his feet.

However, they were interrupted as Jason appeared in the living room, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"Good morning," he greeted with a dazzling smile on his face.

Tim shrank behind Steph, knowing full well that his elder brother was going to tease him.

"Morning Jay, I hope you haven't eaten all the pancakes," Steph replied, letting go of Tim's arm as she went up the stairs to her room to freshen up first.

"Nope, I saved some for the little lovebirds," Jay replied, but she couldn't hear him.

On the other hand, Tim was about to escape, but Jason blocked his path.

"Where you off to, Babybird? You have some explaining to do." He had flung his arm around Tim's shoulders, making it clear that he wouldn't allow him to escape.

"What explaining?" The boy gave up struggling to free himself, "We just watched a movie, and I was tired, so I fell asleep. What's new in that?"

"Fair enough, but then why are you blushing?" Jason raised an eyebrow playfully, pinching his reddening cheeks.

"Ow, I don't have enough flesh in me for you to pinch," he rubbed his cheek, "In all honesty, Jay, I have to go to the research center today, and I am getting late. So how about I have breakfast first, then answer all your questions?"

Jason thought about it but relented, letting him go, "Fine, you're free for now. But I will have you know that Dickie and I have a bet going, and if he wins because of your antics, I will give you a beating."

Tim froze halfway through the stairs and turned to face Jason, "Bet? What bet?"

"Oh, you know, about how long it would take for you to pick up your guts and ask Steph out," he replied nonchalantly, not even looking at Tim, who was staring at him in shock.

"Excuse me, what?"

Tim had no idea that anyone other than Cass knew he had a crush on Steph, yet Richard and Jason were already betting on it. It put him in a very precarious situation because he wasn't sure how Steph would react if she found out.

"Earth to Timothy, weren't you going to brush your teeth or something?" The elder brother teased, his annoying smirk turning into a light chuckle to see how flustered he had gotten at his remark.

Tim snapped out of it, turning around immediately, "Of course, I'm going."

"Ask her out before Christmas," Jason's voice came trailing back to him, and he hoped Steph wasn't anywhere around to listen, "I really need to win this bet, okay?"

To avoid further embarrassment if Steph came out of her room and heard him, Tim dashed up the rest of the stairs and went to his room, locking the door.

He hoped Jason would be gone by the time he went to the kitchen. Otherwise, he would tease them a lot, and it would not be ideal for Tim, who was quite confused about what he felt toward Steph.

He didn't want to ruin their friendship by rushing into things.

***