After that mugging and running from the hospital incident, Neal temporarily disappeared from the face of the city as he spent the time buried in his mattress, too exhausted to go out even. But when the scarce food he had kept ran out, he had to get up.

There were dark exhausted rings round his eyes and he had grown weak, knowing full well that it was dangerous for a man of his condition.

But danger had always lured him in even if it had been self depreciating.

That evening, he mustered up his strength and went to the nearby store to buy food, his savings were running out and he knew he had to sign up for another event soon so that he could stock up.

Neal was a performer and took up events in clubs or other gatherings, his main talent being singing and hosting. Months earlier, the line of jobs he had taken up were much different than the ones he had opted for recently.

But things had changed since then and he had begun to accept those changes fully.

He was standing in the queue in front of the payment counter, his basket quite scarce as it consisted only of bread, a small pack of milk and jam.

"Mister Hastings?"

The voice was familiar so he turned and saw Barbara Gordon waiting in line behind him. A small smile spread on his face, "Miss Gordon, what a pleasant surprise."

It was a shame she somehow always saw him at his worst, he thought to himself but shook the thought off nevertheless. There were a few people ahead of him already so he decided there would be no harm in small talk. 

"How have you been?" She asked quite visibly being cautious in choosing her words.

Neal knew Richard must have told her about his escapade from the hospital, he could judge that by the soft glimmer in her green eyes. "Great. Just great..."

She didn't ask more and his turn came at the counter so he paid for his items and stepped out though he hadn't yet left when she approached him again, making him stop in his tracks.

"Would you perhaps like to go out for coffee sometime?"

He wasn't expecting the offer but seemed to consider it, "right now?"

"If that's okay by you."

"Sure," he smiled politely.

She led him to her car and he stepped in as she took the driving seat. He had no idea what was going on in her head, in fact he had no idea why he had complied to her offer even.

But the only way of finding out was going with the flow.

"May I ask the reason to the sudden generosity?" Neal asked at last breaking the silence.

She gave a rather vague reply, focusing on the road, "no reason at all."

"Miss Gordon, people don't ask others out on coffee for nothing."

"It definitely isn't what you're thinking. I have a case and I need to talk to you about it."

"Ah so I'm getting the suspect treatment again, only difference is that it will be in a coffee shop instead of the Interrogation Cell? Interesting."

Instead of going to the shop, she drove into the drive through and stopped her car in line.

"What flavor?"

"Cappuccino."

"Two Cappuccinos please," she spoke over to the person taking orders and paid then drove ahead, grabbing the parcel from the window.

"Thank you," he smiled accepting the cup and then resumed, "so how may I help you in return, Miss Gordon?"

Barbara knew he had come straight to the topic and was grateful for that. She preferred it if things were kept strictly formal. Especially with a man like Neal Hastings though the offer for coffee suggested anything but formality.

But then there was something in him which lured her in, making her go a little out of her way to reach out. 

"Mister Hastings..."

"Oh please call me Neal, it seems so formal and I feel like a fifty something person who works a boring dull job like that of an accountant..."

A small smile flickered on her face, "so, Neal..."

"Sounds better."

"I wanted to ask you about the gatherings at West End, there have been certain reports of misconduct in the area," she began, carefully choosing her words because his ocher eyes seemed rather observant as he listened to her attentively, "and there has also been word that you frequent the gatherings as well so I wanted an insider's account on what actually takes place there."

"Right," he nodded, taking a deep sip from his cup, the warm liquid relaxing him considerably, brow furrowing in a thoughtful expression, "you and I may have different perceptions on the word misconduct then, I suppose."

"Probably."

"Most of the time it's just harmless stuff, like bike races. Other times, we gather to have a little fun with each other. We have become like a family," a small smile played upon his lips as he stared ahead, not meeting her scrutinizing gaze but comfortably recounting the events, "sometimes we have musical nights and bonfire parties. West End is always deserted so we can use whichever property we like for our gatherings."

"That's illegal," she remarked, "and dangerous even. What if the property you choose is already being used as a gang hideout?"

A light chuckle escaped him and the sheer sound of it resonated in the car, once again making her stop to wonder what kind of a man Neal really was, with a laugh as light as that of a child and yet eyes as fierce as that of a soul that had faced a lot head on. "What's life without a little risk, sweetheart?"

Her reply was immediate, "safe."

"Boring," he interjected, "you can never be safe in Gotham."

She knew his point was valid and she couldn't possibly argue against it so after a short pause, she nodded. "Fair enough."

"Anything else you might like to know? Though I assure you there's nothing going on there that could be considered as a very high misconduct even according to your perception."

She considered, "right... Thank you for your time."

"No, I should thank you instead," his smile lit up his face again as he took the last sip of the soothing coffee, he had badly needed something to relax his frayed nerves and that cup seemed to have done the trick.

Barbara had started up the engine as she asked, "where should I drop you off?"

"Back at the supermarket."

"Sure."

The rest of the ride passed in silence for Barbara was thinking about all the questions he always aroused in her head while Neal was simply looking out the window, paying attention to nothing in particular.

She stopped the car in front of the supermarket but before he could step out, he faced her, "Miss Gordon, why me?"

Green eyes widened slightly as if not expecting his question, "pardon?"

"I meant why are you interrogating me only? There are plenty other people who could have answered your questions."

"I wanted to know your perspective," she replied carefully, "that's all."

"What for?"

"Nothing that important."

Ocher eyes pierced through forest green as if he was trying to analyze the truth behind her words but he said nothing, much to her surprise. 

His gaze was intense and she felt as if she couldn't keep silent any longer so she spoke up, "Neal, I wanted your perspective because you're different. And Richard thinks you aren't what the society deems you as. I wanted to confirm that."

"And what confirmation have you received?"

"It's too early to say anything as of now."

His eyes were beautiful and she couldn't stop herself from holding his gaze, watching the jaded flecks in his irises dance in the diffused evening light.

After a couple minutes, he simply retrieved his gaze shaking his head a little, his fingers raking through his reddish streaked hair as he pushed it back from his face. "Thank you," he mumbled as he stepped out, retrieving his items from the back of the seat, "I would be glad to be of any help any time."

"Stay out of trouble," she breathed at last and the slight concern in her tone even took her own self by surprise.

Neal seemed to have noticed that too for an almost apologetic smile flickered on his face, "I can't make any promises, sweetheart."

***