Tim woke the next morning, his body was sore from the night before but he wasn't going to complain about it. He had spent it with Rory, holding her close to himself as he told her how much he loved her. Oliver had said once before that Tim was wrapped around her finger, and after last night there was no way in hell he could deny it. 

Rolling over, he expected to see his brown-haired sleeping beauty beside him but was surprised to see that she was not there. Sitting up the blankets bunched around his waist, barely covering his naked lower half as he saw that it was late in the morning so that meant the others were probably up. So he decided it was probably a good idea to at least put pants on before he showed his face to the public.

Lucky for him, he had stashed clothes in Rory's room for nights similar to the one before where he didn't change out of his suit before going to bed. Pulling a pair on, he grabbed a spare shirt and ruffled his hair trying to tone down some of the mess.

He had never told Rory that Jesse was missing, and she was probably with them. If she found out that he didn't tell her about that, Tim would be a dead man walking. Quietly, he left her room and shut the door before making his way down to the kitchen following the scent of freshly brewed coffee. 

Pushing the door open, he saw Rory curled up on one of the chairs talking to Jason and Steph. But what had caught him off guard was the fact that Roy was sat on Jesse's lap across the table from Rory and they seemed like there were all in a good mood and no serious injuries.

Rory turned her head and smiled when she saw him. "Hey you, I was about to bring up a cup of coffee and try and wake you."

Tim chuckled and leaned down, kissing her lips softly. "There are other things I would rather wake up to than a cup of coffee." he teased.

Rory turned beet red at his words, her eyes widening at the surprise of what he just said. When the fuck did Tim start openly flirting with her like that with people around? Normally, it was in the confinement of her room or just when they were alone but it had caught her completely off guard.

"Holy shit, did he just make Rory blush?" Roy asked, a grin forming on his face. 

"Damn, Darkwing Duck has some moves." Jesse teased, keeping an arm around Roy's waist as he sipped his coffee.

Tim paused in the middle of making his own cup and turned to look at Jesse. "Darkwing Duck? That's the best you can do?" he asked.

"Oh come on, Darkwing Duck is cool! It's a compliment, Tim! You have to at least say the catchphrase." he asked,

Tim shook his head, grabbing his full cup of coffee and sitting next to Rory. "It's not happening Jesse, I refuse to ever say it in this lifetime."

Jesse slumped in his chair looking defeated before he looked at Rory. He didn't even get the words out of his mouth before she held a hand up to stop him. "Stop harassing my boyfriend Jess, that's my job."

Tim was about to thank her, but quickly stopped and gave her a look after hearing the last half of the sentence. "That's your job? Oh really?" he asked, sipping his coffee. Rory looked at him with a grin and gave him a nod, sipping her own cup. 

Tim chuckled and pulled her close, placing a kiss below her ear. "That's not what you said last night," he whispered, this time no one heard it but her. Rory almost spat out her coffee, her face flushing darker than it already was. What the hell was up with Tim? 

Looking at the others she was talking to, she continued their conversation. "So you guys found nothing other than what was in the rubble of the explosion?" she asked.

Both Jason and Steph shook their heads. "A good chunk of the stuff in the safe house was destroyed, with the pictures we saved and those arrows down in the cave running through diagnostics as we speak," he answered. 

At the mention of the photos, Tim, Rory, Jesse, and Roy all tensed up. They had successfully forgotten about them for a couple of hours at least, but Jason had to bring them back into their trains of thought. 

"Anything about the arrows?" She asked softly, knowing what the answer was most likely going to be but scared of what it could be. Jess had said that the blood wasn't older than a week, so she had some faith they weren't really from that night. But faith was a hard thing to have when an assassin was trying to kill her constantly, and following every move she made while outside the manor. 

"The blood is animal blood, our best guess is cow blood but that's still unsure," Steph answered. "But the pictures... we have nothing to go off of." 

Everyone was quiet, the six people in the room had seen the photos and knew what they contained. Jason and Steph wouldn't have even brought them up if they weren't part of a major case but they needed everything the three of them knew about those pictures.

"I think it was Slade," Rory spoke after a few tense moments. 

"Why do you think that? He wants you dead, not freaked out about certain photos."  Jay commented, leaning against the back of the chair.

"Think about it, this whole thing has been about me. The Joker? That was Slade's doing. He wanted me to get to such a low point, I killed again and I did. I shot a man between the eyes, giving him the win. I managed to survive his last attack, winning that round because Tim got me out in time." she said. 

The others were giving her a confused look, "Songbird, what are you getting at?" Tim asked.

"Don't you see? Killing me, it's just a game to him. I don't think he has ever had a target that has caused him so much trouble before, so he wants to make sure I suffer. That note on the family photo? My greatest achievement and failure? The failure was obvious, but my greatest achievement to him is the fact that I am still alive after he made an attempt on my life once before." 

"But that doesn't explain the pictures themselves," Jesse said.

Tim was silent the whole time, listening to her speak and he had to agree with her. Rory was right, Slade was treating this like a game. A game that only one person was coming out alive from, banking on it being himself. 

"It shows just how close he has been the whole time, we didn't even know he was in town back in December and that's when several of them are from. But it also shows that he can't see us while we are in the manor, Bruce must have so much security that he can't get anywhere close to even try and get creepy photos," he said, looking at the table as he concentrated.

"What does that have to do with us?" Roy asked, looking at Tim and Rory.

"You were a test, to see if he could get that close in those moments without you noticing. He probably has photos of everyone in this manor along with Oli and Dinah, hell even possibly Kori and Helena. Slade wants to scare me with the fact he can get clear photos like that of those I care about and they never noticed. He can kill them just as easily, to make me suffer like he wants before he delivers the final blow." 

The dining room was quiet, no one was safe with Slade on the hunt for Rory. If what Tim said about the security being so tight, then Wayne Manor was the only safe place for them to be for the time being. Queen Manor had high levels of security as well, that was all the way in Washington on the opposite side of the country.

Rory got up from her seat and put her cup in the sink after rinsing it out. "I'm going down to the cave to train, does anyone want to join me?" she asked. 

The others gave each other a look and shrugged, "Sure, why not. Why don't we get the others and make it a competition?" Jason grinned.

Rory's smile twisted into a grin at his words. "Think you can finally beat me princess?" she asked.

"You know, for someone who is recovering from a stab wound and just got blown up you are very cocky," Jason commented.

Rory pursed her lips, giving him a nod. "You know, for someone who is supposed to be dead you're doing a lot of talking." she crossed her arms, watching Jason's jaw drop with a grin on her face.

"Damn, who pissed in your cheerios?" 

"No one did, I got blown up."

"Yeah, it's not fun is it princess?"

Rory rolled her eyes "I can see why you are always so moody now." and turned to walk out the door as the others started laughing at what they just witnessed. She walked up to her room and changed into training gear, not wanting to take much time. Rory was in the process of brushing her hair when Tim walked in, with his hands in the pockets of his sweats.

"You alright Songbird?" he asked.

Rory peeked out from the bathroom to look at Tim. "Yeah, I'm alright Timmy. What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing, you just seemed a little on edge. I wanted to make sure that you weren't going to chop someone's head off or anything." he chuckled softly, walking in and wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. Tim rested his head on the top of hers as she leaned back into him. 

Rory's fingers trailed up and down his arms as she relaxed in his hold, her mind drifting to the night before as she bit her lip in thought. Tim watched her, tightening his grip on her waist. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Last night, and how much I enjoyed it," she answered, looking up at him as she released her lip.

Tim let out a soft groan, "If you bite your lip again, I'm going to do it for you." 

"Since when are you this flirty Timothy?" she asked, biting her lip once more with a grin. 

Tim turned her in his hands, as he held her against the sink of the bathroom. "Since I woke up to an empty bed this morning and not you." he took her chin in his hand and tilted her face upwards towards him, grazing his teeth against the skin of her lower lip. 

Rory let out a soft whine, "How rude of me, should we try again and see if I can get it right?" 

Tim chuckled hearing her whine, this time kissing her fully as he bit down on her lip and pulled on it with his teeth a groan leaving his lips as she gripped his shirt tighter. "I would love to, but I believe we promised we'd be somewhere." he grinned hearing her whimper, and pulled away from her completely, leaving Rory there in a flustered state trying to catch her breath as her heart rate sped up.

Rory stood there and watched him walk away, gripping the edge of the sink to keep herself up. What just happened? Did Tim just tease her, and then had the audacity to stop and leave? Trying to shake the thoughts of what she wanted to do to Tim out of her mind, she finished getting ready before walking down to the Batcave.

Once she got down there, Rory saw that everyone was down in the cave except for Bruce and Alfred. Barbara was still running the diagnostics on the arrows and the pictures as she was sat by the computer. The others were standing around the boxing ring that was set up, talking amongst each other. 

"About time! What took you so long?" Jason called, seeing Rory come down the stairs.

Rory's eyes met Tim, seeing the grin he was trying to hide from the others. He knew exactly why she was the last one down, seeing as it was his fault. "I don't know Jay, I guess I was just caught a little off guard." she crossed her arms and sent her boyfriend a glare.

Everyone around them could feel the tension between Rory and Tim, something had happened before they came down but no one was brave enough to ask about it. Want to diffuse it some, Dick stepped forward and put his hands in his pockets. "So, what are the rules? Points, single touch, or tap out?" 

"Full contact and tap out? I'm always looking for an excuse to knock you on your ass Dickiebird." Jason grinned.

"I have yet to lose to you princess, don't get too cocky. The one with the most tap-outs win?" Rory asked, raising her brows. 

Jesse shook his head. "If that's the case, I'm out. I'll lose in minutes, especially to Rory. Even injured she can still kick ass." he chuckled.

"I'm out too, Rory seems to be in a mood and don't want my nose broken again." Roy chuckled.

The others laughed at his comment as Rory flipped him off with a grin. "Alright, who's first?"

"I say Drake should go first, he's been uncharacteristically quiet during all of this and he should fight Sonnet," Damian spoke up. Tim turned to give his brother a confused look. 

"What the hell Dami? Do you want me to die or something?" he asked, turning to his younger brother.

Damian looked Tim dead in the eyes. "You're telling me that you haven't noticed?" 

Rory started laughing as she hopped into the ring. "Come on Dragon Boy, even I could see that. You aren't telling me that you're scared of your girlfriend now are you?" she teased. 

Tim sent her a glare before hopping into the ring. "Are you sure you're up for this? You're still recovering, and I don't want to hurt you Songbird." 

"You can just kiss it all better afterwords, Timmy." she grinned blowing him a kiss, tightening her ponytail and blew the stray hairs out of her eyes. "Hit me with your best shot sweetheart." 

Tim shook his head with a chuckle before looking up at her and getting into a stance to spar. Rory watched as he set his feet, ready to strike. The two of them watched the other as they circled around the mat, assessing the situation. He had only managed to actually pin Rory once, and it's because he had distracted her with accidental flirting that he was able to get her on the floor.

Tired of the quiet tension, Rory launched herself at him and went to punch him. Tim blocked it with his hands and sent a jab to her side which she dodged as he swung his leg around to try and knock her feet out from under her. Rory saw it coming and did a back handspring to get away from it in time. 

As she landed, Rory hissed and pressed her hand against the would she angered. "Fuck, that makes things harder," she muttered. 

Tim gave her a concerned look. "Are you sure that you don't want to stop Rory? I don't want you overdoing yourself." 

"If I didn't overdo myself last night, I'm not overdoing it now." she teased. 

Tim's face went red, of course, she would throw something like that at him. The atmosphere in the room changed with her statement. They both seemed to have a new sense of determination between them, as they tried to suppress the feelings the crept up inside them.

Quickly, Rory threw herself at him and sent a series of punches and kicks that Tim managed to dodge or block before he caught her hand and held her against his chest tight enough that she couldn't pull away. 

"Is that the best you can do?" he taunted, a playful smirk on his face.

Rory had a deep urge to kiss him, an urge she fought hard against. If this was the game he wanted to play, then play she will. She bit her lip, knowing just how much it drove him crazy. Tim looked at her as she did it, and kept the groan that wanted to escape deep down. 

"Why don't you just kiss me?" he whispered.

"I'll consider it if you manage to beat me." she grinned and kicked his ankle sending Tim to the floor, pinning him onto his back as she hovered over him. "But I doubt that's going to happen."

He rolled his eyes. "Bite me." 

Rory raised a brow at him. "Are you asking or telling me to?" 

Tim was the one who's face went bright red this time, he hadn't expected her to have a comeback. 

"We're still here guys!" Rory and Tim turned and saw the others were watching them with crossed arms. 

Slowly, she got up and held her hand out to Tim and pulled him to his feet. "I know, I was ignoring your presence if you didn't notice." she laughed. Tim helped her out the ring, making sure she didn't hurt her stomach any more than she did and wrapped his arms around her waist holding her close.

They watched as Jason and Cass fought, and she pinned him within seconds. Rory would have pinned Tim sooner if he wasn't trying to flirt with her the whole time, but she didn't mind. It was a nice change of pace from the normal business attitude everyone was carrying these days. The others all went through their rounds leaving Dick, Cass, Rory, and Damian. 

The first fight was between Cass and Damian, and it was evenly matched. Damian had always had great skill when he fought, Rory could see it. Even at such a young age,  Rory considered him as one of the best fighters she had seen. Damian might have been good, but Cass was better. That left her and Dick to battle it out for the final round.

Tim helped her into the ring as Dick watched them, unsure if Rory was still good to do this. He saw the back handspring she did in her last fight and how she had almost landed wrong because of the pain in her stomach. 

"Rory, I'm worried you hurt yourself last time. Maybe we should stop for the day."

Rory huffed. "If one more person tells me to take it easy, I'll make Jason eat his own guns." 

"Hey! Why am I always the butt of your insults and threats!?" 

"Because you are an easy target, and I find it hilarious to pick on you." she chuckled and turned her attention back to Dick. "Don't you dare go easy on me Grayson, I can handle it."

Dick sighed and nodded. "Alright, just let me know if it does get to be too much." Rory gave him a nod. This time, it was Dick who attacked first as Rory dropped and rolled away out of his reach before kicking him in the back of the knee. 

His knee hit the ground, but he flipped backward and landed behind her. Rory was quick enough to dodge his kicks, but it came at a cost. The pain in her stomach was back, and it wasn't going away this time. She gritted her teeth, trying to hide how much it hurt. If she managed to end this fight, then she could stop, right?

Rory was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Dick make a move before it was too late. She held her arms up to block his hits but it wasn't a strong enough defense and she fell onto her back with a small cry of pain.

Anyone who knew Rory knew that she did not show pain often, and when she did it was bad. Dick quickly called a timeout and ran over to check on her as Tim dove into the ring, landing at her side. "You're done, I'm taking you upstairs to rest. Don't bother fighting me on this, everyone here agrees with me and I'll tie you to the bed if I have to."

Rory let out a chuckle and looked at Tim. "Again, didn't know you were into that kind of thing Timmy." she grinned.

He laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead before he helped her sit up, keeping a hand on her back to support her.  Carefully he pulled Rory to her feet before he picked her up and climbed out of the ring and carried her up to her room. 

Once in Rory's room, he sat on the bed and held her close. She curled into his chest and closed her eyes with a smile, Rory enjoyed these moments the most. Tim shifted so they were laying on her bed as his hand traced patterns on her back in circular motions.  His eyes watched as she played with the fabric on his shirt.

"You're being all cute and sweet, it's making me want to kiss you." she chuckled.

"Well, why don't you?" 

Rory rolled her eyes and leaned up, pressing her lips to his. Tim's hands found her waist as she laid herself on top of his body, keeping the kiss soft but meaningful. Slowly she pulled away and looked into his eyes, cupping his cheek.

"I love you, Tim," she said softly.

"I love you too Rory." he pecked her lips, making her giggle.

She patted his chest as she carefully got up. "I want to take a shower, and you should join me. It'll conserve water." she grinned and walked to the bathroom, tossing her clothes to the floor. 

Tim watched and got up with a chuckle. "Yes, because we are all about saving the planet." He tossed his shirt in the hamper as he followed her.

"Well, we are superheroes baby. It's what we do." she laughed.

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I think this is a new record, a chapter where nothing generally bad happens twice in a row? What is this sorcery?? BUT FLUFFY TORY CONTENT AND A FLIRTY TIM AH! I could not handle all the flirting that was happening here but I love it.

I promise there is going to be a little more softness before shit hits the fan again, gotta give my girl a break. Hope you all have a great day!

Until Next Time,