2012-08-25 What about breakfast at...Denny's.

It's midmorning, and Tim sent a text to his best friend, letting her know that his place in Metropolis is finished. He's done packing already, and has invited Donna for breakfast, with the promise of a tour afterward. It's at a local Denny's restaurant, and Tim is waiting out front this time, leaning against his bike.

He's wearing blue jeans today, and a long sleeved red button up shirt, left open, over a black muscle shirt. The silver chain around his neck, that he's worn continuously for the last month, is missing. Black boots and mirrored sunglasses complete the look.

Tim looks...better somehow. His back is straighter, he looks more at ease with himself, and he's quick to give a nod and a smile to people passing him by while he waits.

When Donna got the text, she took a few moments to get ready and then made her way to the meeting point. The vision that walks around the side of the building is one that Tim likely hasn't seen before.

No jeans. No low cut shirts. No heels. Instead, she's dressed in an iridescent taffeta that changes from soft blue to copper depending on how she turns. It's paired with a pair of copper ballet flats. The sides of her hair have been pulled back, the tresses falling in thick waves down her back. She wears no make up really and her only jewelry is a silver charm bracelet around her right wrist.

"That's a good look for you, handsome." And she isn't referring to his clothing at all.

Tim turns and actually has to reach up and lower his sunglasses a moment to take Donna in. His jaw drops a little, and he stands up straighter a little too quickly. "Wow." he says at last. "What is the special occasion, beautiful?" he asks, sliding easily into that smile of his and extending an hand out to give Donna a twirl. "Let me get a look at you."

"Wow." he states again, moving in to give the girl a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He's even gone so far to change his cologne. Instead of the dark chocolate scented body spray, he's elected to go with something very light, that just has a very clean scent.

Tim offers his arm to escort Donna inside. "Shall we?"

A bright laughter bubble up from Donna as she takes Tim's hand and does a little pirouette form him. "No occasion. I do wear dresses once in a while." Her voice drops into a conspiratorial whisper. "I am a girl after all. In case you didn't notice."

Blue-green eyes dance as she leans into the hug, kisses his cheek in return. "I'm glad you like it though." A deep breath is taken. "Much better than chocolate. I did like the leather scent on you though."

Taking his arm, she smiles warmly. "So, Denny's will do for now but eventually we'll have to find a coffee shop here. You know that, right? We have one in Gotham. On in Manhattan. Now we'll have to find one here."

"Oh...I've noticed your of the fairer sex. Believe you me, I've noticed." Tim replies with a laugh, holding the door to the restaurant open and following Donna in. "And...thanks. Just a little soap and some aftershave today." he comments on his smell.

Tim moves up to the counter and tells the waitress a table for two, and the pair are led right away to a booth near the back. Always a gentleman, Tim extends a hand to help Donna sit and slide in, and moves to slide in next to her.

"And I have been looking for a good coffee shop here. So far, plenty of Starbucks, and no good iced coffees. But you'll be my first call if I find one that meets our exacting standards. How are you today, besides looking fabulous?"

Another laugh from the Amazon which is immediately followed by a light blush touching her cheeks. Inside, she casts a look over at her friend and smiles. "Much better than chocolate." As if it needs confirmation. Men should never smell like a dessert!

Hand taken, the skirt is tucked under her as she lowers herself to the booth and slides in. A pout comes quickly to her lips before her nose scrunches. "How can you live in a city without a decent coffee shop, handsome?"

"I had the best night's sleep in almost a week. Woke up easily, took a morning swim and then showered. I had just gotten out when your text came in so... I'd say I'm doing pretty good. How are you?"

"I am...good. Really really good. I think the air out here agrees with me." Tim answers, picking up the menu to glace at it a moment. "I woke up this morning, my mind clearer than it's been for a while, made a few life altering choices, worked out, took a shower, and now I /really/ want something smothered in eggs. So in short...I'm better than I have been in a long long time."

"As for the coffee...I said yet. I like a challenge, Beautiful, and I shall continue the hunt if I must open a franchise of the Cup 'O Beans here myself." the teen teases lightly.

The more he talks, the bright Donna's smile grows. "Wonderful, Tim! Absolutely wonderful. You look... Better. Relaxed. More at ease with yourself." Her head tilts off to one side. "Do I get to know about these life altering decisions or are we going to play twenty questions?" A brow shoots up in curiosity and no, she actually /isn't/ thinking any of it has anything to do with Kara. They laid that to rest yesterday.

The comment about coffee causes her to laugh and give a shake of her head. "You would too, wouldn't you?" Her eyes sparkle and dance, even as she picks up the menu. "I want bacon, I've had this craving for it for like, the past three days!"

"Well..." Tim starts, closing the menu and looking over. "I've decided to stop changing who I am in order to make others happy. That was the big one. I just gotta be me for a while." He smiles again, and then leans over to set his head against Donna's for a moment. "You really helped me clarify some stuff the other day. So...thank you." he says softly, straightening again.

"Bacon huh? Well, for you my dear, sky's the limit. Anything you want."

A light blush touches Donna's cheeks yet again and the young woman smiles. "I'm glad I could help, Tim. I really am." She turns her hand over to give his a gentle squeeze. "If there's anything I can do..."

"What were the other ones?" And then she chuckles. "And what are you going to do about your, uh, evening occupation?" She glances down at the menu again for a moment. "Mmm. Eggs over easy and bacon. With toast and honey. And coffee, of course." Her eyes lift again and she smiles. "Thank you, by the way."

"So you just want me to spill everything, dontcha." Tim teases again, turning to the waitress as she approaches. He orders what Donna asked for, and gets over easy eggs and bacon for himself, with extra toast and a coffee.

"For what? Breakfast?" Tim questions, when thanked by the woman. "Always happy to buy breakfast, Donna." he says with a smile.

"Of course I do! It's not like I gossip or anything but, c'mon, i have to have a few girly traits, don't I?" Donna teases in return. She's silent as Tim places her order before smiling warmly at him. "Be that as it may, I'm still thankful." She chews at the bottom of her lip a moment before saying, "I hope you don't mind but I brought my camera and such. I stowed it not far from here. I thought it would be nice to get some pictures of your new place." There's a pause before she winks. "So I know what I need to redo to make it look warm instead of the typical bachelor pad." Oh yes, now she's teasing.

"Living in a place that I picked and designed myself, and you still think I'd pick a typical bachelor pad?" Tim pretends to be hurt, putting a hand to his chest in mock pain. "You wound me. Or perhaps...'hoping' would be a better way to put it." he says with a wink.

"Lets see...what else did I decide this morning. I'm going fly solo for a while. In both interpretations of my night life." he says with a grin. "And...I'm going to assist the Titan's. Be a reservist so to speak, and kinda semi-retire for a little while. Help the Titans, train with them to keep my skills up, but otherwise...just be a college kid for a while."

Donna laughs. "I very well remember what my apartment looked like when I moved in. If yours is even similar, then it needs help, honey." She can't help but giggle then.

"that sounds absolutely perfect for you, Tim!" Donna's practically beaming. "For what it's worth, I'm proud of you. It's about damn time you looked out for yourself for change."

Tim shrugs lightly, but keeps grinning. "Thanks Donna. Means the world to me." he says, nodding his head before moving his hands back and letting the waitress set the coffee cups down.

"And...what was wrong with the apartment? I rather like the spartan look. I'm not a clutter kinda guy." he says with a smirk, reaching for the cream and sugar.

Another laugh comes from Donna, her eyes rolling. "Handsome... There's a difference between spartan and staged. You can be minimalist and still have things look welcoming instead of like it was taken straight out of a magazine. Little personal touches."

She reaches out for the cream and sugar. "So, why Metropolis? Not that I have any idea what the difference between schools in Gotham, New York and here are. It's difficult to manage to go to college when you don't have documentation to prove you have the right to go to school."

"Say the word, Donna, and I can get you set up with anything you want, if you want to go to school." Tim offers, twirling his spoon in his coffee. "And I know a place needs personal touches." he says with a smirk. "Those come with time. You can't blame me for not having family pictures up, and the rest of it...okay. You're right." he says with a grin. "And yeah...the place here is sorta like that. More personal though, cause most of my stuff from Gotham is in there, but you're right. I need to make it more mine, rather than something I can drop in a heartbeat."

"As for Metropolis...it isn't Gotham, and yet still close enough that I can be in Gotham in a few minutes by the Redjet. That's the big reason. The school here is really good, Forensic Science, by the way, if I haven't mentioned that. My major."

Donna's eyes drop and she shakes her head. "You're bound and determined to spoil me, I swear." A light blush tints her cheeks. "I wouldn't even know what to go to school for, really. I mean... I already have a career I love. Photography is great for me. You'd be amazed what can be caught with the lens of a camera. Things people don't normally see."

Her own coffee is given a stir before she lifts her head to look at him. "I do have a housewarming gift for you, but I have to finish putting it together first. There are still a few frames that need developed and such. I should be able to finish it this evening. You can't get angry at me though."

"I'm glad you're getting away from Gotham. Away from the people there some. It'll be good for you!" When he mentions what he's going for, she chuckles. "Why am I not surprised. A very fitting career path for you, handsome. Very fitting."

Tim bites his bottom lip a moment and gives Donna a sideways look. "I can't get angry at a house warming gift? Now I'm a little nervous." he says, shaking it off with a chuckle. "And of course I'm determined to spoil you. How else do I justify calling you in the middle of the night to bring me iced coffee?"

"You know...this is the first time you've mentioned being really into taking pictures. We don't talk about you enough sometimes. I'm sorry." Tim says, reaching to slide an arm around Donna to give her a quick hug.

"As for my career...yeah, I thought so. Maybe I'll even learn a few things I didn't already know."

A bright and happy laugh comes from Donna, her head being brought to rest against the table as she just giggles. "That was such a blast. I think your friend got the wrong idea though." Her head lifts when his arm slips around her and she leans into the hug. "Nothing to be sorry for, Tim. We still have some things to learn about one another. It will keep life interesting."

The hug is returned before she reaches for her coffee. "I'm a professional photographer. Any time you see a picture in a magazine that says the photographer is D. Troy, it's one of mine." And considering the fact that's very successful in what she does, he's likely seen a picture or two of hers and not even known it.

She gives a little snort. "I doubt that very much, Mister Drake," she teases lightly, cutting her eyes over to look at him and wink. "You're already exceptional at what you do." And then she smirks. "There... Might be a candid shot or two in there..."

"Candid shot?" Tim blinks a second, and then leans in a little "What do you mean by candid shot? Of me or you? Or..." Tim leans back and smiles again as the waitress delivers the food, and sets down a thermos of coffee before moving away again.

"Donna..." Tim starts, lowering his voice a little. "What exactly have you been taking pictures of?" he says, then grins and winks once.

She's about to answer when the waitress arrives. Only once the woman is gone, does she turn her attention on Tim while reaching out to snag a piece of bacon from her plate. A bite is taken and she watches him as she chews, letting him worry and think on it a moment before she swallows and smirks. "Candid shots of you. How would I take candid shots of me? Unless I fall into that stupid cell-phone-with-a-mirror trick and... gah! That just doesn't work. Not only is bad angles and bad lighting but it's just...tacky looking!"

Leaning back against the booth, she takes another bite of the bacon. "For example, I got a shot of you at the coffee shop in Gotham. Apparently, the waitress had amused you somehow. Or you were trying to turn her into goo. I'm not really sure which."

Tim raises an eyebrow and shakes his head a moment. "Please tell me these are all of me, and not of me in my...uniform." Tim asks, before shaking his head and smiling again. "And I was trying to turn a waitress into goo? You mean I was smiling at her?"

Donna's eyes widen. "Of course they are! You don't..." Now it's her turn to clutch a hand to her chest, give a mock sniffle and pout. "How could you think I would do such a thing, Timmy?" This last all of three seconds before she begins to giggle.

Only once the giggle fit dies does she give a 'look'. "You weren't just smiling at her, you had that smile that causes most women to forget how to breath and causes their heart to do funny things on. It's a wonder she managed to make it back to the counter!"

The rest of the bacon is popped in her mouth, chewed and swallowed before a sip of her coffee is taken. "There's a few shots of the garden you took me to,. A few of the coffee shops in Gotham and New York from various angles. A few of the beach..." Her shoulders roll into a shrug. "I'll either turn it into a college for you and blow a few up and put them on canvas." A sly look is given to him. "I even have one of you from the night of the race. Before you lost your jacket."

"I have either really not been paying attention, or you have a really small camera." Tim says with a smirk. "How could I not have noticed you taking pictures of me all this time. You're like a camera ninja or something."

Tim can't help it. When Donna starts describing that smile of his, once called 'heart stopping' by a certian someone nearby, the smile makes an appearance. "There is no way I have that powerful of a smile." he says, smiling. "You'll have to show me that one."

"I'm very good at what I do. I'm also very fast when I need to be and I have very good equipment." Donna gives a smirk. "I also have a very expensive and, yes, tiny camera."

When that smile of his shows up, her breath does, indeed, catch and her heart skips a beat before the rhythm increases. reaching out for his hand, she brings it up to place it over her heart and let him feel the way it's racing. "I told you it was heart stopping. It really does cause my heart to skip a beat when you smile at me like that. It's totally cheating." She wouldn't be able to deny him anything when he smiles like that.

"Might have to give me a few lessons." Tim whispers quietly, his hand upon Donna's chest, feeling her heartbeat race against his palm. "I'm terrible at taking pictures. It's a good shot if my thumbs not in it....." He's just sort of mindlessly finishing the sentence as he looks Donna in the eyes, that smile of his never fading.

Then it occurs to him that they are in a Denny's, with people all around, and here he is with his hand on the upper part of a woman's chest right there in front of everyone. He coughs a little, blushing and lowering his hand back to the table.

"I don't mean to cheat. It's not like I can help being happy." he says, one corner of that smile slipping into a smirk. "And it's hard not to be happy sitting next to a woman dressed like that." he says, trying to good naturedly change the subject to a less awkward and intense subject. For now at least. Denny's is hardly the place.

If anything, Donna's heart races a little faster as her eyes meet his. "Gladly. We'll go out to the outskirts of town some time. Landscaping is the easiest thing to photograph..." She's replying in much the same way.

When his hand is pulled away, her cheeks flare pink and her head dips forward. That reaction was not what she had intended!

The compliment causes her to blush more, a smile working it's way onto her features. "Tim..." Her bottom lip is bitten down on for a moment before she cuts her eyes over to look at him. "Uhm... Breakfast is getting cold?" Yep. It's a question.

Oh yeah, breakfast. That's why we're here. "Shall we?" Tim asks grabbing his fork and piece of toast. "I could eat a horse. Want my bacon?" he offers, already transferring the strips over to her plate before he stops, and meets her gaze a moment.

This is right, the gaze says. It should be this easy. Just give me time. Tim smiles lightly again, and lifts his coffee cup in silent salute to the woman. "Best of friends." he toasts, before taking a sip.

"Okay, there’s a national park not to far a way, that I have always wanted to go hiking in. Do you hike? I'm thinking like backpacking it, spending the weekend in the country and never seeing another soul kinda thing. Take the camera along and see what we can see?"

"Oh! Horse! We should see if we can't find a way to go riding some time! Do you ride?" And then she smiles. "Mm. Gladly!" She reaches out to snag one of the pieces of bacon before reversing it and sliding her eggs onto his plate with a wink.

When her eyes settle on his again, she bites down on her bottom lip and then offers a warm smile. Her cup is lifted in return. "Best of friends." A long sip is taken then and she sighs happily.

Her head leans over to rest on his shoulder a moment before she looks up at him and nods. "Ooh. A vacation! That sounds wonderful! We can go this weekend before classes start up for you. Make sure you're nice and relaxed and refreshed for the start of school!"

Tim purses his lips thoughtfully and then lifts his shoulders in a light shrug. "Sure. I can swing that. Yeah." he says, going down his mental checklist of the reasons as to possibly why he can't do that, before just giving them all the boot. "Yeah. Might wanna go back to NYC to get come more suitable clothes...though. Or better yet, we can just hit up the Outdoor Store."

Tim grins and can't help but chuckle. "Can I ride? Sweetie, I'm a rich well bred classical American gentleman. I didn't play baseball or football. I was jumping gates and playing polo. If you want to ride, we can head out to my families estates in the countryside outside Gotham. Probably go camping out there too, if we wanted."

She might have been about to respond but when he says they can go riding, whatever she was going to say is forgotten as she leans in to throw her arms around him, squealing happily and planting tiny kisses all over his cheeks and forehead. "Thank you! ThankYou ThankYou ThankYou!" Now the girl is absolutely giddy. "Sure. We'll stop wherever you want. You can even dress me in plaid if you want. I don't care!"

Tim blinks a few times, and then beams. It's not that often that he gets to make someone that happy with just a small gesture. He smiles, and holds up a finger, pulling his phone out and hitting one on the speed dial. "James. I'm bringing a guest home for the weekend. Have the guest house cleaned and let the stables know to expect us. Thanks James." Tim says into the phone before hanging up.

"And there you go. We go riding for the weekend. I've got all kinds of camping gear at the house. There is this breathtaking little stream that I used to ride out to as a kid all the time. Should take about half a day to ride there. Hopefully the damn I built is still out there. Great little swimming spot."

A warm, brilliant and sweet smile is given to the man at her side. She leans in to hug him again, resting her forehead against his shoulder. "Thank you, Tim. Thank you so very much!" Donna's eyes sparkle brightly as she pulls away and looks up into his eyes. "I'll have to remember to bring my suit." Leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his cheek, when she pulls back, she's still smiling. "I'll go home after this and pack."

"Pack light, my dear. It's only over night and horses can only carry so much." Tim teases lightly, as he polishes off his eggs and toast. "This is gonna be fun. Been a while since I just went out and did something I love to do. My mother loved horses. She spent almost all her free time in the saddle, and Dad built her the stables as gift when she got pregnant with me. It's nothing amazing, but ever since, we've kept...20 or so horses out there for her.....well her memory. Couldn't bear to shut down something she loved so much."

Her toast and bacon is finished and her coffee downed quickly. Gee? Excited, maybe? When he mentions packing light, she sticks her tongue out at him before she leans over to kiss his cheek once more. "This is going to be wonderful. I can't thank you enough for this." She beams at him before starting to slide from the booth. "I'll go pack and make sure I have my camera equipment too." Those blue-green eyes sparkle just as they did the day in the pool. "I love riding and it's been too long..." One more quick hug and she's standing. "You can show me your new place when we get back from camping..."