Invitation

All in all, his life was going great. After the Chosen One revelation, he anticipated conflict and strife. A sense of loneliness or confusion. Nope. He was content. He relished the time he spent with his friends and daughter.

The inquisitive members of the Bat Family were probably ripping their hairs apart. There was nothing on him. Not a single strand of suspicious hair. He was as clean as they came. A civilian. A regular worker. The Poison Ivy incident? Nothing. The Leviathan incident? Also nothing.

Plus, watching him interact cordially with his daughter either boiled their blood or softened them. Again, the daddy issues aspect of these superheroes was intriguing but also to his benefit. Amongst the heroes spying on him, he could point out Stephanie Brown in particular. It was like she wanted to cry whenever he joked with Chloe.

"It's snowing," Aaron muttered, looking up into the grey sky. Gentle flakes of snow fell. Chloe watched starry-eyed.

"Wow, it's very pretty," Chloe noted, lips parted in awe. "Before I was always so cold but now…it's very nice."

"Mhm."

Once their plastic cups were empty and tossed in the garbage, they tracked back home. Their cheeks flushed from the wintry adventure and remaining lights of Christmas and New Years gave them something to talk about. Unknown to Chloe, a shadow was following them. A detective by the name of Tim Drake. On the rooftops, behind poles and alleyways, he used every cover possible to hide his presence. Unfortunately, Aaron already knew he was there. To him, it was an amusing distraction.

'What are you even doing at this point, Red Robin. It's getting late. We're going home. I'm sure you can tell at this point we're just a regular family.'

Just as he was about to swipe into his apartment, the shadow came into the light and tapped his shoulder. Aaron craned his head and feigned shock. "Oh! It's you. Tim, correct?"

"Yes, it's me." Tim flushed. He was probably embarrassed that he had to face him directly to string out information. "Um, err, sorry for just coming up to you unannounced. Aaron, right? Cassandra's…friend?"

"That's me. What's up?" Chloe stood beside him, holding his hand, wondering what this stranger wanted him. Tim awkwardly sent her a smile. Although the wind carried some of it away, the stench of coffee lingered on him. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes.

"See, we…well, I'm sure you know Cassandra's birthday is coming up."

January 26. Yes, he knew. He smiled at just how smoothly his plans were going and nodded. "Yeah. I was planning my own surprise. Let me guess, you're planning a huge birthday party?"

"Uh-huh. Exactly." From his winter jacket pocket, Tim got out an invitation. It was a fancy looking slate of paper with cursive writing and a pretty little pink bow. "Here's the invitation. It's a private thing, only close affiliates of the family can come. You can invite your daughter, of course."

"Thanks." Aaron happily accepted it. "That's a Wednesday, right? I'll have to clear my schedule but I'll do my best to get there."

"Oh, don't worry," Tim said, "it's happening at eight-thirty, two hours after your shift." As soon as he uttered those words, Tim understood his grave mistake. Typically, the young detective wouldn't have made such an egregious error but after days of vigilantism, spying, detective work, and school, his mind was in a rush. Fatigue seeped his nerves and without the strength of his usual mental brakes, his mouth was callous. Blushing and scratching his cheek, he mumbled, "I was once the Wayne Enterprises CEO and I'm still a majority shareholder so I'm aware of these kinds of things."

Aaron cocked a brow, raising some suspicion, but otherwise maintaining his calm, cool mask of indifference. "Alright…"

"We're going to a party!?" Chloe exclaimed, pulling on his arm. "Will there be cake!?"

"A huge cake," Tim said. "It'll be–actually, it'll be a surprise, just for you guys. Well, also for Cassandra. She doesn't know we are throwing her a party."

Chloe pouted. Aaron smiled and then beamed at Tim. "Thanks, man."

"No problem." Tim waved a hand and exited the apartment with a high-pitched. "See you next week!"

Watching him disappear into the night was liberating because it told Aaron what he wanted to know. 'He buys it. The fact that he invited me means he now trusts me.'

A pull on his arm distracted him from his thoughts. The innocent, ocean blue eyes of Chloe attempted to break his resolve as she said, "We should buy a gift! A huge gift!"

"Obviously. It's Cass. We are going to buy her something great."

"Cass?" Chloe tilted her head. A glint appeared in her eyes. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Aaron looked away with a small smile. "Not telling."

"Aw. Pleaseee."

"It's a huge secret, see?"

"Awww."