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This wasn’t easy. Not in the least.
It was a simple idea, and he knew it, but executing it, getting the guts to actually just go with it, was not so simple. He even had volumes upon volumes of information - it was easy to say that he’d read every book in the city - to work with and ideas, suggestions, known possible outcomes, all at his disposal. Except this person was not easy to predict, unlike everyone else. And though, at times, it was like he knew anything and everything, this was the one person that made him feel like he was an absolute idiot. Like there was not even a single piece of information in his brain. Anyone else might hate that feeling, and sometimes it made him feel a little weird, but.. It was refreshing. It made him feel a little more normal sometimes. Like a kid who didn’t have to be looked at weird. Like he was on the same level as everyone else, and somehow, this guy… this guy was the one to be.
It was late, and everyone else was asleep in the tower - except the person who was causing his worry and was the object of his plan. He never slept. Bart swung his legs back and forth as he sat on the couch, pouting and glaring at the box of chocolates that sat on his lap.
What if he didn’t even like chocolate?
No, no. Everyone likes chocolate!
No, wait, that was a myth. There was a large percentage of the population that wasn’t fond of the food in the least. And he couldn’t really think of any time he’d ever seen him eat it.. Maybe he didn’t like sweets. Maybe this was stupid. Maybe he should have gone with the corny valentine.
He was starting to convince himself that this holiday was stupid. The others had claimed, for the most part, just that. But at the same time, he knew that most of them cared about it anyway. Gar certainly did, he knew. The girls? Of course. Every single one of them wanted to get a valentine and some chocolate. Kon was going to take advantage of it in every way, and he was confident. Tim had just.. smirked during that conversation, shaking his head at all of them before they started to prod at him. He’d shaken them off, not giving any kind of real answer. Bart had been sure to watch closely - though not too much so - to see if he could figure.. something out. But he was too good at hiding everything. From everyone.
That’s why he was nervous.
He felt like he didn’t know a single thing about anything..
But most of all, he felt like he didn’t understand or know anything about Tim. He knew that that was how he preferred it, but it wasn’t right or fair. It made him pout a bit more as he glared at the box in his lap.
“Bart?”
The speedster practically jumped out of his skin. He supposed he’d been brooding so much to himself about this plan of his that he hadn’t heard Tim enter their living room of sorts.
“What are you still doing up?”
Voice. Speech. He needed to speak.
“J-Justcouldn’tsleep.”
He listened to Tim go through the motions of refreshing his coffee - likely because he was forcing himself into another sleepless night that he didn’t need.
Taking a deep breath as he felt his cheeks heat up - merely at the thought of what he was going to do - and in a single moment he was standing in front of Tim. The other boy had his mug of coffee in his hand, and was looking to him with a questioning gaze. Bart, in the meantime, was trying to control the nervous vibrations wracking his body. Trying to will the color and heat from his cheeks was impossible, and he had given up on that.
“Bart?”
Words. Those were the things he needed to use again.
“Thisisforyou.HappyValentinesDayTim.”
Words that were rushed, and there were few others that could ever seem to decipher him, but Tim had gotten good at it. He seemed confused for a moment, though more surprised than anything. He stared at the little red box while Bart squeezed his eyes shut. The concept of receiving chocolate on this holiday seemed foreign to him, and maybe it was a bit hard to understand or process.
But eventually a small smile was his response as he took the box that was offered to him. He looked to the box fondly, understanding the thought, planning, and meaning that Bart had put behind such a simple gesture. Besides, it wasn’t as if his nervousness wasn’t obvious enough as it was.
Leaning forward, one hand with the box of chocolates, the other with his mug of coffee, he pressed his lips against the other boy’s temple.
“Thank you, Bart.”
It was a simple response before he walked passed and back to his room, smile remaining.
“Happy Valentines Day.”