Description: Bernard likes Darla, Darla likes Tim, Tim has Steph – or does he? Set somewhere between Robin 120-130ish.

Disclaimer: Not mine…

Dreams Spoil(er)ed
By Marns AKA Bumpkin
Rated: PG
(Wordcount: 600)

Steph didn't know what had drawn her to be at Tim's school on that particular day but she sure was glad she had followed her gut. She'd barely arrived and started to look through her high-powered binoculars when she saw some dark-haired hussy lay one hell of a lip-lock on Tim.

'Okay, I'm not the possessive or jealous type normally, but even I have to draw the line at chicks stealing kisses from my *obviously* unwilling man,' she thought to herself, half amused and half rather ticked off. Then as she scurried to do a quick change out of her Spoiler costume and back into her civvies, it hit her. The full humor in the situation and any anger she felt drained away. Soon she was striving to suppress a laugh.

It would have been so easy for her to jump to all the wrong conclusions with what she had just witnessed. But that only would have been likely if Tim hadn't looked so much like he had unexpectedly stuck his toe in something nasty when he was, in actuality, being kissed by a rather pretty girl. Truly, she and Tim had been through too much during their relationship for something as trivial as this to make them doubt each other, even if it would look bad to an outsider.

Steph arrived, quietly and unnoticed, as Tim seemed to be trying gently to explain to the dark haired girl who had kissed him that he was already involved happily in a relationship with someone. Steph could also hear under the patient tone in her boyfriend's voice the irritation at what, she guessed, had become very tired and often repeated refrain for him. She could also see the minute tightening of his lips, and the tension around his eyes indicating he was feeling something a bit stronger than irritation when the girl snapped at him,

"Oh, don't lie to me! Just tell me you're not interested rather than…" she started to rant huffily, but Steph cut her off.

"He's not and he isn't."

Tim whirled to face her, his face lighting up and breaking into a brilliant smile – well, it was brilliant for him at least.

"Steph, hey!"

Two swift steps to the side and he was close enough to gather her in for a quick hello hug and kiss. Something that she obviously enjoyed greatly and reciprocated with feeling. Then, with their greetings done with for the moment, he took a step back. He made sure to leave an arm wrapped around her waist in a unmistakable non-verbal sign as he asked her affectionately,

"What are you doing here? Did I forget we'd made arrangements to meet or something?"

She shook her head, and replied warmly. "No, no, nothing like that. I just finished school early and decided to swing by and surprise you."

"And yet he still somehow managed to turn the tables on you, and the surprise ended up going both ways – assuming you were a witness to the little display earlier - however do you stand it?" Bernard broke in dryly.

Steph laughed easily enough at Bernard's droll words, thinking he was everything Tim had said. But she still looked narrowly at Darla who was standing nearby looking a bit shell-shocked.

She snarked dryly back to Bernard, "Yeah, it's not often I find strange girls molesting my boyfriend – but I do have to confess, this isn't the first time."

"Steph!" Tim cried blushing, his eyes screaming for her to shut up.

Bernard on the other hand slunk up to her unoccupied side and purred, "Oh? Do tell?"

-end-