#and babs is just a sleepy bitch and we all gotta appreciate her

[squiddybeifong]

Fluffy Q, BabsRae with 12? 💕💕💕💕 it’s been a Hot Second since either of us wrote for them & I miss that 💕

Table for Two, Chapter Three

12. Who falls asleep on who? What is their reaction when the other falls asleep on them?

From this list of fluffy prompts:

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Despite being early January, Gotham hadn’t been burdened by too much snow. A small blanket had covered the ground but the sidewalk had yet to be turned into a slurry mess. Which was very useful since Raven’s idea of bringing out the ‘big guns’ was taking Barbara to her absolute favorite place in all of Gotham: Robinson Park. Staying on the south end so that the sunny glare from the snow was hidden by Gotham City Hall, the two found their way to a remarkably dry park bench hidden under an elm’s branches. Barbara held a plastic box in one hand, the other wrapped around Raven’s arm. For balance, of course.

Snickering as she brushed the snowflakes clinging off her hair, Raven let her bag drop to her feet as she took a seat next to the librarian. She slid her arm down until they were practically holding hands, grinning at the redhead as she popped open the plastic.

“Dried peaches,” Barbara murmured. Raven raised a brow and she flushed, “Have you ever tried them? They’re my favorites.”

Raven shrugged, “Can’t say I have.” The waitress plucked a piece out and rested an elbow on the bench’s back, curious as she tried one. Babs watched her as she ate her own slice, feeling an odd sort of leisure in the coziness of their little scene.

That leisure somewhat broke as Raven curled against her side, her cheek warm through the heavy coat that the redhead wore. Barbara cuddled back and they fell into a comfortable silence, blinking away the occasional snowflake off their lashes as they snacked and people watched. But even the hilarity of watching people do their best ice-skating impressions couldn’t keep the yawn from escaping her. Raven lazily rested her chin on the librarian’s shoulder, her smile a bit timid despite the bold move, “Sleepy?”

“Yeah,” Running a hand through her hair, green eyes suddenly went wide as she met Raven’s gaze. She flushed and tried to explain, lest her date get the wrong idea, “I had a big test Wednesday, a double shift last night then a morning class earlier today.”

Her heartbeat would’ve relaxed when the waitress seemed to understand, although the small smile that curled her lips was more than enough to get Babs’ heart thumping all over again. “Masochist,” Raven murmured, amused and impressed at the librarian’s resolve. She watched as freckles were consumed in a blush as the redhead fiddled with the side of her glasses. Her words came out fast, as if she wasn’t sure whether or not to say something so impulsive on just their second date, “Well, it’s worth it if I get to spend the rest of my day with you.”

Raven’s shoulders shook as she held back her chuckle. Feeling charmed, she smiled at the comment and pecked the outside of her date’s coat. Emerald eyes widened behind the glasses and she cuddled closer, sighing out, “So you’re warm, cute, and a nerd.”

Barbara let out a groan at her teasing, smothering her giggles with her palm as warmth seeped into her. She leaned closer for more cuddles, enchanted at the knowledge that Raven thought she was cute. Her thoughts short circuited as the budding baker wrapped her arms around her waist as they settled down, their breaths puffing in the air as a warm, amused silence enveloped them. After another moment, Barbara licked her lips and spoke again, “You don’t mind the quiet?”

Gray eyes flicked up to her face. “You’re a librarian,” The waitress deadpanned. Raven chuckled again, “I thought that was a part of your job.”

“Well, yeah. But you don’t need to be if you don’t want to.”

Her past disasters of first (well, second) dates came to mind as Raven looked at her for a moment. Babs wondered if she was being a bit too on the nose before the shorter woman simply hummed, sneaking another peach as she sunk down to rest her cheek on the redhead’s shoulder again, “I like the quiet. It’s nice.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhmm,” Raven squeezed her hand and let them lay in their laps. She smiled as Babs intertwined their gloved fingers. Her eyes closed and a snicker escaped her as the redhead murmured, “Reminds me of that Pulp Fiction quote.”

Raven lifted her head and smirked at her date, “Wow, a librarian who knows pop culture movie references? You’re just the whole package, huh?”

She batted her lashes at Babs, her teasing lessened at the way her eyes flicked to the redhead’s mouth. Barbara bit her lip and leaned in, nervously giggling as their noses bumped. Her hand came to cup the waitress’ cheek and Raven tilted up to kiss her.

It was a slow, lazy, timid kiss, no more than a peck. They reluctantly pulled apart as their ears filled with the sound of the ice slurry squishing under a passing car’s tires. Raven gazed at her through half-lidded lids, licking her lips once and then reaching up to kiss her again. Babs hummed as she grabbed onto the waitress’ shoulders, leaning her weight on the bench’s back as she smiled into the embrace.

They separated again, their cheeks burning. Babs could only quietly whisper, “Woah…”

Raven nodded, her fingers fanning out over her waist, “Yeah…”

A beat, then they leaned in for one more peck, giggles bursting out of them as Barbara’s glasses jerked up when their foreheads touched. Gray eyes were shiny as Raven booped their noses again. Her words came out in a murmur, “I like hanging out with you like this…”

The redhead smiled and hummed as she urged Raven’s face into her scarf, holding her as they got comfy again on the bench. She ran her fingers over the violet-dyed strands as they sunk into another bout of quiet, simply enjoying each other’s presence as the snow started coming down a bit faster.

Everything was… calm.

Despite her rapidly beating heart and the taste of Raven’s chapstick on her lips, Babs felt her tired lids drooping down as she let herself get swept up in the warmth and weight of her date leaning against her. Vaguely, she rationalized her actions as being so tired from her previous all-nighter, but her thoughts trailed off as the spicy mango of Raven’s shampoo lulled her to sleep.

Raven lifted her head as the arms around her loosened just a tad, her eyes snapping open as a quiet snore sounded above her.

She bit back an incredulous laugh, burying her face in the soft cotton of Babs’ scarf. Snickering, she muttered into the fabric, “No fucking way.” Still the waitress paused before she moved, unsure of exactly how to get up without waking her. Before she could even begin to think of anything, a car let out an indignantly long honk. Barbara shifted at the noise, a quiet huff escaping her as she started to wake up.

Raven raised her chin to look at her, letting out a squawk as a blob of snow fell from the branches above them. The waitress winced, more concerned at Babs’ gasp than the cold seeping through her own clothes.

“Sorry about that,” She murmured, hastily moving onto her knees and brushing the snow off her date’s shoulders. Gray eyes critically ran over the redhead’s face, narrowing in worry at how exhausted the librarian really was. Pale hands rubbed at some crystals that clung to freckled cheeks, her smile timid, “You’re gonna wear yourself out, you know.”

“I thought that was your job.” Babs impishly leaned forward at her own words, booping her nose to Raven’s. She savored the wide, flustered gaze aimed her way for only a moment, then her eyes widened comically as her sleep deprived mind realized exactly what she just said.

Blushing but focused, Raven ran a tongue over her teeth, “My apartment’s a few blocks from here.” The waitress murmured out something in another language under her breath as she worriedly brushed aside Babs’ hair to feel her forehead. A part of her was buzzing at the intimacy of the act and the blatancy of the redhead’s accidental slip, but she was mainly concerned with how pink her cheeks were getting –and not in the good way.

She hummed and readjusted the scarf tighter around Barbara’s neck, “I know we didn’t plan it, but you could spend the night, if you’d like?”

Embarrassment and amusement lined emerald eyes, “Don’t you mean if we’d like?”

Raven snorted, the movement a bit strained with concern, “Ask Zamyatin if you want, but this half of we is fine with it.”

“Good, but I don’t have a pink slip,“ Babs teased. She held both of Raven’s hands to brace herself as she stood, shaking her head to clear the fog of not being able to quite fall asleep. The librarian pushed up her glasses to rub at her cold lashes, faltering as she realized what she said.

Raven squeezed her hands and turned towards the street, her easy (albeit worried) smile stopping the redhead before she could apologize, "Pfft, I got you to join me out here. If anything you’re D-503.”

The librarian paused at her words as Raven started leading them away from the snow-laden tree, a chuckle-turned-yawn escaping out of her a second later. Briefly, she wondered whether or not she could risk stealing another kiss but pushed the thought aside, “No one ever gets references to that.”

“We is a classic,” Raven winked and tugged on her arms, resting her palm in the crook of the taller woman’s elbow. Gray eyes glanced up at the sky once, noting how fast the snow was starting to come down, “I’ve got a copy or two back home. Let’s get you there and warm and then we’ll make all the dystopian references you want, okay?”

Babs nodded as she yawned, the move cut off by a series of sneezes. Raven furrowed her brows and cuddled closer. “I’ll get us a Lyft,” She muttered as she fumbled with her phone. A snicker came out of her when Babs immediately guessed, “Then off to the Ancient House?”

Raven didn’t look up from her phone, pressing her cheek against her date’s shoulder. She smirked and clicked her tongue, “Sleepy Babs is a Horny Babs, apparently.”

Barbara shrugged and kissed the waitress’ temple, the snowflakes on her glasses keeping her from seeing how Raven nearly dropped her phone at the move. She was still lethargic and the goth’s heat on her side was bound to make her drift off again. Green eyes blinked, opened, then closed as another yawn reminded her that she really shouldn’t do any all-nighters without caffeine, “We can still cuddle though, right?”

Raven glanced up at her face, a small hum rumbling out of her as Babs kissed her temple again, “Cars are really good for that.”

Tenderly tugging the redhead towards their car Raven nodded, her heart pounding at just how enjoyable casual affection was. Her voice was a beat faster than normal as she agreed, “Of course.”