From the moment you started working with him, Adrian slowly began to develop a crush on you — which genuinely wasn't secret after all. Anyone with eyes could see that he couldn't be discreet enough about how he was always watching you, to the point of forgetting what he was doing, and how awkward he became when you were looking at him... God, he'd even stutter if you showed up near him with your beautiful smile and kind words.

And if he could no longer hide how much his heart raced because of you, he could even less hide the look of discomfort on his face when a customer flirted with you. You always ignored them; treating customers well didn't mean giving them your number, and Adrian knew you weren't flirting back with anyone — in fact, he suspected you probably weren't interested in anyone.

Being the loser-minded kid he always was, he simply accepted the fact that you wouldn't look at him the way he looked at you because of that. And did he ever question you about it? No, he just took that as truth.

After Chris got out of jail and Adrian joined him, he became less insecure about his feelings for you, feelings that seemed to linger. Adrian felt powerful, strong, unstoppable... But, when he saw you, everything changed and he was vulnerable again, just waiting for you to smile at him. He always had to stop, breathe, and remember that it was just a fantasy he couldn't afford to delude himself with.

You were way better than him, the customers adored you, you received generous tips and were always praised — you did a good job, you made people feel welcome. Adrian thought you were perfect in your way, and he appreciated you for being everything he couldn't be. Although he felt a growing need for people to stop seeing you the way he did, perhaps it was jealousy? Yes, maybe.

That night his annoyance wasn't even with a stranger, it was with Chris, who stayed there a little later with John for some more bites and beers after a long day. Adrian noticed every glance, how he called you “sweetheart”, smiled at you — in a way he didn't smile at other people — and made little compliments about how sweet you were. But, when he made his old-fashioned attempt and wrote his number on a napkin to give you when you came back to their table, that's when you made Adrian a happy man. You picked up the napkin, saw the number on it, and... Placed it back on the table while saying: “I like glasses over muscles.” Before you leave as if nothing happened.

Chris chuckled softly at the rejection, but Adrian was grinning from ear to ear as he tried to hide it by running his hands over his face in relief. Not that he believed you said that because you liked him, there were many different possibilities, including that you might've said it because you didn't want Chris, not because you want a man with glasses... Or, you know, him.

When your shift ended, there was Adrian with his glasses practically falling off his face, trying to guess what was wrong with his car — only for you to show up like a hero. It wasn't the first time his car had broken down, nor the first time you'd given him a ride home. He was your passenger princess, in a way. “I can give your car a thorough check-up tomorrow, if you'd like, try to figure out what's wrong.” You offered when you parked in front of his house, watching him as you ran your fingers along the steering wheel.

Adrian said nothing but nodded as he tried to process that, on top of all your other qualities, you were also good enough to know about cars. “Life has taught me more than you can imagine.” At that moment, he didn't understand what you meant by that, but everything made sense at the 11th street kids meeting on the next day.

Chris introduced a new member to them, someone who came from Gotham and would be a trick up their sleeve. But, Adrian stopped paying attention when you arrived. You were the newest member... And his eyes couldn't focus on anything else right now, only you. Damn, you didn't even know he was Vigilante. What would you think of that? What would you think of him?