BABS / BATGIRL *

The situation RJ came from is unfortunate, but  in the end there was a beacon of light. The boy would have a family, one bigger than ever thought possible. He continues to smile though since something about being around Barbara makes him smile. “Thank you, I’m glad too. I don’t want to even think about what would have happened to me living out there if he never came across me.  You know the TITANS long?” His curiosity is there, wanting to know more about the history of the people he’s sharing his time with.  Which isn’t a bad thing right? He doesn’t want to be clueless is all. “I like reading, but never had the pleasure of picking out my own things before. I’m excited about it I’ll admit. I wonder what kind of books I’ll be interested in? Do you have any recommendations for authors by chance? Mysteries sound cool.”

barbara paused, considering her answer for moment before nodding. “you could say that – this team was always dick’s thing. but i’ve known dick since we were kids and bruce adopted him. my dad is the police commissioner in gotham, so we’d always be stuck at these fancy events together. i’ve met most of the rest of the team through him.” she knew she had to choose her words carefully. while babs trusted almost anyone that dick did, she knew how easy it was to figure out everyone else’s identities once you knew more than one of them so it wasn’t only her secret to tell. she smiled though as he seemed to like the idea of reading. “everyone’s tastes are different, but i’m sure i can set you up with a few to get started, and you can tell me what you like about them or don’t. maybe some tana french or agatha christie, i’ll let you take a look at them first and see what you think. so clothes and books? we’ll make a day out of it. i can text dick and let him know.”

@btgrlisms

She sat calmly in the Watchtower, cross-legged in an office chair and listening to the audio readings on various new criminals that had sprouted up in their time here. The Cave had the same capabilities, but here she got the added bonus of being around Barbara. Bruce had adopted her, but Oracle had as much a hand in mentoring and raising her when she was just starting out, and even working in the same city and seeing each other often, Cass sometimes missed her regular presence. After a few minutes, Cass drew her knees up to her chest and looked over to where Babs intently typed away at some code or something on her big computer. “You and Dick snuck away at that party. Mission stuff? Did you know…?”

babs never minded having company at the clock tower, even as she worked, it was a small reminder that she wasn’t alone up there. it was a small thing but it often kept her from entirely drowning herself in her work. cass, particularly, was a welcomed sight. she may not have been the most talkative of guests, but leave it to her former protege to still say the one thing that could catch barbara off guard. “you noticed that?” on second thought, that wasn’t really a surprise. cass was always observant. “uh, no, not really. i mean, it was cobblepot’s party so i think we were all expecting something to go wrong. but we didn’t know what was going to happen.” her lips pressed together a moment. “after bruce took him in when we were kids, we used to sneak away at parties like that a lot. i guess we were feeling kind of nostalgic for the old days.”

Dick laughed at that, “And you know me, I was definitely showing off my circus moves whenever I got a chance,” he liked getting to show off what he could do- admittedly, he still did. Performer at heart, right? His smile faded for a moment, “Yeah- I keep hoping that Roy’s in Star City or something, but I got nothing from him,” unless Roy was avoiding him, which was entirely possible, “and Donna- I have no idea- she may have been in New York or Themyscira- neither of which are here- well, our New York isn’t- but you’re right- a lot of places they could have popped up,” his smile was back at the thought, “I don’t think the world is ready for the chaos a Birds of Prey and Titans team up would cause,” he teased, “but then again, the chaos can’t be worse than what’s already going on at the moment,”

There was nothing awkward about this, and he shifted slightly to slip his jacket off, letting it fall over the back of the chair before he wrapped his arms around her again. He liked not feeling nervous anymore. He laughed at her response, a genuine smile on his face as she spoke, “Definitely not,” he replied, “but I think we get points for trying,” This all felt- so right. Granted, being in her headquarters and so close to work probably wasn’t the best idea, but that was okay. “Last time I ate was lunch, so,” he calculated that in his brain for a second, “yeah, I haven’t eaten. Takeout sounds good. So does sleeping in,” The reassurance that they had the alarms to tell them they were needed made him feel better. “Nightwing’s off for three days too,” he added, quietly. He wasn’t sure why- maybe to reassure her that he’d be here all night- no suit. He wasn’t going anywhere in the middle of the night. He wasn’t leaving her, “Dad’s orders.” 

But she was kissing him back and had moved closer to him and he gently puled her all the way into his lap- she was already half-way there- he knew they should probably order food and stuff, but when she’d returned the words and then kissed him again, he completely forgot about eating or sleeping- he just wanted this moment to last as long as possible. Why had he taken so long to accept his feelings for her? Maybe they both had to grow before they could work- and that was okay- he was kind of a shit at fifteen, and even at twenty-six, when he’d been off in Detroit trying to figure himself out, and then in Bludhaven at twenty-seven. He had to grow, to have a few more experiences in life, have literal Satan screw with his head and then come back from it. He pulled out of the kiss, breathlessly, resting his forehead against hers as he moved his fingers into her hair again. To think it took reality falling apart to get them to realize this. For once, he stopped worrying about Bludhaven- he had to much to be thankful for being stuck in a reality that wasn’t his. He wouldn’t trade this for anything. He and Jason were talking again. He was living with Jason. He was finally calling Bruce dad after nineteen years, he was pretty sure he was on his way to being the legal father of two teenagers- and now he was Barbara Gordon’s boyfriend. Yeah- he wouldn’t change a single thing. He wrapped a few strands of her hair around his fingers, absentmindedly and he let out a breath, “We should probably get to ordering dinner,” he said, teasingly, “before we get too distracted.” but he wasn’t ready to move just yet. “My phone’s in my jacket if we wanna do a Titans dinner and order a pizza,” he added. It wasn’t romantic in the slightest- but Dick wasn’t picky. Spending time with Babs was enough.

“i have no doubt they’ll find you as soon as they can, if it helps, i can keep a look out online too.” she couldn’t say for sure if they were there around somewhere, or yet to come through, but she could reassure what she knew to be true. dick was important to them, to his teams – both in gotham and with the titans. “but from what i hear, it’s not like you’re running short on members in that tower. maybe the groups are a little mixed up, but they still look up to you.” barbara had to laugh though as she further thought on the idea of their teams colliding. “actually, i would probably spend a good majority of the time making sure that helena didn’t shoot anyone. i mean, not that that’s really too different than any other time we’re together.”

she settled comfortably into him. it all came with ease, and admittedly, that was because she was always comfortable with dick. he was always the one she counted on to answer when she called, to ground her when everything else felt like such chaos. babs liked to think she did the same for him, or at least, she tried to. only now, she didn’t have to worry about if she was pushing the boundaries of their friendship too far, that they were allowed to be more than that. there wasn’t a scar or secret she had to explain, he already knew them all, which already made him different than anyone else she’d attempted a relationship with in the past. “oh no –” she started, realizing the likelihood of what bruce giving dick three days off meant for her. “let’s hope that nightwing’s three days off, isn’t actually translated to ‘let’s call batgirl in’” she pointed out with a laugh. wouldn’t that be their luck? 

although, she didn’t even really mind, she’d be the one on call if it meant dick was able to stay and continue kissing her like that. for someone she’d been locking lips with on and off for over a decade now, barbara was certain it’d never get old. plus, they weren’t inexperienced nervous hormonal teenagers anymore – so that was a bonus. the tips of her fingers brushed through short strands of dark hair when her hand moved to rest at the nape of his neck, her lips immediately going into a slight, yet still teasing, pout when he pulled away from the kiss. of course, he was right – they’d never actually get to eating at this rate. “in my defense,” her hands moved to gently rest on each side of his face, “you’re very distracting.” she smiled before pecking a small kiss to his lips and letting go, reaching around him to his jack on the back of the chair and getting the phone out of the pocket to hand to him. “but pizza absolutely works for me. if you want to call, i’ll wrap up my stuff here.” babs wasn’t really eager to move from the position, but begrudgingly picked herself up and off his lap to stand up. she set some things on her computer to self-run while they slept, while closing others and closing any remaining screens. “and no cauliflower crust or whatever. that’s disgusting, dick.”

harley really wanted to surprise dick and let him know that she was fine with him being both nightwing, old robin, and dick grayson - well maybe that was three things. anyway, she decided to do what any normal sane person would do and hid herself in a large cake on top of the roof of the gcpd while she waited for him to get off shift - or to finally take the hint that she left on his desk. when she heard someone land, she popped out of the cake - covered completely in frosting and cake - and let out a ‘ta-da!’ before realizing it wasn’t dick. “batgirl? this isn’t for you !! this is a surprise for nightwing and now you’ve ruined it!” she pouted as her arms fell to her sides and she looked down at the cake. “how’s a girl supposed to put herself back into a ruined cake? you owe me a cake, i spent a lot of time making this thing.” ( @btgrlisms​ )

traffic in gotham was consistently the worst. she avoided driving anywhere if she could, usually only using her motorcycle if really necessary. barbara learned that jumping rooftops provided a faster form of transportation, and a bit of a workout. she’d put on the mask just to get to the gcpd, change quickly, and go make her dad join her for lunch – getting to visit dick was an added bonus. but instead, she was witnessing harley quinn pop out of a cake. “i – harley? how long were you in there? did you have enough oxygen? wait – why are you jumping out of cakes for nightwing?” she had a lot of questions, and admittedly, maybe a girl hiding in cakes for her boyfriend should’ve been a bigger concern, but this was pretty much on line with harley’s level of normal. “–i’m sure he’ll still appreciate the thought? really, how did you actually get yourself in there?” she stepped forward, offering out her hand, “do you need help out of there?”

[ @btgrlisms​ ] Kori would have flown up here, but it seemed every superhero from Earth and beyond would drop in on Babs like this- so she’d opted to taking the elevator, box of donuts and two coffees in one of those things that could hold four drinks in hand. The ride- admittedly took a little longer than she’d have liked, considering she could fly up here faster than it, but she smiled wide the moment she stepped out and saw Barbara, “I apologize for not telling you I was coming sooner,” she began, setting the box down on the closest flat surface, “I assumed you were busy, so to make up for it I brought coffee and donuts. Jelly donuts- I’ve been told jellies are the best,” a glance around the room told her Dick was hanging out here more than usual (that was definitely his shirt on the couch)- but she wasn’t here to talk about Dick. She was here to see her friend. “So, care to catch me up on the goings on on Earth over coffee and donuts?”

“no need to apologize, i don’t mind, kori.” she looked up from where she sat to offer a smile, her answer honest. despite her occasionally teasing otherwise, barbara didn’t mind all of the drop ins that she had in the clock tower – it was always by people whose company she enjoyed. “and i really don’t mind when you come bearing caffeine and food.” she laughed, a hand reaching up to the table to grab one of the donuts after she’d set them down. “well, whoever told you that didn’t steer you wrong, i promise.” she nodded in agreement, taking a bite of the donut. she’d been sitting on the open floor of the tower, working on fixing and modifying her suit – the materials spread out around. “absolutely – take a seat, where ever you can find one.” she pushed some of the stuff aside to help. “well, most recently we were all captured over halloween by penguin, so that was a good time. but penguin can be handled any day of the week. i’m more worried about this guy, essex. it seems like he’s into same shady stuff on the larger scale. hows space, by the way?”

“That’s … what I’m trying to do,” Stephen admitted. “After that … little jaunt we had on the ice cube, I realised that I really needed to work on my heat spells.” He smiled at Barbara, glad to see a friendly face. “Here, would you be my guinea pig? Just stand still and don’t move.”

Using her as a focus, he spun the spell again, and this time it seemed to work, the air around them billowing as it warmed up. “So…” he said, wondering how to broach the topic. He’d done extensive research since their last meeting, and had put quite a few twos and twos together – but at the same time, he also knew that Gotham’s heroes cling strictly to their air of secrecy. “I’ve been well. Learning a lot about your city.” He paused. “And its defenders.”

That probably wasn’t as discrete and delicate as he’d hoped. Oh well, he’d never been one for subtlety. “I have to admit, Gotham has some very intriguing characters. What do you make of Cobblepot?”

“some things you don’t realize you’d need until you’re stuck on an iceberg, like heat spells or a costume with pants.” she laughed quietly. it hadn’t exactly been a fun experience for any of them – the cold alone guaranteed that, even before realizing there was a bomb. and of course, she was quick to regret borrowing dinah’s black canary suit for her costume. her brow raised curiously but she steadied her stance and gave a nod. “as long as you promise not to set me on fire.”

while she’d only heard good things about strange’s magical skills in the short time she’d known about them, barbara was still relieved as she felt a warmth in the air and not a burning. “nicely done.” she complimented. her lips pressed together, already suspecting what he likely knew. the old school records she’d been able to bring up, his history as a doctor, gave her leeway to believe he was a smart man. “defenders – i like that word. other people use vigilantes.” she smiled. “it’s okay, i’ve done my fair share of research as well, and i wouldn’t want to insult your intelligence. if there’s anything you want to ask me, i’ll answer honestly. but only about myself, i won’t say anything that isn’t mine to share.” aka, she wasn’t about to give up the secret identities of others. 

“cobblepot... he’s been around gotham pretty much all of my life. he’s an annoyance, tries to prove himself and get into power. napoleon syndrome. he makes friends, or blackmails, the right people to avoid jail time. at most he’ll get sent to arkham but no one ever stays in there long. honestly, on the gotham scale, he’s not the worst, but needs to be stopped all the same.”

      bruce had caught her look, mirroring one of his own though with a smirk on his lips as he gave her a side-longed glance. “i do listen to alfred, anyone who tells you differently is lying and looking to get me in trouble,” he protested, throwing a hand up in defense of himself as a chuckle escaped him. leaning over her shoulder, knowing that she didn’t always like someone hovering, bruce looked to the screen and watched her work. “i figured as much, and i’m going to take a guess that some of them are a lot older than they’re pretending too.” he added, turning to look at her with a raised brow before sighing and looking back to the screen. “sounds a little familiar, and if you seem to like him, then i’m fine with trusting him on some things.” he thought about it and wondered what others of the avengers that they could bring in and use. “i can dance,” he added after and stood up, “i can dance very well.” even if it was stiffly when in forced social engagements.

her eyes rolled a bit too dramatically in response, but her expression was laced more in amusement than anything else. barbara turned her attention back to the computer system though, pulling up the various screens with information she gathered, her head nodded in confirmation. “well, you’re right about that. that guy with the shield? captain america? he’s basically a culture icon dating back to the 40′s. he was a scrawny guy –” a hit of a button pulled up a picture of steve rogers before the serum, and then another current picture. “underwent some experiment to make him a super soldier. all of his information is in museums and pretty much public knowledge but he put a plane with some bombs into the ocean and ended up freezing, only to be woken up modern day. seems the wholesome type.” her shoulders shrugged, pulling a screen for tony back to the front. “supposedly, stark died saving their world. the one here now is from his past, a little younger, less experience, but still seems like he’s trying to do the right thing.” babs turned her head over her shoulder only to give him an incredulous look. “i’ve had to see you at gotham events since i was a kid, you can passably get by dancing but it sure as hell doesn’t look natural.”

Any number of people could have found the boy out there on one of the many nights spent on the street. He doesn’t know how he had lived through it now that RJ was safe. The days are just getting colder, and being out there when snow comes wouldn’t be good — probably a death sentence if anything. He was lucky for once in his life meeting Dick. “I don’t know many people, but I think I trust Dick the most out of anyone in the city. He seems so selfless? It’s something to admire how GOOD he is. If you two are that close then I feel like I can trust you too.” He wants to live up to that somehow, do the kind of things that Dick does. It was probably more important to try being a normal kid for now though, right? RJ looks down at his clothes, and then back to Barbara. “Yeah — he gave ‘em to me. You would do that for me? I’ve never picked out my own clothes before.”

the smile that pulled on her lips was genuine – relieved and happy that this kid was able to escape an awful situation to be here where she knew the titans would treat him as family. on top of that, she couldn’t help but be so proud of who dick was, of the kindness he showed everyone he crossed paths with, especially those in need. “that definitely sounds like dick, i’m happy he found you. this place will be good for you too – titans were always good at providing a family for those that need it.” despite not being a part of that team, she understood the reason for it, and knew why it was so important. her head nodded in agreement, happy to do whatever she could. “absolutely, it’ll be good. getting to pick out your own stuff, it’s a way of self-expression, it’ll be good for you. do you like books? i used to be a librarian, we could always stop there too.”

“Of course I did- you’re the one who got us out of that mess- without you, we probably would have died.” And she was probably the only one who could come back. The Phoenix wouldn’t let her die, after all. “Awesome,” she grinned, quickly sliding into the makeshift kitchen to start making the coffee. She didn’’t answer Babs until she had the pot brewing, and slowly turned to face her, “I know the identities of you, Batman, Red Hood, and, obviously, Nightwing.” she told her. “I also know there have been like- five Robins, Dick was the first, Jason was the second and he and I have both died.” she continued. Now maybe it was time to tell her how she found out each one. “Dick passed out on my floor one night after he started dropping in as Nightwing asking me to patch him up. I guess he didn’t want to bother Alfred at midnight. I ended up taking his mask off and finding out that way…” she trailed off, “Jason and I met at Essex’s gala- he told me there.” and now for the Bat himself, “then Bruce dropped by at my office, scared the shit out me causing me to throw him against a wall- and proceeded to tell me who he was since apparently I was a threat to everyones identities,” she shrugged, “I don’t know everything yet, but I suppose the longer I stay, the more I’ll find out. All of your secrets are safe with me, I promise”

“i was just trying to do the right thing, and thankfully growing up in gotham taught me a few things, like know your way around a bomb. but i’m really happy no one died.” her shoulders shrugged, offering a small smile as she put some stuff away and cleared off a space on the couch for her to sit as she explained. “if i had a dollar for every time dick passed out on someone’s floor–” she let out a breath, but was admittedly relieved that it was someone that he trusted. of course, he also had an optimism that made him want to think the best in people – something she loved about him – but when it came to secret identities, she trusted his judgement. he knew how important it was. “bruce told you? well, you must’ve passed some sort test but what that test was, only bruce would know.” barbara wasn’t going to try to dissect bruce’s thinking pattern, he had his way of making these calls. “but does you office have security cameras? bruce may have wiped them already but man i’d love a good video of him being thrown.” she let out a laugh at that, nodding before opening a drawer and pulling out on of her spare masks. “and now you know who batgirl is, but that was pretty obvious by now. maybe less obvious is that i’m also oracle. hacking, running missions on comms, superhero networking – i’m good on a computer.”

“Always,” he repeated, and he couldn’t help smiling when she brought those emories up. “He was pretty pissed, yeah. But you know, not many people, let alone kids, can stand up tro my dad- he’s a little terrifying in that suit.” He remembered being impressed since day one, and he wasn’t gonna lie- he definitely had a crush on Batgirl the moment he saw her- when he didn’t know she was Barbara Gordon. A small laugh escaped him as she continued. God, how could he ever forget that? It was impossible to forget. “I still can’t believe you crashed it in a day, but I suppose I have no room to talk,” considering he had almost swerved the Batmobile into the river in the middle of winter whe he was about fifteen. But he quickly got back to business. “Oh, no doubt about it. It was a distraction- there’s something bigger at play here- and I’ll do some digging of my own.” Later.. Right now, he didn’t want to think about that. “Just missing Donna and Roy- I hope they’re here.” The fact he couldn’t find either of them bothered him- but wherever they were, he hoped they were safe. “Yeah- sounds good. I hope they’re here- kind of miss working with the three of you.”

Dick rested his forehead against hers, wrapping his arms around her, “I don’t want any regrets either.” it was funny- he could make jokes and puns in the middle of battle, knew about seven languages, and was one of the best detectives in the GCPD- but around Babs, he got tongue tied and forgot how to put words together. He got flashbacks to what almost felt like another life- and maybe that had contributed to the fear- the fact Trigon had preyed on feelings he had thought were buried. There was a lot that contributed to never saying anything. Seeing someone else, him leaving when she was staying, being in Bludhaven, going through a breakup. Always an excuse. But not anymore. “Heh, yeah, I can’t remember a day I’ve ever kissed Wally,” he teased, “or slept with him half naked,” Yeah, they were so bad at the just friends thing. His friendship with Wally was very different than whatever he and Babs were. His fingers moved into her hair again and a smile tugged at his lips “I’d like that- staying. I’m sure Jason and Jean know where I am.” And she was right. He hadn’t gotten much sleep. It was probably too obvious. His hands moved to gently cup her cheeks, no longer afraid that she might not return his feelings. Normally, he’d have a whole speech planned- but sometimes, actions spoke louder than words. “I love you, Barbara Gordon,” he breathed- not caring how cheesy he sounded when he said that- before he pressed his lips to hers, not cautious at all- but still giving her opportunity to pull out if she wanted.

“maybe i was showing off just a bit.” he’d always been easy to fall for. on the days that she could be honest with herself, she could admit to it happening back when they were just kids. he was her first real crush, if she wasn’t including scientists. ( some people had celebrity crushes, babs had scientists ). and although she knew it wouldn’t have worked then, not when they each had to mature and grow independently before even trying to do anything together – she’d always loved him. they blurred the line of what that meant before, and she’d carefully revert back to the strictly friendship role when he was seeing someone else, but the love was always there in some form or another. as he mentioned his missing team, barbara offered a softer smile. “there are a lot of places they could’ve come through, i’m sure they’ll turn up.” a more amusing thought crossed her mind. “how much chaos do you think would ensue from a titans and birds of prey team up?”

she thought it would be awkward at first, shifting from the friendship they’d always known to a real relationship. in a way though, it already felt natural – maybe because she’d already been in his arms so many times before. only now she wasn’t over analyzing it, there wasn’t a question of what it meant or wondering when one would pull away. “oh god – when you say it like that –” she had to let out a laugh, “we really weren’t doing the platonic thing right at all, were we?” babs had always tried to convince herself that it was, but looking back on it now? the signs were fairly obvious. “perfect... i can order food if you haven’t eaten and gasp shock maybe we’ll even get to sleep in if my dad gave you the day off. but if there’s some emergency, the system will go off with an alarm loud enough to wake the dead.” she hoped that wouldn’t be the case, genuinely looking forward to spending time with him and ideally relaxing. yet, babs also knew that neither of them would be able to truly rest if they were wondering if they were needed somewhere. the thoughts were cut short though, as her attention was quickly brought back to him, her eyes carefully meeting his. the last time he’d spoken those words, she’d kissed him – inevitably bringing them to this. yet now, before she could articulate the words, he was kissing her. her hands moved to rest at the back of his neck, pulling herself closer. the move essentially had her in his lap at this point, her lips moving against his to return the kiss – this time more confidently, without the hesitation. she pulled back for only a moment. “i love you, too.” she was finally able to return the words, and of course, she’d told him she’d loved him before, as she always had – but at least now they were together. her lips quickly found their way back to his once the words were said – and yeah, they probably should get some rest, but she wanted to enjoy the moment just a bit longer.

The weather was starting to get colder, and after getting frozen in the Iceberg Lounge, Stephen was definitely not a fan of the cold. A particularly chilly day found him in Central Park, practicing a particularly complicated warming spell that was supposed to self sustain and change with the external temperature. Seated on a bench, the Cloak of Levitation holding up two large tomes in the air beside him, he frowned in concentration, mumbling to himself and sketching mandalas. 

“Weather spells, always so fickle,” he muttered to himself, and the Cloak nodded as though in agreement, before tilting and ‘staring’. Stephen glanced over, raising an eyebrow. “Yes?” he asked, “Can I help you?”

@earthstarters​

“that depends – are you able to warm it up around here?” she quirked a curious brow as she approached, hands shoved into the pockets of her coat. they’d only met once before the incident at halloween – and while he likely didn’t know who she really was then, barbara wouldn’t be surprised if he knew now. she wasn’t exactly discreet in the disarming of the bomb or anything else necessary, quick to pull out her batarang and any other bat-themed tools she needed and had on her. they all survived though, and that was what matters. “i was just at the library, and on my way to get coffee when i saw you here. how are you doing?”

It was fortunate that RJ was so quick on his feet, colliding with the woman COULD HAVE resulted in the tablet in her hands to fall to the ground. He wouldn’t want that especially since he doesn’t have much money to his name — not enough to replace a shattered screen. He smiles after seeing how NICE the stranger is, making his shoulders relax. He feels a sense of trust if she know Dick — anyone close to him was good in his book. The boy smiles though, glad to have a name to go with the face. “It’s nice to meet you, Babs. Dick rescued me off of the street from an AWFUL situation. He was the first nice person I’ve ever met. I owe him a lot.”

there was a bittersweetness to it – while her heart broke to hear he was in some sort of awful ordeal, she was happy to know it was dick there to help. she offered a soft smile, not one to push him into talking about whatever that situation had been. “well you were found by the right person, then. i’ve known dick for a very long and he’s undoubtedly one of the best people i know.” she lowered her tablet, letting it rest in her hand by her side, happy to take a break and talk to him for a bit longer. “and if i know dick, he’d adamantly say you don’t owe him anything or something in equal parts cheesy and sweet.” she pointed out honestly. “and those are his old clothes too, right? i know they’re comfortable, but i can take you to get a few things of your own too, if you want?”

“Fair point, why use a door when there’s a perfectly good window to crawl through?” he quipped. He still wasn’t sure if it was the vigilante part of him or the circus kid part of him that was so used to crawling through windows. Maybe a litte bit of both. After all, he was the same kid who slid down bannisters and swung off chandiliers, giving Bruce a heart attack. “Yeah, just another Tuesday,” he repeated, but he was genuinely concerned. “Don’t worry,” he assured her, “I won’t tell him you were actually disarming a bomb. You can trust me.” he sighed through his nose, taking a long time to answer again, especially since it was skirting around that, “He sounded relieved when I didn’t answer the phone- he just told me to take a few days off- guess he thinks everyone with a badge must have had a rough night- I’m not complaining,” he was pretty sure he was still getting paid too. “Me? I’m fine- promise. Just… rattled.” his smile faded, “waking up in your gear without your mask and finding out a supervillain knows who you are is… frightening,”

He let out a snort of laughter when she turned the chair around, his smile returning as she pointed to each screen. God, she was amazing. He would never be able to wrap his mind around how she could do all of this at once, “hey, can you erase any security footage where I’m in my gear without my mask? Can’t have just anyone getting ahold of that. Unless you’re already doing that, in which case, you read my mind,” A movie sounded tempting, but they had to talk, and that would be stalling and- they always stalled. “As much as I would love to watch Netflix and chill, we need to talk about… last night.” he let a silence sit there for a moment, running a hand through his hair nervously, “It wasn’t bad timing- for me at least.” it came out more quietly than he wanted it to, but so close to her- he knew she’d hear it.

“i know i can.” it didn’t even really need to be said. no matter what was going on in their lives or what their relationship was, barbara knew dick was one of the people she could always trust. her hand silently took his, giving it a gentle squeeze when she could tell he was still worried. it didn’t matter how many years they’d been doing this, constantly putting their lives in danger, the concern for the ones you cared about never really went away. admittedly, it was the same concern she had for him now. “we’re going to take care of it, you know. i’m sure bruce is probably threatening anyone that found out as we speak.” she offered a soft smile, knowing she likely wasn’t wrong. there was also a lot to piece together from the night – did penguin know who they all were? if not, why take her and jason? “we always figure these sorts of things out, right?”

her head nodded in confirmation, glancing back to the screens for a moment. “of course, i’ll use the facial recog to scramble anything of any of us on camera after the point of the attacks.” her shoulders shrugged, too simply adjusting a few things on the console to set it up and ensure it was doing what set to do. babs would have let laughed at his use of the term – knowing he likely didn’t know what it meant, but the shift of subject made her pause instead. she took in a quick breath before closing the holographic screens she’d brought out, knowing they’d be running in the background and didn’t want her attention divided. “dick–” she started, unsure of what she was going to say. “i just – i don’t want things to be weird, or for you to feel obligated or –” a pause. bringing herself back to what he said, that it wasn’t bad timing. that alone was a rarity for them. “it wasn’t bad timing for me either, it was good. i mean – it just doesn’t have to mean anything more than the hundred and twenty-six other times we’ve kissed, if you don’t want it to.” she was over thinking, her brain stored inconceivable levels of detail that slipped out when her thoughts went into overdrive. “we always kind of end up here though and there’s always an excuse not to but i guess... i wonder what if there wasn’t an excuse anymore. more importantly, i just want us to be okay.”