Spoiler Alert

Have you ever noticed that ( STEPHANIE "STEPH" BROWN ) from the ( DC UNIVERSE ) looks a lot like ( FLORENCE PUGH )? But ( SHE ) also goes by ( SPOILER ). Having the ability to ( master hand-to-hand combatant and acrobat ) sure makes them a force to be reckoned with. They’re known to be ( DRIVEN ) but also ( TALKATIVE ) and they’re ( 23 ) years old.

     “Bruce finally gave me my access back and I had some footage to review…I didn’t think that anybody else would come down here” Tim explained, feeling like a scolded child as he stood before Stephanie, his fingers fidgeting anxiously at the sleeve of his sweater. “You got it” he sighed gently, nodding as he realised that she wasn’t that mad, more so just surprised. “No, no. Don’t let me get in your way…I mean. There’s no reason why we can’t both do what we need to do down here, right?” Tim asked hesitantly, raising a brow. She would barely know that he was there. 

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        A year later and Stephanie still found herself unable to be around him without feeling like she was drowning, suffocating in his presence. It was funny how in the blink of an eye that had gone from a feeling that heightened her pulse to one that made her heart feel like it was going to shatter all over again. Heartbreak was nothing new, but with Tim it was different. She was pretty sure he was the first person she had actually ever loved, having only fooled herself into thinking it with anyone before him. Their souls were forever intertwined in some way and that made it all the more painful to act like none of it had ever happened. Taking a breath, she forced air into her lungs to reset her thoughts. “Yeah, I don’t see why not.” There were so many reasons why not, but they all sounded childish. “But do I get the chair?” 

     “When are you coming home?” The permanently fell from the end of his sentence, but it’s implication remained. Damian understood that Stephanie’s feelings were more than likely hurt after her separation from Timothy, of course. He couldn’t begin to attempt to understand why she had ever held romantic interest in him in the first place and even though many of the feelings she was experiencing him alluded him entirely, having Stephanie home at least guaranteed that Damian could be there for her. In his own way, of course. Plus, he had missed her. He wouldn’t tell her, but she would know. The blonde always seemed to just know when it came to him. It made things much easier considering that more often that not Damian struggled to articulate his feelings. “Alfred misses you” he insisted. Despite their differences, Alfred certainly held a special place in each of the batfamily member’s hearts. That he could guarantee. “Everyone does”

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      The corner of Stephanie’s lips raised in a hidden smile. She knew that Damian was only asking because he cared. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have wanted her to stay at the Manor. That she knew to be fact. “What do you mean? I am home.” It wasn’t a conversation she necessarily wanted to have with Damian because she knew she would be weak. The blonde cared about him more than she could put into words. He was like a younger brother to her and despite all the teasing, she cared about him deeply, only wanting to see him happy. She didn’t want to cause him any distress. This was about her though, not him. “I just saw Alfred yesterday.” She turned her gaze to Damian. “Do you mean you miss me?” Steph asked, reaching out and messing up his hair.

Bruce was trying to be there for all his children in any way he could, of course when it came to matters of the heart things got a tad bit more difficult. “I know you probably won’t believe me but sometimes with time things do get a bit easier to handle.” He mused looking at her, he cared for Steph and knew there wasn’t much he could do at this moment. “Anytime, you know I’m always around if you even need someone to listen or chat with Steph.”

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      She did believe him, but she also didn't believe that it would get easier to handle as long as they lived under the same roof. It had been a year, and seeing him was still hard. "You've done a lot for me, Bruce." She started, hoping that the next part wouldn't offend him. "But Babs offered for me to move into her apartment with her. I think I'm gonna do it. There here are...." The blonde searched for the right word. "Hard."

     “Great” he grinned. He was trying not to panic about coming up with a date idea just yet, he could do that later when she went home or fell asleep. Right now he just wanted to enjoy spending time with Steph. “Okay, I’ll be here..” he chuckled, reaching out to wrap his pinky around hers. Perhaps it was childish of him, but Atticus still took pinky promises extremely seriously. He decided to dig through his movies while she was gone, picking one at random and setting it up before he sat down to wait. “You did” he beamed, relieved to see she had clearly meant it. “That smells amazing”

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      “It better.” She said with a short laugh. “It took forever to get here and I’m starving.” Making her way back to his bed, Steph set the bag down and pulled it open to reveal the contents. Reaching into it, she grabbed the food he had ordered for himself and handed it to him. "Here. Eat up." Once Atticus was settled, she grabbed her own food and discarded the bag. "Did you decide on a movie?" 

“Well we all know quiet never lasts and is never a good sign. I was leaning more towards penguin but now that you mention it i’ll do a little digging to see what Black Mask is doing, find out his location.” she mused jotting down a few notes. “I’m guessing that’s not going well?” Barbara asked cringing lightly, she could relate, the bond between robin and batgirl had been strong with her and Dick and truthfully it still was even after everything they had gone through, but it was also difficult to turn off those feelings. She assumed Steph was going through that right now. “Offer is always on the table, I should be back in the apartment in three days.”   

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      If there was one person that Steph wanted to stay quiet it was Black Mask. She would be happy to never hear from or see him again. "The Penguin has been out in the open running the iceberg lounge. He's been spotted around a lot more than Black Mask has." Which could have been up to Roman staying in Gotham, but Stephanie could never be too careful when it came to him. "We broke up." Saying it out loud was weird. They had been broken up for a while, but the wound hadn't been allowed to heal properly. Moving in with Babs would help that. It would give her space to heal. "That gives me time to pack."

     “I will, don’t worry” The only reason that he didn’t ask her right then and there was because he didn’t want her to think that he was only doing it because she was telling him to. Plus, Atticus was a bit of a hopeless romantic. He wanted to ask her somewhere more romantic than his bedroom at the very least. “How about tomorrow?” Perhaps that was a little too eager, but he couldn’t bring himself to mind right now. “You’re gonna come back though, right?” he pouted, knowing how much Stephanie loved his mom, a sentiment that was definitely mutual. 

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        Stephanie tried to hide her smile when he said he would. It was something to look forward to. “I don’t have any plans tomorrow.” If she did, she didn’t anymore. This was important to her and she wanted to see where it went. “Of course. I promise.” She reached her hand up, holding her pinky out for him to shake. As much as she enjoyed spending time with Atti’s mom, being here with him was all she could think about right now. Walking out of the room, she greeted his family and walked to the door to open it. Grabbing the food, she walked into the kitchen and distributed it before coming back with theirs. “Told you I’d be back.”

     “Yeah..” he breathed, her smirk only making his blush worse as he drew his lip in between his teeth, trying to compose himself. It wasn’t his fault that he struggled to think straight whenever she was this close to him. “I do want that” he confirmed, nodding slightly. She didn’t sound as if she didn’t like the idea of it and that was reassuring at least. “A date? Yeah…we could definitely do that” He’d have to think of something pretty spectacular considering that they had gone pretty much everywhere as friends. “When?”

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        “You should probably ask me sometime then.” She told him, letting out a soft laugh. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.” It just felt like the next step in where this path was leading them. “Well, not today since we already ordered food.” As if on cue the doorbell rang. “I should probably go get that so your mom doesn’t ask who spent all that money.”

     Atticus would never say it out loud, but he was sure that she could probably tell exactly why Atticus had grown as attached to Bruce as he had. He didn’t need a father, his Mother had done an amazing job of raising him all on her own, but having an authoritative figure that could express that they were proud of him was healing in ways that he hadn’t expected. “You’re mine too” he chuckled, watching as she moved in, closing the distance between them. “Um…” he flushed. Apparently that new rush of confidence was proximity dependant. “I want us to be together….I mean, only if that’s what you want” 

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        Noticing the blush, she smirked up at him. It made her more confident that he reacted to her the way that he did. “You mean you want me to be your girlfriend?” She asked him without any hesitation. If that was what he wanted she wouldn’t say no. Stephanie loved jumping in the deep end, even if it never worked out for her. She didn’t want to think about that with Atticus though. With him things would be different. “We could go on a date.” She suggested.

     “He seems pretty impressed with all of the work that I’ve been doing, so” he nodded, smiling modestly. Sometimes Atticus felt as if Bruce gave him more credit than he deserved, but so long as the man was happy with his work, that was all that really mattered, he supposed. “We’ll always be friends, Steph..” he laughed, shaking his head at her teasing. “But I don’t think that’s all that there is between us anymore…and I’d really like for us to be more than that” he explained. His confidence had grown when he’d realized that this was mutual between them. 

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        “Good,” she smiled. Seeing Bruce be so caring towards Atticus really made her heart melt. Stephanie thought that everyone should care about him that much. He deserved the world and Bruce Wayne could open doors for him that no else could. “We better be. You’re my best friend.” The blonde told him. “What would you like us to be then?” She asked, walking towards him. There was too much space between them and she didn’t like it. Closing it, she looked up at him, craning her neck to look him in the eyes. 

     Atticus ducked his head, unable to help smiling widely as she confirmed what he already had a feeling was true. It just felt surreal that she could like him of all people, but Stephanie had never been the type to say things that she didn’t mean. Especially to him. That was why it had stung so badly when he had kissed her the first time, but that was all in the past now. “It was an amazing program. I’m really grateful that I was able to go there for it and get that out of it” he clarified. All he had been thought about was Stephanie and while being away had been healing, it hadn’t made any of those feelings actually go away. “No” he answered easily. “Not even a little bit”

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      “I’m sure Bruce is glad he sent you.” Stephanie couldn’t help the laugh that fell from her lips when he said no. It was relief mixed with a little bit of humor. She was happy to hear that even after all this time his feelings for her hadn’t changed while hers completely changed. Steph had gone from seeing him as her best friend to something more. The transition hadn’t been quick, but it had lead them to this moment. Shaking her head, she looked back at him. “You don’t want to be friends anymore?” She pretended to tease, feigning sadness. She didn’t want to be friends either, not anymore. She wanted to be more. If that was what he wanted too. 

     Atticus gulped. He definitely hadn’t expected to actually get this far but he was glad that he had. He’d had Stephanie shut down on him once, had it tear their relationship apart for two years, and he refused to let it happen again. Not without at least trying to talk first. “The kiss..” Us. “What does that mean for you? Cause I think we’re on the same page but I don’t want to assume..” he sighed, fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater as he asked. “Because if you’re upset about Chicago I can tell you right here and now that it meant nothing to me” he shrugged weakly. “Not like you..” he was grateful that she hadn’t turned entirely, actually. “You mean everything to me”

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       "It means I like you.” She told him, not knowing how else to word it. She had always been pretty straight-forward about her feelings. “I’m not upset about Chicago. I’m glad you went to Chicago and go what you needed.” Whatever that may have been. Stephanie couldn’t hold that against him. She wouldn’t dream of it. They were best friends above anything else and she just wanted the best for him. That was what had been best at the time, even if it felt the world was coming to and end the sky was falling down around her. “Do I mean everything to you platonically?” The blonde asked, trying to feel it out. She knew how he felt about her years ago, but things changed. 

     Atticus was used to trying to make Steph feel better when she felt sad, only he wasn’t typically the reason that she was sad to begin with. This was new territory entirely. “There’s everything to talk about..” he frowned, rocking on his heels gently. He had stopped by his bed, wanting to give her some space. He knew that she preferred to be alone when she was upset and he didn’t want to push her any further away. “You said that you didn’t…that you didn’t want to shut me out again but you are, Steph. It’s just me” he told her. “You can talk to me”

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       Turning her head, she looked at him from her peripheral. That was enough. Shaking her head, she sighed and set down the case she was holding. “What do you want to talk about then?” Stephanie asked, wanting him to be the one to lead the conversation if he was dead set on having it. “I know.” Atticus was right. She was trying to shut him out again after telling him that she wouldn’t. “I don’t know what to say.”

     “Steph…” Atticus frowned, but he let her go when she retreated from him. “Are you upset?” A stupid question. He hadn’t expected the revelation to bother her, truthfully. Stephanie had always been so far out of his league that he was sure that she knew that there was no need for her to feel threatened. It had always been her. Even when he had been trying to force himself to move on because he thought that it was what she wanted it had been her. “I don’t care what we watch, I care about you, Steph” he shook his head fervently, shifting himself towards the edge of his mattress before standing. “Don’t shut me out. Come on, we can talk about it”

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         Hearing her name, she ignored him. It was for the best. “Nope, I’m fine.” She had no right to be upset. She wasn’t upset. She was just sad. Sad without reason and she refused to make him feel bad about it. “I care about you too.” She told him, not bothering to look up from the cases as she looked through them. Steph knew her resolve would break if they made eye contact. “There’s nothing to talk about, Atti.” She had no idea where this left them. There was so much to talk about. Were they friends who kissed occasionally and never talked about it? Were they something more? Were they just best friends? It was confusing.

     “I don’t know…I mean, there was this small fling when I first left town but I was just trying to stop thinking about you, which, well…that didn’t really work” Atticus wasn’t sure that anything could have. He was grateful that it hadn’t now, though. The kiss had kept him from telling her about the tests that Bruce planned to run, but that was probably a good thing. He would have to tell her eventually but he didn’t want to worry her. It was all just an attempt to understand and control his power better and as far as he knew it wouldn’t be anything too intense. 

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        “Oh. Cool.” She blinked, pulling her hand from his. There was no reason for the revelation to disappoint her the way it did. it made sense for Atticus to have tried things with other women. She was with Tim, it wasn’t like she had been waiting around. So why would he have? Despite the logic, she couldn’t help crawling back into her shell, her walls going back up. She leaned against his headboard, tugging at the hem of her cardigan. “Anyway,” she moved off the bed and walked over to where he kept his movie collection. “What do you want to watch?” Steph tried to distract herself.

      “Not every single day…” he chuckled, shaking his head at her teasing. Atticus had a habit of rewatching his favourite movies a lot, practically on rotation, but leaving some time between each time that he watched them was what made them so great. “Oh, no, no, no…” he frowned, feeling bad immediately that he had made her feel as if she was doing anything wrong. “It’s not you, it’s me…I’ve been working on it with Mister Wayne..” he frowned, squeezing her hand gently. “We could always watch something else…” Or not. Catching the way that she was looking at him again, Atticus only hesitated for a second before he leaned over, pressing a short kiss to her lips. 

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        “Every other day though?” She smiled. “Is he helping?” Steph asked curiously. “We don’t have to watch anything.” She just didn’t want him to get shy about her looking at him when she had nothing else worth looking at. The color of his walls and the fabric of his carpet weren’t as interesting as his face was. Watching him lean in, she closed her eyes and kissed him back. It was short, different from the first one but just as good. The same shiver ran through her body and as they pulled away, she couldn’t contain the smile that tugged at the edge of her lips. “Where did you learn how to kiss?” The blonde teased. 

     It was incredibly sweet that she still wanted to hear what he had to say but Atticus had lost his train of thought the second that she had kissed him. Stephanie had always been the only person that seemed to enjoy his rambling and although he would still stop himself sometimes (usually when he began to tire of the sound of his own voice), she was the person that he felt the most comfortable talking to. She always had been. “Oh, never…but I couldn’t watch it every single day, you know?” Kissing her, however? He was sure he couldn’t tire of it. “Oh…thanks” he chuckled, shaking his head. He knew better than to argue with her on it. “You’re going to make me turn invisible if you keep looking at me like that” Atticus couldn’t help but smile. He’d have never imagined that his feelings were reciprocated, but it was being made abundantly clear right now that they possibly were. 

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         “Are you sure?” She teased him. “You’re welcome.” Stephanie blinked away, trying to turn her focus away from him. “I’m sorry.” She looked around the room, searching for something to keep her eyes off of him. The last thing she wanted was for him to go invisible after she had kissed him. “I don’t have anything else to look at since you don’t want to watch the movie anymore.” She defended when her eyes were on him again. He was the most interesting thing in the room. Eyes moving between his lips and eyes, she pulled her lip between her teeth.