The Hyperfixation won

"Team, please welcome our newest member, Agent Stephanie Thompkins," Hotch announced to the team gathered around the conference table.

Jason looked up from his game of tic tac toe with Spencer to take in the grinning blonde next to his boss.

"I have to go meet JJ to finalize our next case, you have a few minutes to get to know each other before the briefing." Hotch left the room and Agent Thompkins rocked back on her feet.

"Nice ta meet y'all. Please, call me Steph. I'm excited ta work with ya."

Jason blinked at the new agent as Rossi, then Prentiss introduced themselves. She had a Gotham accent. More specifically, an Alley accent. Even if he hadn't been there in years, even if he never went back at all, he'd never forget the particular inflection of his native accent.

Spencer nudged him as Morgan shook Steph's hand and raised an eyebrow at him. 'You good?' he seemed to say, eyes filled with concern. Jason nodded. Spencer didn't believe him but he wasn't about to call attention to it here, so he let it go and introduced himself from where he still sat next to Jason.

"Dr. Spencer Reid. Nice to meet you, Agent Thompkins."

Thompkins … Jason barely heard Steph correct him with a grin (“Just Steph, please.”), he was too busy connecting dots and wondering if it made a picture or just a knot.

Spencer's elbow dug into his ribs again and he grunted. Right, he couldn't just disappear or ignore her. "Jason. Peters," he said, holding eye contact.

Which was the only reason he caught the micro-expression that flit across Steph's face, so brief he didn't think anyone else would have caught the slight widening of her eyes, before it was gone and she repeated, "Nice ta meet ya."

Could she-?

He nodded and looked back down at the page of tic tac toe games and added another 'X' as, thankfully, Prentiss, Morgan and Rossi took control of the conversation.

Could she know who he was? Who he'd been?

Spencer drew an 'O'. Jason drew an 'X', Spencer drew an 'O' and the game was a draw. Spencer drew up another game and Jason's thoughts drifted.

He hadn't changed his own name drastically, nor his appearance, when he'd started his new life outside of Gotham. Gotham didn't leave Gotham, he thought that would be enough protection, and that no one would believe that he could be the dead, adoptive son of Gothamite billionaire Bruce Wayne. For all intents and purposes he'd died. Jason Peter Todd was dead and Jason Peters of Salem, NJ (he still had a sense of humour) had never been to Gotham. But now… did Steph recognize him? She was from Gotham, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume she knew about Jason Todd, but how much did she know - or think she knew - about him? And her last name… sure, it wasn't unheard of to not be related to someone with the same last name as you, or at least distantly… but could this Stephanie from Gotham be related to the good Doctor Leslie Thompkins of Gotham? If so, would she have let slip a few things about Gotham's living, breathing shadows? Could she-?

Spencer nudged him again, frowning. "You've lost three in a row. You never lose three in a row. What are you thinking about?"

Jason was saved from having to answer by Hotch and JJ returning.

"Apologies for the wait," Hotch said. "Strauss needed to talk."

Jason carefully did not let himself snort but he caught Morgan's quick smirk across the table.

"JJ, when you're ready."

She nodded and picked up the remote. "Our next case is-"

"I'm here, I'm here, sorry I'm late!" Penelope rushed in, laptop under her arm and coffee tumbler in hand.

"We were just starting, Garcia," JJ said.

Penelope pulled out the chair next to Steph and opened her laptop. JJ continued with the briefing. Jason wondered when she'd notice the new agent sitting beside her.

Seven and a half minutes apparently, the duration of the case briefing, including some tossing of ideas around before Hotch called for, "Wheels up."

"Oh!" Penelope exclaimed, finally noticing Steph.

Prentiss chuckled.

"Hi." Steph grinned. "Stephanie Thompkins, but call me Steph. You're Penelope Garcia, team's technical analyst an' overall wizard genius, I presume."

"Oh, you're charming," Penelope said. Everyone could tell she was flattered. "We're going to be great friends, I can tell."

“You can get to know her later, baby girl. C’mon Steph, you got a go-bag ready?” Morgan asked.

She laughed. “I’m always ready.”

They didn’t talk about it. Months went by and neither of them brought it up, but Jason had a feeling that both of them were aware of the tension in the air.

But after a case in Utah where they accidentally confirmed some of their suspicions of each other, they silently decided they should talk and meet up after the case wrapped up.

Jason, Steph and Morgan had been clearing a building they thought might have been used by the unsub. The platform Steph had been standing on became unstable before she noticed and without thinking Jason had whistled sharply and lunged towards her.

Steph had reacted immediately, jumping back as the ground beneath her feet fell away, but she had been too far forward to get back onto solid ground. Jason had caught her outstretched hand and pulled her back up.

They’d stared at each other for a few seconds, eyes searching, realizing, deciding they shouldn’t let it go unsaid much longer, silently agreeing to meet up later and talk.

Morgan, who’d been a bit behind them, had rushed forward to check on them. “You two ok?”

They’d quickly let go of each others' hands and Steph had brushed it off. “Just peachy!”

But Morgan hadn’t been ready to drop it. “How’d you react so fast? It was like Peters whistled to you in a different language to warn you or something,” he’d joked, but his eyes had pinned them, conveying his suspicions.

Steph had clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I felt the platform shift, Jason just also alerted me,” she lied with a smile. “C’mon, let’s go, I’m suddenly feeling the urge to get out of here much quicker.”

They had moved on and caught the unsub a couple nights later. Their flight wasn’t scheduled until the next morning, so Steph met Jason’s gaze across the room and they wordlessly agreed to talk that night.

There were no texts exchanged, no notes passed, not even signs gestured between them about the plan. But where else would two Gotham-born (and Bat-raised) birds meet but in the sky?

Jason pushed open the door to the roof of the hotel and walked across the gravel to join Steph in looking out over the city.

Neither of them spoke for several moments.

“Why’d you leave?”

“Same reason as you." Steph looked over and held his gaze, and his brow furrowed because-

He shifted back in realization. She gave him a confirming smile that came off more as a grimace. He swallowed. “He got you too?” It felt like there was gravel in his throat.

Steph shook her head quickly. “Nah. Mask.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.” She looked away and they let their words swirl around them in the silence.

Jason took a breath. "So you know who I-" He couldn't finish his sentence. Because she had said she did. She knew. She knew the whistles. But he needed to be certain how she knew, because… “You were-?”

Steph exhaled. "I was like ya too, once. Flew with the bats an' birds. Wore a mask. The whole shebang," she explained quietly.

His eyes widened. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting but somehow it wasn't that.

"Who, uh, who… were… you?"

The corners of her lips curled upwards. "Batgirl for a bit, Robin, too. But I… then as Spoiler."

The silence stretched between them for another moment.

"Leslie, Dr. Thompkins, she helped me. Afterwards. I did die. An' that's what she told B, and I assume he told the rest of ‘em. But she got me back, an’ I was a mess. Ya know, the whole, broken bones, broken body, a complete mess. She got me out of Gotham an' helped me with my rehabilitation, got me a new life. I debated whether or not ta go back. I did love it, runnin' over rooftops, kicking bad guys' asses." She fell silent again.

"Why didn’ you?" he asked.

She turned to look at him and raised her eyebrow, smirkingly. "Why didn' you?"

He asked himself that sometimes. Thought about what his life would’ve turned out like if he’d gone back… but he liked where he was now. He didn’t regret it.

"Didn' feel like it was my future. Gotham'll always be home, ya know? But it's not where I wanna be anymore. If I went back… I'd get sucked in again, I didn' want tha’ for myself, I had ta move on or I'd never forgive- … him. Or myself."

Steph nodded. "Me too."

They both looked out over the city rooftops.

"It was bad after you were gone," Steph spoke up suddenly.

Jason looked over at her but she kept her gaze on the skyline. He wondered if she sometimes looked for Gotham buildings like he did, before realizing he wasn't there anymore. "What d’ya mean?"

"B."

He frowned.

"He was … different. After you died. Batman without a Robin?" She shook her head. "It wasn't a good time. No one wanted ta piss him off. He sent some people ta the hospital."

That … that didn't sound like the B he knew. What had changed? Oh-

"It was bad. For a while. Then, Tim-" She exhaled.

Jason still didn't know how he felt about the Robin that replaced him. It stung, to have been replaced, but… Steph kind of had a point, it was Batman and Robin now.

"He tried ta get Dick back. Ta get him ta go back ta being Robin but he wouldn'."

"What?"

She nodded. "So he fought his way inta being Robin himself. You have ta understand" -she finally turned to face him- "he never meant ta replace ya, but Gotham needed a Robin and there was no one else."

Jason swallowed.

"Ya weren't replaced. Ya weren't forgotten."

“I’m not sure …” he started after a few moments, voice a whisper, “… I’m not sure if I know how I feel about that yet.”

“‘s ok. Take your time. ‘s probably a lot right now, yeah?”

He nodded.

“Just let me know if ya ever wanna talk. ‘s not like we’re gettin’ rid of each other easily now.” She smirked. “We’re stuck with each other.”

“Of all the FBI offices in the country ya could’ve walked into…” Jason drawled, teasingly.

Their laughs were lighter now.

They stayed there, not speaking much, two of Gotham’s birds on the roof, finding the occasional star bright enough to shine past the light pollution, looking out at the city lights until the sky started to lighten.

~~~

PROMPT LIST

Day 1 - Monday, February 16th

Retired Hero || Gasses and Toxins || Canon Case, Hero Victim

“Wheels up.”

Day 2 - Tuesday, February 17th

Meta!BAU Agent || Supernatural Unsub || All-Caste

“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary. Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.”

Day 3 - Wednesday, February 18th

Time/Dimension Travel || Double Cross(over)* || Batskills Save the Day

"You're stronger than you think you are."

Day 4 - Thursday, February 19th

Throwback Thursday** || Kryptonian!BAU Agent || Season One/Early Days

"You really don’t know someone ‘til you take a road trip with them.”

Day 5- Friday, February 20th

Lazarus Pits || Undercover || Lockdown

“Life doesn't give us purpose, we give life purpose!"

Day 6 - Saturday, February 21st

BAU Goes to the Watchtower || Secret Relationship || Justice League Liaison

“There isn't much justice in this world. Perhaps that's why it is so satisfying to occasionally make some.”

Day 7 - Sunday, February 22nd

Backstory Reveal || Identity Porn/Reveal || Hacker BFFs

"That voice in your head? It’s not your conscious, it’s your ego.”

* This can be taken as a literal Double Cross = Betrayal prompt, or as an excuse to throw in a third universe!