Work Text:
1.
So there’s this new player on the streets.
She’s quick, around Jason’s age, and also a vigilante. Wears a lot of purple, her hood and cape combination reminded him of a wraith, but she pulls it off in a cool way with her mask.
She calls herself ‘Spoiler’, and she has a hell of a right hook as well as an odd preference for hitting someone (by the head may he add) with the nearest object she can grab. But that’s alright, even though Jason was on the receiving end of a brick to his temple that night he chased her for some answers, she did help him and Bruce to catch Cluemaster.
Spoiler’s witty and likes to read classic novels like he does – it shows from their short but fun conversations and the little references she drops from time to time. She can also annoy Bruce and Alfred finds her endearing for it. So maybe he’ll chalk it off to the fact that maybe, just maybe, he’s at that age and mind space where you’re attracted to the girl close to your age that’s also a vigilante, just like how Dick was with Barbara.
Jason totally has a crush.
2.
Her name is Stephanie Brown, most people just call her ‘Steph’. She doesn’t like it when people call her ‘Stephie’, she said it feels a bit condescending. And only her mom calls her ‘Stephanie’, she feels weird when other people do it because it feels ‘too proper’. She has bright blonde hair that’s probably the softest thing you’ll feel and crystal blue eyes which reminds him of the clear oceans that bring a certain calm to him. Her dad is Cluemaster, which really puts things to perspective with how much she knows about the criminal back when they brought him in. She’s two years younger than him and is currently in high school, she wants to be a nurse like her mom.
But the most important thing about her is that she’s Jason’s best friend.
Whenever he’s not busy, he often visits her. She lives in a copper red brick building in the Narrows, it has a total of eight floors. Steph and her mom live by the seventh floor. He’d jump by the fire escape, which is exactly by her room. He’d knock two-one-three times in that pattern by her window so she’ll recognize it’s him and let him in.
He likes spending time with her. Likes that she lets him hang-out with her even when he’s in his Robin uniform (not costume, it’s a uniform – gotta respect the Robin mantle). Likes that she trusts him enough to casually be with him whether she’s in her Spoiler outfit or not (she teased him that one of these days, he’ll need to shed his mask so they can finally be even). Likes that they have inside jokes that Bruce will groan at when they mention it in his presence. And he likes that she allows him to help her with her homework, it makes him feel normal. And it makes him feel included in her life in a way he can’t explain.
Tonight is one of the many nights Jason helped Stephanie with her homework. She did her other homeworks before he came over, she specifically reserved this one so she can do it with him. She needed to do a character study on any three characters of her choosing from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. And Jason is more than equipped to help her out.
By the time that they wrapped up, Stephanie’s phone rang. It was Tim calling.
Tim Drake is Commissioner Gordon’s junior detective. The youngest worker in the whole GCPD. Technically he’s not working for them, it’s more of like an intern type of gig. But Tim’s good, crazy good. When Jason first met Tim, the younger boy revealed that he knows who the first Robin was and who Batman is – and he’s right. It’s nice to know that he has some professionalism, keeping Batman and Robin’s identities from anyone else other than himself (Stephanie included).
Tim tends to be a show-off when he’s on his laptop, typing away and breaking out of firewalls and all of that. He has a mess of an investigation board and drinks way too much coffee for his age. He also has a habit that Steph calls ‘mansplaining’ – it annoys him to no end.
And the worst thing about him is that he’s Stephanie’s best friend.
Tonight, Tim’s calling Steph to let her know that he’s coming over. His parents aren’t home and he’d like to have some company while he works on whatever case Gordon has given him for the week.
Now Jason has never considered himself the jealous type or anything, but he came first . Not just tonight in Stephanie’s room, but also in her life. Tim couldn’t have just come over in the morning? The afternoon? Like the normal civilian that he is (as normal of a civilian that knows the identities of Gotham’s two fiercest masked protectors).
So yeah, maybe he’s a little envious, territorial you might say with how he instinctively went behind the blonde girl to glare at the younger boy when Tim finally came by her doorstep.
But damn Bruce – well not really, it’s Penguin’s fault for picking tonight to have his goons do a bank binge robbery (seriously, three banks that quickly? That’s a new record) – and his impeccable timing. Calling him the very minute Tim came.
For the first time, Jason truly hesitated leaving Stephanie to go back to assist Batman. Stephanie giggled at his glaring face (not for Tim this time, but directed for Bruce even if the man can’t see his displeased expression). Steph gave Jason a supportive smile, she promised that he can come over tomorrow so that they can spend time again.
He’s appreciative of that offer, he really is, and who is he to turn it down. But Tim still irks him – Jason doesn’t like picturing the junior detective spending more time with Stephanie than he does (that’s why Tim’s unofficial bonding time with Steph is during the day ).
But Batman called him again for a quick reminder (‘Don’t bring Spoiler tonight’) and sent him the address of the bank where they will meet up to jump on Penguin’s henchmen, so he has to leave.
When he jumped off Stephanie's window and grappled his way up to the next building, he regretted turning back to look at her window. Regretted seeing her laugh at some dumb joke or story that Tim shared to her. Regretted the way he felt his left eye slightly twitched when Tim’s hand laid oh so comfortably by her shoulder because that reaction means something.
Jason thinks that was the night he knew he couldn't imagine anyone else by Stephanie’s side that isn’t him – and it scared him to no end for the rest of the night because maybe it’s not just a crush anymore.
3.
They say you only live once… well Jason would like to beat up whoever started (and spread) that statement because they’re a liar.
People hype second chances in the context of living. Of being alive, surviving. The truth about that is you’ll have come to terms with yourself about the chances you missed and opportunities you turned down and things you’ve taken advantage of in your first life. You’ll question whether or not they’re worth pursuing now in your second life or if you were never meant for them in the first place.
Jason remembered reading one of Bruce’s self-help books one random day. There was a chapter that highlights that the thing that makes one’s existence meaningful are the relationships they have. The bonds they made with people.
That’s the main thing Jason had mulled over as he recovered from the Lazarus Pit’s effects. He’s been bedridden for a few days. His body was… severely damaged after Joker beat him up and blew him to bits. He always had the impression that the effects of the pit were instant, however, that wasn’t the case with him.
By the time he can walk again, Talia has involved him in training. Being Bruce’s partner, she recognized his great ability in fighting. She took it upon herself to improve his skills when she took him under her wing, monitoring his recovery and planning to refine his skills in armed and unarmed combat.
It was only the third day of training and Jason’s doing horribly. He has a far-off look in his eyes, and he barely pays attention to her to the point that he’s not even trying. It made Talia want to snap at him for wasting her time until she really looked at his eyes.
It wasn’t just a blank slate like she expected. Deep, deep down, there was a painful reflection of yearning in them. In that moment, she saw herself in him, when she longed for her own beloved – in her small and silent moments of weakness that she kept away from the world, especially her own father.
She paused mid-training, putting her katana back in its sheath, and urged Jason to do the same.
“You’re distracted,” she pointed out. “Why?”
Jason looked down, “I don’t know.”
The woman sighed and gently tested her suspicion. “What’s their name?”
Jason’s eyes widened and he snapped his head up to stare back at her. She knows what he’s doing – he’s studying her. Trying to see how he should formulate his response. He blinked rapidly for a while as if he had an important realization on the spot. Talia braced herself for whatever snarky comment he might tell her that’s rooted from his defensiveness.
But it was his impending honesty that truly moved her, she picked it up from the subtle physical cues he began to show. And maybe it awoken something in him too, his sudden internal realization that is, with how quickly he fixed his posture (something he didn’t bother before) and properly gripped the hilt of his sword (something he barely even attempted in their previous sparring sessions).
With the most resolve she has seen from him since he came, he let out, “Her name’s Stephanie.”
4.
“You need better encryption,” Stephanie told Jason as she raised her hand to grab a hold of his chin, tilting his head a bit to inspect his injuries. “And some stitches.”
Jason made a noncommittal grunt, pouting a bit at her tone.
She added, “I thought you were the tough one, Jason.”
“ Cassandra was there.” It’s really the only explanation she needs.
“ Oh, that’d do it.”
He knows she smirked a little bit – mostly rooted from being proud of her best friend, which in his opinion is a total upgrade from Tim – underneath her mask. God, he missed seeing her smile. Missed making her smile.
Here she is, giving him coffee and helping patch some of his wounds, when she could’ve sided with the others and left him to tend his injuries on his own. But here’s the thing about Stephanie Brown: she’s a good friend through and through.
No matter how mad everyone else would be at him, there is nothing that would make Stephanie turn her back on Jason. Cause that’s how she is at her core. Always ready to be a source of comfort and give support, never quick to judge but always quick to help someone feel better.
It’s Jason’s favorite thing about Stephanie. It’s the trait he lo-
LIKES. It’s the trait that he likes the most about her. Surely no one can blame him for being a bit soft on her now can they? She just makes it so easy.
5.
Jason doesn’t know why he decided to visit her. Specifically, visit her without giving a heads-up about it. He should have called, texted, maybe connected through their work comms. Anything.
But a big part of him is glad that he didn’t. Because this was the first time he got to see a glimpse of Stephanie dancing . He doesn’t recognize the song, maybe it’s something that was recently released or got popular while he was away – he doesn’t really care about the song. All he can really focus on is how Stephanie’s blonde locks bounced over her shoulders, as she moved her arms and swayed her hips to the beat.
Now, he’s too distracted at the blonde’s graceful form, conflicted if he should knock on her window or simply leave or –
“Hey you,” she abruptly stopped and stood straight. Not a second too soon, she quickly jogged to her window and opened it up. The blonde giggled and pulled him inside by his wrists, “Don’t just wait for me to finish, come join me.”
Oh how Jason wanted to pull away then and there, crawl back to the window he came from and maybe just come back tomorrow. Or next week. Next month? Maybe never.
He’s not much of a dancer. Anyone that has ever known him knows it’s a fact. Even with ballroom dances that Alfred tried to teach him when he was younger, he felt a little too stiff with his movements. Awkward. Truth be told, he’s far from being described as someone with two left feet. He’s a decent dancer, sure – but he’s never really enjoyed it.
When Stephanie’s hand easily slipped into his, he hesitated. Ever the patient person she is without letting go, she let him take a moment for himself – still holding his hands in hers.
“It’s just,” she blushed and there’s this beautiful, hopeful look in her eyes as she explained herself. “We never got the chance to do this before… you know.”
He knows. And his face instantly softened at her reasoning. He wonders how she can have such an effect on him when she barely did anything but just be honest with him.
And it’s his turn to be honest: he does want to dance with her too. So with a quiet okay , the blonde immediately gleamed at him.
Stephanie pulled Jason into the beat, the easy rhythm immediately shared between them as natural as if it was breathing. Deep in thought, he knows that there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do if it’s what she wants, if it’s what she asks of him. It was at this moment that he knew that he’s in love with her. Looking back at it from the beginning, he realized that maybe he always has been.
And if that sweet and gentle look in her eyes as they swayed together is any indication, expectantly looking back at his appreciative gaze, he thinks that she might be in love with him too.
Luckily for him, she is.