Chapter Text
Song was created by Scarlet, who you can find on Tumblr here!
We are the warriors, who learned to love the pain / We come from different places but have the same name / 'Cause we were born for this / We are the broken ones, who chose to spark a flame / Watch as our fire rages, our hearts are never tame
Steph groaned as she slammed her hand down on her phone, her fingers fumbling around to hit the snooze button. Her phone clattered and fell off her bedside table. She rolled over, shivering as the cold air hit her skin.
Her alarm—a different song each day—droned on in the background, but seeing as she didn’t have to get up immediately, she decided to listen to it, and when she remembered why she scheduled this song for today, she jolted straight up.
"It's today," she mumbled, rubbing the grogginess out of her eyes. "Holy shit, it's today!"
As if a firecracker had suddenly lit beneath her, she rushed to her closet to pull on the clothes she had prepared the night before. She couldn't fight the grin overtaking her face, nor did she want to, and a light, airy hope surged in her chest.
It was today. She was going to college today. She was trying again, and this time, she would succeed.
Steph drove her motorcycle to the Manor, wind whipping through her hair and sunlight warming her skin. She hopped off and dashed forward as she saw Tiff and Tim waiting for her in the door.
She went for her boyfriend first, leaning into his lips to give him a kiss. Next, she barreled into Tiff's arms, murmuring, "Thank you." Without Tiff, she wouldn't have been given this chance again.
"Hey," Tiff said lightly, patting Steph's back awkwardly, "no problem. I mean, you've given me..." She trailed off, like she was about to say something, then stopped and pursed her lips. "A lot."
Steph released herself from Tiff's hold and eyed the car they were "borrowing" from Bruce, one that he would probably wouldn’t miss. "So let's get this show on the road!"
Tiff slid into the driver's seat. Even though Tim and Steph were more adept at driving due to Bat-training (and more than a few joyrides in the Batmobile), Tiff had insisted she be the one to drive them. Meanwhile, Steph slipped into the backseat with Tim, who was only there to help with move-ins. She wrapped her arm around Tim's shoulders and draped herself over him.
Tim made a noise of half-hearted protest, but he was looking at her in that sad, broody, and wallowing way.
"We're gonna be okay," Steph told him, squeezing his shoulder. "It's just college. And I'll be back to visit all the time."
“I know,” Tim responded, his lips curved upwards in a half-smile.
Steph mirrored his smile and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She flicked through her playlists and pressed play on a shuffled one she had already been listening to. “Just as well as you know my banging taste in music?”
‘Cause we were, ‘cause we were / ‘cause we were, ‘cause we were born for this / We were born for this
Just a couple kids on a summer street / Chasing around to a flicker beat / Making mistakes that were made for us / We brushed them off like paper cuts
Steph grinned and adjusted the radio as the wind rushed by, causing her ponytail to fly wildly.
Tim suddenly poked her shoulder, before fondly laughing, “Steph! Your hair is in my face!”
“Oh, the great Boy Wonder can’t deal with a little hair?” Steph smirked as she flicked her head, her ponytail hitting Tim head on.
Despite the hair in his eyes, Tim caught a glimpse of Steph. The sun cast golden light onto Steph’s face, and her grin made her brighter than Tim was used to, as a vigilante that worked primarily at night. She was beautiful . He was insanely lucky to have her.
“The Boy Wonder never had a girlfriend who would do this to her boyfriend before,” Tim retorted, pulling the hair away from his face. “Have pity on my poor soul, I wasn’t prepared for your deviousness.”
“And yet,” Steph hummed, “you love me anyways.”
“I do,” said Tim without thinking. “I really, really do.”
Steph’s eyes crinkled with unspoken laughter, and she turned her gaze towards Tiff. “Hey, Tiff?” she asked, her words laced with teasing.
Tiff hesitated before saying, “Yes?”
“Are we there yet?”
The sigh that came from the driver’s seat was part-annoyed part-amused, and Tim couldn’t hold back his snort.
I’ve made mistakes and I’ve let you down / Been young and stupid I see it now
Brad had his arm slung around Wally’s shoulder, both of them leaning into each other as they listened to the tinny voices through only one pair of earbuds.
“I dig it,” said Wally, and Brad took a moment to stare at his boyfriend, bopping his head to the music and showing off his cute dimples in the meantime. He was so lucky, so blessed, to have Wally here with him, especially after—
I’m starting over with tears in my eyes / All that I’m asking is one more try
Brad closed his eyes, inhaled, and exhaled. They didn’t want him, and that was fine. If Brad had Wally and Tiff and also Steph, which he did, he didn’t need anyone else. Definitely not his family.
A distinctive, brightly colored car rolled up in the campus parking lot. Brad stood quickly from his vantage point on the bench, his earbud falling out of his ear. Wally took out his own and pressed pause on the music. “Babe, are they here?” he asked.
Brad was already sprinting. “C’mon, Walls!” he called, running backwards for a moment. “Try to catch up!”
Yeah, he thought to himself as he approached the car, his life was full enough without the Waynes.
Tiff stepped out of the driver’s seat, iced latte in hand. She set it down on the hood of the car the second she spotted Brad, rushing in for a hug.
Brad laughed, wrapping his arms around his short friend. “Tiff! My favorite bro to ever bro!”
“Brad Wayne,” Tiff greeted warmly. And fuck, it was his name , but his breath still hitched. Tiff softened, her brightness dialing down by at least thirty percent. “I missed you, y’know.”
And Brad couldn’t help the pure, unadulterated joy he felt when hearing those words. “Yeah, it was not as rad AF as it could’ve been without you here. But seriously, bro, this is gonna be a good year. I can feel it.”
As they separated, Steph walked by, her suitcase rolling behind her. “What?” she said, spreading her arms. “No hug for me?”
Tiff rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Get in here.”
Steph grinned, before allowing her suitcase to drop to the ground and jumping into the group embrace. The three of them stumbled back a bit, before steadying.
Brad looked back at their car and paused. “Hey guys, want to explain exactly how it is you are driving a BMW that is worth tens of thousands of dollars?”
The two girls glanced at each other, guilty looks spreading across their faces.
Brad was about to laugh and scold them when the other backdoor opened, and Timothy Drake-Wayne stepped out.
Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne. Even in Metropolis, Brad had heard the news - Tim legally changed his name. Personally, he thought Tim never needed his dad’s name to be part of the family, to be a Wayne, but what did he know? He barely counted as one.
He stiffened and his arm froze in the air as he made eye contact with Tim, leaving Steph to collide in his chest with no hug.
Averting his gaze, Brad leaned in closer to Steph. “You ready?” he asked her.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Steph replied, still grinning. She turned around to face Tim and tilted her heads towards the building ahead. “C’mon, babe, don’t be slow.”
As Brad moved forward with Tiff, listening to her discuss cheer routines for this year, he also kept an ear out for Steph and Tim’s whispers. He lit up as Wally rushed towards them - normal speeds while out of costume - but still resolutely kept his back turned when Wally greeted Tim as well.
Wally, Tiff, and Steph. Those three were the only three he needed, or even wanted, as a close part of his life. (The rest of the cheer team was great, but he had never really gotten close to them the way he had Tiff, and he was fine with that.)
They were the three that wanted him, so he thought that was fair.
Calligraphy created by Xenia, who you can find on Tumblr here!