Chapter Text
Jason is out of Gotham for the weekend, visiting Star City to babysit Lian while Roy is out to take care of some business. Jason would have helped him out but the young girl insisted that her Uncle Jay babysits her. Not that he minds, he loves spending time with her.
Which is why Stephanie ended up in his safehouse without him around again. She didn’t stay long. Just returned his stuff that she used for her disguise. Neatly folding the shirt on the coffee table in his living room and putting the glasses and a new fake moustache (she brought it for him on the way over to replace the one she borrowed) on top, she wrote him a small thank-you note and left.
By late Sunday night, Jason came back to Gotham. With a bag of leftovers (it was fun to cook for someone other than himself; but the kid nearly gave him a heart attack when she took a knife, offering to help chop the vegetables, which he didn’t allow cause please she’s only five) and some take-out that Roy treated him to as thanks for babysitting his daughter.
He placed the leftovers in his fridge and stacked up some take-outs in his microwave. When the appliance gave the beep, he took out the food and headed to his living room to eat on his couch.
On his coffee table, he noticed a few stuff. He picked up the note on top of the folded shirt.
Thanks for lending me your stuff. I got you a new ‘stache too >:}
He let out a quiet happy hum on the small and mischievous moustache face Stephanie drew at the bottom of the note.
Taking out his phone, he called her. She picked up on the second ring and he put down his phone on the table after setting it on speaker mode. “Hey, blondie.”
“Hey you,” she greeted back as she laid down on her bed. “How was your weekend?”
“It was alright,” he replied nonchalantly and started eating his food. “Babysat my best friend’s daughter though.”
“Oh,” she breathed out as if something just clicked in on her. “So that’s where you’ve been.”
“Yup, they live at Star City.” He provided. “Did yah miss me?” he teased.
She shook her head in amusement. “Just felt a little weird not knowing where you were is all.”
He hummed. “Well the babysitting isn’t really a daily thing. Mostly my friend just calls me up on last minute and especially if his kid requests for me to come in.”
Stephanie let out an awww and called the arrangement sweet.
“Who would have thought,” she fondly mused out loud. “The big and scary Red Hood babysitting a kid. How old is she?”
“She’s five. And you should have seen my helmet when it was an extra last-minute call last year.”
“Ohhh, what did she do?”
“She doodled hearts on my helmet with neon pink marker. It was permanent.”
Stephanie snorted at the mental image.
“Or I think it was hearts. Some of them are close to an apple and the rest looks like weird blobs.”
“Oh my God,” her shoulders shook from laughing. “So what happened to the helmet?”
“Obviously I made a new one, but I kept it.” He admitted. He can’t see it now but Steph totally placed a hand at her heart when he sounded all sentimental.
“Some kids have their macaroni art, but my niece will forever have her vigilante uncle’s vandalized helmet as proof of her blooming artistic side.”
“That must have been fun though,” she sighed. “Kinda miss babysitting now.”
“We got Damian.” Jason pointed out and Stephanie chuckled.
Jason moved on to a new topic. “So, tell me how Duke’s date went.”
Despite being there for the start of the date, Jason didn’t stick around till the end. After the chat with Dick and thanks to whatever omnipotent being up above that might have been looking out for him, Roy rang him up. The redhead had the right timing to call him before Dick can have the opportunity to put possible dot #1 to possible dot #2 and put the possibilities together.
“Ana is great,” Steph started. “It didn’t bother her that Tim, Damian, and I were there. And she got this really cute dress on too, kudos to her taste. She was a bit late though but it could have been traffic, but if it was cause of her preparing her look then that lateness can be ignored cause it was worth it.”
Jason continued eating his food as Stephanie recalled what happened on Duke’s date with Ana.
Almost finishing his food, Jason suddenly recognized something. “You’re a romantic.”
It was an honest observation. It’s an endearing trait – but honestly speaking, Jason is unsure what he feels about it.
“Well,” Steph trailed a bit to collect her thoughts. “I guess I kind of am.”
“I mean it’s really sweet and cute you know. And I’m happy for Duke. I’m proud of him. It’s really something else when you get to go out on a date with your crush. And it’s just so much more romantic when through the date, you realize you and you crush really click.” Stephanie ended with a snap of her fingers.
Putting his plate down, Jason centered himself.
“On the topic of crushes,” he quietly cleared his throat and readying himself. “Do you happen to have a crush on anyone right now?”
A pause.
“I’m not really sure,” Stephanie confessed. “To be honest, recently Tim and I…”
Jason didn’t really focus after he heard a name. Tim.
He mulled it over in his head. It makes sense. Aside from Cass (and Babs then Damian), Tim’s one of the bats Steph’s closest to. They get paired on so many patrols together (both assigned and by volunteering), does their best to spend time together as much as they can both in and out of their hero life. They have movie marathons at manor from time to time and they have these inside jokes about a lot of stuff that he never bothered to understand before.
They even came in together for spying on Duke’s date. They’re so comfortable with each other’s company and they work so well together. Probably each other’s first choice in… well patrols and spying on dates apparently.
They’re so close and Jason doesn’t understand why there’s this sudden burning feeling nagging him-
“So how about you?” she asked which prompted him to get out of his own head.
“There’s nothing about me.” Jason evenly said out of reflex (and because he wasn't paying attention) without even considering asking her the context of the question.
“Oh,” Steph sounded a bit disappointed. He doesn’t want to think too much about it, not when his heart is beating so loudly he can practically hear it thrumming in his ears. “Okay then.”
And it got quiet after that and he knows he can’t recover from that cause filling up the silence isn’t his thing it was hers, and he desperately wants to say something – anything – but he doesn’t want to blurt out the wrong thing-
“It’s getting late,” Steph bit her lower lip feeling a bit bashful now, grateful that it’s a phone call and not a face-to-face conversation. “I have morning classes tomorrow, I’m gonna head out.”
“Yeah, yeah sure. G’night.”
“Good night, Jason.”
The pair ended the call. Jason threw his phone on the table and covered his face with his hands, audibly groaned in frustration at himself. He shouldn’t feel… whatever it is he’s feeling. Stephanie is an attractive and amazing person, she’s the type of person that can easily become anyone’s friend (and that includes him). She’s a remarkable woman and she’s a valued friend. He shouldn’t care this much if she’s into someone that… isn’t him. He shouldn’t even expect that she’ll be interested in him. Not when they’re just starting out as friends.
In Stephanie’s room, she’s currently stuffing her face against her pillow, mirroring Jason’s groan of frustration. She didn’t need to answer him. Go on about the details as if they matter. It was a simple yes-or-no question that she could have avoided all together by telling him that she’s doesn’t want him to know. Cause she herself doesn’t know the answer.
Before Steph can overthink it further, her phone dinged with a notification on a new text.
From Jason: Sleep well, blondie.
She let out a small smile, her heart significantly slowing down to a steadier beat.
To Jason: You too, Jason.