Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You know you didn’t really have to accompany me home.”

“After what happened in Metropolis, can you blame me, BG?”

Batgirl rolled her eyes, smiling slightly as her and Nightwing stole their way to the rooftop after exiting the Gotham zeta tube.

He caught her, pulled her close, and leaned in for another kiss. Memories swirled around her mind of a similar rooftop, with a warmer evening breeze of late spring tousling her red tresses.

“Hmm, maybe I should be following you home,” Barbara commented lightly.

“As much as I would prefer that, I need to patrol tonight,” Dick said. His arms stayed firmly wrapped around her waist.

“On your birthday? Quite the dedication, Hunk Wonder,” she teased.

“Yeah, well, I kinda skipped last night,” he said sheepishly.

“Instead of letting yourself have a night off on your birthday, especially after the day we had, you decided not to patrol the night before?” she said, raising an eyebrow. Her grip slackened some as she leaned back to peer up at him and her hands came to rest on his arms.

“Well, when you put it that way,” Dick muttered. She could almost imagine the eye roll behind the domino mask.

“What were you up to last night anyway? You didn’t even answer my text.”

“Keeping up appearances. Dick Grayson’s presence was requested at clandestine, collegiate soiree,” he reported, grinning.

If they had been having a moment, she felt it slipping away. She let her arms drop and he reluctantly followed suit.

“Right, of course,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “How come you didn’t pull a Bruce and leave early?”

“Uh, because I’m not an anti-social, emotionally unstable, loner?” he tried, raising an eyebrow.

“Who was it this time? Lara from philosophy? Or maybe Emily from linear algebra?”

“Geez, Babs, practically call me a slut.”

Barbara sighed. Among the learned behaviors Dick picked up from his adoptive father, it seemed no one really informed him that the billionaire playboy thing was an act. While annoying to watch, it never seriously bothered her.

“It’s not like you haven’t bragged before,” she pointed out.

“I don’t brag, I just answer truthfully.” He winked.

“Right. Which brings me back to my original question. Who did you take home last night that prevented you from patrolling?”

Dick hesitated, frowning slightly. The question wasn’t accusatory at all. Barbara was just curious. Why did he feel so much apprehension at answering?

But now she was really curious with each passing second that Dick failed to answer the question.

“You don’t want to tell me. Why don’t you want to tell me?” she asked shrewdly.

“It’s not that …” he tried, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Seriously, Dick, I’m not mad. Would it help if I apologized for almost calling you a slut? Next time should I stick with man-whore or rich playboy?”

He shook he head. “It’s no big deal, Babs.”

“Is it embarrassing?”

“No …”

“Was it … was it a guy?”

“What?” Dick squeaked.

“Not that I would judge you … I’ve heard people sometimes make the assumption …”

He stared at her for a moment, wondering who exactly these people were. “Why …?”

“I really don’t know. Maybe it’s the tight pants. But anyway, why won’t you tell me? You normally tell me everything. I thought we don’t keep secrets anymore.”

“It really doesn’t matter that much Babs. Especially if, I mean, you and I and what happened earlier …” he said uneasily. “I don’t want it to end before it begins.”  

 “Why do you think she’s a deal breaker? Is it actually someone I know well?” Barbara questioned, starting to get a slight sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. Either that or she was just hungry.

“I guess, well, I mean, it wasn’t planned or anything. I was surprised to see her there. She didn’t even recognize me at first,” he rambled.

“Okay. Who was it, Dick?” she asked flatly, folding her arms.

A pause and then-

“Bette Kane.”

There was silence on the rooftop, or as silent Gotham could get, even on a chilly winter night like this one. He avoided looking at her face.

“Bette Kane? As in, went to Gotham Academy with us? Socialite heiress? That Bette Kane? Or is there another I’m unaware of,” she said, tetchily.

“Yeah.”

Finally, with a sad smile, Barbara said softly, “Of course it was.” Another few tense minutes passed before she added, “I’d better go. Bye Nightwing.”

Before he could even gather his wits to stop her, she had already shoved past him. On reflex, he dove forward to grab her arm. It happened very fast; she pulled and twisted the wrist of the hand attached to her while kicking out his feet from under him. He was already off-balance so she used his momentum against him. He landed with a loud thud and she twisted his arm into his shoulder in a tight lock.

“Ow! Batgirl! Stop!” he said to the dirty cement floor pressed to his face.

“Don’t follow me! Don’t grab at me! I’m going home now,” she growled at him in her best Bat voice. She roughly let go of his arm and leapt into the night before he could even get up.

Several rooftops and line swings away, she finally stopped, sure he hadn’t dared follow her this time, and attempted to gather her thoughts as she paced.

Bette Kane. It had to be her. Fuck, she thought she was done dealing with the other girl once they had graduated high school.

Bette was in her year back at Gotham Academy. They were sophomores when Dick was a freshman. And except for her occasional superior, social ladder climbing tendencies, she was damn near perfect. Barbara, being naturally a perfectionist, found the perfect rival.

The tall, attractive blonde was class president, pep squad leader, and tennis champion. While Barbara only remembered being a gawky redhead with freckles and glasses, who was captain of the gymnastics team and the mathaletes. They were both the top of the class in every subject they shared. It was exhausting but something about the popular girl made her want to try her hardest, as if to prove she belonged.

Her whole adolescence could probably be defined by trying to prove she belonged.

The thing that really sucked about her time at GA with Bette was that the girl was actually really, genuinely nice. She had been brought up with money which did give her a vague sense of superiority, but she wasn’t ever mean about it. They had a healthy rivalry but also a casual friendship. Barbara would even occasionally eat lunch with her or join her and Artemis for sleepovers and shopping trips. They weren’t trading friendship bracelets or anything but they definitely weren’t stooping to any Mean Girl-esque sorts of sabotage. It was frustrating.

Bette was practically the Cedric Diggroy of Gotham Academy. Everyone loved her.

It was a clean fight. They never competed when it came to dating. Barbara never even bragged about being best friends with the richest kid in the city, Dick Grayson. Besides, Bette would have blown her out of the water in that competition. School, gymnastics, activities, and vigilantism took up a lot of her dating time in high school.

She really had thought it was all over when they graduated. She had even considered herself the winner when she was named Valedictorian and Bette was named Salutatorian. So what if Bette was rich and popular and smart if Babs was the absolute top of the class?

Babs rubbed at her eyes, perched on the ledge of the building. I am not going to compete with my old high school rival for some boy’s affections, she told herself furiously. She never had done so in the past. Just because the boy in question was Dick, meant nothing. I can’t let this bother me.

It was always the wrong timing for them, she decided as she picked herself up and continued on towards home. Just like last spring.

Stupid Nightwing. No, stupid Dick.

She really wanted to just be mad at him. Even if he probably didn’t deserve her wrath. He hadn’t actually betrayed her. All of this took place before today’s game-changing events. But of all the women in the world who would literally be happy to throw themselves at Dick Grayson, he had to hook up with her. Hadn’t he known how she would feel about it?

A cry echoed up from an alleyway, thankfully distracting her thoughts and giving her an outlet for her building rage. Nothing like fighting crime to sooth one’s soul. She peered over the ledge, taking in the scene below of four assailants cornering a smaller figure. Quietly, she hopped to a lower ledge for a closer look, already planning out which thug to take out first.

She was close enough now to hear the coaxing sneer of one of the men as another one grabbed the petite figure’s arm. The girl struggled and cried out again for help. Batgirl made her move.

Spreading out her cape to form the intimidating bat silhouette, she leapt from her perch and swung a foot into the face of one of the guys. He stumbled back, shouting curses but she was already twirling around to take out another.

Any remaining pain or tiredness of the day’s mission left her as she fought the little gang. This was why she became Batgirl. To stop scum like this. So no young woman would have to be afraid of walking home at night. Because she knew she could help and wanted to make her city a better place. Because of the satisfying crunch under knuckles as she smashed the offender’s jaw.

It ended viciously and way too fast for Batgirl’s liking. Two were still moaning on the ground while the third was knocked out and the fourth struggled to pull himself up against a wall.

She strode over to him and with the last bit of adrenaline-fueled strength she possessed, she pulled him up by the neck of his shirt and growled, “Don’t let me catch you harassing people ever again.” She threw him to the ground and turned to the young woman who was obviously trying to calm her breathing. In a kinder voice, she asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks Batgirl,” she answered, sounding more tired than like she was actually recovering from fear.

“You should get home,” Babs advised, preparing to return to the rooftops, grapple in hand.

“You too,” she said wearily, making her way back to the street.

Dick knew he was really in trouble the next day when Bette texted him an invitation to get coffee later on. In trouble, but not exactly surprised. Women commonly went out of their way to make the next move when they realized he was that Dick Grayson. It was hard not to be smug.

Barbara was definitely mad at him and he knew it was because of the thing with Bette, which he definitely had not ever planned on making into a regular thing in the first place. He wasn’t completely oblivious; he knew they had been on complicated terms back in high school. They were friends, but they still felt the need to one up each other. He didn’t understand it so he tended to trivialize it. The only thing he could think of to compare it to was the small twinge of jealousy every non powered hero felt when working with a super powered teammate.

He shook his head, staring at the unanswered text. It was Barbara’s problem, something she should have gotten over by now since they had been out of high school for two years. She had never made it easy for him. But here was a girl who did like him and wanted to spend time with him.

Without thinking too hard on it, he replied. Sounds great, see you later. Smiley face. Send.

“So, we really didn’t get much of a chance to catch up,” Bette began after they had settled in at a table in an upscale café in one of the nicer Gotham neighborhoods.

“Yeah, so, what have you been doing since high school? College? Working?” Dick asked, forcing down any lingering unease. He determined to enjoy this date.

“Working on my business degree but I also work with my dad’s company a lot. I help run the company’s humanitarian efforts. Our charity foundation isn’t quite as big as the Wayne Foundation, but we’re growing,” she said cheerfully.

“That sounds great, Bette,” he said, smiling.

“Yeah, we built a school in Africa. My dad visited it last summer. He took a special interest in that project. See?” She flipped through some pictures on her phone and held one up to show him. It looked a bit like a typical publicity shot to him, but she seemed so proud of it that he nodded approvingly.

“Cool, what are you working on next?”

“A clinic. A lot of my job is pitching ideas for benefits and putting them together. All those years of being a debutante and learning how to plan a party are finally starting to pay off.”

“Well, you’re definitely quite the lady,” he said, charmingly to which she giggled prettily.

“I’m planning a huge event for January. I’ll make sure you’re sent an invitation.”

“I look forward to it.”

One coffee date quickly became a second coffee date the next day. Then a dinner date a few days later, after which she ended up in his bed again and he decided to not feel guilty about seeing her more. Then, since it was winter time and he was pro at adorable clichés, he took her ice skating.

Dick really started to enjoy spending the time with Bette. She was a fun girl. And even though she had a bright, cheerful sort of personality, she definitely did not conform to any ditzy blonde typecast, if her sharp wit proved anything. They had not always frequented the same social circles back in school but there was enough shared experiences to draw on to keep the conversation going. And when they weren’t reminiscing, she could easily keep up a conversation about grown up topics like work or politics or global business. He tried to stay clear of any topics that could lead to a discussion about Barbara though.

In the middle of the week, he tried calling her but she didn’t answer. He lost his nerve before the end of her voicemail greeting though and hung up without leaving a message. If Barbara wanted to ignore his calls and avoid the Cave then that was fine. It was pointless to try to work things out if she was still going to be angry with him.

“Thanks again for spotting for me, Cassie,” said Barbara as she finished adding weights to each side of the bar before lying down on the bench.

The lively blonde smiled, took her place, and said, “No problem, BG. Though I’m surprised you’re not taking it easier today.”

“I needed the distraction,” she answered, gripping the bar and preparing to do a few bench presses. Her frustration had carried over a busy week filled with classes, work, and patrolling (and avoiding Nightwing). By that morning, she felt the need for a long, strenuous workout. She had already finished a run and gymnastics practice. It wasn’t enough, so now she was pumping iron with Wonder Girl standing over her as spotter and cheer leader. Her enthusiasm was contagious at times and Barbara felt herself relax as she finished a rep.

“That was great, Barbara!” Cassie said.

“Easy for you to say, Wonder Girl,” Barbara said, but she returned the small smile. “Add five to each side for me?”

“Sure thing. So, what did you think of the new guy? Blue Beetle?” Cassie went to work adjusting the weights.

“Well, he’s a newbie but I think he’ll fit in nicely. I take it you managed to convince him to join?” Barbara said, raising an eyebrow at the younger girl.

“Yeah, well, I think it helped that Nightwing insisted he come along the other day. Nothing like finding yourself caught up in saving the world to make you want to make it an every day sort of thing,” she giggled.

“Hmm. And what does Cassie think of the boy behind the bug?” she asked with a small smirk, quickly ignoring the little jolt of her nerves when Cassie mentioned Nightwing.

The blonde blushed. “Well, Jaime is kinda cute. He seems a little distracted, but I like him so far,” she said shyly.

Barbara lay back on the bench again to do another set. “That’s good,” she managed to comment before focusing on her breathing and lifting.

“You know, Barb, I really do love getting to save people. It’s definitely the absolute, number one, best part of the job,” she began slowly. “But it is kind of a perk that there are so many cute guys on the team. Not that I’m, like, boy crazy or would even try anything with most of them, but, you know …” she trailed off apprehensively.

She set the bar back on its rack so she could chuckle slightly and respond. “It’s okay, Cassie, I understand what you’re saying. I agree, we definitely have access to some prime eye candy. And trust me, they’re looking at us too.” Gripping the bar again, she started on another set. “So, who have you been eyeing lately?”

“Well, you know, Conner and Mal are definitely hot. And L’gann isn’t too bad when he and Miss Martian aren’t being totally revolting.” She wrinkled her nose slightly and Babs had to agree with the sentiment. “Of course, Nightwing is undeniably the hottest on the team and he’s just so nice,” she said with a sigh.

Damn. It looked like Barbara was not going to escape the Nightwing subject today. She plastered a fake grin on her face as she glanced up.

“Crush on the boss?”

“Not really! I just have to keep consciously calling him boss to remind myself, you know,” Cassie said with a laugh.

They fell quiet for a few minutes while Barbara focused on her lifting, channeling her lingering irritation into each press. But the younger girl, who was always quite chatty, fidgeted restlessly, still clearly bursting to say what was on her mind.

“What is it Cassie?” Barbara asked, breathing heavily, resting her arms.

“Well, don’t you and Nightwing have a bit of a, well, thing? I mean, you guys flirt a lot. And aren’t you guys friends in civilian life too?” she asked, biting her lip thoughtfully.

The older girl sighed, regretting inviting her to speak her mind. “Yes, I know Nightwing’s identity,” she said, avoiding the first question.

“I once heard Wally say he’s a bit of a, well, a player,” she said, lowering her voice.

“I don’t think he has a lot of serious relationships. With our jobs, it’s not easy to make time to date civilians. Not to mention it’s a safety hazard. So, yes, Wally does like to congratulate his buddy for getting around so much,” Barbara said quietly, sitting up to look at her plainly. “But don’t let that ruin your good opinion of him. He does treat the women he sees very well.” She felt like someone should give her a damn award for being mad at Dick but still managing to speak so complimentary of him.

“And the two of you?” Cassie prompted her.

“Nothing is going on between me and Nightwing. We’re just friends and teammates,” she said simply, clenching the edge of the bench to keep from showing any other tension.

“Okay,” she replied, obviously getting the vibe that Barbara no longer wanted to discuss their esteemed leader. “Well, Robin is a real cutie too.”

“Robin is like my little brother,” Barbara pointed out, getting up to move to some free weights. “But the kid definitely needs to get some action.”

“Barbara!” said Cassie, trying to look scandalized but she was stifling another laugh.

Both girls were still giggling when Robin himself poked his head in the doorway of the weight room, curiously. “Hey, BG, did you still want to practice some sparring today?” he asked, glancing between her and Cassie interestedly.

“Yeah, Robin, meet me on the mat in fifteen,” she said. He nodded, shot another curious glance at them, and left.

“Do you think he heard me?” Cassie asked, grinning embarrassedly.

“It’s possible. He’s getting pretty good at sneaking around. Thanks for spotting me,” she said, hanging her towel around her shoulders as they walked out of the weight room.

“Thanks for listening to my chattering.”

Approximately twenty five minutes later found Tim Drake flying across the mat, not of his own free will, and landing with a loud thud. Dazed, he groaned and decided to lay there for a few more seconds before a shadow fell over him. He peered up at the redheaded rage that just handed his ass to him, who now looked awfully apologetic.

“Sorry, Robin. I didn’t mean to throw you that hard,” she said, offering him a hand up.

“Let’s just say you won that round,” said Tim, taking her hand as he got to his feet, rubbing at the hip he landed on. “I needed the falling practice anyway.”

They made their way off the mats to sit on the bench.

“So, I see you’re in a good mood today,” Tim observed as he reached for his water.

“Sorry, Tim, maybe I should have asked Cassie to practice with me instead,” said Barbara, now feeling guilty. The boy had been wearing his Robin costume which made her think of a certain former bird. It just escalated.

“It’s fine. But you can’t stay mad at him forever, you know,” Tim pointed out. Barbara didn’t even bother to marvel over how the little detective in training seemed to figure out the source of her emotional turmoil.

“It’s complicated.”

“What exactly happened? When you guys left together that day, it looked like a done deal.”

I got an updated list of who’s been in his bed recently and it pissed me off.

She debated what to tell him. For the most part, Tim was smart enough to keep an objective viewpoint. But Dick had really taken him in and become a surrogate older brother to him. When Nightwing praised his work, Tim’s whole face lit up. At times, Barbara suspected Dick’s opinion meant more to him than even Batman’s. Like with Cassie, she didn’t want to bitch about her problems and make him feel like he needed to choose sides.

“Tim, you don’t need to worry. It’s my problem really,” she tried. Her anxiety was starting to fade and now she just felt exhausted.

“Come on, Barb. Maybe I could talk to him.”

Barbara shook her head. Tim could be a real sweet kid some times. “No, it’s just bad timing again. I’ll get over it,” she assured him. Eventually. She would get over it. Perhaps even get over him this time.

“Are you still going to patrol with us tonight? Batman needs all of us,” Tim said after a moment.

“Of course. Just because I’m mad at Nightwing doesn’t mean I can’t work with him.”