Archive of Our Own ^beta

“You're going to prom with Grayson.”

“It’s not like that,” Barbra rolled her eyes and searched for another hair pin.

“You two are very close,” her father continued.

“It’s Dick he’s close with everyone.”

“You’ll be home by nine.”

“I know.”

She planned to sneak back out almost immediately after to go fight crime, but he didn’t need to know that.

“And you’ll call if you need anything.”

“I know,” this time she said it with significantly less annoyance.

The doorbell rang saving her from the rest of his lecture. “I’ll get it.”

She hoped if she could get the door it would save Dick from being interrogated by Commissioner Gordon. She was not so lucky because she had to find her shoes, which she could have sworn she had set by the door.

“Sorry, it’ll just be a second.”

“You're fine, we're running early,” Dick assured her. He had finally grown taller than her, and he was still muscular, from his continued gymnastics and running around Gotham with Batman. 

“I told you to make sure you had everything,” her father calls after her.

“I know!”

“It really is fine,” Dick said again this time to her father.

Dick still seemed relatively calm when she came back with her shoes which she took as a good sign.

“I learned how to do make up and wear contacts and now I’m one of the prettiest girls at school,” she joked trying to ignore the fact that he was blushing because it was making her blush and she was probably reading too much into things.

Dick laughed so much she was sure some of it was forced. “You already were.”

She knew that last part had been a slip because he immediately stilled, and he was almost always fidgeting.

“You can’t just say things like that,” she said, forcing a laugh and punching him playfully.

Too much laughing.

Her father was watching them both carefully.

“We should probably get going.”

Dick jumped at the excuse to leave and fumbled to get the door for her. “Bye Commissioner Gordon, We’ll be back at nine!” He called after helping her in the car.

Her dad smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

“He didn’t start interrogating you too much did he?”

“Nah,” Dick waved a hand dismissively. “Just wanted to know why I asked you, and then told me to have you back by nine.”

Barbra nodded seriously.

“Come on Babs, we’ve known each other for ages, I’m already scared stiff of your dad, what’s the worst that could have happened.”

“‘Grayson, I know your robin and Barbra’s Batgirl I’m deeply disappointed in you and my daughter and I are moving to metropolis,” Barbra said mimicking her father.

“You think he’s going to get all of that from a conversation about prom? I live with Batman, Babs, you don’t get more paranoid than that.”

“Road!” Barbra warned instead of thinking up a reply because he had started to veer to the side.

“Ops.”

“You are a danger to pedestrians.”

“Probably.”

“We have arrived,” Dick announced, opening her door with exaggerated flourish.  

“That we have.” She took the arm he offered.

It was an entire 67 seconds before someone ran up to talk to them, read politely, say hello to Barbra and then excitedly continue to talk with Dick.

“I didn’t know you two were together!” Was shouted at them in tones varying from excited to disgusted, mostly disgust. Which Barbra gets because Dick’s so handsome and charming and smart and absolutely just the sweetest and she’s heard it and over and over and over again.

They continue to smile and say “no, but neither of us had a date.”

They agreed that it was fair if they wanted to go and dance with someone else, but neither of them did. They danced to so many songs and Barbra wasn’t sure she’d remember a single one because they were laughing and joking and she felt so light.

Halfway through and they were both ready to leave. It was crowded and loud and all their friends had had dates. They had a while before curfew so they drove to a nearby diner. They frequented there as Batgirl and Robin, two tired teenage vigilantes having finished patrol. 

They sat on the same side of the both. Barbra had stretched her legs over Dick’s lap, because she was tired. They had patrolled late last night. The waiter had smiled sweetly at them when she brought them their food.

They’d made plans for prom as friends. They’d gone to prom as friends. They went to the dinner as friends.  They drove around playing music too loud as friends. 

She was probably reading too much into when he kissed her check, he was affectionate with everyone, and told her she really was one of the prettiest girls at school when he dropped her off at her house.

“See ya ‘round Babs!”