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“I didn’t know you could braid.”
Jason grinned to himself at Stephanie’s acknowledgement. He raised his index finger as he sent her a shush-gesture.
Steph shot him an apologetic look. She whispered sorry and mouthed I’ll wait here to him as she hooked her thumb to point behind her at the living room as she walked away.
The man shook his head in amusement at his girlfriend.
Under the blanket he had just tucked his niece in, Mari quietly spoke. “She’s really nice,” the girl yawned, “and very pretty.”
Jason beamed proudly, “Yeah?”
The little girl nodded sleepily.
Jason softly asked, “Would you like her to visit again?”
“Yes please.”
“I’m glad to hear that, I’d like you to get to know her better.” Jason leaned in and gave Mari a kiss to her forehead. “Now it’s time you shut those eyes close and get some sleep, okay?”
With a final yawn, Mari snuggled in her bed in a more comfortable position. “Good night, Uncle Jason.”
“Sleep well, night star.” Jason stood up from Mari’s bed and closed her bedroom door on his way out.
Dick and Kori were currently in Milan to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They allowed Mari to choose which relative would take care of her for the next five days and the girl wanted her Uncle Jason. This was the perfect opportunity for Jason to introduce Stephanie to his niece.
Jason and Stephanie had been official for the past ten months. By that time, Jason met Crystal, Stephanie’s mother, and a couple of her college friends. On the other hand, Stephanie already met Damian and was acquainted with Tim (Stephanie’s college best friend was Kara, who happened to be related to Tim’s boyfriend, Conner). And before the married couple left, Stephanie got to meet Dick and Kori.
Jason made his way to the living room and saw Steph laid out on the couch, “She’s tucked in now.”
The blonde nodded and sat up, “Thank you for inviting me today.”
“Thank you for coming,” his genuine tone made Stephanie smile wider. “It meant a lot to me.”
“Really?”
Jason walked towards the couch and sat down after Stephanie scooched over to give him space. He raised his arm over her and placed it behind his girlfriend, a quiet offer for Stephanie to rest her head against his chest. An offer Stephanie happily accepted.
“Yeah,” he confirmed, “Mari is… the first kid I really took care of.”
Stephanie curiously hummed. “What about Damian?”
“I forgot to mention before: he came into our lives a little late. His mom gave him to Bruce when he was ten. Damian was a kid when we had him,” Jason’s voice got lower, “but we missed so much.”
None of them were there to comfort Damian when he cried in the middle of the night when he was a baby. None of them were there when Damian took his first steps. When he said his first word. None of them even knew what his first word was.
None of them taught Damian how to ride a bike… now that Jason thought of it, he had never seen Damian ride a bike before. The boy had always been picked up and dropped off by cars. Does Damian even know how to ride a bike? Jason shifted uneasily on the couch. Damian had been with them for the past couple of years but there were still many things that they, that he , didn’t know about about the kid.
Stephanie’s hand intertwined with Jason’s and she gave him a comforting squeeze. It encouraged Jason to continue. “With Mari…well we were there for everything.”
So many birthday parties where Jason had helped with setting up the decorations on more than one occasion. All those playdates where Jason pretended he enjoyed the non-existent tea he was given and he had to do multiple impersonations for the voices of Mari’s stuffies. Several times he babysat her when his brother and his wife were on date nights or went out of the country to celebrate their anniversary like tonight. Jason had been so involved with his niece’s life. He treasured all the moments he shared with Mari, kept the memories close to his heart so that he could share them to her when she came to the age she’d likely not remember them anymore.
The way she made him laugh when she roasted Tim’s eyebags back on that one busy month at Wayne Enterprises. Not that it was intentional though, but kids have always been known to be hilariously blunt.
The way she made him so happy with the birthday card she gave him two years ago with an insane amount of red glitter on the heart cut-out she pasted inside – she knew his favorite color was red, and she always made it a point to know the favorite color of the people she liked the most.
The way she made him so proud standing up against a bully at school that called her friend ‘stupid’, a word kids shouldn’t even know, much less call other kids. Dick called him to tell him how amazed the teacher was with how Mari handled it so calmly, she definitely got what they lovingly called Kori’s ‘righteous fury’.
“I guess you can say I’m really attached to her. She’s a good kid, and it’s an honor to see her grow up.”
“That’s so nice to know. It’s really something else to see you in your element.”
A chuckle escaped from Jason’s lips. “In my element?”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“Nah, tell me what my element is.”
“You know,” Stephanie began to play with his fingers now, suddenly bashful with a hint of a pink that painted her nose and cheeks, “taking care of others.”
The realization suddenly struck Jason that Stephanie was the only person he ever invited to accompany him with babysitting Mari. And she was the only one he was open to showing this more gentle side of him. Like when they first met: when he came to pick up Damian from the school clinic.
“You’re super sweet to her. Holding her hand and stuff.” Jason kissed the top of Stephanie’s head and continued to allow her to play with his fingers as she went on. “You always carry her up to reach for something cause you know she wants to grab things from their spot instead of them being handed over. And you were both firm and gentle when you told her ‘no’ to overstaying at the playground. Plus, it was super cute how focused you were when you braided her hair to make sure they didn't tangle.”
It was Jason’s turn to blush. “Now you’re making me feel all flustered.”
Stephanie giggled. “That’s another thing I like seeing.”
For some reason, Jason’s mind disregarded that his girlfriend meant the comment for the flustered part so he blurted out, “You like seeing me with Mari?”
The blonde’s eyes slightly widened. The slip up with her word choice, another thing , indicated her true feelings. Stephanie sat straight and looked at her boyfriend, Jason’s arm stayed behind her. “And Damian,” she told him, “and his classmates. And the younger siblings of your students.”
Jason hummed and looked away so Stephanie wouldn’t notice that his blush reached the tip of his ears.
“I never really gave it much thought but,” Stephanie’s eyes softened when Jason peeked at her, “you’re really good with kids.”
Jason was beyond touched that Stephanie noticed it, and he couldn’t help but return the compliment. “So are you.”
Before Stephanie came over, she texted Jason to ask what Mari’s favorite meal is. By the time she came to the house, she had tupperware filled with rice, naan, and chicken curry. And this wasn’t just any curry, it’s the curry she cooked with coconut milk . It was that rich and creamy variety of curry. Mari loved her cooking so much that she helped with washing the tupperware and plates.
And even though Mari had Cassandra, Mari was still surrounded by lots of uncles. So it was a delight for the little girl to have Stephanie around to play “real” dress-up with (“Uncle Jason just puts the tutu on top of his pants. And the tiara fits you way better!”).
Lastly, after dinner, Mari wanted to bake a soufflé for their dessert. It was something she had really enjoyed when she and her parents ate at a fancy restaurant last week. They didn’t have the ingredients (and it was something a bit too complicated for a girl her age to make) which made the little girl sad, but Stephanie recommended they could make chocolate-macadamia cookies instead. But since it was late, they decided to put the finished dough in the fridge so they could bake it tomorrow.
“I just wanna say again,” Stephanie reeled Jason back in with her to reality, “I didn’t know you could braid till now.”
Jason smugly grinned. “My mom taught me how to braid hair, said that it’ll make me the real deal for my future wife when we have a daughter.”
“Future wife huh?” Stephanie pretended to be jealous and poked Jason’s stomach. “And how many girlfriends did you make sure they saw that you knew how to braid hair?”
Jason grabbed Stephanie’s wrist and playfully bit her finger. The woman yelped in surprise and retreated her hand to hold against her chest at lightning speed that Jason had to resist the snort-laugh that almost left him. He quietly answered, “Just you actually.”
“Don’t get all weird on me or dump me all of the sudden next week,” Stephanie warned him. And oh , if she only knew that the second part is something Jason had no plans of ever doing – the weird thing though, he’ll happily do that for as long as she’ll let him. “I’ve always known I wanted to have kids.”
“Yeah?” Jason reached for Stephanie’s hand and kissed her knuckles, “How many?”
“I’m thinking of three.”
“Three? Wouldn’t there be competition for them to be our favorites? One for you, one for me.” He teased her, “You wouldn’t possibly want the third one to feel left out, would you?”
Stephanie amusedly scoffed at him, “I’m getting the feeling you weren’t the favorite child.”
“With Dick being the first one to give Bruce a grandkid?” Jason quickly pointed at the direction of Mari’s room. “Of course I wasn’t. I didn’t stand a chance.”
Stephanie laughed and Jason added, “Of course you’re an only child. You’re the only option for favorite, love.”
The blonde pouted. “Having favorites is not even my thought process with having three kids, you dork.”
“And what, pray tell, is your thought process with why you want three rascals, Miss Brown?”
Stephanie rolled her eyes at the underlying silliness in Jason’s tone, but there was a happy sparkle in them for she knew that Jason’s question was out of earnest curiosity. She told him that growing up, she often felt lonely especially when her mother had late shifts. Stephanie wanted a sibling, she always thought she would get along so well with them – she’d be the best big sister. But it would be sad if they fought and she won’t have her mom around to lean on if she ever got upset with her hypothetical sibling.
“So you…” Jason interrupted, “want three kids so there’s a mediator when two of them fight?”
“Well, when you put it that way…yeah. But I mean, it’s not the only reason. I like to think it’d help if we’re not around, although of course we’ll be involved whenever we can.”
“So what are other reasons?”
“Having a sibling in general would be a good thing, you’ve got someone in your corner. So I think if a kid has two, they already have two supporters by default. Not counting the parents of course.”
Jason nodded in understanding. Although there were a lot of them, and they’re adopted, he’s grateful for all of his siblings. There have been multiple bumps but he and his siblings have always come through for each other.
This was the first time he and Stephanie have talked about having kids. And it was nice to imagine it together. It felt intimate to share it like this. After a good day spent babysitting a wholesome and lovable kid.
A yawn from behind the pair alerted both of them to look back. There stood Mari with Commander Cotton, her moth caterpillar stuffie (a replica of her mother’s childhood stuffed toy, Silkie).
“Hi, Mari,” Stephanie greeted the girl. “What are you doing up?”
“I can’t sleep.” The yawn that followed Mari’s response didn’t convince the couple, they exchanged a look and mutually decided to let the girl tire herself out by staying up a little longer just this once.
“Alright you,” Jason approached his niece and Mari raised her hands so that her uncle could lift her up to which that’s exactly what Jason did, “We’ll go to the kitchen.”
As if the sleepiness left her, Mari eagerly asked, “We can bake the cookie dough now?”
“What? No-”
“Awww,” Stephanie cut off Jason as she stood behind him, “That was my guess too – I was looking forward to it.”
Jason shook his head at the crestfallen expressions of his niece and girlfriend. He, with Mari in his arms, and Stephanie proceeded to go to the kitchen. “We can’t bake the cookies. She’ll stay up even more waiting for them and stay awake even longer with all that sugar. We’ll do it tomorrow just like what we agreed on for the first time.”
In Jason’s hold, Mari folded her arms and pouted, “Boo.”
Stephanie laughed at the little girl’s adorable disappointed expression. The blonde affectionately booped the girl’s nose and said, “Don’t worry, Mari. At least you got something to look forward to for tomorrow.”
Mari still whimpered at the thought of not having her cookies tonight but she stayed behaved when Jason placed her on her stool in the kitchen.
“Alright you,” Jason pointed at Mari, “you gotta promise not to tell either of your parents we let you stay up late when you couldn’t fall asleep.”
Mari wrote an imaginary ‘X’ against her chest, did a zip-motion on her lips that Jason mimicked, and nodded at her uncle.
“Good,” Jason told her. He took a kettle and turned to his girlfriend, “Do you want me to make you tea?”
“Yes, please.”
The man filled the kettle with three cups of water – for Mari’s milk, his coffee, and Stephanie’s tea. He placed it on the stove and turned it on.
The three waited in silence, aside from Mari tapping her little hands against the counter out of boredom.
Two minutes have passed and Mari looked at Jason as she pointed to Stephanie, “Can you teach me to braid her hair?”
Jason chuckled, “You gotta ask Steph first if she’s okay with you braiding her hair.”
“Oh!” Mari quickly followed what her uncle told her and looked at Stephanie, “Is it okay if I braid your hair?”
Stephanie was ready to say yes but Mari inhaled deep and let out, “ Pleaaassssee. ”
The pair laughed in unison, both amused at the girl. Stephanie gave Mari a smile and a thumbs-up, “Sure thing, Mari.”
“Yay!” Mari clapped, “Uncle Jason, can you please get a scrunchie?”
Jason bowed, “Of course, Princess Mari.”
Mari giggled and Jason left the kitchen to fulfill his niece’s request.
“What’s your favorite color?” The girl asked Stephanie.
“Oh I love purple.”
Mari squealed at Stephanie’s answer, “Me and mommy too!”
It only took Jason a minute to look for Mari’s box of scrunchies and came just in time to hear his niece’s happy squeal. “Steph loves the really dark shade,” he shared what he remembered, “like eggplant.”
The girl nodded at the information shared to her, “Eggplant is really dark. But also yummy!”
Jason handed Mari her scrunchie box. “Thank you!”
The tall man bent down and gave his niece a kiss on the cheek, “You’re welcome.”
While they waited for the water to boil, Stephanie sat down and Jason braided the blonde’s hair to demonstrate it to Mari. When it was Mari’s turn, Jason gently guided her hands and instructed her on what to do.
The water boiled after a couple of minutes and Jason stood up to turn off the stove. He left Mari to braid Stephanie’s hair on her own as he worked on preparing their warm drinks. Stephanie and Mari were stuck in their own little moment, which gave Jason the opportunity to observe the two.
He might have mentioned future wife earlier, but Stephanie mentioned we when she talked about having kids. Which meant she thought of having him involved. He was acutely aware that the thought of having children with Stephanie would linger in his mind for the rest of the night.
He didn’t know it, because she wouldn’t admit it for now, but the same thought would make itself cozy in Stephanie’s mind too.
For now, Jason and Stephanie were more than happy to practice on Mari for the time being. The sweet girl can wait for her cousin after a few more years.