Work Text:
In general, Steph doesn't really have many expectations about her birthday. In fact, ever since her death, she's not that fond of celebrating them. She spends the morning making waffles with her mother, and the rest of the day is normal.
You would think that dating the daughter of a millionaire would change things. But when that millionaire is Batman, birthdays become riskier. Sometimes, like with Cass, he'll go out of his way to create a date of birth for her and buy her presents on that date, even after she finds out her real birthday. Other times, like with Tim, he'll pretend to forget your birthday and gaslight you for weeks until you're a paranoid wreck as part of some elaborate test.
Given Stephanie's track record with the good old boss, she figures it's better not to draw too much attention to the date. He offers to throw her a party every year, and every year she declines. The bats can buy her a drink after patrol at the bar near her apartment, and that's as much interference as she'll allow from them.
Except this year Cass is her girlfriend. And she has no idea what to expect. Twenty two is not a massively significant age unless you're really into that Taylor Swift song, but Tim asked her last month what she wanted for her birthday, and that's never happened before so she's on her guard.
Listen, she knows she's paranoid. But in this case it's justified and she doesn't really care about her birthday that much anyway. If Batman doesn't have something planned, it could be her dad or even freaking Calendar Man. Having low expectations and standards is the Gotham way.
The morning goes off without a hitch. Her mom is doing well, clean and happy. Their little waffle making ritual is comforting, bringing back happier memories of Stephanie's first year in college, back before reality warped and she went from Batgirl back to Spoiler.
She doesn't like to think about those years. Not just for her but for Cass. Out there alone in the universe, unaware of her home and family, with them equally as clueless. Steph can accept that the universe considers her a mistake, her own father does after all. She's learnt to fight against it, sometimes it even makes her laugh. But Cass? Making Bruce, Babs and all her brothers forget about her was pure evil.
Not that she'll ever bring it up to Cass, because the one time she casually joked about being a cosmic mistake Cass got so sad Steph had to promise her she didn't mean it at all, she didn't hate herself, and she was getting better every day.
And that was the truth. Most of the time anyways.
Today feels like a good day.
When she leaves her mother’s house and checks her phone, the number of texts from Cass concerns her. Usually it means a villain fight, and as much as Steph doesn’t want a big celebration today she doesn’t want a massive brawl either.
Luckily, Arkham and Blackgate security seems to be doing it’s job for once. Cass’s texts are mostly about a mysterious bug she’s come down with. Multiple emojis with various sick faces, one word requests for different types of medicines, a pouty face here and there that makes Steph grin. In terms of emergencies, this is as low key as she could have hoped for.
She arrives back at their apartment with arms full of aspirin, ibuprofen, nasal decongestant sprays and lozenges. Cass, huddled up in a pile of blankets, makes grabby motions until Steph hands them over to her. Steph shakes her head fondly as her girlfriend gulps them down dry.
"Must be a bad dose if it can knock the mighty Batgirl down."
"24 hour bug I think." Cass croaks out, reaching for the TV remote. "Not as bad as it looks."
The way she's curled into the blankets like a hermit crab inside its shell makes it hard for Steph to actually get a good look at Cass and see how bad she's really doing. But she figures that's a battle she'll fight later if she has to. For now, she flops down next to her girlfriend and turns her eyes to what's on the television.
Scooby Doo. Specifically the 2002 series. Steph's favourite comfort show to watch on days where she needs to just switch her brain off and smile.
She glances over at Cass, who smiles back at her.
"I'm sick. But it's still your birthday."
And well, Steph can't bring herself to argue against that flawless logic.
“Velma sort of carries the gang on her back if you think about it.” Steph says, once they’re over fifteen episodes in.
“She does.” Cass hums, looking a bit brighter than when Steph first saw her. “But Scooby is still my favourite.”
“I’m a Shaggy girl myself.”
“Makes sense.” Cass flashes her a wicked grin. “Terrible taste in men.”
“Wow. Hey.” Steph puts a hand on her chest in fake horror. “What happened to being nice to me for my birthday? When did spoil Steph day turn into making fun of her day?”
“That’s every day, silly.”
“You’re such a brat.” Steph grumbles, trying to hide her smile as Cass wiggles happily in her seat. “Sometimes I can’t believe you’re older than me.”
“I’m very mature.” Cass says, deadpan face as she slowly slides off the couch. “Let’s go. It’s patrol time.”
“Because nothing screams maturity like going out when you’re sick.” Steph rolls her eyes. “Cass come on, what would Alfred say?”
“He’d be mad.” Cass fishes out her Batgirl suit and begins the wobbly process of changing into it while suffering from vertigo. “And then he wouldn’t be able to stop me so it wouldn’t matter.”
“So your plan is to go out while sick and die on my birthday?”
“Nope.” Cass flashes her another cheeky grin. “You’re coming with me. It’s a patrol date.”
"Babysitting my sick girlfriend?" Steph raises an eyebrow "Interesting idea for a birthday date."
"You'll love it." Cass successfully manages to zip up her costume. "You might finally get to be the better fighter."
"I want a divorce."
Cass blows her a kiss, throwing Steph's own Batgirl suit at her.
Steph sighs.
And then she gets dressed.
Despite Steph’s apprehension, patrol is good. The flu brings Cass’s usual energy as Batgirl down to a more manageable level. She doesn’t shoot off to stop a fight ten blocks away leaving Steph to trail after her. She even lets Steph take the lead in some fights, something teen Cass would never have done, even if all her limbs had been broken. All in all, it’s one of their most peaceful patrols.
“You should get sick more often.” Steph says, sipping on her milkshake as they sit on top of an apartment building in the East End.
Cass hadn’t wanted to take a break. But Steph could see her shivering, so she’d used her birthday authority to force a quick drink stop. A milkshake for her and hot chocolate for Cass.The cashier hadn’t even flinched, well used to the blonde Batgirl stopping by. Not many shops are brave enough to be open late at night in Gotham, and fewer still made good milkshakes. It’s the kind of information Batman would barely ever consider unless it was for a case, whereas for Steph it’s essential knowledge. Community connections are important, and not just for late night snacks.
“Hilarious.” Cass sniffs through her blocked nose. “You know you still can’t beat me. Even with this cold.”
“Aww,” Steph reaches over and pats Cass’s cheek. “It’s so cute that you think baiting me will work. No rooftop tag tonight, doctor’s orders.”
“You’re a med student.”
“Well if you really want I can drag you to a hospital…”
Cass pouts, but relents. And boy is Steph never going to get tired of that. The most stubborn person she knows, actually being willing to compromise and listen for once. Maybe this flu is magical.
The rest of their patrol is mostly uneventful. The biggest challenge is when Cass spots an assassin aiming for the mayor. She lets Steph handle it, which wow, big growth for both of them there. Steph takes the guy down without too much hassle, he doesn’t see her coming and he’s not trained massively well in hand to hand. By the time Cass reaches them Steph is zip tying him and leaving a tip off for the GCPD.
Steph’s feeling pretty good when she reaches their apartment. A peaceful night is all she could really hope for from her birthday. No Batman, no unpleasant surprises, it’s pretty much her version of a vacation in the Bahamas.
She pulls up the window, slips inside to their living room, and freezes.
There’s a large amount of gift wrapped objects sitting on their couch and table. They cover both pieces of furniture entirely, to the point where a stranger wouldn’t even know there was any furniture there at all.
Cass slips in behind her, completely relaxed.
“Happy Birthday.”
“How…” Steph is still frozen, unable to move.
“Tim. And Dick. Maybe Helena, Babs was the one coordinating.”
Cass walks over, picking up a small wrapped box and handing it to Steph.
“This one is from Bruce. You can hide it for a few days. Pretty sure it’s not a trap but still.”
“And the rest?”
“Me.” Cass points at several large gifts, then at a rich purple coloured scarf. “Dick.”
She goes down the list, pointing at various gifts lining their living room
“Tim. Jason. Barbara. Duke. Damian.”
Steph laughs a little at Damian’s large canvas gift, with a beautifully crafted painting of Batgirl and Robin standing over an unconscious Batman and posing.
“Selina, your mom, Talia for some reason, my mom for some reason, uh…” Cass scans the remaining gifts. “Superman and Wonder Woman. I think.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Steph is torn between grinning and crying. “Why the fuck would Superman give me a birthday gift?”
“Cus I told him.” Cass shrugs. “And you deserve it.”
Steph finally drags her eyes away from all the gifts, studying Cass closely. To anyone else her fellow Batgirl would seem completely impassive, a blank slate. But Steph could see the thin aura of smug pride clinging to her.
The worst part is Steph can’t even say it’s not well earned. Cass has well and truly knocked this ‘surprise girlfriend on her birthday’ shit out of the park. Damn perfectionist.
“Are you even sick?” Steph can’t help but ask. “Or was that just a ruse to keep me out of the apartment while your family dragged all these gifts here?”
“I was always planning on patrolling together. But…” Cass shrugs. “Being sick made it easier to convince you. It’s real, which sucks. But it helped, which is good.”
“The world is so lucky you use all that crazy bat genius for happy things.” Steph reaches over and pulls Cass closer to her, hugging her girlfriend tight. “You’d be a terrifying opponent Cassie.”
“You wouldn’t stand a chance.” Cass agrees serenely.
Another thing that makes Steph happy they can joke about at this point. She pulls Cass in for a kiss, savouring the moment.
“Good birthday surprise?” Cass asks when they pull apart, grinning like she already knows the answer.
Which. Yeah. She does. There’s no way for Steph to even jokingly brush it off.
“I love you.” She says instead. “And thank you for this. Best birthday surprise ever.”
“Birthdays deserve to be celebrated.” Cass says. “I am… very happy. That you exist.”
“I’m pretty fond of you myself.” Steph smirks back.
“So next year, will you let Bruce throw you a party?”
“Not a chance.”
“What about Superman?”
Steph pauses, and then she sits down.
“Alright step one we open all these presents. Step two you talk me through a Superman birthday party.”
“Is that a yes?”
Cass is looking at her so hopefully, as if she hasn’t consistently been blowing Steph’s mind wide open since the second they arrived home. Steph lets out a deep sigh, and then pulls Cass towards her again, tugging her down onto the couch.
She’ll have time to process all that later. For now, she just wants Cass to blow her mind in a way that’s at least familiar to her. Cass understands, and obliges. Her lips find Steph’s neck, and Steph allows herself to fully let go of the stress she’s been carrying around all day, letting Cass untangle every knot of tension with her lips and her hands.
It’s good to be alive.
“So Superman gives jewellery as a birthday present?” Steph squints at the necklace she’s just unwrapped. “Didn’t see that coming.”
“It’s a gemstone from another planet. There’s only five of them currently on Earth.”
Steph whistles, and carefully places it back in the box.
“OK that makes a lot of sense but this…” She pulls a cassette tape out from another box. “This one is strange you have to admit. Wonder Woman does not know me, so why is she making me a birthday mix?”
“She had a scarf for you originally. It got ruined in a fight with Cheetah.” Cass’s lips quirk upwards. “She didn’t know what to do so I helped her out. You now own the only recording of the Amazon choir covering Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters .”
Steph takes a moment to process that. Then another. Then… yeah she’s going to need a few more moments.
“Have I mentioned this has been one of the weirdest days of my life?” Stephanie laughs.
Cass smiles, resting her head on Steph’s shoulder.
“Only so far. Next year I’m going to take you into space.”
And really, what’s left to say to that? Steph laughs again, and continues unwrapping presents.
“You’re kind of making it a little bit hard for me to keep up with you in the whole birthday for girlfriend department.”
“I get you for my birthday.” Cass grins. “That’s better than anything else anyone can offer.”
“Sweet talker.” Steph shakes her head. “But I guess that means last year was the end of my quiet, no fuss, no mess birthdays.”
“Upset?”
Steph looks to her left, at the pile of gifts. Then to her right, where Cass has her chin perched gently on Steph’s shoulder. She reaches forward and pecks Cass on the tip of her nose, causing Cass’s face to scrunch up in delight.
“Not even a little.”