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Cass had done everything in her power to separate this adventure from Batgirl. She needed just one night away from Batgirl. She needed to know that she could have a normal night. No emergency calls from the Oracle system or ninja cults. So Cass planned this night to be Cassandra, not Batgirl. The Front Bottoms were doing a show at a bar four hours away from Gotham by train ride. She hadn't even told Barbara or Alfred that she was leaving. Barbara wouldn't have been able to stop herself from investigating. It was in her nature. Cass was dressed in black mesh leggings, a black skirt, and a cropped white t-shirt with the band name and a series of pocket knives with a lighter denim jacket. She didn’t even have a hidden batterang.
When she got to the show, she stood at the edge of the crowd, doing her best to sway with the rhythm of the music. Despite her love of ballet, Cass was not a dancer. It didn't come naturally to her. Her body was always moving to the rhythm of combat, snapping into the off beats of other people's rhythm. It made moving to a rhythm feel dangerous, predictable. But she was having fun doing her best.
That was until she saw a familiar silver haired girl walk into the bar. She wasn't supposed to be here. Cass had planned everything. This was supposed to be a day completely separated from the world of capes and cowls. She wasn't supposed to see anyone she knew but here she was, an old rival. Rose Wilson, daughter of Slade Wilson. For a moment, it felt like the music stopped. The walls closed in on Cassandra Cain, normal girl and she was suddenly Cassandra Cain, Batgirl.
Rose must have felt Cass's gaze. She turned around and her one eye locked onto Cass's. As soon as their eyes met, Cass read Rose. A flinch, as if she was remembering getting kicked in the chest. Cass saw her own moment of panic mirrored on Rose's face. But Rose recovered first and started dancing her way towards Cass.
Why? What is she doing?
The dancing was so natural for her. Cass watched as Rose effortlessly moved her hips to the music as she walked. It was how she wished she could move. Rose's body spoke so clearly, even when she wasn't fighting. It was everything Cass wished she could do at this moment. Cass saw in the movements that Rose had listened to this song hundreds of times. That Rose had only drank enough to feel a little loose. That, despite her initial reaction, she was intrigued by Cass's presence here.
As the initial shock wore off, Cass began to feel like a normal person again. Rose wasn't here to fight. Rose was in black jeans with white stitching and a lacy black top with a leather jacket. It wasn’t her costume. She didn’t look undercover. It occurred to Cass that more people had probably seen Rose skinny dipping at Titan's tower than seen her out of costume. The thought almost made her laugh. It put her at ease
"Hey there scary bat," Rose said as she pulled Cass further into the crowd, leading her back into the rhythm of the music.
"No bats. Not today." Cass mumbled.
"Well then I guess we're here for fun." Rose's hands moved to guide Cass and, though she was cautious at first, it felt like Rose was showing her how to move like the other people in the room. It started to feel natural moving like everyone else in the crowd. She only had to read and match Rose. Cass felt herself melting into the crowd, into Rose. There was only the music and the crowd. For a few songs Cass felt normal.
”What are you doing?” Cass asked.
”Having fun?” Rose said with a cock of her head.
That answer was enough for Cass. She was here to have fun. If Rose was up to something, she could deal with it later. But being here, away from everything, was a risk. What was a little more risk? Rose was… fun.
"I have this dream that I am hitting my dad with a baseball bat and he is screaming and crying for help..." The lyrics hit Cass and Rose like a bolt of lightning. This song was too close, too similar to dreams they had both had.
"Drink," Cass said.
"Yeah," Rose led the way to the bar. She ordered a beer and Cass ordered a shot of vodka.
"Two of those actually," Rose said as she laid a twenty dollar bill on the counter. "I'll be getting her drink too."
"Thanks," Cass was a little suspicious. Why is she being so nice?
Cass had heard stories from others about how mean Ravager could be, how she was psychotic and always either hyperviolent or hypersexual. But right now, Cass didn't see any of that. No aggression, no lingering gaze. Just a curiosity, like Rose was trying to figure out Cass the same way Cass was trying to figure her out.
"So you're not a bat today. I actually don't know what to call you." Rose said in a voice low enough for the music to drown it out for everyone except Cass.
"Cass," Cassandra said. "You're still Rose?"
"No secret identity here. Hard to miss a girl with silver hair and an eyepatch." Rose said with a smile as she held out her shot. "Cheers?"
Cass tapped her shot against Rose's and downed it. It was cheap vodka, the kind that only college students and hardcore alcoholics could stomach. It burned all the way down and there was nothing smooth about it. Even Rose had a bit of a grimace when she took the shot.
"I think the song's probably over if you want to go back to the dance floor." Cass said as the burn of the vodka subsided.
"You want to dance with me?" Rose teased.
Cass felt herself blush at the words. She really did want to dance with Rose. It made her feel normal. She wanted to melt into the crowd again and with Rose it was as effortless as Batgirl melting into shadows.
"I do," Cass said confidently.
"Oh..." Rose didn't seem to know how to respond to the earnest response to her teasing. She found herself blushing a little as Cass took her hand and led her back to the crowd. They started dancing again, but this time it was different. Cass felt like her attention was magnetically pulled to Rose. Instead of melting into the crowd, she felt drawn to Rose. She wanted to slip into Rose's movement, her style, to move with her.
Suddenly all those stories about who Rose was that Cass couldn't square with the Rose tonight made sense. Rose had a natural talent for attracting the kind of attention she wanted. She came here tonight to dance with somebody and Cass had caught her eye.
As the songs flowed into one another, Cass and Rose found themselves inching closer to one another. Instead of losing herself in the crowd, Cass felt like she was being pulled into Rose. She felt how much Rose was enjoying the music, the dancing, and… her.
The show ended too soon. When the music stopped it felt like waking up. Cass had drifted so close to Rose that they were nearly in each other's arms. Cass reflexively stepped back. She couldn't find words to cut the tension, and it seemed Rose couldn't either.
"Do you smoke?" Rose asked, pulling a pack of cigarettes out from her pocket. Before Cass could say no, the bartender across the room snapped at her that she could not smoke inside.
”Eagle eyed bartender is no fun, lets get out of here.” Rose said.
Rose and Cass made their way outside as the crowd dispersed and walked a couple blocks to get away from everyone else before Rose lit a cigarette.
"It was... a good show," Cass said as she leaned against the brick wall of the building they had stopped at. All the confidence she had felt when she responded to Rose's teasing seemed to have disappeared.
"Sure was," Rose replied before taking a drag off her cigarette.
Something about the way Rose looked with the cigarette in her hand called to Cass. She wanted to look like that. Rose seemed to notice Cass's eyes lingering on the cigarette and held it out to her. Cass took the cigarette and put it to her lips. For a moment, she felt Rose's lipstick on the cigarette touch her lips but when she tried to inhale the way Rose did the smoke burned her lungs. Rose laughed hard as she took the cigarette back before Cass could drop in in the ensuing coughing fit.
"How does a girl live in Gotham without learning to smoke?”
Cass felt her cheeks redden with embarassment as she caught her breath. She had never even thought about smoking before. She was Cassandra Cain and that meant being perfect. Smoking meant lung problems and an addictive vice, though Dr. Thompkins had told her violence was an addictive vice that brought even more trouble.
"Never wanted to," Cass choked out.
"What made you want to tonight?" Rose had a mischievous glint in her eye, like she already had an answer in mind, one that Cass hadn't figured out yet. Cass felt like Rose was reading her in her own way. It clouded her ability to read Rose. For the first time, Rose's movements and motivations felt like a mystery to Cass.
"I don't know," Cass said as she looked Rose over, trying desperately to read her body language. Before she could get to an answer, Rose had stepped in front of her and put her face close to Cass's.
"Is it because you wanted to play bad girl tonight? Or because you wanted to touch my lips?"
Cass felt her face flush as the words suddenly gave her a read on Rose's body language and her own feelings. She liked Rose. It wasn't fitting of Cassandra Cain, Batgirl but tonight was for Cassandra Cain, normal girl. Cass leaned in and kissed Rose. She felt Rose freeze initially before leaning in.
"Sorry," Cass said as she pulled away. "I should've-"
"Don't be sorry, Cassie. It was nice." Rose replied with a smile. "Do you want to come back to my place?"
For a moment, Cass really did. But then she remembered that she had to be back in Gotham by the morning or Barbara might start looking for her. She had to be on a train back to Gotham soon. She had to get back to Batgirl.
"I have to be back in Gotham by morning but... another time."
"Well, worth a shot. Text me sometime. We could fight some ninjas together or go to another show."
"No ninjas, no masks."
"Nice," Rose replied. "I like your face a lot better than that mask anyway."
Rose kissed her this time. A quick goodbye kiss that left Cass wanting more. She felt the pull to just go back with Rose. Then she remembered the awkward conversation Bruce had with each of the kids when he caught wind of them dating an anti-hero and the thought of that was enough to steal her resolve. It was time to go back to Gotham.
Cass exchanged phone numbers with Rose before they parted ways. Cass practically skipped to the train station. She had a night without Batgirl and it was amazing. She had someone outside of her life as Batgirl. Someone who she could try some normalcy with without having to hide her other life.