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Was updating the Dark Justice Archive this morning and thought I'd crosspost this fic here. I think it's one of the better character bits I wrote, plus one of the few times I think I managed to get Stephanie Brown's voice right.
BONDING
Gotham City - July 3, 2002
He crouched on the ledge of the building and watched them, tense and ready to leap into the fray if necessary. Batgirl was a phantom, gliding in and out of the shadows, her presence betrayed only by the startled grunts of pain from the gang members, the impact of flesh on flesh. Her partner's technique, he saw, was nowhere near as refined. The girl lashed out with legs and hands, striking joints and fading back before launching into another series of jabs. Batgirl treated the fight like a dance, moving with the rhythm. Robin, on the other hand, was dancing to her own tune.
He watched her fade back once more, after delivering a hard kick to one man's groin. Her hand went to the slim, yellow belt hugging her waist. She didn't look down, didn't lower her guard at all. Just stepped back and flipped something into the midst of the hoodlums, turned her face away at the last moment.
The magnesium grenade detonated, flooding the alley with cold white light. He winced at the brightness, noted Batgirl incapacitating another man using some kind of nerve punch. Robin was grinning, lunging forward, pounding a dazzled thug in the face with a gloved fist. The man's nose seemed to explode with blood.
And then Batgirl was there, whirling like a dervish, black cloak swirling around her like the wings of some terrible angel, delivering a flurry of kicks and blows that sent the remainder of the gang into oblivion. The light from the magnesium grenade flickered and faded. He watched the two girls slap palms and decided he'd seen enough.
* * * * *
Gotham City - July 7, 2002
Stephanie Brown stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She fluffed her short blonde hair, newly cut and decided it made her look vaguely boyish. What on earth had possessed her to let Cassandra near her with the scissors? Stephanie combed her fingers through her hair and sighed. At least this proved that Cassandra wasn't adept at everything she tried.
Yep. Cassandra would never make a good beautician. Who cared that she could dropkick a three-hundred pound goon through a crack house door?
Steph glanced at the bedroom clock. It was getting close to patrol time. She'd have to get a move on if she didn't want to be late.
* * * * *
Robin was surprised when she reached the rendevous spot. Batgirl was nowhere in sight. That didn't, of course, mean that she wasn't there. This wouldn't be the first time Cassandra had decided to play an impromptu game of hide-n-seek.
But the roof of the warehouse was flat and wide. There was the stairway access and a couple of air-conditioner units, and that was it. The rest of the roof was open terrain, and as good as Cassandra was Stephanie didn't think she'd mastered invisibility.
Well, not yet.
More likely she was just running late. Probably distracted by a mugger or something. But . . .
Creeping to the edge of the roof, Robin glanced over, looking for fingers. It took her a few moments to make a complete circuit of the roof, to convince herself that Batgirl wasn't dangling from the edge, ready to swing up and pounce on her.
So, Cassandra was running late. No big deal. She could use the time. Do some stretches. Work the kinks out of her muscles.
She turned and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw him, sitting on one of the air conditioners, watching her with a little grin on his face.
"Nightwing!?!"
"Hello, Robin."
"What are you doing here?"
He grinned and stood, walked over to her. She felt suddenly self-conscious about her appearance and then felt stupid for feeling that way. Like he'd care about her hair or the fact she hadn't shaved her legs in a few days.
"I asked Batgirl if I could take her place on patrol with you tonight," said Nightwing.
"Um. Why?"
"It's kind of a tradition," said Nightwing. "I do it with all the Robins. Do you mind?"
"No, not at all." She gave him a questioning look. "You aren't gonna make me ride a train while I'm blindfolded, are you?"
Nightwing chuckled. "Not tonight."
"Oh. Well. That's good. Sphinx told me you did that with him, when he wore the uniform, but I'm so not ready for that."
"Don't worry. Tonight's just a regular patrol. Relieved?"
"Kinda. Where'd you come from anyway?"
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Drainpipe. West corner." And he was suddenly grinning at her. "You just didn't look far enough down."
"Oh."
"Ready to go?"
* * * * *
He let her lead the way, set the pace. She took him along one of her favorite routes, north and then west. It was a slow night. The worst they came across was a drunk urinating against an alley wall and a couple of hookers standing on a quiet corner, passing a flask back and forth.
"It's quiet tonight," she said as they took a break on a rooftop.
He nodded, looking out over the city. He had his back to her and she tried not to stare at his butt. That took some will power.
"I miss it," he said, back still turned to her.
"Gotham?"
He shook his head. "The quiet. There's too little of that in the haven."
She nodded, not quite sure what to say. Nightwing turned to her. His face was like wax in the moonlight.
"Why don't you come back to Gotham?" The question slipped out of her before she realized it.
"Because Bludhaven needs me more. Gotham has you, Batgirl, the JSA. In the haven, there's just me."
"That must be hard."
He shrugged. "I'm used to it."
"It doesn't have to be. You could ask for help."
The corner of his mouth twitched and he cocked his head, peered at her through a tangle of black bangs. "Sometimes, that's not an easy thing to do."
"What is it with guys? They won't ask for directions when they're lost or help when they need it."
He grinned at her. "It's the testosterone. It makes us stupid."
She rolled her eyes. "Well, duh."
His laughter was unexpected. He shook his head. "God, you sounded just like someone I used to date . . . "
"Used to? So, is there a Mrs. Nightwing waiting up for you somewhere?"
"No. Afraid not."
She couldn't resist. "A Mr. Nightwing?"
He choked, and she couldn't help but laugh at him when he turned away to wipe his eyes beneath his mask.
"What about you, girl wonder?" Nightwing asked, when he'd composed himself. "Got a boyfriend? Girlfriend? Other?"
"No, no and no."
"Why not?"
She rolled her eyes and leaned back, resting her weight on her hands. "You have to ask that? My life is crazy enough without adding a boyfriend."
He nodded in sympathy. "Have you ever thought about stopping?"
"Sure, every once in a while."
"Did you think about it after Poison Ivy sent you to the hospital?"
Something in his tone of voice, made her frown. She studied him. "This isn't just a getting-to-know-you thing, is it?"
He sighed and walked over to where she perched on top of an air-conditioning unit. His expression was serious. "No, not entirely."
She didn't say anything. Just waited.
"I followed you and Batgirl on patrol last week," admitted Nightwing.
"Why?"
"I wanted to see how the two of you worked together."
"And?" Robin prompted.
"You're good."
"I hear a but coming on."
Nightwing nodded, once, fixed her with his dark blue eyes. "But Batgirl is covering for you too much."
She didn't know what to say, but she felt her cheeks flush with heat. She glanced down at her hands, flexed her fingers. "You think I should quit."
"No," said Nightwing, after a moment's pause. "I just think you need more training."
"Is that what you're doing here? Plan on coaching me?"
"Not me."
"But you've got somebody in mind," she said.
"Oracle."
Robin blinked and stared at him. "You're kidding."
"Why do you say that?"
"Please. I haven't even met her. The only reason I know she's a she is because Batgirl let it slip once."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Besides, I don't think she likes me too much."
"I know that's not true. If she didn't like you, if she didn't trust you, she wouldn't be willing to let you in on the big secret. And neither would I."
That made her look at him, stare into his dark blue eyes. He met her gaze, held it, steady and true. "The big secret?"
"Who she is," said Nightwing. "Who we all are."
Her eyes widened. "You're kidding me."
"No," said Nightwing. "I'm dead serious. Oracle's talked about this with me and Sphinx."
She stared. "No. Way."
"We think you can be trusted."
"That's . . . wow. I don't know what to say. I mean. . . ."
"I know." Nightwing grinned.
"I feel like I just graduated or something," said Robin, grinning.
He laughed. "I felt the same way when I went from being Robin to Nightwing."
She looked at him pensively. "Does this mean I can change the costume?"
"What's wrong with the costume?"
"Well, no offense meant or anything, but it's not real subtle," said Robin. She plucked at the bright yellow cape. "Do you know how many times some guy's grabbed this?"
He leaned in closer and studied the cape. "You're not using a tearaway?"
"Huh?"
"A tearaway cape," explained Nightwing. "That way if someone grabs it, all they get is a fist full of the cape."
"I never thought of that," she admitted. "But I'd still like to get rid of it. It's too bright."
"But it comes in handy on cold winter stakeouts," said Nightwing.
Robin shrugged. "I can wear a jacket."
"I suppose that would work."
"And the shorts have so got to go," she said, firmly. "Every time I get in a fight. . . ."
"They start to ride up on you," Nightwing said, nodding. "I had the same problem."
She stared at him. "You did? What did you do about it?"
"Bought 'em a size too big and shrunk 'em in the wash," said Nightwing.
"That worked?"
"Like a charm."
"I'll have to give that a try. But I'd still like something more practical. I was thinking about a full bodysuit. Maybe something in black and red. With lots of pockets."
"Y'know, if you wanted, you could just go back to your Spoiler costume."
"I thought about that, but Ti . . . er . . . Sphinx, was the one who gave me the Robin outfit." She looked down, suddenly self-conscious. "And when I wear it, I dunno, I just feel like I fit in more. Y'know?"
"I think so." He stood, stretched. "We should get moving. It's getting late."
Robin nodded, stood, absently brushed dust from the seat of her shorts. "Yeah. I have to get back before four. If I'm not there when mom gets home she'll freak."
Nightwing nodded. "What's the fastest route back?"
"Down Hallenbeck to the train tracks, then hopscotch across the highway to Jenkins Avenue."
"Hopscotch?"
She grinned at him. "Jumping from car to car."
Nightwing laughed. "And you were worried about doing the train thing?"
"Hey, at least I can see the cars."
He laughed and tousled her short blonde hair.
"Hey!" She moved to swat his hand away, but he was already out of range, laughing as he stood on the edge of the roof. He grinned at her, over his shoulder.
"Come on, girl wonder! Show me what you can do!"
And then he was gone, leaping into open space, arms spread wide, his laughter floating up to her. It was infectious. Grinning, Robin raced for the ledge and leapt after him.
BONDING
Gotham City - July 3, 2002
He crouched on the ledge of the building and watched them, tense and ready to leap into the fray if necessary. Batgirl was a phantom, gliding in and out of the shadows, her presence betrayed only by the startled grunts of pain from the gang members, the impact of flesh on flesh. Her partner's technique, he saw, was nowhere near as refined. The girl lashed out with legs and hands, striking joints and fading back before launching into another series of jabs. Batgirl treated the fight like a dance, moving with the rhythm. Robin, on the other hand, was dancing to her own tune.
He watched her fade back once more, after delivering a hard kick to one man's groin. Her hand went to the slim, yellow belt hugging her waist. She didn't look down, didn't lower her guard at all. Just stepped back and flipped something into the midst of the hoodlums, turned her face away at the last moment.
The magnesium grenade detonated, flooding the alley with cold white light. He winced at the brightness, noted Batgirl incapacitating another man using some kind of nerve punch. Robin was grinning, lunging forward, pounding a dazzled thug in the face with a gloved fist. The man's nose seemed to explode with blood.
And then Batgirl was there, whirling like a dervish, black cloak swirling around her like the wings of some terrible angel, delivering a flurry of kicks and blows that sent the remainder of the gang into oblivion. The light from the magnesium grenade flickered and faded. He watched the two girls slap palms and decided he'd seen enough.
* * * * *
Gotham City - July 7, 2002
Stephanie Brown stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She fluffed her short blonde hair, newly cut and decided it made her look vaguely boyish. What on earth had possessed her to let Cassandra near her with the scissors? Stephanie combed her fingers through her hair and sighed. At least this proved that Cassandra wasn't adept at everything she tried.
Yep. Cassandra would never make a good beautician. Who cared that she could dropkick a three-hundred pound goon through a crack house door?
Steph glanced at the bedroom clock. It was getting close to patrol time. She'd have to get a move on if she didn't want to be late.
* * * * *
Robin was surprised when she reached the rendevous spot. Batgirl was nowhere in sight. That didn't, of course, mean that she wasn't there. This wouldn't be the first time Cassandra had decided to play an impromptu game of hide-n-seek.
But the roof of the warehouse was flat and wide. There was the stairway access and a couple of air-conditioner units, and that was it. The rest of the roof was open terrain, and as good as Cassandra was Stephanie didn't think she'd mastered invisibility.
Well, not yet.
More likely she was just running late. Probably distracted by a mugger or something. But . . .
Creeping to the edge of the roof, Robin glanced over, looking for fingers. It took her a few moments to make a complete circuit of the roof, to convince herself that Batgirl wasn't dangling from the edge, ready to swing up and pounce on her.
So, Cassandra was running late. No big deal. She could use the time. Do some stretches. Work the kinks out of her muscles.
She turned and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw him, sitting on one of the air conditioners, watching her with a little grin on his face.
"Nightwing!?!"
"Hello, Robin."
"What are you doing here?"
He grinned and stood, walked over to her. She felt suddenly self-conscious about her appearance and then felt stupid for feeling that way. Like he'd care about her hair or the fact she hadn't shaved her legs in a few days.
"I asked Batgirl if I could take her place on patrol with you tonight," said Nightwing.
"Um. Why?"
"It's kind of a tradition," said Nightwing. "I do it with all the Robins. Do you mind?"
"No, not at all." She gave him a questioning look. "You aren't gonna make me ride a train while I'm blindfolded, are you?"
Nightwing chuckled. "Not tonight."
"Oh. Well. That's good. Sphinx told me you did that with him, when he wore the uniform, but I'm so not ready for that."
"Don't worry. Tonight's just a regular patrol. Relieved?"
"Kinda. Where'd you come from anyway?"
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Drainpipe. West corner." And he was suddenly grinning at her. "You just didn't look far enough down."
"Oh."
"Ready to go?"
* * * * *
He let her lead the way, set the pace. She took him along one of her favorite routes, north and then west. It was a slow night. The worst they came across was a drunk urinating against an alley wall and a couple of hookers standing on a quiet corner, passing a flask back and forth.
"It's quiet tonight," she said as they took a break on a rooftop.
He nodded, looking out over the city. He had his back to her and she tried not to stare at his butt. That took some will power.
"I miss it," he said, back still turned to her.
"Gotham?"
He shook his head. "The quiet. There's too little of that in the haven."
She nodded, not quite sure what to say. Nightwing turned to her. His face was like wax in the moonlight.
"Why don't you come back to Gotham?" The question slipped out of her before she realized it.
"Because Bludhaven needs me more. Gotham has you, Batgirl, the JSA. In the haven, there's just me."
"That must be hard."
He shrugged. "I'm used to it."
"It doesn't have to be. You could ask for help."
The corner of his mouth twitched and he cocked his head, peered at her through a tangle of black bangs. "Sometimes, that's not an easy thing to do."
"What is it with guys? They won't ask for directions when they're lost or help when they need it."
He grinned at her. "It's the testosterone. It makes us stupid."
She rolled her eyes. "Well, duh."
His laughter was unexpected. He shook his head. "God, you sounded just like someone I used to date . . . "
"Used to? So, is there a Mrs. Nightwing waiting up for you somewhere?"
"No. Afraid not."
She couldn't resist. "A Mr. Nightwing?"
He choked, and she couldn't help but laugh at him when he turned away to wipe his eyes beneath his mask.
"What about you, girl wonder?" Nightwing asked, when he'd composed himself. "Got a boyfriend? Girlfriend? Other?"
"No, no and no."
"Why not?"
She rolled her eyes and leaned back, resting her weight on her hands. "You have to ask that? My life is crazy enough without adding a boyfriend."
He nodded in sympathy. "Have you ever thought about stopping?"
"Sure, every once in a while."
"Did you think about it after Poison Ivy sent you to the hospital?"
Something in his tone of voice, made her frown. She studied him. "This isn't just a getting-to-know-you thing, is it?"
He sighed and walked over to where she perched on top of an air-conditioning unit. His expression was serious. "No, not entirely."
She didn't say anything. Just waited.
"I followed you and Batgirl on patrol last week," admitted Nightwing.
"Why?"
"I wanted to see how the two of you worked together."
"And?" Robin prompted.
"You're good."
"I hear a but coming on."
Nightwing nodded, once, fixed her with his dark blue eyes. "But Batgirl is covering for you too much."
She didn't know what to say, but she felt her cheeks flush with heat. She glanced down at her hands, flexed her fingers. "You think I should quit."
"No," said Nightwing, after a moment's pause. "I just think you need more training."
"Is that what you're doing here? Plan on coaching me?"
"Not me."
"But you've got somebody in mind," she said.
"Oracle."
Robin blinked and stared at him. "You're kidding."
"Why do you say that?"
"Please. I haven't even met her. The only reason I know she's a she is because Batgirl let it slip once."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Besides, I don't think she likes me too much."
"I know that's not true. If she didn't like you, if she didn't trust you, she wouldn't be willing to let you in on the big secret. And neither would I."
That made her look at him, stare into his dark blue eyes. He met her gaze, held it, steady and true. "The big secret?"
"Who she is," said Nightwing. "Who we all are."
Her eyes widened. "You're kidding me."
"No," said Nightwing. "I'm dead serious. Oracle's talked about this with me and Sphinx."
She stared. "No. Way."
"We think you can be trusted."
"That's . . . wow. I don't know what to say. I mean. . . ."
"I know." Nightwing grinned.
"I feel like I just graduated or something," said Robin, grinning.
He laughed. "I felt the same way when I went from being Robin to Nightwing."
She looked at him pensively. "Does this mean I can change the costume?"
"What's wrong with the costume?"
"Well, no offense meant or anything, but it's not real subtle," said Robin. She plucked at the bright yellow cape. "Do you know how many times some guy's grabbed this?"
He leaned in closer and studied the cape. "You're not using a tearaway?"
"Huh?"
"A tearaway cape," explained Nightwing. "That way if someone grabs it, all they get is a fist full of the cape."
"I never thought of that," she admitted. "But I'd still like to get rid of it. It's too bright."
"But it comes in handy on cold winter stakeouts," said Nightwing.
Robin shrugged. "I can wear a jacket."
"I suppose that would work."
"And the shorts have so got to go," she said, firmly. "Every time I get in a fight. . . ."
"They start to ride up on you," Nightwing said, nodding. "I had the same problem."
She stared at him. "You did? What did you do about it?"
"Bought 'em a size too big and shrunk 'em in the wash," said Nightwing.
"That worked?"
"Like a charm."
"I'll have to give that a try. But I'd still like something more practical. I was thinking about a full bodysuit. Maybe something in black and red. With lots of pockets."
"Y'know, if you wanted, you could just go back to your Spoiler costume."
"I thought about that, but Ti . . . er . . . Sphinx, was the one who gave me the Robin outfit." She looked down, suddenly self-conscious. "And when I wear it, I dunno, I just feel like I fit in more. Y'know?"
"I think so." He stood, stretched. "We should get moving. It's getting late."
Robin nodded, stood, absently brushed dust from the seat of her shorts. "Yeah. I have to get back before four. If I'm not there when mom gets home she'll freak."
Nightwing nodded. "What's the fastest route back?"
"Down Hallenbeck to the train tracks, then hopscotch across the highway to Jenkins Avenue."
"Hopscotch?"
She grinned at him. "Jumping from car to car."
Nightwing laughed. "And you were worried about doing the train thing?"
"Hey, at least I can see the cars."
He laughed and tousled her short blonde hair.
"Hey!" She moved to swat his hand away, but he was already out of range, laughing as he stood on the edge of the roof. He grinned at her, over his shoulder.
"Come on, girl wonder! Show me what you can do!"
And then he was gone, leaping into open space, arms spread wide, his laughter floating up to her. It was infectious. Grinning, Robin raced for the ledge and leapt after him.
