5 Things That Never Happened To Stephanie Brown

5 Things That Never Happened to Stephanie Brown

When Stephanie Brown put on the Robin suit that Batman gave for the first time, it felt so good. The smell of fresh kevlar, the stiffness of something not yet worn, the knowledge that this was hers and hers only.

And when she’s flitting from building to building, flipping in the places were others have been before, the Robin suit has never felt more right.

When Batman first placed his hand onto her shoulder and told her “Good job” after her first successful night out, Stephanie felt above the world.

And when the first civilian she saves beams at her and says, “Thank you Robin!” she feels warm to the core.

When she’s Spoiler and he’s Robin and they’re out patrolling together, swinging past buildings and kissing on rooftops, she feels ecstatic. When she’s Robin and he’s Tim Drake and she sneaks into his room and she gets to kiss him while looking into his beautiful blue eyes, she thinks she can live with it.

And when she’s Batgirl and he’s Red Robin and they move together with an ease that others would be jealous of, it only feels right that she reaches up and he leans down and they meet in the middle.

When her dad comes back home with the happiest look on his face and announces that he booked Bruce Wayne for his show, Stephanie and her mom jump up to congratulate him. And when he says that he can bring her onto set and introduce her to him, she thinks she has never felt happier in her life.

And when she’s finally on set, she finds that her eyes aren’t on Bruce Wayne but the younger boy following him in, who is totally her type. She thinks her heart melts when he smiles at her and introduces himself as Tim Drake.

When Dr. Stephanie Brown finds Red Robin bleeding out on her door step, she rolls her eyes and pulls out her kit, already used to the common occurrence. She silently stitches him up, and leaves some pain meds waiting for him.

And if she lingers slightly to brush his hair out of his face and her eyes stare a little too long, well, that’s nothing.

5 More Things That Never Happened to Stephanie Brown

Part two of 5 things that never happened to Stephanie.

1. The Even Number Robins When the doors of her cell blow down and a guy in a red helmet comes in guns blaring, mouth swearing, the first thought that pops up in Steph’s mind isn’t cool entrance or even damn, this guy’s ripped.

She’s not thinking any coherent thought actually, just that she’s never coming back to Japan.

But those thoughts kind of disappeared when the guy stepped in front of her and snorts, “Who the fuck are you?”

And so, the even numbered screw up robins meet.

Her last regret before she dies is that she’s eaten less than a thousand waffles her entire life.

She likes to think she snorts back something smart but to be honest, she’s a little out of it so maybe her account is a little skewed up.

But the basics are there and that’s what matters.

Then he takes her somewhere and gets her healed and tells her to enjoy the couch, he’s taking the bed.

Who says chivalry is dead?

And years later, when she’s calling him, warbling a heeeeeey Jacion and he’s picking up with a sigh and a grunt and plea to have her extracted from his life, she knows that they’ve really formed a bond.

2. Harmony Stephanie remembers when she had a voice.

When she would skip around and laugh and joke and words would fall from her lips like water drops and all gone all gone.

Stephanie remembers when her father took them all away.

Stephanie remembers the fear, Stephanie remembers the smell of beer, Stephanie remembers the jeers.

Stephanie remembers when she had harmony.

Stephanie remembers mute mute mute.

Stephanie remembers ugly and clashing and anger and warring emotions and then.

Stephanie remembers the blue eyed boy who brought so much light into her life, who made her smile like no other, who helped her find harmony again.

When Stephanie finally steps up onto the stage to play her piano piece, her eyes only see Tim.

And when she allows her fingers to gently rest upon the keys and create a flowing melody, she remembers Tim gently encouraging her to keep playing.

When she’s done and breathing heavily and smiling with absolute delight and applause is ringing all around her–

She only sees Tim.

(Years late she’ll sit him down and start playing, placing all her emotions into the song until Tim hugs her and repeats her message back to her ten times over and she leans up and he leans down and she learns another form of harmony.

IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou)

3. Beware the Spoiler Batgirl was hers. But with her legs out of commission, Batgirl is a distant spot in the horizon.

It’s time to move on. It’s time for a new name.

She’s always liked Spoiler.

Years later when she’s ruthlessly hacking into Jason’s phone and Tim’s games and Dick’s laptop and Lex Luthor’s company, she gets a grim feel of delight as countless of people are stumped by the Spoiler.

4. Meet the Family “Are you nervous?” Tim asks her gently, as he guided her up the stairs.

“I’m about to meet my boyfriend’s family, who just happen to be one of the richest families in the world, and could buy my family without blinking an eye. No. I am not nervous. In fact, I am the epitome of not nervous,” Steph rambled, apprehensive. She knew she shouldn’t have gone for the shy boy sitting in the corner, reading.

Tim just laughs and guides her gently in and she pretends that she’s not clinging onto Tim’s hand like a lifeline.

Years later, when she screaming after Damian and chasing after Jason to get her phone back, she wonders how she could have ever been scared of them.

(And when Tim finally kneels on one knee and pulls out a ring, the only answer bursting from her lips is yes yes always.)

5. Hope Shines Bright Stephanie Brown is a dignified ambassador of the Blue Lantern Corp. She does not get angry with a little upstart named Damian makes fun of her chest, she does not throw a car at Sinestro Corp Bruce when he angers her, and her heart does not skip a beat when Green Lantern Tim Drake smiles at her.

(But damn his eyes are so blue and his muscles are just-)

She does not blush when Tim presents her with a flower, she does not get distracted by his mouth when he’s talking, and she does not feel warm inside when he wraps her up in his arms after pulling her out of the way from a life threatening hit.

She does not feel ecstatic when she and Tim are partnered up, her heart does not speed up whenever he tenderly dresses her wounds, she does not feel warm fuzzies remembering that she makes him stronger.

Stephanie is in denial and very much in love.

tangled and stretched (but never broken)

Timsteph Soulmate au take 3: the red string of fate

Stephanie remembers the first time she saw the red string. 

 She was six, and her grandma winked at her before making a cats cradle with the string connected to her pinkie, stretching out to the kitchen where her grandpa stood. 

 This, she murmured, placing Stephanie on her lap, is the red string of fate. Those connected by it are destined lovers, and are predetermined to always meet at some point in their lives. It can tangle and stretch, but never break. The one on the other end of the string will always the be the most match. And one day, you will find your other half, my sweet little Stephanie. 

 Stephanie nodded eagerly, imagining the time when she would find her own soulmate, her own love. 

 Bah! Her grandma’s voice suddenly changed. But your mother is stubborn. She insisted on defying the red strings of fate and marrying someone who is not her better half. This marriage will not end well, my little Stephanie. Be careful around that man, my sweet. You will have to face a hard future. 

 Years later, Stephanie can not say she is surprised when her father starts falling deeper into his criminal schemes and when her mother starts embracing her pills more than she ever embraced Stephanie. 

 Still, Stephanie is unprepared for how far her father would go to be recognized, how far her mother would fall down the abyss.

 And she slowly recognizes that she has to stop her father. 

 When she meets Robin, it’s insignificant. 

 Well, as insignificant as hitting someone with a brick. 

 When the brick cracked across his face, Robin and her ring finger jerked and she realized with that the string on her finger, the one that never seemed to end, was connected to the pinky finger of Robin.

She only saw Robin’s shocked face before she ran.

He was her soulmate, she would realize in shock when she got home and could finally think coherently.

My soulmate, she whispers to herself at night. Soulmate, the night would whisper back to her. Soulmate. 

 It took three days for Robin to track her down. (I followed the string, he whispered to her when they’re curled up together on the bed. I would’ve followed it forever to meet you.) 

 They carve out their spaces in each other’s hearts, with soft whispers of love and gentle caresses. They smile at each other under the moon, lost in each other’s warmth. 

 Then he is torn from her. 

 (I am no longer Robin, he says stiffly. And you can not visit me or else my father would grow suspicious.) 

 She becomes Robin. Then she “dies”. 

 She comes back. Then Batman dies. 

 Tim looks at her with betrayal. 

 (Don’t let me catch you in that suit again, he snarls, and her heart breaks as he tries to tear down what she worked to hard to protect.) 

 But then he’s back and she’s Batgirl and he’s Red Robin and Batman’s alive, He exclaims to everyone.

They work on a case together and she can’t help the shiver that runs up her back as his eyes drink her up in her purple dress. 

 But Batman’s back and Tim turns away from her again and she smacks Batman (her!! Stephanie Brown, normal girl who has to scream for her words to be heard.) 

 When everything settled down, she could only look from afar and feel the chasm between them, feel her string burn with an intensity at being in such close proximity with the one who completes her heart. 

Still, with the string, it’s only a matter of time before the found each other again.

 As she stands across from him, she can’t help but to remember that time, ages ago, when she was Spoiler and he was Robin and they were young and in love. Looking across at him, she can’t help but feel exactly she did at the young age of 15, looking shyly across at Tim with a soft smile. Under the moonlight, everything feels new and she feels young and innocent and ready to conquer anything with her love. 

 It doesn’t take much for them to find nirvana in one another, tangled up in sheets whispering sweet nothings to each other, feeling years of separation disappear like nothing as they giggle with each other. 

 They’ve changed but that’s okay because she still fits perfectly under his arm there and he still touches her like that and they’ve changed but they’ve also stayed the same. 

 Grandma, she whispers out to the night. I found him, the one on the other side of my string, can you see? 

 Beside her, Tim shifts and pulls her closer.

Waltz of Love

I was requested by @accio-fist to write about Stephanie dancing and Tim walking in on it.

Merry Christmas and I hope this lives up to your expectations!

Stephanie first sees it when she’s refining stealth techniques with Damian in the Wayne Manor (read: playing Hide and Seek). She’s in an obscure closet when she sees it, tucked away in the corner.

She wondered if it still worked.

But then Damian barges in and she has to leave it alone.

When she does get to come back, she immediately grabs it and finds the nearest empty room, setting it down. She carefully inserts a record, placing the needle on top of it.

The vinyl starts playing, and Stephanie can feel the music as it washes over her, beckoning her to dance.

And dance she does.

Stephanie doesn’t follow any set pattern, just moves with the beat. She flows with the soft and slow music, leaps with the loud and eccentric songs, and loses herself in the lyrics and rhythm.

Tim has no idea why there’s music coming from one of the older wings of the Manor, but he can’t help but try to seek out its source.

He stops in front of a door he remembers vaguely from his childhood, back when he was curious and tried to map out the entire manor.

Tim carefully opens the door and peeks his head in, expecting to see Cass or Dick or even Jason.

He did not expect to see Steph.

Tim watches with wide eyes as Stephanie dances, body gracefully twisting and turning as she moves, hair swirling around her like a halo.

When could Steph dance?

Tim’s eyes follow her legs as she twirls, one leg flung up as a guitar riff plays in the background. She’s wild and graceful, frenzied and dainty, and so beautiful.

Tim doesn’t know what comes over him but before he can stop himself, his legs carry him to her, hands slipping gently around her waist.

He feels her stiffen before turning around, and they face each other as the music transitions into a slower tune.

Steph places her hands on his shoulders, he wraps his around her waist, and they dance, entrapped in their own world.

They move as one, twirling around the room, stepping in unison. He loves the feeling of her waist under his hands, feeling her muscles flex under his fingertips. He loves looking into her eyes, seeing the peacefulness and concentration shining there. He loves every piece of her, head to toe, as he gently twirls her. Looking at her in front of him, he can’t help but think that he never wants the moment to end.

When the music starts to fade out, he thinks it only feels right to press his lips against hers, bodies melding together as the euphoria fades.

@time-to-hit-the-clouds personally I think Bruce noticed that 13-year-old Dick had noticed Barbara and was like “hah AS IF” and “you’re waaaay too young, chum”

“Bruce shut up I don’t know what you’re even talking about”

[cue Bruce’s “dad face”] 😏

And it’s kind of true, Dick know Babs is pretty but he doesn’t really think about it too much. Bruce is safe.

But then. 

Dick turns 18. 

He notices Barbara. NOTICES notices. 

Barbara notices him noticing her. 

And doesn’t mind. 

[cue flirting] 😘🤗

Bruce minds. 

And DAMNIT, why did they have to pull this over on him now?? Bruce can’t hate Barbara! She’s been around way too long!!!

[cue Bruce’s brooding/sulking while Dick and Babs flirt in the background] 

😑 … 😚😌

Bruce makes a vow. No more Batgirls.

He wasn’t banking on a Spoiler. 

Focus

Tim stares across the room at the laughing blonde, breath stolen. 

He can’t believe they’re here, they’re alive, they’re okay. 

He steals another glance towards Stephanie, who tosses her hair over her shoulders, and swears he can feel the age old butterflies that have always come when he’s around Steph. It’s just the charm of a childhood love story.

She turns and flashes a smile at him, and Tim swears the world stopped moving. 

Damian tells him the look on his face was disgustingly besotted, but that someone lowly like Brown and Drake would work out perfectly. Tim tells him to piss off. 

Tim wants to walk over to her and feel her warmth, envelop himself into her arms, breathe in her scent. But he can’t. 

After all, they did agree on the whole “just friends” ordeal. It’s what Stephanie wanted, and he’ll bow down to her wishes until she changes her mind.

Standing by the door, she nearly glowed, calling everyone’s attention onto her. How did she do it? How did she keep that sunny personality, become the light to the end of the tunnel? 

Jason tells him to stop looking at her like she’s the one who hung the moon and sun up in the sky (she did though).  

Tim also tells him to piss off.   

Yet still, he can’t turn away. He watches as she turns to him, face flashing with that determination he loves so much. She advances towards him, so confident, so sure of herself. 

“Screw this,” she says, looking at him. “Just friends are for losers." 

Steph reaches out and pulls him close to her and Tim is complete.