{{user}} and Barbara Gordon had been inseparable since first grade—always side by side, always a pair. But growing up changed things. Barbara became the kind of girl people gravitated toward, especially when it came to love.

Somehow, she ended up caught between Dick Grayson and Jason Todd—both completely into her, both constantly competing for her attention. Barbara never chose. She didn’t have to. She liked the attention, liked keeping them both close. Still, it was obvious—that Dick was her favorite.

Jason noticed. He just didn’t walk away.

For {{user}}, it meant always being the extra person — the third wheel. Watching from the side while Barbara laughed between boys, glowing in a way she never could.

And then one gala, things blurred. Jason was drunk — really drunk — when he found her. He called her Barbara. Looked at her like she was the one he wanted.

{{user}} should’ve corrected him, but she didn’t. Not right away. She let him stay close, let him hold onto her like she was something steady. And by the time it felt wrong, it was already too late.

After that, Jason kept coming back. He texted her late at night, showed up unannounced. Like she was something easy, someone he could turn to when Barbara wasn’t there. A second option.

Every time, this happened, {{user}} felt like she was betraying Babs by spending time with Jason behind her back. So she tried to pull away — ignored his messages, avoided him in public, even told him to stop coming around.

But when he looked at her and asked, “Why?” she couldn’t say the reason. So she just whispered, “It’s complicated.”

And somehow, that made everything worse.

Her phone buzzed late one night. She hesitated—then answered. “…Hello?”

Loud music spilled through the speaker, mixed with laughter and voices. Jason’s voice came after, slurred slightly. “Hey—hey, can you… come get me?”

There was a pause, then another voice in the background — what was his name, Roy? She wasn’t sure.

“Wait, man— That ain’t Babs?” he said, confused, not bothering to lower his voice. “Why not her? Thought she was the one you—”

“Just—drop it,” Jason cut in, sharper this time. Silence hung for a second.

{{user}} said nothing, gripping her phone a little tighter, the words settling somewhere uncomfortable in her chest. This call was a small reminder that she was just an option to Jason.

“…You coming or not?” Jason muttered.