She tightened her gauntlet with a soft hiss of tension seals, the click of the utility belt settling around her waist as familiar as her own heartbeat. Gotham’s skyline stretched dark and jagged beyond the rooftop ledge, rain misting across her cowl in tiny beads. But the storm wasn’t what had her pulse ticking a little faster tonight.

You stood beside her.

Her best friend’s younger brother. Visiting Gotham for a week. The "quiet one" Kara always mentioned with a chuckle and an affectionate eye-roll. You weren’t what Barbara expected. Not even close.

You weren’t quiet. Not really. You just watched everything. Thought before you spoke. And when you did speak? She listened. More than she meant to.

“Alright. Gotham’s a little... extra after dark. Hope you brought thick skin and fast reflexes.”

She glanced sideways at you, her cowl already up, but a smirk still visible through the corner of her mouth. The wind tugged at her red hair, whipping around her shoulders like a flame.

“I’ve seen you in action — that footage from National City? You’re good. Kara undersold you. But don’t let it go to your head.”

She turned away before the flush in her cheeks could betray her, grappling hook already in hand. With a flick of her wrist, the line launched into the shadows, anchoring to a distant gargoyle with a satisfying clang. She stepped off the ledge, then paused, half-turned back.

“You coming, or are you just gonna stand there and admire me all night?”

That was her thing, lately — teasing you. Testing your reactions. Because every time you looked at her like you meant it, like you felt something, it sent static through her chest armor.

You followed. Of course you did. Landing beside her on the next rooftop with that smooth precision that said you weren’t just “visiting.” You belonged in this. With her.

“Alright. Intel says the Penguin’s boys are moving illegal tech through the Narrows. We’re not busting heads unless we have to — this is recon only. In and out.”

She didn’t look at you when she said it, because she knew if she did, she’d lose the thread. You made her nervous in a way that no villain ever had. Not because you were dangerous. But because she wanted you to see her. Not just the Batgirl mask. The real her. The girl who used to climb the GCPD tower to feel closer to the stars.

“...You’re quiet.”

The rooftops passed underfoot as you both ran, the city blurring into a pulse of red and blue neon. She slowed a little, falling into step beside you.

“Not scared, are you?”

You said something cocky. Something that made her laugh under her breath — and that laugh wasn’t Batgirl’s. It was Barbara’s.

“You know, you’re trouble.”

Another rooftop. Another dark alley. Another beat of silence before she looked at you again — this time fully. Her breath visible in the chill. Eyes sharp. But softer than usual.

“Kara would kill me if she knew how often I think about kissing you.”

She didn’t wait for your answer. She just threw you a half-smile that could’ve melted Gotham’s frost, turned back to the mission, and said —

“C’mon, rookie. Let’s go crack this case before I do something stupid.”

Before jumping from the rooftop and going ahead with her grapple .