Our Last Chance\\ Batfamily x batsis! reader

out of sparks

a/n: it's been so long i'm so sorry 💀 i kinda went on a haitus and then when i did finally update, i only posted it to my tumblr page because i forgot i had the story on here too lol. my tumblr is underthe-redhood in case any of you are also on there <3
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as you made it out into the city, you and dick split up. you radioed barbara, "hey, are you already with someone? i don't wanna be on my own tonight."

     "nope, just me. is something wrong?"

"no, just feeling lonely," you lied. "where are you?"

     "corner of b street," she said. and so you drove over to where she was. she was sitting on one of the rooftops just staring out at the city lights. you swung up with a grappling hook and sat next to her.

     "feels like it's been forever since we last talked," you started. it was true for you, but you couldn't say the same for her.

     "we talked this morning," she laughed. you smiled, it was nice being able to sit down with your family and just talk. no one was guilty, no one was upset, no one was gone. everything was actually okay again.

     "how's the library?" you asked. you didn't wanna immediately jump into questions about dick. people were already suspicious.

     "not bad, it's as slow as ever. how were your midterms?"

     "they went well. i'm not too worried. how were yours?" she was a criminology major at the university.

     "they were long, i'm just glad they're over," she sighed.

     "so am i. besides, now you get to spend extra time with dick," you leaned into the topic slowly.

     "that too," she said. she didn't sound excited, the way you thought she would. but she was probably really tired, so you didn't think much of it. "how about you? is there anyone special you're hiding?" she grinned.

     "no, not really," how did this get turned on you?

     "not even one of the titans or something?" the titans?

     "why one of the titans?" you asked. she wasn't talking about bart, was she? why would she be? you haven't started to hang out with him at this point in time, and even when you do it's not like she's around you much to notice.

     "where else would you be around kids your age?" she asks.

     "school???" you offer.

     she laughs again, "well sure, but they're kinda boring compared to a teen titan." she's got a point there.

     talking about relationships is new for you. you've never really talked about it with your brothers, and you've only ever brought it up once or twice with kate. bruce was totally out of the question, that's why you got your sex talk from harley. which led to ivy giving you a better explanation. that led to selena trying to step in, but she eventually just sent you to alfred who was always the one to do it.
     talking about relationships with barbara was new, but it wasn't bad. of course, it also led you to an opportunity. and when opportunity strikes, who are you not to take it?

     "whenever i do end up in a relationship, i can talk to you about it, right? i mean, you're in a happy relationship with dick so you'd be able to give me good advice," it was a bit heavy on implying she was happy, but it was good enough to probe her thoughts.

     she didn't answer immediately like you thought she would. instead, she thought for a moment and said "yeah, i guess i'm pretty happy."

     "you guess?" she must have just worded it strangely. she loved dick, didn't she? maybe not later on when she did what she did. but back in time where you were, she had to have loved him then?

     "i'm happy," she said. and that was that. but it wasn't.
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back at the cave, you and barbara had arrived last. "you took your sweet time," jason raised an eyebrow.

     "we got caught up in talking," barbara said.

     "talking?" he continued.

     "believe me, you wouldn't be interested," you chimed in and barbara smiled. that was enough for jason to drop the subject and move on. he walked over to tim and the two of them left for the manor. dick walked over and grabbed barbara's hand, sliding his fingers between hers.

     "how are you doing?" he looked like a puppy in love. it was a refreshing sight, not only seeing him again but seeing him happy. a second later, however, your gut was twisting itself again. it was a whole new type of uncomfortable, seeing him so happy and knowing how his life could fall apart so soon. you almost wished not to be there with him.

     barbara wasn't as enthusiastic as him. thinking back, you couldn't remember if you'd ever picked up on that before. you could remember the early parts of their relationship when they were both starstruck in love. but, you couldn't remember her like this. it wasn't a huge shift, which was why you didn't notice it. it was a change so small that you'd only pick up on it if you were looking out to begin with.

     you doubted anyone else had noticed, much less dick himself. you couldn't tell exactly what the shift in her mood was. maybe a bad day, but then she just seemed so normal when she was talking to you. not when you were talking about dick. he seemed to be the odd factor. she seemed awkward when talking about him. did she even notice? if she doesn't even know what she's feeling, how are you supposed to?

     you couldn't just stand there and stare at them, that would be weird. you tried to quickly find something to do that would keep you in the cave with the both of them. luck must have been on your side, a few moments later kate came down the elevator shaft. she saw you standing around and walked over, "what're you up to kiddo?"

     "not much, did you go out tonight?"

     "no, i stayed in tonight. i've gotta big project for work i have to finish."

     and you had a conversation starter, "oh? how's that going?" as she started talking about work, you chimed in every now and then with basic replies so as to not seem like you were tuning her out. but, from the corner of your eye you watched dick and babs and how they interacted. he was all over her, but she wasn't reciprocating. was dick picking up on it too? probably not, because he hadn't shifted the way he was acting yet.

     you wondered what they were talking about, and you wondered if it could have to do with why babs was so uninterested. you sat there for another ten, maybe fifteen minutes just talking to kate until it finally hit you. it wasn't that barbara was uninterested in the topic, or tired from patrol or anything. she was uninterested in him. she was tired of dick. she had fallen out of love.

     the sparks just weren't there for her anymore, but the relationship otherwise wasn't bad. dick still treated her amazing, and she was happy. but she wasn't in love. it's like she was in a relationship with her friend. it just wasn't the same anymore. that's why babs felt bad, she still cared for him just not as a partner. you weren't sure if that made things harder or easier for you, though. you couldn't talk to barbara, you weren't sure if she knew she had fallen out of love. you didn't want to assume something so huge, but the signs had become painfully obvious.

     you didn't want to freak her out by bringing it up, and you couldn't really bring it up to anyone else. so, you did the only thing you could do. you finished the conversation with kate and made your way to room. you laid down, and went to sleep. all you could do was wait until tomorrow, when you'd be able to talk to bart. bart would know what to do. he always knows what to do. it's one of the things you love about him. and so you decided that for tonight, you'd just enjoy some sleep.