*Barbara Gordon "Batgirl," Gotham University, GCU Medical School
Sitting on a bench outside the main lecture hall, Barbara was waiting for James to finish up.
She could see him from where she sat talking with the adjunct Professor Läufer. The animated waving arms of the professor barely scrapped just how enthusiastic the man was about his subject, medical ethics.
James was responding with a more tempered enthusiasm but she could tell he was enjoying the conversation.
In the year they had officially started dating Barbara had picked up on a lot of the nuances of her boyfriend. While he had a certain charm and could easily be considered a conversationalist, deep down she knew he hated talking with people.
It became one of the things she would tease him about.
If James had his way he would spend every free moment he had either studying, working or watching movies. The man was a true couch potato in his personal time who hated to go out to social events. Barbara knew she was one of the exceptions but only if it was the two of them.
Because of her upbringing, Barbara was use to the social galas and outings required by the Commissioner. And being the obedient and supportive daughter she had gone with him to nearly every one.
So when she started dating James who had such aversions to social events but was willing to suffer to make her happy to go to them, it just reassured her he was right for her. He was always doing both small and big actions for her. Just recently with her father he had given him some good advice and that had help them patch things up. Her father would never accept her as Batgirl but he would respect it. Things like that just reaffirmed how much she appreciated James and all he did. She had never felt as cherished as she was with him.
Watching him with the Professor she could see he was genuinely enjoying the socializing. The smile on his face was less forced and his eyes showed a certain warmth.
Since he came back to Gotham they both had gotten to know each other very well and accept the others quirks. Barbara knew her stubborn and impulsive nature rubbed people the wrong way. Where as James was closed off and at times hopelessly naïve about relationships. Both their negative traits were things they had talked about and were working on, but the fact that they both were willing to talk and welcome each others short comings made their relationship work.
It was actually still somewhat of a shock of Barbara as she considered the past two years. Things had not been perfect but they really had built a solid foundation together. At times she wondered if they needed to talk about what the next step would be.
Moving in together? They already spent every other night at each others place.
Revealing her secret identity as Batgirl? He already knew she helped the police in their Cyber Division. But revealing her vigilante activities was probably a bit too far.
Marriage?
The Professor and James seemed to have finished and with that Barbara shook her head clearing her thoughts. There would be a time in the future to consider everything, for now she would just enjoy the moment.
Walking towards her with his books and laptop in hand he gave her a easy going smile.
'That smile,' she thought as she grinned back.
1 Year Earlier
"Okay I think I have everything," James said as he ran around his kitchen.
She watched as her just recently declared boyfriend rushed to finish the final preparations for dinner tonight.
2 years ago James reappeared in her life. They had taken it slow with first re-building their friendship. But underneath it all simmered a ever growing attraction for something more. So a few months ago they decided to give the idea of a relationship between each other a chance.
They kept the dating in secret, even from their friends and family. But a few weeks ago they had both agreed with how well things were going it would be best to tell people.
When Barbara told the Team about James the reactions were mostly positive and teasing. M'gann, Wally, Zatanna had wanted all the details. Artemis and Connor said 'cool,' and went back to what they were doing.
As for her mentor Batman, Bruce had stared at her for a long time before launching into a dozen different questions. She was fairly certain after their conversation he had booted up the Bat computer and ran countless criminal searches on James. But considering he never brought up her boyfriend or made any remarks she felt a certain satisfaction knowing he tacitly approved or accepted her choice.
Black Canary who oversaw the Team gave a more enthusiastic response as well as an insistence to meet James sometime. Though knowing Dinah, she had undoubtedly ran James through several Justice League programs to investigate him. Unlike Batman when nothing turned up, Dinah would always try to talk her about how things were going.
As for Dick... his reaction had been to ignore her for the last few months.
After filling in her friends she had gathered her courage to tell her father about James.
His reaction had been what she expected. A intense interrogation of who this man was that dared to date his daughter. What he did for work, what priors did he have, if he was in the FBI database.
Then questions of how this could happen and why he was not informed!
That conversation felt like he was going to demand her gun and badge like any of his detectives. She calmly had to remind him to put the Commissioner in the drawer and talk to her as her father. After he was put in that mindset the conversation proceeded much smoother though with a single demand that he wanted to meet James.
Thus the frantic pace of James as he hurried to finish dinner. The guy had gone all out to impress her father with a Peruvian pupusa inspired meal. Chicken and beef stuffed pupusas with cheese were being pulled from the table top grill, rice was being served along with frijoles and guacamole. Off to the side he had finished a simple salad with some fruit to the side for a healthier option.
A bead of sweat graced his forehead as he quickly began setting plates and putting the finishing touches on the table.
"You know I can help?" she said amused.
James ran back into the kitchen to grab some homemade salsa while mumbling and grumbling about taking care of it.
It nearly made her laugh as he had insisted on preparing it on his own. Barbara knew he wanted to impress her father and already had enough stress. So she kept her teasing to the minimum as she watched him cook. The smell and fragrances were tantalizing as he finished setting up the table before slapping his forehead to get a pitcher of water ready for drinks.
Credit where credit was due, James had barely gotten out of class a few hours ago before he dived head first into cleaning his apartment, cooking dinner and prepping himself mentally for meeting her father.
Finally with a sigh of satisfaction and exhaustion he pulled a table chair out and sat. The clear relief at finishing had brought a clear look of happiness to the man.
Walking over to him she began running her fingers in his hair and massaging his neck.
James leaned into her.
"Its all ready," he breathed with relief.
Smiling she said, "With time to spare... specifically a minute."
Feeling his frown and his mouth beginning to say "What," they were interrupted with a the sound of James' impending doom.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
James stiffened making her laugh before she walked to the door and opened it.
There her father stood with his trademark trench coat and grey slacks and white dress shirt. Thankfully unlike the majority of time, Barbara could see her dad had made the effort to use a fresh and cleanly pressed shirt.
Despite his tired voice he did perk up at seeing her.
"Barbara dear, its great to see you," he said.
She laughed, "You always make it sound like we haven't seen each other for so long."
"Well it has been a long time," he retorted.
Raising a amused eyebrow she said, "2 days is not long dad."
Gesturing him to come in they both walked into the apartment to find James putting the last few things onto the table.
Wiping his hand on a towel James rushed over with a smile and offered her Father his hand.
"It is a pleasure to meet you sir," he said sincerely.
Her father looked him up and down before with a hint of reluctance shook his hand.
"Yes..." he said, "It is nice to finally meet my daughter's new boyfriend."
James gripped seemed to tighten slightly, "Ah yes, we wanted to take things slow. We both kept it from friends and family until we knew it was something more."
Gordon eyes narrowed as his own grip tightened.
'Any more and they are going to start breaking fingers,' Barbara thought watching the interaction closely.
"And has it?" Gordon questioned, his tone emphasizing how serious he was.
At that James blinked before looking directly at Barbara. A flutter of happiness grew in her and James' seemed to reciprocate based on his smile and eyes.
"Absolutely," James said with absolute certainty.
Gordon watched the two smiling at each other before finally sighing.
"Well you two seem happy..."
Barbara and James realizing how awkward it might be for her father looked away with each other, both trying not to laugh at the silliness.
Gordon had looked past the two to gaze at the table and with a few sniffs had a very audible growl erupt from his belly.
"That smells incredible, should we get started?"
James gestured for her father to take a seat before pulling out a chair for her.
She quickly joined them as they all began to dig into the meal James had prepared. Based on the grunts from her father she could tell he was enjoying himself. The trio ate and talked with Gordon taking the lead by questioning James on a myriad of things.
"So James," Gordon began his interrogation, "Are you working?"
"I was," James said after a swallow, "But now I am enrolled in my sophomore year at GCU Medical."
"Planning to be a doc?" Gordon asked curious.
James nodded, "Yes, though I am currently considering going the surgeon route. Before returning back from some of my study abroad I had the chance to learn from some medical staff. They convinced me my skills were perfect for the medical field and now here I am."
"Hmmm," Gordon mused, "I can respect that. Quite a good and lucrative career."
"But way too much homework and study," Barbara teased.
James groaned, "It is not even the worst year yet, next year I start doing rounds and trying different specialties."
"Still though, your family must be proud of you?" Gordon said carefully.
While he kept his tone innocent and interested, Barbara knew underneath that was her father's prying. She knew for a fact he had looked up James' background and thus knew of some of the recent tragedies.
Her father had shot her a look with her returning one a promise of pain for his knowingly insensitive question. Sometimes his desires to dig into peoples lives went way too far.
James sat back to consider the question.
"Well, my mother is beyond thrilled. As is my brother and sister though they still make fun of the fact that the one who hated school the most is now going to be in it the longest."
Gordon hummed, "Sounds like a fun family, are they here in Gotham?"
"No," James shook his head.
With a hint of sadness he said, "Nicole and John, my siblings, were already graduated and had moved away by the time I was in elementary school. We keep in contact but it has been a few years since we last saw each other in person. My mother moved about a year after the Eastside fires."
"Ah," Gordon said knowingly, "You lived in Eastside, during the fire?"
"I did," James said softly, "When the fire broke out I was away at the palisades with some friends. My mom got hurt but luckily nothing serious... we did lose a few of my aunts though."
The pain in James voice as he spoke was very clear. Despite the years going by he had never it seemed forgiven himself for not being there. Even after telling her about who he lost in the fire and the long discussion they had about it not being his fault he had refused to accept it. Him talking about it now with her father was a big step, one hopefully showing he was moving on.
Gordon seeing the sorrow from her boyfriend said quietly, "My condolences, I am sorry to hear that."
"Its alright," and then wanting to change the subject and mood he said, "Things were tough in Eastside and the fire just made it worse. But it worked out in the end and now I am just trying to live my life to the fullest."
"A great way of looking at it James," Barbara said while throwing a kick under the table at her dad.
Save for a slight grimace Gordon kept composure as he continued to eat.
A comfortable silence befell the table as they all dug in.
"Mmm," Gordon remarked, "This is excellent."
James laughed as he put his fork down, "One of the few complete meals I know how to make, I am glad you like it."
"Ya that is not true," Barbara said shaking her head, "James had been nice enough to cook for us most nights. He may be no chef but he is not a slouch."
"Pfff," James retorted.
The conversation between the three continued throughout the meal and a hour after it. It was pleasant, mostly questions about James hobbies and some of his classes. A few of the questions occasionally dripped into particulars of their relationship which at times flustered James. The one about Barbara staying over multiple nights and the implication did make him blush and look nervous.
That had required Barbara kicking her father under the table again before quickly changing the subject about her father's upcoming week. Judging from how much he winced from the kick it seemed he got the message too not dig deeply into her relationship.
Finally with an offer from her father to help clean which was politely rejected by James, he had grabbed his jacket and prepared to leave.
"James," Gordon began as he put on his trench coat, "Thank you very much for dinner, it has been a nice to meet you."
Putting down some of the dishes James walked over and put a arm around Barbara.
"It has been great to meet you sir, hopefully we can do this again soon."
Gordon reached over and shook James hand before making his way to the door. Barbara followed him telling James she would see him out.
Catching up to her father, he had opened the door and was preparing to leave but she stopped him to ask the important question.
"So dad... what do you think?"
Gordon sighed and reached into his jacket to grab a cigarette only to pause as he realized he had quit the last few months. Some habits were hard to kill.
With a snort he said, "I suppose... I suppose you could of done much worse."
Swatting his arm, she leaned in and gave him a hug.
"Thanks dad," she whispered into his ear.
Her father merely nodded and made his way out as she closed the door.
Walking back to the dining room she saw James piling dishes into his sink and had begun to clean up.
Noticing her, he stopped and grabbed a towel to dry his hands.
James spoke with relief, "I think that went well... right?"
"Ya," Barbara said with a smile, "I think it did."
Present Day
The two of them walked out of the GCU Medical School and made their way to the parking lot.
James had been telling her about his conversation with Professor Läufer.
"...he promised to put me in contact with GC Central Hospital head surgeon if I pass my exams."
"That's great!" Barbara exclaimed, "Have you finally decided on surgery for sure?"
The blank expression he gave her made her laugh, she knew that look well enough that he was probably planning on that path but that he was still uncertain.
Taking a deep breath he said, "Well, enough about class, what would you like do tonight?"
She thought about it, "We haven't gone to the dojo recently."
"Feeling the need to beat me up?" James eyes showed amusement.
As a couple they had both joined a local dojo to practice their martial arts. Barbara would consistently win their bouts though she downplayed just how skilled she was. James was not bad, but was a long way away from a black belt. That never seemed to bother him as he always said he enjoyed the exercise and spending time with her rather then the technical aspects.
He continued, "If we go to the dojo I say we hit up Mario's afterwards."
"I could go for some pizza," she said.
The two continued talking and walking, holding hands. Barbara could not help but reflect how wonderful life was for her, and how much more it could possibly become.
---------------------------------------
*A little distance away
The young couple walked, hand in hand talking, laughing and smiling.
A deep set of dark eyes watched them silently.
Hidden from view the man pondered the growing development.
It had taken awhile to track him, but thanks to his powers the task was made much easier. He had watched him for months now deliberating the best way to approach and bind him to his will. A plan was in place but as he watched he knew his time was running out.
It would not be much longer before his power was too great.
Watching the couple right now he could only feel amused considering the secrets the two had hidden from each other. One was firmly in the light, the other drenched in darkness despite what he might think.
'This could work to my advantage' he thought.