Damian/Steph: Pivot
Title: Pivot
Fandom: Batman
Characters/Pairs: Stephanie/Older!Damian
Rating: G
Summary: Damian hates dances. Stephanie hates interacting with Damian. Yet, being forced to spend time together may not be so bad after all.
"I hate dances," Damian grumbled, stuffing one of the tea sandwiches he'd gotten into his mouth. He didn't hate all dances, just this one. Why? Well, mainly because his father, Bruce Wayne, had all but forced him to go. Not only that, but he'd had to take Stephanie Brown as his date. He was eighteen, though, so that was fine, but he just hadn't wanted her as his date. Mainly because it was awkward with her; they were either shooting off sharp-tongued remarks at each other or involved in a sparring match.
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You hate everything," she quipped. She cast a glance around at the beautiful silver decorations strewn about the room. There were quite a few teenagers lounging at the tables, some fidgeting with the fake florals, others stuffing their faces with Tropicana punch and Pop tarts. Most of the wealthy kids were out on the dance floor showing off their designer gowns and tuxes to the DJ whilst slow dancing to some ridiculous ballad. Although Steph hadn't wanted to come either - she'd been recruited by Bruce and Cass - she had an itch to get out and dance. Most of her high school life had been spent chasing down criminals and fighting for her right to do so, not to mention recovering from being dead. Part of her had always wondered what it would be like to attend a high school dance with a boy. Sure Damian wasn't exactly Prince Charming, but he would have to do.
"I'm not dancing," Damian huffed. "Especially not with you."
Wrinkling a nose, Stephanie rose to her feet and smoothed out her purple dress. "Let's go," she insisted. "How will it look if we don't dance?"
Damian raised an eyebrow. "I don't care."
"But I do, so we're going."
"Why do you get to take the lead?"
Stephanie cracked a grin. "Because I'm older than you; it's my birthright to be the leader in these types of situations. Besides, what's the point of going to a dance if you don't dance?"
Damian folded his arms over his chest. "No."
"Why not?"
Color swelled in the young man's cheeks. "I just don't want to."
"Oh, I get it. You don't know how to dance, do you?" Stephanie prompted. She snatched his hands. "I'll show you, it's easy."
"People are going to stare, I'd rather not---"
"People will always stare when it comes to you. You're a Wayne, get used to being the center of attention," Stephanie interrupted. She yanked him from his chair and paraded him out onto the hardwood dance floor. Several people noticed this and looked up from their food at the couple. Damian's face reddened.
"Could we not..."
"Alright, first things first, you put your hands around my waist," Stephanie instructed, ignoring his protest. She pulled his hot palms onto her waist, resisting the urge to smirk at the mess of color his face was becoming. "Then I put my arms around your shoulders." Damian flinched a tad as she did this, forcing a giggle from her lips. "What are you so afraid of, Damian? Have you never danced with a girl before?"
Damian chewed on his lip. "Only at those dumb charity balls I'm forced to go to."
"You poor thing. Well, slow dancing in the high school arena is pretty much just walking in slow circles to the sway of the music." Stephanie started moving her feet to the beat of the ballad that had come on. "Just follow my lead." Damian stared down at his feet, doing his best to keep in tune with his partner. It was awfully strange to him, spending time with her like this; not competing or exchanging insults.
"See? It isn't so bad," Stephanie piped up, startling him. He raised his eyes from his designer shoes. She was looking at him with that same cool confidence she always had, her messy blonde bun casting stray strands of gold over her shoulders. He didn't think he'd ever been so close to her before. She rested her head on his shoulder, causing a small jump to shatter his former calm. Damian held back his surprise the best he could by not shaking her off. "You sure are jumpy, Damian, is something wrong?"
"N-no, nothing's wrong," Damian lied. This felt weird; he was practically dancing with his big sister. The girl he had fought with on numerous missions as Robin, the girl he had teased mercilessly as a child, and the girl he had never once thought of as his equal in anything was dancing with him. Somehow he didn't mind it. Granted, that alone was disturbing because he knew he should've minded it. He should have been commenting on how her dress made her look like an albino eggplant, comparing her hairstyle to some awful 80's wannabe, but he wasn't.
The song drew to a close. "Alright, y'all, I hope you have a wonderful evening and thanks for coming!" the DJ cried over the mic. Damian pulled away from Stephanie, his face still warm from their close contact. She raised an eyebrow at him, a hint of hurt forming behind her face.
"What's wrong? I know I wasn't that bad of a dancer," Stephanie offered in a hushed voice. She followed him back to their table to collect her clutch bag and jacket.
"It wasn't your dancing."
"Then what's... oh, I get it, you've never been that close to a girl, huh?" Stephanie teased. She patted him firmly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Damian, I won't tell."
Damian pulled on his coat. Maybe he didn't hate dances as much as he thought he did. Heck, maybe he didn't hate Stephanie as much as he thought he did. Maybe there was a reason why Tim had dated her. Why Cassandra had entrusted this girl with the Batgirl mantle. And maybe she wasn't the infidel he'd thought she was. "I guess hanging out with you... wasn't so bad," he admitted under his breath as they made their way out of the building into the freezing night.
Stephanie turned to him in slack-jawed surprise. A large smile parted her glossed lips. "Back atcha, Damian," she chirped. His heart leapt to his throat. What the hell was that? Shaking his head, he followed her to the parking lot. Countless four-doors packed full of over-dressed teens were racing for the exit. Damian knew it'd be a long wait before Steph's little Prius even got close to the exit sign, but he didn't mind. For a while longer he would be together with her.