(no subject)
Title: Beware of Wolves in Bow Ties
Rating: PG
Characters: Christina Drake [Tim Drake], Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Janet Drake, Bruce Wayne [mentioned], Tina!verse [Tina/Jason]
Disclaimer: I don’t anything! In this AU, Tim is a girl, not a boy and eventually becomes Batgirl, not Robin, for Jason related reasons.
Description: Janet takes her daughter to her first charity ball.
Warnings: Tim is a girl, Jason wears a plaid bow tie.
Thanks to me-ya-ri for betaing and giving it a title!
This wasn’t quite what Christina had expected. Of course she’d heard stories about Wayne Manor and the over-the-top parties held in the grand ballroom. From the age that her mother, Janet, had deemed appropriate to share with her daughter. But this was still… slightly overwhelming. Having to dodge drinks offers from various men that should have at least some amount of shame in asking a teenager what her preferences are were not the way she wanted to spend her evening.
Truthfully, all she wanted to do was find a corner to hide in and just watch the crowd. Unfortunately, the universe seemed to have it out for the young Miss Drake tonight. She smiles just slightly as she declines another drink offer from someone uncomfortably close to her father’s age, catching a view of the only other teenage guest in attendance that night. It seemed as if young Mister Todd was having an… interesting conversation with Mister Pennyworth, the Wayne’s butler. Her eyes go a little wide as she watches the older man nudge the black haired boy in her general direction. Oh, no, this was not expected, at all.
If Tina had her way, this meeting would be at the end of the night as she had planned to brush by the young heir and his adoptive father as she and her mother made their way out of the gala. It would probably be much easier on her brain than this.
“Excuse me, Miss…” Well, the politeness of the tone of voice and the hand held out to her was just as unexpected as being approached tonight. From what she could hear when she got close enough, Jason Todd always had a much sharper tongue than the one he was choosing to use now. This could only mean trouble.
“Drake. Christina Drake.” She smiles tightly, feeling the heat in her cheeks as she places her smaller hand into Jason’s.
“Mm, pleased to meet you… ‘Tina. Can I call you Tina, babe?”
Well. Most definitely unexpected but Christina somehow suspects the bow that Jason does before pausing to look up at her with his head about level to her chest is not just for show of the guests surrounding the teenagers. But the kiss that’s pressed to the back of her hand does put a little more flair. Alfred’s influence combined with Dick and a bit of Jason’s own… type of charm.
“Tina is certainly preferable to ‘babe’, Mister…?” It is really getting hard to control her breathing pattern with the heir so close. Boys don’t talk to Christina, certainly not boys who happen to also be Robins.
“Just call me Jay, Tina. No need for all the formal shi-stuff.” That sounds more like the tongue she’s heard before and it makes Tina let a small smile slip. She doesn’t think that Jason would ever enjoy being less than authentic. There definitely wasn’t a ‘Brucie’ or even ‘Robbie Malone’ in this Boy Wonder. “So, uh, pretty girls like to dance, right?”
‘Let me go find you one of those’, then, is something that’s on her own tongue but doesn’t come out of her mouth as she shakes her head with that light polite laugh her mother taught her. The nervousness is another in the long line of unexpected events but she has a feeling that Jason’s fighting something in his own stomach as she watches him pull a little on his plaid bow tie. He’s also probably thanking Alfred for forgoing the plaid cummerbund, although Janet did tell Tina that Jason looks quite adorable in the outfit.
Not that she wouldn’t have seen it herself in the next day’s society papers but she might be coming to the opinion that it needs to be seen in person. If she can be in person without being a blushing pile of nerves underneath that outer layer of distant cool that she’s sure her mother would be proud of if she happened to be watching. Which Janet surely was. She had warned Tina about the men in attendance tonight and to be careful that idle hands can change very quickly. But she never said a word about any boys.
“I would think that you’d need some sort of data to make that statement with any accuracy, Jay.” She really is trying to control the blushing but the heat does not want to leave her cheeks, it seems.
“Oh, so you’re smart as well as pretty. I think that us dancing would be some good data, Tina. Let’s boogie!” His hands over hers is not helping to slow her heart rate back down, either. Nor do those hands moving to guide her arms over his shoulders once they reach the dance floor. “This should be a nice place for an experiment… Real nice.”
“Do you have a hypothesis formed…? It’s not a proper experiment without one.” It’s getting harder to keep up that distant cool now that Christina was closer than she ever thought she’d be to Jason. She can feel his body heat against her bare neck, not quite sure if she should be disappointed in herself for not taking her mother’s offer of one of her shawls.
“Have I told you that I like your dress, babe? That red… Wow.” The red was too deep to be considered Robin red but it was close enough for Jason’s taste, if the hands sliding across the small of her back was an indication of the boy’s approval.
“You haven’t answered my question. And you did. Just now.”
Before Jason can get his answer past his lip, an unknown variable appears in the form of a taller boy, a few years older than Jason with a bubbly attitude and a hand pressing down on young Mister Todd’s should. “Oh, man. Jay, little ‘Wing! I thought you hated coming to Bruce’s parties… Am I intruding? I can never tell after a few cold ones, right, Jay? Who’s your pretty little friend?”
Dick Grayson. A whirlwind in a dark suit with a silky deep blue tie. Also, an obvious pain in Jason’s side at the moment.
“Come off of it, Dickie!” Jason’s attempts to shrug his big brother off were just met with an arm curling around his shoulder and a wolfish grin at the pair.
Where she got the courage to clear her throat and introduce herself from, Tina would never quite know. After all, Jason was… Jason was Jason and Dick was Dick and neither should be paying attention to her but somehow both of them are. “My name is Christina…”
“Dick Grayson, at your service, Miss Christina.What a lovely name for a lovely young lady, right, Jaybird…?” Tina silently wondered to herself if that Grayson charm was turned off, it didn’t seem like it. Jason himself looked as he was wondering if those Grayson octopus hugs would ever stop coming at just the wrong moment. “Oh, man, Alf! Alf! Get over here with the camera!”
Mister Pennyworth was never too far from the Wayne heirs, even the butler was ever vigilant it seemed. “Yes, Master Dick?”
“Alfred, have you ever seen anything more adorable?” Christina thought that she’d never seen anyone more look like they wanted to punch someone else than Jason did right now. And that was saying a lot, having seen what she had seen since she first started climbing up to rooftops with her own camera. Not that she was about to confess to that. “We absolutely need to get a picture of Jaybird and his new ladybird!”
A delicate hand seemed to come from out of nowhere. Even Dick looked surprised at the unfamiliar touch on his shoulder.
“You absolutely can, Mister Grayson. But only after your brother asks her out properly, like a true gentleman.”
Janet Drake didn’t quite have that shark smile she saved for the boardroom but she was getting extremely close to it. Christina couldn’t help but be both grateful and a little disappointed by it as she stepped back from the boys and Alfred to hook an arm around one of her mother’s. Obviously, Janet felt that her daughter had suffered from enough mini heart attacks in one night.
“You’ll have to excuse us, it’s getting very late and Christina does have her horseback riding lessons in the morning.”
“Oh, my apologies, Mrs. Drake. You will have to forgive the boys. It is very rare that there is a young lady closer to their own ages at events such as these. Please give our regards to your husband. I’m certain Master Wayne will be calling about that merger this week.”
Christina could feel herself both cringe and sigh internally that ‘Brucie’ had kept his distance from the scene. She was certain that she might actually have a heart attack if she had to hear him call Jason ‘Tiger’ in this close of range.
“Bid the young Miss Drake a good night, lads.”
The boys really did seem as if there might be a competitive streak with each other, if their over-zealous bows were any indications. Jason and Dick each take a turn kissing the back of Tina’s free hand as they say their good byes.
Of course, Jason has to get the last word in. “Oh, hey. You should definitely come by the Manor. We’ve got some pretty bit-nice horses. They look like a great ride.”
Christina inwardly thanked her uncanny ability to suppress a groan and just politely smiles at the younger of the boys. “Thank you for the offer, Mister Todd. Be sure to wear the bow tie if I take you up on the offer.”
The wait for the car was much shorter than it should have been, considering the amount of guests. Christina still chose to cling more than she normally would have to her mother. The winter weather was a good excuse to share body heat.
“Thank you. For, you know.”
Janet raises an eyebrow as she pats her daughter’s arm and lets out a laugh. “As if I would have left you to the wolfs. Despite how adorable they look in bow ties.”
Rating: PG
Characters: Christina Drake [Tim Drake], Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Janet Drake, Bruce Wayne [mentioned], Tina!verse [Tina/Jason]
Disclaimer: I don’t anything! In this AU, Tim is a girl, not a boy and eventually becomes Batgirl, not Robin, for Jason related reasons.
Description: Janet takes her daughter to her first charity ball.
Warnings: Tim is a girl, Jason wears a plaid bow tie.
Thanks to me-ya-ri for betaing and giving it a title!
This wasn’t quite what Christina had expected. Of course she’d heard stories about Wayne Manor and the over-the-top parties held in the grand ballroom. From the age that her mother, Janet, had deemed appropriate to share with her daughter. But this was still… slightly overwhelming. Having to dodge drinks offers from various men that should have at least some amount of shame in asking a teenager what her preferences are were not the way she wanted to spend her evening.
Truthfully, all she wanted to do was find a corner to hide in and just watch the crowd. Unfortunately, the universe seemed to have it out for the young Miss Drake tonight. She smiles just slightly as she declines another drink offer from someone uncomfortably close to her father’s age, catching a view of the only other teenage guest in attendance that night. It seemed as if young Mister Todd was having an… interesting conversation with Mister Pennyworth, the Wayne’s butler. Her eyes go a little wide as she watches the older man nudge the black haired boy in her general direction. Oh, no, this was not expected, at all.
If Tina had her way, this meeting would be at the end of the night as she had planned to brush by the young heir and his adoptive father as she and her mother made their way out of the gala. It would probably be much easier on her brain than this.
“Excuse me, Miss…” Well, the politeness of the tone of voice and the hand held out to her was just as unexpected as being approached tonight. From what she could hear when she got close enough, Jason Todd always had a much sharper tongue than the one he was choosing to use now. This could only mean trouble.
“Drake. Christina Drake.” She smiles tightly, feeling the heat in her cheeks as she places her smaller hand into Jason’s.
“Mm, pleased to meet you… ‘Tina. Can I call you Tina, babe?”
Well. Most definitely unexpected but Christina somehow suspects the bow that Jason does before pausing to look up at her with his head about level to her chest is not just for show of the guests surrounding the teenagers. But the kiss that’s pressed to the back of her hand does put a little more flair. Alfred’s influence combined with Dick and a bit of Jason’s own… type of charm.
“Tina is certainly preferable to ‘babe’, Mister…?” It is really getting hard to control her breathing pattern with the heir so close. Boys don’t talk to Christina, certainly not boys who happen to also be Robins.
“Just call me Jay, Tina. No need for all the formal shi-stuff.” That sounds more like the tongue she’s heard before and it makes Tina let a small smile slip. She doesn’t think that Jason would ever enjoy being less than authentic. There definitely wasn’t a ‘Brucie’ or even ‘Robbie Malone’ in this Boy Wonder. “So, uh, pretty girls like to dance, right?”
‘Let me go find you one of those’, then, is something that’s on her own tongue but doesn’t come out of her mouth as she shakes her head with that light polite laugh her mother taught her. The nervousness is another in the long line of unexpected events but she has a feeling that Jason’s fighting something in his own stomach as she watches him pull a little on his plaid bow tie. He’s also probably thanking Alfred for forgoing the plaid cummerbund, although Janet did tell Tina that Jason looks quite adorable in the outfit.
Not that she wouldn’t have seen it herself in the next day’s society papers but she might be coming to the opinion that it needs to be seen in person. If she can be in person without being a blushing pile of nerves underneath that outer layer of distant cool that she’s sure her mother would be proud of if she happened to be watching. Which Janet surely was. She had warned Tina about the men in attendance tonight and to be careful that idle hands can change very quickly. But she never said a word about any boys.
“I would think that you’d need some sort of data to make that statement with any accuracy, Jay.” She really is trying to control the blushing but the heat does not want to leave her cheeks, it seems.
“Oh, so you’re smart as well as pretty. I think that us dancing would be some good data, Tina. Let’s boogie!” His hands over hers is not helping to slow her heart rate back down, either. Nor do those hands moving to guide her arms over his shoulders once they reach the dance floor. “This should be a nice place for an experiment… Real nice.”
“Do you have a hypothesis formed…? It’s not a proper experiment without one.” It’s getting harder to keep up that distant cool now that Christina was closer than she ever thought she’d be to Jason. She can feel his body heat against her bare neck, not quite sure if she should be disappointed in herself for not taking her mother’s offer of one of her shawls.
“Have I told you that I like your dress, babe? That red… Wow.” The red was too deep to be considered Robin red but it was close enough for Jason’s taste, if the hands sliding across the small of her back was an indication of the boy’s approval.
“You haven’t answered my question. And you did. Just now.”
Before Jason can get his answer past his lip, an unknown variable appears in the form of a taller boy, a few years older than Jason with a bubbly attitude and a hand pressing down on young Mister Todd’s should. “Oh, man. Jay, little ‘Wing! I thought you hated coming to Bruce’s parties… Am I intruding? I can never tell after a few cold ones, right, Jay? Who’s your pretty little friend?”
Dick Grayson. A whirlwind in a dark suit with a silky deep blue tie. Also, an obvious pain in Jason’s side at the moment.
“Come off of it, Dickie!” Jason’s attempts to shrug his big brother off were just met with an arm curling around his shoulder and a wolfish grin at the pair.
Where she got the courage to clear her throat and introduce herself from, Tina would never quite know. After all, Jason was… Jason was Jason and Dick was Dick and neither should be paying attention to her but somehow both of them are. “My name is Christina…”
“Dick Grayson, at your service, Miss Christina.What a lovely name for a lovely young lady, right, Jaybird…?” Tina silently wondered to herself if that Grayson charm was turned off, it didn’t seem like it. Jason himself looked as he was wondering if those Grayson octopus hugs would ever stop coming at just the wrong moment. “Oh, man, Alf! Alf! Get over here with the camera!”
Mister Pennyworth was never too far from the Wayne heirs, even the butler was ever vigilant it seemed. “Yes, Master Dick?”
“Alfred, have you ever seen anything more adorable?” Christina thought that she’d never seen anyone more look like they wanted to punch someone else than Jason did right now. And that was saying a lot, having seen what she had seen since she first started climbing up to rooftops with her own camera. Not that she was about to confess to that. “We absolutely need to get a picture of Jaybird and his new ladybird!”
A delicate hand seemed to come from out of nowhere. Even Dick looked surprised at the unfamiliar touch on his shoulder.
“You absolutely can, Mister Grayson. But only after your brother asks her out properly, like a true gentleman.”
Janet Drake didn’t quite have that shark smile she saved for the boardroom but she was getting extremely close to it. Christina couldn’t help but be both grateful and a little disappointed by it as she stepped back from the boys and Alfred to hook an arm around one of her mother’s. Obviously, Janet felt that her daughter had suffered from enough mini heart attacks in one night.
“You’ll have to excuse us, it’s getting very late and Christina does have her horseback riding lessons in the morning.”
“Oh, my apologies, Mrs. Drake. You will have to forgive the boys. It is very rare that there is a young lady closer to their own ages at events such as these. Please give our regards to your husband. I’m certain Master Wayne will be calling about that merger this week.”
Christina could feel herself both cringe and sigh internally that ‘Brucie’ had kept his distance from the scene. She was certain that she might actually have a heart attack if she had to hear him call Jason ‘Tiger’ in this close of range.
“Bid the young Miss Drake a good night, lads.”
The boys really did seem as if there might be a competitive streak with each other, if their over-zealous bows were any indications. Jason and Dick each take a turn kissing the back of Tina’s free hand as they say their good byes.
Of course, Jason has to get the last word in. “Oh, hey. You should definitely come by the Manor. We’ve got some pretty bit-nice horses. They look like a great ride.”
Christina inwardly thanked her uncanny ability to suppress a groan and just politely smiles at the younger of the boys. “Thank you for the offer, Mister Todd. Be sure to wear the bow tie if I take you up on the offer.”
The wait for the car was much shorter than it should have been, considering the amount of guests. Christina still chose to cling more than she normally would have to her mother. The winter weather was a good excuse to share body heat.
“Thank you. For, you know.”
Janet raises an eyebrow as she pats her daughter’s arm and lets out a laugh. “As if I would have left you to the wolfs. Despite how adorable they look in bow ties.”