(no subject)

The air is cold, and every breath Steph takes puffs in little clouds of steam. After the crowded heat of the party, it's a relief to be out in the cold with no one on the street but the scant phantoms. There's a spring in her step and she's smiling, glancing at every shadow to find the one she's looking for.

And still, Cass surprises her.

Stephanie turns and grins at her as she captures Cass's gloved fingers between hers. "Oh, no, has the Batgirl found me?"

Half-smiling, Cassandra glanced at her caught fingers before turning the tables and curling her fingers through Steph's as she held her hand. She was already thinking of ways to train Steph to become more aware of her surroundings, to train her body to see what was there before actually seeing it. Her father had taught her with guns and knives, Cassandra's idea of teaching was a lot less painful than Cain's.

Cassandra let her smile and the way she looked Steph over in the suit answer the question.

"Your turns are quicker," Cassandra replied eventually. "Are all the parties like that one?"

She reaches her free hand out to touch her cold finger to Cass's mouth. A kiss through the leather of her mask.

It's not that different, her and Cass. They're still best friends, they still train. They play tag and curl up against London night's chill. It's just that sometimes there are kisses too.

If sometimes Stephanie wakes up in the middle of the night convinced convinced that Cass is going to want to take off her dating training wheels and find herself a boyfriend, well, everyone has dark thoughts in the middle of the night. They seem worlds away when Cass is looking at her like that.

Stephanie tugs her hand along and starts down the street. "Nope, that was wilder. Cassie said they usually have those parties in the caves. I guess it's a chance for kids to let loose and do something stupid."

Cass curled her free hand around Steph's wrist, drawing her to a stop before she moved into the space between their bodies and pressed her lips against Steph's. Soft and sweet with the lingering pressure of something else. It didn't matter that there was a mask between them, it was the action that spoke for Cass and it certainly spoke volumes

Letting go of her wrist, Cass followed Steph as she tugged her along and the pair began to walk together down the street.

"In the caves? Like the batcave?" Cassandra asked quiet and thoughtful. "Cut loose? I heard that before. Because of existential angst?"

Cassandra didn't know words like that, they were newly taught.

Steph smiles against the soft leather and leans into it. Then she pulls back to brush her fingers over Cass's cheek in a fond gesture. It's amazing how even in a full-coverage mask and typically taciturn, Cass manages to be so expressive and get her point across.

"No, decidedly not like the batcave, because I think Alfred comes to swat at you with a broom if you think about getting high in there. Just the regular caves on the islands." Smiling, she shrugs. "Sure, I guess, because there is no pain like that of a growing up a teenager. And, well- people want to let go sometimes, so why not strap on a corset and get stoned, I guess."

Edited 2011-12-15 18:20 (UTC)

When your world was made up of silence even the smallest of touches became as expressive as a sentence. Cassandra might not know what to say but she knew how not to say it. And she is not saying that she likes kissing Steph and being with her but body is certainly showing that it does.

"Hnnn, he always makes this face when I am home and he is cleaning." Cassandra said with a small, fond smile. "The people here would not last five seconds against him."

Cassandra looked at Steph quiet and curious. "You didn't wear a corset or get stoned."

"Mmmm, sure that the look on his face isn't his way of saying 'Miss Cassandra, you could really help me tidy up around here?'" Stephanie asks in her best Alfred impression. Even her posture changes, shoulders straight, chin down. Then she laughs and is herself again. "No, they really wouldn't. Alfred Pennyworth for Island Council. I wish he were here."

"Nope." She shakes her head, swinging their hands between them. "Because for one thing I have earned a corset-free evening. And I feel so stupid after smoking. But it's fun for other people. And as long as they do it responsibly, by all means."

"No, if he wanted that then he would ask. Wouldn't he?" Cassandra asked, thinking of the familar slope of straight shoulders, the pointed smile, the smell of tea. The way Steph shifted her body posture, changing to become Alfred it was almost perfect. Cass lifted a hand, pressing into the small of Stephanie's back to straighten her posture into something more Alfred and less Steph. The warmth of Steph's back through the shirt was a distraction and Cass, looked thoughtfully at Steph before asking. "He wanted me to help?"

Cass watched their hands, letting Steph swing them and build momentum. It felt nice, relaxed and not- it had been different with Kon. This was nicer. This felt different. Warmer.

"You feel stupid? Hnnn, I wouldn't know I've never tried or drinking or... he doesn't approve, I think." Cassandra said thinking of Bruce's disapproving face.

"He probably would," she agrees as she adjusts her posture under Cass's hand. "I'm sure he would, but he'd do it in a very Alfred way. Though I would not be at all opposed to you tidying a bit more around here," Stephanie says with a sidelong glance at her as one of the Victorian carriages go rattling by. Living with Cassandra Cain, an exercise in mess.

She laughs and shakes her head. He can probably tell they're even talking about it like a disapproving parental bat signal lighting up in the sky. Bat Dad. "No, I don't think he does. I'm probably an awful influence for even mentioning it. But if you ever want to try it, you can." Stephanie smiles at her. "If you do ever want to, it doesn't have to be at a party like that."

Cass let her hand slip down, fingers curling into a closed fist pressed against Steph's back before reaching, stretching her fingers against the tuxedo jacket. Smiling as Steph adjusted her posture, Cass ran he thumb down her back before drawing her hand away, leaving the other with Steph.

"How?" Cass asked. Her father had asked her, Alfred and Barbara hadn't either so Cass had no concept on how to clean up after herself. "With you? Maybe... I don't know. I have to be in control or I could slip, make a mistake."

"How do you clean up? You just...tidy, when things are on the floor you put them away in their place. That way things don't get cluttered. It's not exactly hard." Steph misses her hand when it's gone and tucks her arm into Cass's, holding her close as they walk down the side street that led to their little Victorian apartment. Flat, that's what it's called here.

"I'm not saying you should or you shouldn't," she says evenly. "There is definitely an element of losing control so, you know, maybe you wouldn't like it. But if you do, I mean- we could just drink wine with dinner, not absinthe in a palace. No big deal either way."

Cassandra let a soft, disbelieving quiet hmmmm noise at that statement. There were some things that Steph or anyone would persuade Cass to do; tidy up after herself and wear clothes in the bedroom (or to the bathroom.) Cassandra had at least been mostly considerate to the boys when they had lived there and thrown on something of Steph's before leaving their shared room.

"What if they're dirty?" Cassandra asked, glancing at Steph tucked into her side. Leaning her body into the other girl's, Cass walked with her towards their home. "Just us at home. Like a date?"

"Hmmmmmmm, yourself, missy," Stephanie rolls her eyes fondly. This had the distinct feel of a losing battle. But she's tenacious as hell and she's not going to pick up after her for time out of mind. "If the clothes're dirty than you put them in the laundry basket. That way you know what's dirty and what's clean and when you've got to do laundry."

"Sure." It hadn't been a date before just now, it'd just been...Cass and Steph, best friends, roommates, doing dinner. But now- yes. A date. She smiles at her. "Definitely. And if you want, we could just do dinner. Something special. It doesn't have to involve wine. I was just saying- if you wanted to try it, then that would be a better way than going to one of those parties." Be the responsible friend, Steph.

Cass looked at Steph, lips pressed together, disbelievingly. The idea of doing laundry was a foreign concept, something she only vaguely understood from watching television at Barbara's. Mostly it seemed to involve getting very wet and bubbles erupting from a machine.

"Okay," Cass said, finally agreeing. "And I wouldn't- at the parties. I have to patrol, keep people safe but at home with you, it might be... hmmm nice?"

Cass smiled, curling her fingertips around Steph's arm before they reached their apartment. Squeezing her hand, Cass let go before quietly racing up the stairs into the apartment. Making sure she wasn't seen Cass slipped into their flat before she started to remove her uniform. Letting the coat slip off to expose bare shoulders, Cass folded the coat reverently and tucked it out of sight. She paused, hesitating, for once not removing the rest of her clothes but leaving the tight fitting top and trousers on.

"Yes, I know, laundry is a strange and mysterious process," she said with a nod. Steph can remember vividly the Saturday mornings spent at the laundromat, sitting on the washer and kicking her heels against it while the family's stuff spun inside. "And believe me, as soon as we lose the Victorian I'm going to initiate you into the secret club of laundry doers. It's like the krav maga of domestic skills."

She smiles at her. "It would be nice. We shall absolutely do that one night. Before Christmas at some point, if you want. We can mull it, or something. I've never done that before, but it sounds appropriately yuletide and cheery."

After Cass goes racing up the stairs, Steph takes her time. She locks the door, even if no one's likely to go breaking in consider about 95% of London's population being incorporeal, because safe's safe. Then she comes up and hangs her coat up and slips her shoes off. "So, what shall we do now?"

Removing her boots Cass placed them against the side and smiled as Steph rambled, voice travelling as she locked the door. Placing bare feet against wooden floorboards, Cass rocked back and forth on her feet before stretching her toes and extending her body out. Rolling her shoulders Cass watched Steph, small smile tugging at the corner of her lips before she moved quick and silent across the floorboards and pounced on Steph, intent on bringing her down onto the floor with her. Putting her hand behind her head to cushion the floor, Cass pressed a kiss against Steph's lips.

"Tag," Cass murmured, smile lingering on her lips, her hand on Steph's waist before she rolled off and up onto her feet. Springing over the couch putting as much distance between her and Steph as she could in the small apartment.

Her back's turned and she's about to suggest something boring when Cass pounces on her. Steph falls like an expert, because that's one of the first things you learn under the Bat's tutelage. She's grinning against Cass's mouth and about to point out that this is way, way better than drinking tea by a fire, then Cass is up and out of her reach.

"So that's how you want to play, huh?" She gets up to her feet slowly, eyes never leaving Cass. She feints left then goes right around the firm, not-especially comfortable sofa, arms reaching out to snag her.

Cass tossed a look over her shoulder at Steph, the hint of a smile dancing across her lips. Maybe. It was a word that hung in the air as loud as if she had spoken it. Cass had remained still for hours, crouched in the darkness watching over the islanders now that she was alone with Steph she wanted to move, to show Steph with her body what she had been saying silently with her eyes all evening.

Watching Steph, Cass moved with her noting the slight tell and shift in her center before she moved. Cass moved right then left, Steph's fingers catching her.

Laughing, she grasped onto Cass's shirt, then slung an arm around her waist to hold onto her. They're nearly the same height, and Steph's chin fits neatly on Cass's shoulder. The fabric of her suit wrinkles as she presses close enough to kiss her cheek. "Tag," Steph says, but doesn't pull away; instead she kisses against her jaw and ends at her ear lobe.

In this instance, she is willing to be a really bad tag player. Just this once, a temporary suspension of the no-holds-barred ultimate tag game.

Cass turned her head, leaning into the kiss at her jaw. Letting out a soft oh, Cass felt the flush prickle at the back of her neck and spread up her body as Steph kissed her earlobe. Twisting her body she slid her hand through Steph's hair and kissed her, lips light and fleeting, as she subtly hooked her foot around the back of Steph's ankle.

"Tag," Cass murmured before smiling, her foot pressing quick to the back of Steph's ankle so that they would both go down but this time onto the sofa.

"Oof," she said with a laugh as her back fell against the couch and Cass's weight came down on her. If they'd done this in the skirts it would've been a riot of petticoats but now their legs slide together neatly. Her fingers curl through neat dark hair and tips her mouth to Cass's. This is what they'd been building to, the heat that prickles at her skin every time Cass had looked at her since putting on the suit. Seriously, Steph had just wanted to avoid wearing a dress for the night and it seemed like a fun novelty, but now she felt lovely in it, daring. A little bit sexy even.

"You've tagged me." Steph smiles and opens her mouth to kiss Cass's pretty mouth. "I'm it." Thank God for London and father-son apartments and getting to kiss in the living room without Bruce fucking Wayne being disappointed dad in their presence.

One of the first lessons Cassandra remembered was learning how to fall. Her father throwing her again and again, body bruised until she learned the way to land, to angle her body just right. It was like that now; the way they fell together, bodies angled just so as their legs tangled and bodies pressed tight together. It wasn't perfect but it was right.

"You're it," Cass agreed simply, smiling as Steph spread her fingers through her hair. A soft curl of warmth fluttered in her stomach as she smiled, leaning into the brush of lips against her own before she deepened the kiss. Bare foot running down Steph's leg as she shifted her weight, Cass moved her hand down Steph's arm and to her waist. Her fingers making a gentle, teasing pattern against the shirt fabric she had been looking at all evening.

"Mmmm." Stephanie smiles against her mouth and ever so slightly arches into Cass's hands at her waist. It's stupid but, okay, it's like in a fight when everything narrows to the other person and how they're going to use their hands and feet to hurt you. It requires a special kind of attention.

With Cass like this, everything fades away so that it's just her, and her hands, the touch of her mouth. Relaxing into just that same focus except any bruises are going to be fun-time hickey bruises. Steph slides her tongue into her mouth and wraps an arm around her neck to hold her close. "And does being it come with special make-out privileges?"

She touches Steph like she is whispering against her body, something soft and incomprehensible as she kisses her. The movement of her fingers barely there, so soft and faint as she stretches her hands out flat against her waist before curling into a fist, fabric tight in her grasp.

"Hmmm, maybe." Cass replies soft, inhaling as she coaxes Steph's tongue with her own. A soft noise as she lingers against warm lips, her thumb pressing against bare skin. Each moment spent studying, learning the way Steph is; the smiles against her mouth, the arched back, the way it feels in her arms. "For you if you wear this... or if you don't wear this."

She meant it innocently but words are so complex and she doesn't understand the heated implication.

She tips her head back and laughs brightly without that hard edge that's so easy to get in Gotham. They're probably having some higher level body language conversation right now, full of gesticular metaphors and deeper layers that Steph is totally missing. Despite that, they get by.

"If I wear this or I don't wear this," she agrees and smiles up at Cass as she trails her fingers idly along one of Cass's bare arms. It's not quite cold in the apartment but they could use a roaring fire, and still Cass's skin is welcome warmth. "Is that still in place if I wear one of those frothy long-sleeved nightmares that pass as nightgowns around here? Because those are like anti-sexy. Everyone's a maiden aunt wearing one of those."