This was supposed to go up around Valentine's Day but it clearly didn't. There was no real reason for it to take this long but its here now. I hope you enjoy it.
This is set at some undetermined point during Cassandra's run as Batgirl.
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or any associated comics or characters
Dick had gotten Barbara a giant bouquet of bright red roses. A dozen if she was counting correctly. He had swept in that morning with a bundle and cheerily declared his affection for all to hear. He had patrol with the BPD that evening so they wouldn't be able to have a date night tonight even though it was Valentine's Day but Dick had declared he needed to get at least one romantic gesture in anyway.
Barbara didn't care as much about a holiday made up to sell chocolate but it was still sweet.
The roses were sitting in a tall clear vase on the counter in the kitchen of her apartment. Babs smiled fondly at them before turning back to the pasta dish she was preparing. She could hear Cass clearing stuff off the dining room table in the other room. She had come over that afternoon after Dick had left to make repairs on her costume. While Cassandra almost never took hits, her uniform still suffered the usual wear and tear of fabric being stretched to it's limits as she ran around rooftops. The stiches on one of the arms had finally torn when it got caught on the edge of billboard. Cassandra had been swinging by at the time so she hadn't been able to unhook it and had ended up with a large hole across her shoulder and upper arm. Bruce had sent over some of the reinforced fabric that the Bats used for their suits and the two of them had spent the better part of the afternoon making a new arm for the suit. Since it had taken so long it only made sense to invite Cass to stay over for dinner later.
As Babs lifted the pasta off of the stove quiet, almost imperceptible footsteps came up behind her. She turned around to see Cass standing in the doorway.
"Dinner is ready. Do you want to grab some plates for us? I'll get the silverware." When Cass didn't respond right away Babs turned around. "Cassandra?"
Cassandra had walked over to the roses and was hesitantly reaching out to touch them. "They're beautiful," she whispered.
Babs smiled. "They were a gift from Dick."
"What for?"
The question was a bit surprising though maybe it shouldn't have been. Cassandra knew a lot about people and what she didn't know she could pick up fast but her childhood hadn't allowed her to learn about the sort of social conventions most people grew up with and regularly engaged in.
"Because he cares for. It's a way of showing that he loves and appreciates me."
Cassandra started gently running her fingers over the flowers. "They're very red. Beautiful."
"He got them fresh."
"You are lucky. To have someone that would get you flowers." There was a pause and Babs was about to agree with her when Cassandra continued. "No one has ever gotten me flowers."
Cass then turned around to go get the silverware while Babs thought through that statement and its implications. It shouldn't have been surprising. Cain was a monster who had been raising his daughter to be a human weapon when would he have ever gotten her flowers? And then she had been living on her own. Cass had now been taken in by the Bats but even then so much of their time was spent thinking about her new role as Batgirl and their nighttime work that no one had time to consider stuff like flowers. This would have to be fixed.
Cass turned back around holding the silverware and frowned. "You've gotten all protective. Why? It was just a billboard."
Later, after they've finished eating, Babs stopped Cassandra before she could launch herself from the living room window and into the night for patrol. "I was wondering if you could come around again tomorrow morning? I've got something I'd like to show you."
Babs couldn't see Cass's face through the mask but she was certain the younger girl must be trying to puzzle out what she was doing. "You're planning something."
"Of course I am. I'm Oracle."
"…I'll be there."
"Alright. See you tomorrow. Please don't rip the suit again too soon."
"I'll try not to." Then Batgirl was gone in the time it takes to blink. The only bat to ever perfect the original's vanishing ability. Barbara smiled and went to take care of the dishes.
Cassandra knocked on the door to Barbara's apartment the next day around 10 in the morning. She had dressed in civilian clothes but Babs could see the sleeve of her Batgirl costume poking out from underneath the gray hoodie. Hopefully she had remembered to go home and get some sleep last night.
"So…are we going someplace?"
"Yes. We can walk there." Babs led the way towards the elevator. "Patrol went well last night?"
"Yeah. I ran into Spoiler. We played tag."
They left the elevator and headed out into the crisp February air. A chilly wind blew by and Barbara was glad she had thought to grab a scarf on the way out. Cassandra didn't seem bothered, tilting her head back and breathing the air in. The walk was only a couple of blocks towards the centre of downtown. She stopped in front of a store with a green awning and a sign reading Black-Eyed Susan's.
"Well, here we are."
Cass frowned. "What is this place?"
Babs just smiled. "Come on." She pushed herself up the ramp and opened the door, Cass trailing behind her.
As soon as they entered they were confronted by an abundance of flowers bursting from bouquets and large pots throughout the room. They were various colors but primarily different shades of red and pink, left over from the holiday. The path through the flowers was wide enough for Babs' chair to go down it with the occasional leaf or stem reaching out to brush her. Babs twisted herself around in her chair to see how Cassandra was reacting to this. The younger woman was turning around, eyes wide. She paused in front of a bundle of chrysanthemums and took a deep breath, taking in their scent before turning to the next ones. Eventually she looked at Babs and asked, "Why are we here?"
"I'm going to buy you some flowers. Go on. Pick out any you like."
Cassandra stared at her in surprise. "Why?"
"Because, why not?" Babs smiled. "You've been doing an excellent job since you took up the mantle of Batgirl and I think that deserves some recognition. Go on, you can pick out whichever ones who want."
Cassandra hesitantly began to wander around the store, pausing whenever something caught her eye. Eventually she settled on a couple of roses, some lilies, and a few chrysanthemums which she brought over to Barbara.
"Is this…too much?" She asked hesitantly.
"Not at all. Come on, let's find the check-out counter."
The woman at the counter looked a bit tired, but smiled at them as they approached the register.
"Do you want these wrapped?" She asked as she took the flowers from Cassandra. After a moment Cassandra nodded in response. The employee quickly wrapped the flowers before typing the total into the register. Barbara payed for them while Cassandra pressed her face into the bouquet, inhaling deeply. Barbara thanked the cashier before doing a tight turn and heading back down the aisles.
The two of them left the florist's shop and headed down the street. Cassandra lifted her head from the flowers and turned to Babs.
"Thank you for these. They're beautiful and they smell wonderful."
"Your welcome, Cass. And really, you deserve them."
Cass looked back down at her flowers. "Should I get something to put these in?"
"Of course," said Babs. "Especially if you want to keep them fresh. Come on I think I know a place where we can get a vase."