He stood on the doorstep nervously fidgeting, constantly adjusting is shirt and then shoving his hands back into his jean pockets. His clothes felt like a second layer of loose skin, uncomfortable and heavily hanging off of his body. He was a bit ashamed to admit even to himself that it'd taken him hours just to pick out the jeans and simple white button down shirt that he may or may not have snuck out of his brother's closet to wear.
Why is it taking so long?
It felt as though hours had passed between this particular moment and when he'd knocked on the door in front of him, and during those few brief moments the temperature had skyrocketed. White was a choice he regretted making as he began to sweat on the doorstep.
Luckily, the door swung open and he was saved from his outdoor hell only to be brought into a new, unfamiliar hell.
"Jason," said the girl who opened the door. She was smiling wide, her perfect teeth shining through her pink lips. Her red curls were tied back into a pony tail, a few stray hairs falling in front of her bright blue eyes. Jason could see the freckles that dotted along the apples of her cheeks, as well as the specks around her exposed shoulders around the purple straps of the tank top she was wearing. The hand which was not holding the door open for him was shoved into the pocket of her own jeans and she was patiently waiting for him. Barbara looked adorable and casual and Jason was suddenly wondering if he overdressed. "I was beginning to worry you got lost."
The realization that the door was open and she was waiting for him to enter the house dawned on him and he hurried past her through the doorway, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek as he did so. "Of course not," he mumbled. "I just couldn't decide whether I should bring something or not."
Barbara closed the door and leaned against his side, her hand on his chest toying with the buttons of his shirt. "Nope, we've got dinner covered," she confirmed. "Come on. We've been waiting for you."
Jason's heart leapt into his throat, now feeling like the bad guy at the dinner party. He hadn't known they'd waited on him, he also hadn't known he was so late. He'd carefully planned his preparation for the evening down to the minute but then had gotten caught up stumbling over his nerves and lost track of time.
Not that he'd ever admit that to his girlfriend.
She had him by the hand now, leading him out of the living room by the door. His senses were on high alert, but he was too distracted to even notice his surroundings. It took more than a few seconds to process what color the drapes were (they were pale green, the color of the fabric old and faded with years of use). No, Jason was directing the energy normally used for observation to composing himself instead.
They rounded a corner and entered a dining area, with a quaint round table that was set with three plates and several dishes of food in the center. Standing with his hands on a chair that supported his weight at the head of the small table stood a gruff looking man with wrinkled and grey features. When the pair of younger adults entered the room, he straightened up and shifted his expression to a more pleasant one. "You must be Jason," he said extending his left hand. "I'm Barbara's dad, Jim. Don't call me that."
Jason did his best to pull of the casual smirk that he was known for, but something told him that it came across as more of an awkward shrug. "Of course, sir," he said, taking Jim's hand and shaking it firmly. Confirmation that the handshake was solid came when Jim's face shifted once more in surprise at the strength behind it. "Sorry I'm late, important work matter that I had to attend to."
Jim pursed his lips together and furrowed his brow. "Well, you can tell us about it while we eat, then."
A brief feeling of panic set over Jason, as he hadn't had a 'work matter'. He didn't even have a 'real' job. But he couldn't tell his girlfriend's dad that on the first time they met.
Well, they'd met before. But Jim didn't know that Jason used to be one of his least favorite sidekicks, and had become the murderous vigilante that occasionally left a pile of bodies for the GCPD to clean up. Of course, he couldn't tell him that either.
He settled his stomach with the thought that Jason lied to people all the time. They all did. It was in the job description. Just use a classic. It'll be fine.
Barbara sat down to the left of Jim, Jason across the table from her to his right. "So what happened that was so pressing, Jason?" Jim asked as he grabbed a bowl of mashed potatoes and began scooping them onto his plate. His gaze switched between the potatoes and Jason's eyes, waiting patiently for the answer.
Jason looked to Barbara for a moment, panic rising once more. She smiled reassuringly, raising her eyebrows in an effort to prompt the answer out of him. "I manage a security team that guards the warehouses by the docks, and there were a couple alarms going off," Jason said. His voice was surprisingly smooth despite the erratic beating of his heart. "They just can't seem to get anything done without me, so I had to deal with it the best I could without driving all the way down there."
"I know how that song goes," Jim mumbled, passing the potato bowl to Jason as he accepted the plate of roast from his daughter. His mustache seemed to animate his words as he spoke. Rather than think about his nerves, Jason imagined a cartoon version of Jim Gordon gruffly eating a roast as he talked about his office troubles. "I'm the police commissioner, and I can't even begin to count all the things I've missed or been late to because of some kind of emergency at the precinct."
"Not without cause though, daddy," Barbara chimed in, smiling down at her plate as she shoveled some corn into a pile near her potatoes. "You've probably saved this city almost as many times as Batman."
Jim scoffed at the mere idea. "Oh, I wouldn't go that far," he grumbled. "Batman does a lot more than an almost retired cop ever could."
Sensing his opportunity to brown nose, Jason spoke up once more. "Well, Batman couldn't do any of what he does without you," he said. This was not only an attempt to kiss ass, but the truth. As a former Robin, Jason knew firsthand how important the Commissioner's support of the Bat clan was, and how imperative it was to the work they did. "Imagine how many lives he would've saved if the old Commissioner had kept up his hunt for the Batman and he'd been arrested."
Jim looked up at him briefly, recognizing his comments for what they were. The corner of his mouth perked up a bit and he chuckled quietly. "You're smart, kid," he said. "Barbara didn't tell me you were so smart."
When the old man's eyes fell back to his plate, Jason peeked at his girlfriend and breathed a sigh of relief at her thrilled expression. "I figured it went without saying that I wouldn't date an idiot," she said, raising one eyebrow towards her father.
"Oh, you've dated plenty of idiots before." Jim was pointing an accusing fork at his daughter now, a mouthful of half-chewed roast in his cheek as he spoke. "What was that guy you were with in high school? The rich one?" He forked another helping of meat into his mouth, and Jason was almost mesmerized by the fact that none of it even touched his mustache. "Rich Grayson? The boy Wayne took in."
Jason's heart skipped a beat, a weird mixture of delight and despair settling into the pit of his stomach. Jim Gordon thought Dick was an idiot brought him such pleasure that he was almost ready to run out of the house and call Tim. But being reminded of the fact that his current girlfriend dated his older brother first was enough to keep him grounded. "Dick Grayson?" he asked sheepishly.
Jim waved his fork-less hand at Jason excitedly. "That was the one!" he said. Now he was looking over the brim of his glasses at Jason skeptically. His lips were pursed together in though before he took another bite. "You actually kind of look like him," he observed. Then waving his pointer finger around his own forehead. "Except for the white. What's that about anyway?"
"It's a long story, dad," Barbara cut him off, taking Jason's answer right out of his mouth. "One for another time. How was work today?"
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"Allow me," Jason said, scooping Jim's clean plate from his hands. He had a stack of all three plates, the potato bowl, and the roast plate precariously balanced on his hand and with a small smirk, ducked into the kitchen.
Barbara sat back down, a content smile on her lips. "So what do you think?" she asked, though she thought she already knew the answer.
Jim huffed at her, an almost unnoticeable smile on his own face. "He's a good kid, good head on his shoulders," he said.
"I knew you'd like him," she gushed, resisting the urge to throw her arms around her father's neck.
"I wouldn't go that far," he cautioned. "He's decent, I guess." He began to rise from his seat, stretching his back as he did so.
Barbara smiled smugly. "You like him," she decreed. "You don't have to lie to me."
Jim walked towards the living room, bending down and pressing a fatherly kiss to his daughter's forehead. "He's not good enough for my daughter," he said gruffly before making his way to the couch in the living room. "But no one is."
Just then Jason re-entered the dining room, a grin on his lips. "You ready to go, babe?" he asked.
She nodded, standing from her own chair and touching her fingertips to his forearm, just where the sleeve ended below the elbow. Her eyes grazed over his appearance, as it wasn't often she got to see Jason in such a wardrobe. "Yeah, let me just say goodbye."
Jason watched a bit uncomfortably as Barbara hugged her father, then extended his hand towards him. "Pleasure to meet you, sir," he said stiffly.
"Likewise," Jim said, shaking his hand just as firmly as he had earlier in the day. "See you around." His lips were pursed and his eyes narrowed, a subtle warning from a father to his daughter's boyfriend. Jason expected nothing less.
Barbara interlocked her arm with Jason's, pulling him away from her father and out the door. "Bye daddy, see you next week."
They stepped out into the cold November air, darkness surrounding them now. Barbara's apartment was only a few blocks away, and had Jason known it would be this cold he would've driven so as to make it home before his date became an icicle. Barbara was only wearing a tank top, and if he'd had his usual leather jacket he would've offered it to her. But the best he could do now was drape his arm over her shoulder and offer his own heat to her.
"So," she said, her teeth chattering together. "I didn't think you'd be that nervous."
He rolled his eyes, the smirk forming on is face easily now. "Shut up," he muttered, jostling her a bit.
Laughing, she shoved him back, but not enough to force her heater away from her. "I don't think I've ever seen you that nervous!" Her fingers found his draped over her shoulder and interlocked with them, while her other hand toyed with the buttons of his shirt once more. "And I know you got this out of Dick's closet. Is that why you were so late?"
"No!" He said, just a little bit too loud. "I wanted to make a good impression! Sue me!" His cheeks were warm with flush now, embarrassment rising in his chest.
Barbara settled into step with him, carrying the weight of his arm on her shoulder. "Why?" she asked, looking up into his face with a goofy grin on her face. "You've never cared what anyone thinks of you. Why start now?"
Jason shrugged, momentarily relieving her of the weight on her shoulders. "You and your dad are close," he murmured. "I knew it was important to you that he like me, so it was important to me, too."
Her eyes widened in surprise. That wasn't the answer she had been expecting. Some form of blatant denial was what she'd been expecting, but not raw honesty like that. After a few steps, her face relaxed into a lazy, content smile and she nuzzled into the crook of his arm as they walked, seeking his warmth. "I love you, Jason Todd," she said, her breath forming a small cloud as she spoke.
"I love you too, Barbara Gordon."
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