Barbara knew she should confront him — after all, he had just snuck out of a window of a downtown high rise with jewelry, cash and whatever else was in that bedroom safe. She should have confronted him after his other two break-ins. She should have-instead of silently following in his wake, just a rooftop behind him.
She could justify it, if she really wanted to- she was biding her time, finding the right moment to apprehend him. It had nothing to do with watching how he slinked back into the shadows or how his muscles rippled as he stretched between jobs. And it most definitely didn't have to do with the searing kiss they'd shared just a few days before. Or that she had basically offered herself to him while tied up. Or his parting words to her before running from the cops.
"Next time, I'm getting you naked. That's a promise."
It wouldn't have been a big deal, she really could have handled it if this had been their first encounter. But over the past few months there had been way too many close calls between the two of them. One-on-one fights. Flirty winks from behind that mask. Dirty whispers in her ear of how tight her costume was or how much he liked redheads or how he wanted to see just how flexible she could get.
So maybe after that scorching kiss, it wasn't a good idea to follow him now. That was, if he really did consider delivering on his promise. Maybe this was a really stupid idea,but her thighs still clenched just thinking about it. She was so distracted by the idea of silk sheets and those fingers finally coming ungloved that she almost missed Blackbird dropping down and out of sight.
Barbara made her way to the edge of the building, just barely looking over to the alley below. He was still there, taking a look at his plunder and stretching his arms towards the starry sky. Barbara wondered if he was waiting for anything in particular when he sighed and looked up.
"Okay," he said loudly, eying all the nearby rooftops, "you can come out already!"
Before Barbara could even fully comprehend the situation, a dozen thugs came from around the corner, effectively backing Blackbird against the wall.
"Looky here, a pretty boy who's lost his way," the leader snarled, his lackies chuckling along. Blackbird sighed.
"Fellas, I'm flattered," he rubbed his temples, "I really am. But I was actually talking to my date for the evening. Sorry to lead you … all on." He motioned to the group.
"Oh, and pretty boy has a pretty little mouth on him, don't he?" the leader said.
"So what's in the bag, pretty boy?" one of the thugs said, licking his lips.
"Oh this?" Blackbird said without missing a beat as he held up the sack, "It's full of ugly sticks. I'd share with you and your men, but it looks like you've all met your quota—"
The leader's baseball bat landed square on his jaw. Barbara stood with a jolt, jumping onto the fire escape to come to the rescue, but Blackbird quickly recovered from the blow with a chuckle.
"Is that all you've got?" he asked. The leader made a signal, giving his gang the green light to rush forward and go to toward on the loudmouth. Blackbird held his own for a while, knocking down a handful of guys with what Barbara recognized as an equal mix of martial arts and pure gymnastics. But even with his skills, they were beginning to get in more hits than he could dodge.
"Okay," he called out after a particularly tough punch to the gut, "now would actually be a really good time for you to come out, beautiful!"
She smiled despite herself. Well, he was asking for help. It would be downright wrong for Batgirl to not help him, she thought. Wiping the smile off her face, she went into badass vigilante mode as she sprung off the fire escape, landing on the back of an unsuspecting thug.
"What the flying f—" the leader managed before Barbara kicked him in the face. God, she loved making an entrance.
"So nice to see you, Beautiful," Blackbird quipped, flanking to her side a moment later.
"Can you shut up and focus for ten seconds?" she gritted as she punched a goon in the face.
"Now Batty," he threw another hit, "How can I focus when I'm in the presence of Gotham's hottest piece of—"
"Behind you!" she shouted. He ducked and she smacked the thug in the face. It didn't take long to turn the tide in their favor. A few choice jabs to the throat, some head slams into the wall. Fleetingly in the back of her mind she noted how easily they fell into each other's fighting styles, how fluidly they moved together. Finally realizing this so wasn't worth it, the gang scrambled out of the alley, leaving her alone with Blackbird.
"Well, that was interesting," he panted.
"Yeah," she said as she caught her breath. She adjusted her suit.
He eyed her motion with some interest, but turned away nervously when he realized he was staring. It was kind of adorable, if she was being honest with herself.
"So," he bent over to casually shake the dirt off his knees, "who knew all it took to you to come talk to me is letting my ass get kicked?"
"Excuse me?" she snapped. He shrugged.
"I'm just saying, it's a good thing I went easy on them or else you might have kept trailing me all night without saying hello."
"I saved your ass, you douchebag!" she practically shouted, getting in his face. He didn't back away.
"Keep telling yourself that, Miss Goodie-two-shoes," he said with the kind of smugness she abhorred, "But I think you just really wanted to come talk to me. Isn't that why you were following me all night?"
"I was following you because you're a criminal," she said on edge. There was a moment of silence between them. Blackbird's eyes darted down her frontbefore focusing on her lips. She would have taken exception to it if she wasn't so distracted by his distinctly masculine scent. Barbara thought back to the other night, to his promise. She was waiting for him to make a move or at least say something, but he shook his head and started to turn.
"I'll see you later, beautiful."
The indignity of the moment snapped out of her daze. "Like hell you will. I'm taking you in," she said as she grabbed his wrist, but he pulled back and got her against the cold brick wall.
"Now Batgirl," he cooed, "if you take me in, I'd miss our special evenings together." His knee pushed against her core, shooting heat to her belly. He was towering over her, his sneering lips so close to hers again. She whimpered and the sound seemed to turn his sneer into something softer. She thought she could hold it together, but then he trailed her cheek with the back of his gloved hand.
"S-stop it," she said, shaking.
"I'd miss you, Batgirl," he repeated, his tone more sincere than she could have expected. His lips met hers a moment later; unlike their first kiss that was all heat and aggression, this was delicate and still somehow intense and heated. Barbara bit his lips slightly and it was the first time she ever felt in control of the situation — she could have sworn she heard a little whine come from his throat.
His hands moved to hold her waist firm and with her wrists released from his grip, her arms made their way around his neck, pulling him in tight. God, his mouth tasted good, his tongue teasing hers in the most delicious way. Any hesitation she felt earlier in the night dissolved as he moaned into her mouth. Her hands couldn't help but creep up his neck to that gorgeous head of hair. With the silky locks between her fingers and his tongue still exploring his mouth, it was just perfection.
"Blackbird," she sighed against his lips, urging him for the indescribable more. There was a stillness, then-Blackbird pushed her away and the moment shattered.
"I— I need to go," he backed up and fumbled for his grappling gun. The wind might as well have been knocked out of her as she watched him shoot his line up to the rooftop. Blinking, she remembered that she was supposed to capture the villain, not to let him get away. She darted forward on instinct, almost tripping on the bag of stolen goods. The one he'd left behind.
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